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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/08/14/BL2007081400792.html
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https://web.archive.org/web/2007082119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/08/14/BL2007081400792.html
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Post-Rovian Thinking
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Karl Rove's surprise resignation yesterday as senior adviser to President Bush has prompted an extraordinary wave of analysis about Rove's tenure, Bush's presidency, presidential politics and what's ahead for the White House.
Peter Baker and Michael A. Fletcher write in The Washington Post that Rove's resignation opens "a new phase of the politically battered Bush presidency as it heads into its final months without some of the central players who shaped it. . . .
"The wave of departures signals a broader transition as Bush shifts away from the sweeping domestic initiatives on taxes, education, Social Security and immigration that Rove favored, and refocuses his presidency to a more defensive posture in the face of an opposition Congress and sunken poll ratings. . . .
"The White House labored to dismiss the sense that Rove's resignation underscores a lame-duck presidency, even as it felt like an era was coming to an end on the South Lawn yesterday morning.
"'Karl Rove is moving on down the road,' Bush said as the two appeared together for an emotional coda to their 14-year political partnership. A few moments later, he turned to Rove and added: 'I'll be on the road behind you here in a little bit.'"
Massimo Calabresi writes for Time: "At his emotional goodbye with George W. Bush on the South lawn of the White House Monday, Karl Rove painted a portrait of a presidency made of strong vision and epochal goals. . . .
"As the country heads into the 2008 election, the public's verdict on Bush and Rove's vision may not be nearly as kind. With poll numbers stacked against the GOP nationwide, 2008 could become as great a rejection of signature Bush policies and his party as the 2006 mid-term election was. Thanks to that threat, the post-Rove White House already finds itself preoccupied with extracting itself from the shoals where Bush and Rove's grand visions have foundered. In that sense, the Bush administration has already begun repudiating the grandest ideas, and the legacy, of the man who was its chief architect."
John Whitesides writes for Reuters: "The resignation of Karl Rove, architect of President George W. Bush's election triumphs and a crucial behind-the-scenes policy guru, is the latest sign of the White House's diminished agenda and shattered dreams of a Republican super-majority, analysts said. . . .
"'At this point all they are trying to do is save some of the signature items from their first term and hand off the war in Iraq to the next guy in better shape than it looks today,' . . . said Cal Jillson, a political analyst at Southern Methodist University in Dallas."
Dave Montgomery and Marisa Taylor write for McClatchy Newspapers: "Karl Rove's imminent departure as President Bush's closest White House adviser is the latest and most dramatic signal that Bush himself is heading toward the exit as Americans prepare to choose his replacement next year."
Michael Kranish of the Boston Globe is an outlier in raising the possibility that Rove's departure could lead to a course correction: "The departure of Karl Rove, the longtime adviser to President Bush who announced yesterday that he is leaving at the end of this month, could provide an opening for the White House and the Republican Party to move away from Rove's signature policy of relying on the party base and appeal more to independents who will probably determine the outcome of the 2008 election, analysts said yesterday."
But, as Kranish himself notes: "It is not clear, however, that Bush will forge a new path away from the influential adviser and friend of more than 30 years."
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Karl Rove's surprise resignation yesterday as senior adviser to President Bush has prompted an extraordinary wave of analysis about Rove's tenure, Bush's presidency, presidential politics and what's ahead for the White House.
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Nasdaq Gives High Rollers A Market Free Of Regulation
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Nasdaq is set to launch tomorrow what its executives are calling one of the most significant developments on Wall Street in decades -- a private stock market for super-wealthy investors.
Minimum requirement for traders: $100 million in assets.
Any private firm can list on Nasdaq's new platform, which is called the Portal Market, and raise money by selling stock to an elite group of shareholders. These companies would remain private and not have to make public their financial statements or submit to federal regulation, such as the Sarbanes-Oxley corporate accountability law.
Once a tiny influence on the markets, private money has gained unprecedented power on Wall Street. This year, the biggest deals have been swung not by public companies, but by private-equity firms that are spending hundreds of billions of dollars to buy household names, such as Hilton Hotels, Sallie Mae and Chrysler, and turn them into private companies.
For the first time last year, corporate America raised more money -- $162 billion -- from private investors than from initial public offerings, which raised $154 billion from the three major U.S. stock markets -- Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange.
The boom in private money has become so important to the financial system that major investment banks, including Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers and Citigroup are setting up rival private stock markets of their own. But none will be as large as Portal, which will list the shares of about 500 firms on its first day of trading.
Ordinary investors can only participate indirectly if their mutual fund creates an account to trade on the private markets.
These markets are creating an alternative and exclusive investment world buffeted from the turmoil that has roiled the major stock indicators in recent weeks. In the public markets, investors dumped stock during a credit crisis caused by the deteriorating mortgage industry. Private-market traders generally are sophisticated financial groups that take a long-term view of their investments.
"One of the problems that business faces in America today is what I would call 'short-termism,' " said Howard S. Marks, chairman of Oaktree Capital, an investment firm that was the first to list on the private market developed by Goldman Sachs called GSTrUE. "There's a lot of expense and complication associated with being a public company today. . . . Now it is possible to gain most of the advantages of being public while sidestepping the disadvantages."
The private market, Marks said, shields companies from regulation and from wild swings in their share prices that are caused by a temporary drop in earnings or a bad rumor.
In just a few years, Nasdaq officials predict, stock offerings on private markets will far exceed IPOs on public exchanges.
"It's a transformational development in the capital markets," John Jacobs, executive vice president of Nasdaq, said of Portal's arrival.
The rise of private money has created a new class of powerbrokers on Wall Street who have enriched themselves even as they have provided billions of investment dollars to companies in all kinds of industries. But the trend is causing a backlash among working-class Americans who generally are shut out from investing directly in those circles, said Colin Blaydon, director of the Center for Private Equity and Entrepreneurship.
"While there has been great value creation in the American economy, it has not gone to the large bulk of American citizens," Blaydon said. "It has gone to the very top slice -- and I mean the very top slice -- with no increase of real incomes of American workers, including the middle-class management class. And that is something that people sense in their guts. They know they are not better off, and yet there are a handful of people who are extraordinarily better off."
Portal is the first centralized private stock market for an elite class of investors called Qualified Institutional Buyers, or "QIBs," that was created in 1990 by securities rule 144A. This law defined QIBs as investing institutions with at least $100 million in assets. It also allowed private companies to raise money by selling shares only to QIBs and remain exempt from regulatory scrutiny. These firms, however, disclose their financial statements to their investors.
Since they began, QIBs have only been able to trade in the old-fashioned way: calling each other over the phone and negotiating a price. They had no way to trade shares on an exchange. No electronic system existed that could give them instant updates on the price of a firm's stock or the number of shares traded each day.
Now, with Portal and other private markets, these investors can log onto a secure Web site and get a wealth of data on a company's stock. They can trade shares by clicking a few buttons. Stock prices are updated automatically.
Analysts say the new ease-of-use is another incentive for super-wealthy investing groups to shun the public markets and focus on making money in the private sphere.
Going private is also becoming increasingly attractive to public companies that must spend large sums to comply with complex accounting regulations that are part of Sarbanes-Oxley. "There's definitely a growing desire to get away from the public markets," Blaydon said.
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Nasdaq is set to launch tomorrow what its executives are calling one of the most significant developments on Wall Street in decades -- a private stock market for super-wealthy investors.
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Lawsuits May Illuminate Methods of Spy Program
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In 2003, Room 641A of a large telecommunications building in downtown San Francisco was filled with powerful data-mining equipment for a "special job" by the National Security Agency, according to a former AT&T technician. It was fed by fiber-optic cables that siphoned copies of e-mails and other online traffic from one of the largest Internet hubs in the United States, the former employee says in court filings.
What occurred in the room is now at the center of a pivotal legal battle in a federal appeals court over the Bush administration's controversial spying program, including the monitoring that came to be publicly known as the Terrorist Surveillance Program.
Tomorrow, a three-judge panel will hear arguments on whether the case, which may provide the clearest indication yet of how the spying program has worked, can go forward. So far, evidence in the case suggests a massive effort by the NSA to tap into the backbone of the Internet to retrieve millions of e-mails and other communications, which the government could sift and analyze for suspicious patterns or other signs of terrorist activity, according to court records, plaintiffs' attorneys and technology experts.
"The scale of these deployments is . . . vastly in excess of what would be needed for any likely application or any likely combination of applications, other than surveillance," says an affidavit filed by J. Scott Marcus, the senior Internet adviser at the Federal Communications Commission from 2001 to 2005. Marcus analyzed evidence for the plaintiffs in the case.
In the first of two lawsuits before the court, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a privacy group, alleges in a class action that AT&T collaborated with the NSA to operate a "dragnet" that illegally tracked the domestic and foreign communications of millions of Americans. The second case centers on the disbanded al-Haramain charity and two of its attorneys, who say they were given -- and then forced to return -- a Treasury Department document showing that they had been the focus of NSA surveillance.
Neither AT&T nor the federal government has admitted even the existence of a secret room, and the Justice Department is arguing that the cases should be dismissed because their subject matter is a state secret. The communications company, meanwhile, says it is prevented from properly defending itself because of national security reasons and dismisses the employee who briefly saw the room and worked on supporting equipment as a "line technician who . . . never had access to the 'secret room' he purports to describe."
The lawsuits are among dozens of challenges to the NSA surveillance program that have been consolidated in the San Francisco federal courts. The confrontation comes just days after the Democratic-controlled Congress acceded to the demands of the Bush administration for expanded NSA authority to conduct spying efforts on U.S. soil, effectively approving many of the practices at issue in San Francisco.
Tomorrow's hearing will focus only on whether the two lawsuits should be dismissed on the basis of the government's assertion of a "state secrets privilege." The outcome could determine whether the courts will ever rule on the legality of surveillance conducted by the NSA without judicial oversight between 2001 and January 2007, when the Bush administration first subjected the program to the scrutiny of a special intelligence court.
"If the courts take the position that the state-secrets privilege prevents the case from going forward, I think effectively there'll never be a decision about the legality of the program," said Cindy Cohn, the Electronic Frontier Foundation's legal director. "I think it's tremendously important for that."
President Bush and his aides have confirmed that the NSA, beginning in late 2001, monitored electronic communications between the United States and overseas without warrants in cases in which one of the parties was believed to be affiliated with al-Qaeda. But administration officials have recently acknowledged that the NSA program was broader, and intelligence sources inside and outside the government have described a vast effort to collect and analyze telephone and e-mail communications that were later scrutinized by the government for desired information.
During the congressional debate over the surveillance legislation, Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, and other administration officials emphasized that the NSA needed access to major Internet and telephone exchanges to analyze transmitted data and identify and monitor "foreign intelligence" targets.
McConnell said all communications by such targets should be subject to government tapping, even if the individuals are in touch with foreigners inside the United States or with U.S. citizens. The precise methods by which the NSA has picked these communications out of the huge data stream it has tapped remain a highly classified secret.
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In 2003, Room 641A of a large telecommunications building in downtown San Francisco was filled with powerful data-mining equipment for a "special job" by the National Security Agency, according to a former AT&T technician. It was fed by fiber-optic cables that siphoned copies of e-mails and other...
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Imus, CBS Settle Lawsuits; Is New Show in the Wings?
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In case you've forgotten, the cranky radio talk show host -- who is extremely intelligent and not always smart -- was fired in the spring because of his racially supercharged characterization of the Rutgers University women's basketball team.
Yesterday, in the same breath, two new developments were reported: Imus had settled his multimillion-dollar dispute with CBS Radio and, according to several news organizations, was angling for a way to get back on the air -- perhaps via WABC-AM in New York.
At press time, there had been no announcement of a new show, but the settlement frees him to pursue such possibilities.
Also yesterday, the CBS Radio station in New York that produced Imus's show, WFAN, announced it is bringing in former football star Boomer Esiason for Imus's former morning slot.
Louis Briskman of CBS Radio and Martin Garbus, Imus's lawyer, issued a joint statement: "Don Imus and CBS Radio have mutually agreed to settle claims that each had against the other regarding the Imus radio program on CBS. The terms of the settlement are confidential and will not be disclosed."
A First Amendment master, Garbus once represented edgy comedian Lenny Bruce.
The settlement forecloses Imus's threat to file a $120 million breach-of-contract lawsuit against CBS. The Associated Press reported that the settlement includes a "non-disparaging" agreement that forbids Imus from bad-mouthing his former employer.
Meanwhile, the radio world whirred with speculation about where Imus, 67, might re-materialize. Some sources put him in the air chair at Sirius, the satellite network. It is run by Mel Karmazin, Imus's former boss at Infinity Broadcasting -- predecessor of CBS Radio. That's where Imus made a name -- and millions of dollars -- for himself. At the National Press Club last month, Karmazin said he wouldn't talk to Imus about a job as long as he was under contract to somebody else, according to Tom Taylor of the online newsletter Taylor on Radio-Info.
Some say Imus might go to WABC, owned by Citadel Broadcasting. That makes sense: Citadel is headed by Farid Suleman, who for years was chief financial officer at Infinity and Karmazin's assistant. "He signed Imus's checks," Taylor says.
The New York radio station features airwave warriors such as Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh.
Imus's radio show was simulcast on MSNBC. A network executive -- who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of negotiations -- said yesterday that MSNBC would not broadcast a new Imus radio show. Wherever he lands, the radio personality will find himself facing another legal battle. A member of the Rutgers women's basketball team on Tuesday sued Imus and CBS, claiming the radio personality's sexist and racist comments about the team damaged her reputation.
The Associated Press reported that Kia Vaughn filed the lawsuit alleging defamation of character in state Supreme Court in the Bronx.
Her lawsuit, believed to be the first by a player in the case, says Imus and his former sidekick Bernard McGuirk, along with CBS Corp. and CBS Radio, are legally responsible for damage to her character and reputation. There is no dollar amount listed in the suit.
A spokeswoman for CBS Radio declined to comment.
Staff writer Howard Kurtz contributed to this report.
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Are you ready for Don Imus, the Sequel? In case you've forgotten, the cranky radio talk show host -- who is extremely intelligent and not always smart -- was fired in the spring because of his racially supercharged characterization of the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Yesterday, in ...
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Source Disclosure Ordered in Anthrax Suit
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Five reporters must reveal their government sources for stories they wrote about Steven J. Hatfill and investigators' suspicions that the former Army scientist was behind the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001, a federal judge ruled yesterday.
The decision from U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton is yet another blow to the news industry as it seeks to shield anonymous sources who provide critical information -- especially on the secret inner workings of government.
"The names of the sources are central to Dr. Hatfill's case," Walton wrote in a 31-page opinion.
The ruling is a victory for Hatfill, a bioterrorism expert who has argued in a civil suit that the government violated his privacy rights and ruined his chances at a job by unfairly leaking information about the probe. He has not been charged in the attacks that killed five people and sickened 17 others, and he has denied wrongdoing.
Hatfill's suit, filed in 2003, accuses the government of waging a "coordinated smear campaign." To succeed, Hatfill and his attorneys have been seeking the identities of FBI and Justice Department officials who disclosed disparaging information about him to the media.
In lengthy depositions in the case, reporters have identified 100 instances when Justice or FBI sources provided them with information about the investigation of Hatfill and the techniques used to probe his possible role in anthrax-laced mailings. But the reporters have refused to name the individuals.
The decision means that five journalists -- Allan Lengel of the Washington Post; Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman, both of Newsweek; Toni Locy, formerly of USA Today; and James Stewart of CBS News -- are under instruction from the court to answer specific questions about who provided them with information about the investigation's focus on Hatfill.
The judge turned down a companion bid by Hatfill to subpoena testimony from corporate representatives and records from ABC, The Washington Post, Newsweek, CBS, the Associated Press, the Baltimore Sun and the New York Times. He said he would reconsider the ruling on the media companies if the reporters continue to refuse to reveal their sources.
In 2002, then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft called Hatfill, who had formerly worked at the Army's infectious diseases lab in Fort Detrick in Frederick County, a "person of interest" in the anthrax case. Authorities have not made any arrests in the investigation.
Walton declined to recognize the existence of a federal common law privilege for reporters. Also, the judge broadly defined the kinds of information that, if released, would violate the Privacy Act to include almost anything specific to Hatfill and suspicions about him. Media lawyers argued the Privacy Act was not intended to apply to the information they reported about Hatfill.
Walton said Hatfill's search for government leakers is "strikingly similar" to the civil suit filed by Wen Ho Lee, a nuclear scientist who became the subject of a flurry of media stories identifying him as a chief suspect in a nuclear-secrets spy case. Those stories also relied on anonymous sources. Lee was never charged with espionage; he pleaded guilty to mishandling computer files. He sued the Justice Department, and reporters were facing a court order to reveal sources. But the case ended last year when the news companies and the government paid Lee a $1.6 million settlement .
Lucy Dalglish of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press said the Hatfill case probably will have "horrifying" repercussions on the ability to report on the government's handling of public health crises.
"It may be that Mr. Hatfill was done wrong by the federal government," Dalglish said. "But these reporters were just trying to inform the public about whether the government had a clue about what was happening."
Washington Post Deputy Counsel Eric Lieberman said it would not be appropriate to comment on the ruling at this point in the proceedings.
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Five reporters must reveal their government sources for stories they wrote about Steven J. Hatfill and investigators' suspicions that the former Army scientist was behind the deadly anthrax attacks of 2001, a federal judge ruled yesterday.
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Microsoft Buys Online-Ad Company
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"Our goal is to be No. 1 or No. 2," Kevin Johnson, president of Microsoft's platforms and services division, said in an interview last week.
Microsoft, which lags behind Yahoo and Google in search traffic and advertising revenue, is trying to shift toward offering software applications over the Internet. Microsoft hopes its acquisition of aQuantive will allay some worries about staying profitable as it makes the shift. Johnson said units in the two companies are being combined and reorganized to provide an advertising platform for new Web-based services.
An advertising and publishing group is being formed, to be led by aQuantive chief executive Brian P. McAndrews. The unit includes aQuantive's ad-serving technologies and tools and DrivePM, which extends Microsoft's ability to sell Web ads to aQuantive's broad network of top sites.
The unit also includes Microsoft's tools for selling search and display ads across its own sites, as well as Massive, a company Microsoft bought last year for inserting ads within video games, and ScreenTonic, a mobile advertising company Microsoft acquired in May.
Microsoft's online-services group, led by Steve Berkowitz, will continue to focus on expanding the company's audience on sites such as MSN and Live Search and on finding new advertising partnerships such as the one recently announced with the social news site Digg.com.
Johnson and McAndrews would not say how long it could take to integrate their technology or present a united set of tools and options to customers. They also declined to say which measures, besides the growth in online ad revenue, the company will share with investors who want to assess whether the deal is successful.
Google's dominance has come primarily from its prowess at earning revenue from ads placed next to Web search results. Google performed nearly half of all U.S. Web searches in June, Yahoo had about 25 percent, and Microsoft had 13 percent, according to the audience-measurement firm ComScore.
But some analysts see the search-ad market starting to stagnate and think Microsoft's bid for aQuantive, one of a slate of buyouts in the sector this spring, indicates a shift in online advertising.
"The next wave of growth is going to be big brands shifting their advertising budgets, still largely invested in newspapers and TV, into the Internet in earnest," said Andrew Frank, an analyst at the Gartner research group.
Those marketers will be looking for much more than text links. Microsoft, with aQuantive, and Google, with its proposed $3.1 billion buyout of online ad company DoubleClick, are jockeying to put together a broad range of offerings from multimedia and display ads to mobile, video, Internet television and video games.
Analysts and online advertising players say Microsoft must get more people to visit its Web sites and beef up technology that helps marketers target advertising while at the same time protecting Web surfers' personal information. The company will also have to provide tools that allow marketers to interpret a huge amount of information about how Web surfers interacted with the ads to see if their money was well-spent.
Some question whether Microsoft can divert enough focus from the software and entertainment businesses to succeed as an online advertising company.
Youssef Squali, an analyst at Jefferies & Co., recalls how Microsoft executives were talking about becoming an advertising powerhouse in 2004. "Three years later, they've not been able to move the needle," he said. "Search -- they have lost a fair amount of market share and they're not really getting much traction."
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Microsoft completed its $6 billion buyout of digital marketing company aQuantive yesterday and now plans to challenge Yahoo and Google in the online advertising business.
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Picture Becomes Clearer At Ball State, and It's Not Pretty
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There are people at Ball State who want you to believe everything that went wrong is Ronny Thompson's fault. They tell folks Thompson is arrogant and distant and a bad basketball coach. They tell you Thompson didn't extend himself to the booster club. They point to a new black coach as indication that everything's hunky-dory on campus and that Thompson's claims of a racially hostile environment are bogus, despite the coach's photos of hateful signs laying on the floor of what used to be his office.
What they don't tell you is that the Ball State athletic program was already dealing with a selling-books-for-profit scandal that suggested to the NCAA a lack of institutional control and took place long before Ronny Thompson was hired. Some of these same Ball State people aren't forthcoming with the fact that the basketball team had only five players when Thompson arrived and was told by his boss to pass on cocktail parties and concentrate on recruiting. They don't tell you that they didn't even have basketballs for practice or that the players weren't going to class.
They don't tell you Ronny's wife was so worried about the expression of racial hostility that she put her two children in the car and drove from the Ball State campus in Muncie, Ind., to Chicago. They don't tell you that Thompson and his attorney allege the violation of federal civil rights laws, state civil rights laws and the school's own equal employment opportunity policies.
And they certainly don't tell you that Thompson, at the insistence of his suspicious pop, Big John, kept a detailed diary of every meeting and phone call, with quotes, notes, times and supporting e-mails. He has photos, tape recordings and memos that he shared on a recent afternoon while telling his story.
Thompson resigned as coach of the Ball State basketball team on July 12. School officials have not specified why he resigned, and JoAnn M. Gora, the school's president, and Tom Collins, its athletic director, said last week that Thompson would still have his job had he not stepped down. They said they were no longer focusing on secondary violations Thompson and his assistants allegedly committed, specifically being in the gym and in the weight room during times coaches are not allowed to be there. Thompson said he was identified, if you will, by a student who said it was a "tall black man" with a bald head in the gym, as if that doesn't describe probably 250 men on campus. Thompson says categorically he was not in the gym at the time.
Thompson said that in his resignation letter to Gora last month he reiterated the serious concern he spoke of with her only a month earlier when he said: "My decision to leave is not one of my own volition, but due to the intolerable circumstances created by the university. I consider my leaving to be termination without cause. . . . The racially hostile work environment combined with harassment by several members of the administration, including my supervisors, has made a continuing working relationship untenable."
In a June 2 letter to Gora, Thompson says he was told by the school's compliance director that an assistant athletic director uttered "several derogatory comments about black people in general . . . and used the n-word more than once in this conversation. . . . This conduct is outrageous and is in clear violation of the university's EEO policy and non-harassment policy."
Thompson says he was told of the racial slur by the school's athletic compliance director, Kyle Brennan, and that it was Brennan who first tipped him off that he should get an attorney. Brennan, since, has not spoken up on Thompson's behalf or about this episode.
Thompson holds on to every piece of correspondence, fighting what he says is a "systematic attempt to discredit me and my staff." On a recent day in attorney Matthew Keiser's office at Arnold & Porter in the District, Thompson said: "We're asking for an external, independent and public review of everything I have. The university balked . . . "
Gora told The Washington Post last week that Thompson was overwhelmed as a head coach. Sports boosters said he was aloof and cold. The boosters also tell a story of Thompson showing up two hours late to a school golf outing, not mentioning that Thompson was called to a mandatory meeting by his athletic director and compliance director, a meeting on which he took notes extensively.
Thompson told his own story the other day. "I was told when I was hired," he said, "to 'get the program in order.' I had five players when I got there in April. I was told to forget speeches and boosters. . . . They're trying to paint me as some antisocial man without personality, like I wanted to be holed and the athletic director had to instruct me to be nice. That's not me, and has never been me.
"They did want open practices, and I said, 'No.' There had been no coach for 2 1/2 months," Thompson said. "There was no order . . . We're talking about starting a program at ground zero. . . . The first order of business for a coach doing that is to get out on the road and recruit. It was a Division I program with no basketballs. I called [Georgetown Coach John Thompson III] and asked him to send me some balls. There were no jump ropes, no workout gear, no shoes, nothing . . . I'm talking nothing . . . like number two Boys Club on North Capitol. I drove to a store and bought basketballs."
And there was the book scandal that had caused a major NCAA investigation, with student-athletes selling books for cash. Thompson is convinced the school looked aggressively for secondary violations to report to demonstrate to the NCAA that school officials were vigilantly cleaning up their act.
Later, the school alleged that an assistant coach, Steve Flint, was said to be in the weight room, another secondary violation. Just like the report that he had been in the gym, Thompson says, this, too, is untrue. Even worse, Thompson says Collins said to him, " 'Why don't you just get the white coach [Flint] to admit he was there in the weight room and there won't have to be an investigation . . . there'll just be a slap on the wrist.' I asked him, 'What's a slap on the wrist?' And he told me [Flint] would have to be suspended 30 days without pay, or be removed from the road recruiting, or not receive a pay raise.
"In other words, it was, 'Take the hit and sweep this under the rug so the NCAA will leave us alone as we try to bring closure to [the books scandal]. Go along with us, throw the white guy under the bus.' If we admitted to a secondary violation, fine, but if we didn't there would have to be a full-blown investigation."
Thompson said no, he wouldn't go along. And while thankful of the support from a lot of people at Ball State, he's disappointed that Brennan didn't report the racial slurs to the school president and the NCAA.
Tony Proudfoot, Ball State's associate vice president for communications, told The Post's Eric Prisbell yesterday that the university has taken all of Thompson's concerns seriously and that "anything Coach Thompson identified as a workplace concern we are examining because we want to be a welcoming environment for all people." Proudfoot said two faculty members with expertise in workplace climate assessment are examining whether the incident involving the racially charged notes was isolated. University police are investigating the source of the notes.
Oh, there's one more thing. Thompson said his recruiting trips produced what has been described as a top 35 recruiting class, and the No. 4 recruiting class by a non-BCS school. It's too bad for the school and for Ronny Thompson he won't be there to coach them.
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Ronnie Thompson described a racially hostile atmosphere and a relationship of mistrust with school officials as reasons he resigned from Ball State.
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Singh Defends Nuclear Deal
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NEW DELHI, Aug. 13 -- Amid angry protests from lawmakers, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured the nation Monday that India was free to conduct nuclear tests and that its nuclear weapons program would remain untouched under a controversial nuclear energy deal with the United States.
Singh defended the historic agreement during a speech in Parliament, even as opposition members stormed the floor of the chamber shouting, "Take back the nuclear deal!" The prime minister assured lawmakers that India's sovereignty had not been compromised and that many of the country's concerns had been addressed during earlier negotiations with the United States.
The government has never "shied away from a full discussion in Parliament on this important issue," Singh said.
Known as the "1-2-3 agreement," the nuclear deal has been bitterly opposed by parties inside and outside Singh's coalition government. Since the text of the deal was released earlier this month, it has been the source of a war of words between Singh and a bloc of coalition partners -- including Communist and other leftist parties -- that provide crucial support to the government and are suspicious of ties with the United States. The bloc has called for a renegotiation of the deal and for a constitutional amendment that would require a parliamentary nod to such international agreements in the future.
Announced in July 2005, the nuclear deal has been controversial both in the United States and in India. It has been criticized in the United States because it offers nuclear fuel and technology to a country that has not signed any nonproliferation treaties; in India, lawmakers and others see it as giving the United States undue influence over a strategic national asset.
The future of the deal is not in jeopardy because it does not require Parliament's approval. Still, Singh has reacted defiantly to the criticism, saying in an interview published Saturday in the Kolkata-based Telegraph newspaper: "It is an honorable deal, the cabinet has approved it, we cannot go back on it. I told them [lawmakers] to do whatever they want to do, if they want to withdraw support, so be it."
In his speech Monday, Singh said the deal protected India's right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel that originated in the United States. "It would also include development of a strategic reserve of nuclear fuel to guard against any disruption of supply over the lifetime of our reactors," he said.
India conducted a nuclear test in 1998 under the rule of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which also initiated the strategic partnership dialogue with the United States. Though party members have criticized the deal, analysts say their opposition is merely tactical.
Singh ended Monday's speech on a reflective note.
"I am neither given to exaggeration nor am I known to be self-congratulatory," he said.
"I will let history judge. I will let posterity judge the value of what we have done through this agreement. It is another step in our journey to regain our due place in global councils."
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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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Half an Hour for Health
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Couch potatoes, start your engines.
For those who can't seem to get the recommended 60 to 90 minutes of daily physical activity, new guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association have just set the bar lower.
The groups recommend 30 minutes of brisk walking -- or similar moderately intensive physical activity -- five times per week for adults. If you're willing to do a higher-intensity workout -- jogging, for example -- you can get by with 20 minutes three times a week. Those amounts are enough to reap major health benefits, according to the guidelines, which also advise that adults lift weights at least twice a week.
If that advice sounds familiar, you're right. It's almost identical to guidelines issued in 1995 by ACSM and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Confused? You're not alone. Exercise researchers have debated the subject for more than a decade -- and the new guidelines are intended clarify what seems like conflicting advice.
Here are some questions you might find yourself asking about the latest guidelines:
Wow! I might be able to fit in those 30 minutes of exercise, but what happened to the 60 to 90 minutes of activity? That's still the level of exercise recommended by both the 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines and by the Institute of Medicine, but it was set to help people control their weight. There's good evidence from the National Weight Control Registry -- a group of several thousand "successful losers" -- that at least an hour a day of activity is needed for weight loss and weight maintenance. But for other health benefits, the new -- that is to say, the old -- 30-minute standard seems to do the trick.
"That's the bottom line," says Steven N. Blair, a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina and co-chair of the committee that drafted the latest guidelines. "This is the amount of activity that provides really substantial health benefits."
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Couch potatoes, start your engines. For those who can't seem to get the recommended 60 to 90 minutes of daily physical activity, new guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American Heart Association have just set the bar lower. How low? The groups recommend 30 minu...
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Getting Over It
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Let's be clear: Even the most debilitating phobia pales in comparison with the horror and suffering people experienced when the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed in Minneapolis on Aug. 1.
Still, for those who suffer travel-related fears, that event may have added an unwelcome wrinkle to their vacation plans. The dread of driving over bridges (or through tunnels or of flying) suddenly took a detour from irrational to grimly reasonable.
Whether the Minnesota bridge collapse revived your latent fear or sparked new apprehension, you might need help dragging yourself through your next trip.
Here are some tips for overcoming your travel anxieties from Jean Ratner, co-director of the Center for Travel Anxiety in Bethesda, and Jerilyn Ross, head of the Ross Center for Anxiety & Related Disorders in the District. Many require advance practice, so get started soon.
1. Avoid media overload. Ross says, "It's important to recognize that part of what makes this so awful is the dramatic nature of what happened" and the subsequent deluge of graphic images and frightening descriptions of the bridge collapse by survivors. "That sensory overload leads to anxiety," she says.
2. Control your breathing. Ratner says that a typical behavior during an anxiety attack is to stop breathing or to breathe too rapidly, either of which can make you feel weak, clammy and panicky. Before you travel, she suggests, "work out a specific breathing pattern, and practice it so it becomes an automatic reflex." Concentrating on the rhythm of your breath, she says, allows the mind to be fully occupied by something other than fear. "It's really doable," she says.
3. Stop your thoughts."You can teach your brain not to run off with a frightening thought," Ratner says. Practicing "thought-stopping" before you leave home allows you to "shift away from scary thoughts, stop the irrational, scary thought."
Ratner has patients develop a "definite thought pattern that you're definitely going to think" while crossing a bridge or taking off from the runway. "It can be as simple as counting to 8, repetitively, over and over again," she says. Other thought-stoppers: playing music, tapping out a rhythm on the steering wheel and, better yet, singing along with music. Added benefit: "It keeps you breathing," Ratner notes.
4. Keep your eyes on the road. People afraid of driving across bridges might have an easier time crossing if they "keep their eyes right ahead, on the road, instead of looking way up or way out," Ratner offers. "Just think of it as a road," she says.
5. Hang in there till we know more."Right now it feels like Russian roulette, with apparently thousands of bridges in the same condition" as the one that collapsed, Ross says. In the near future, she says, we should benefit from a clear explanation from engineers of what went wrong and assurances from the government that similar problems elsewhere are being swiftly addressed. "People's fears are usually allayed when they feel like they have some control," Ross adds. "Information gives people a sense of control of their destiny."
6. Take your own advice. People with phobias are typically well-read, bright and creative, Ratner says. So, when faced with a scary situation, she suggests they ask themselves, "What would I tell a friend who has this fear or difficulty?"
The answer is usually pretty useful, she says.
7. Take action. Ross notes that in the face of fear, "people want to feel they can do something." In this case, she suggests, there's plenty to do: "Write members of Congress, speak out about transportation system safety and the allocation of funds." Doing so, she says, may give you "some sense of control."
8. Weigh the odds. Ross observes that, tragic as the bridge catastrophe was, it was an isolated instance. "More people die driving to and from bridges every day than have died in bridge collapses in our entire history," she notes. "When we talk about anxiety, we talk about possibility versus probability," she explains. In anticipating another bridge collapse, she figures, "yes, it could happen, but it's highly unlikely."
9. Get on with your life."Unless you want to be a total recluse, you have to look at the odds, put it in perspective, and do what you can to get on with your life," Ross suggests.
Ross and Ratner emphasize that people with severe phobias won't benefit from a list of tips in the newspaper. A therapist can coach a true travel-phobe through his fears, using techniques such as gradual desensitization (exposing the patient to the thing feared a little bit at a time so he builds tolerance) and teaching self-calming and controlled breathing skills.
Some with severe cases may need medication, specifically benzodiazapines such as Klonopin and Ativan, Ratner says. But a doctor has to help establish the right dose, she notes, "enough to help, but not enough to sedate" if the patient's going to be driving.
Ratner doesn't expect a huge influx of new patients -- at least, not yet. In fact, now might be a good time for travel-phobia therapists to take a vacation of their own.
"I won't hear from people badly frightened by this bridge collapse until early next spring," Ratner says. "When there's a touch of that reality, people say, 'I'm not going to work on this [fear]. I'm going to get where I need to by another means.' But when people are hurt enough by avoiding, and they get the reassurance that no more bridges have collapsed, they may decide they need to work on it." But that, Ratner predicts, won't happen for several months. ·
Jennifer Huget is a regular contributor to the Health section. Comments:health@washpost.com.
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Let's be clear: Even the most debilitating phobia pales in comparison with the horror and suffering people experienced when the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed in Minneapolis on Aug. 1.
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Attack Ads You'll Be Seeing
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Here's an emerging line of attack you can expect to hear more of in the 2008 congressional campaigns -- especially if you live near a vulnerable Democratic incumbent: Democrats vote to give welfare benefits to illegal aliens.
Or, even better: Democrats vote to take benefits away from deserving senior citizens to pay for welfare for illegal aliens.
Ugly? Absolutely. Devastating? So Republicans hope. True? No.
Bashing Democrats on immigration -- accusing them of doing everything but carrying illegals' luggage across the border -- is a GOP mainstay. But the accusations that Republicans started to peddle last week reached a new low in dishonest nativism.
The first salvo involved the House version of the measure to extend the children's health insurance plan, SCHIP.
"What we do is take, at the cost of seniors who get . . . choices of their own health-care plans, we take it away," former speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) claimed during the House debate. "We wipe it out, and we give it to people who are illegal aliens."
"That bill, if it becomes law, would take $197 billion out of the Medicare trust fund, from our seniors, to give to illegal aliens," charged Rep. Ron Lewis (R-Ky.).
Leave aside the inflated numbers. Leave aside the scare talk about "our seniors." (AARP, the seniors' lobby, supports the bill.)
The provision at issue would repeal a 2006 requirement that everyone applying for Medicaid provide proof of citizenship -- passports or original birth certificates. That might sound sensible, but it has been a cumbersome, expensive solution to a non-problem.
In 2005, when he was overseeing the Medicaid program for the Bush administration, Mark McClellan noted that an inspector general's investigation did "not find particular problems regarding false allegations of citizenship, nor are we aware of any."
Because many Medicaid applicants don't have such papers easily at hand -- they're not the passport-carrying types -- the requirement has resulted in tens of thousands of eligible children being denied coverage or kicked off the rolls and has cost states millions of dollars to administer.
In Virginia, for instance, during the first nine months of implementation, the state's Medicaid rolls fell by 11,000 children -- even as the number of children enrolled in SCHIP, the parallel program for children in families earning slightly more, continued to rise. The impact wasn't on Hispanic children, whose families tend to have documents available and whose enrollment numbers continued to increase, but on white and African American children.
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Here's an emerging line of attack you can expect to hear more of in the 2008 congressional campaigns -- especially if you live near a vulnerable Democratic incumbent: Democrats vote to give welfare benefits to illegal aliens.
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Countdown to Beijing
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One year from today, Beijing will host the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Summer Olympics. For two weeks we will be treated to athletic performances that animate dreams and inspire the world, set against the backdrop of one of the world's most ancient and celebrated civilizations. That, at least, is the way Beijing would like to sell the Games. For better or worse, they will mark a critical crossroads in China's development as a responsible global player.
The Olympics have historically been a political event. Fascist and communist regimes tried to use the Games in Berlin in 1936 and Helsinki in 1952 to demonstrate the superiority of their political and social systems. The U.S. and Soviet boycotts of the 1980 (Moscow) and 1984 (Los Angeles) Olympics, respectively, were hardly the first time the Games were used politically. Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon did not participate in 1956 (Melbourne) because of the Suez crisis; Germany was banned from the 1920 Games for its actions in World War I; and South Africa faced bans because of its apartheid policy, to cite a few examples.
Moreover, this will be only the third time since 1896 that the Summer Games are held in Asia, where a tradition of sports diplomacy is arguably more prominent than in other regions. Not only did a ping-pong ball play a key role in Sino-American rapprochement, but the two Koreas have promoted reconciliation by fielding united sports teams, and beating Japan in sports has long been viewed as requital for its historical aggressions.
When the world's most populous country hosts the biggest sporting event around, it is about more than sports. China will seek to portray the Games as Beijing's coming-out party, showcasing its rapid economic growth and prosperity, as the 1988 (Seoul) Games did for South Korea. Beijing has been transformed in preparation -- from building a new airport to razing traditional "hutong" neighborhoods. A million cars will be banned from the city and 200 million trees will have been planted to absorb carbon dioxide. Just as the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 closed the book on wartime Japan, the Beijing Games will end China's past century as the "sick man" of Asia and open a new chapter as a modern, advanced nation. The symbolism of China's first astronaut in space carrying the Beijing Olympic banner could not have been a stronger statement of the nation's aspirations.
The Olympics, however, are generating pressures on the regime to change its behavior, not just its image. Beijing must find a way to join its controlled and closed political system with the classical liberal ideals of individualism, open competition and respect for human dignity embodied in the Olympics. It will also have to deal with intense international scrutiny of its behavior by journalists, nongovernmental organizations and socially responsible corporate actors.
It is hard to imagine sweeping changes in China along the lines of what took place in South Korea, where the 1988 Games played a key role in the authoritarian government's decision to relent to democratization pressures. Recent Chinese cooperation on North Korea, Iran and even climate issues are directly related to Chinese national interests, not an embrace of Olympic ideals. Movement on trade, currency reform and product safety would reflect Beijing's interests in avoiding trade wars.
The test of whether the Olympics change China will come over human rights and responsible foreign policy, particularly in Africa. China has felt the pressure -- and responded by releasing a prominent democracy activist shortly before the International Olympic Committee awarded Beijing the Games. It has also, for the first time, codified the state's constitutional responsibility to safeguard and respect human rights. These are encouraging steps.
China's Africa policy has come under scrutiny as it continues to sell arms and buy oil from the Sudanese government without attempting to stop the genocide in Darfur. Despite protesting attempts to link Chinese behavior in Darfur with corporate and institutional participation in the Games, China is quietly making changes. It did not block a U.S.-sponsored U.N. resolution calling for sanctions on Sudan's oil industry, it appointed a special envoy for Darfur in May, and it backed the third phase of the Darfur peace plan and an African Union-U.N. peacekeeping force.
The question is: Will the 2008 Games be like the 1936 Games in Berlin, where the goal was to validate a flawed domestic system before the world? Or, in the coming year, will we see whether Beijing is ready to mark the Games as a watershed for China's constructive role in the community of nations?
The writer, a professor at Georgetown University, was a White House Asia adviser from 2004 to 2007. He is the author of the forthcoming book "Sports Diplomacy in Asia and the Beijing Olympics."
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One year from today, Beijing will host the opening ceremonies for the 2008 Summer Olympics. For two weeks we will be treated to athletic performances that animate dreams and inspire the world, set against the backdrop of one of the world's most ancient and celebrated civilizations. That, at leas...
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The Washington Nationals
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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: Wow. Greetings from San Francisco, where the big news last night is the Nationals' 8-6 victory over the Giants. Did you see all those highlights of the homers by Felipe Lopez, Austin Kearns and Brian Schneider -- not to mention Lopez's go-ahead double in the top of the eighth, the key hit in a four-run rally -- all over TV last night?
Alas, the Nationals were a footnote nationally to Barry Bonds's 756th. Since I was there for it all -- Bonds's crushing of a 3-2 fastball from Mike Bacsik -- as well as the Nats' seventh win in eight games, we can talk about whatever you want. Thanks for stopping by.
Detroit: Barry Bonds fans are delusional, ignorant, plain stupid or all of the above. Not only is there overwhelming circumstantial evidence (please read "Game of Shadows"), but you would have to be blind to the physical evidence that he used steroids. The freakish growth of Bonds' body parts in his years with the Giants: from size 42 to a size 52 jersey; from size 10 1/2 to size 13 cleats; and from a size 7 1/8 to size 7 1/4 cap, even though he had taken to shaving his head. Medical experts said overuse of human growth hormone could cause an adult's extremities to begin growing, aping the symptoms of the glandular disorder acromegaly. Note to Bond defenders, it is physically impossible for your head to grow that much, unless you are taking steroids. And to all those saying he never failed a drug test -- the sole purpose of Balco was to create steroids that were UNDETECTABLE, plus MLB did not institute a real drug testing program (with penalties) until 2004.
Barry Svrluga: This is definitely a HUGE part of the backdrop to last night's events, and one reason why I find the reaction in San Francisco so remarkable. The guy's every move was cheered here over the past two days. This is an educated city, right? Perhaps the segment of folks from here who believe Bonds cheated just decided to stay away and leave the park to the believers.
Bonds Bomb: Was it really as cool and exciting to be there in person as I think it would be?
Barry Svrluga: And, then, there is this. In the moment, yes, it was absolutely cool, and I had one of the best seats in the house. The whole scene -- the no-doubt homer, watching Bacsik's reaction, watching Bonds thrust his arms in the air in relief as much as triumph, watching Brian Schneider take a knee and drink in Bonds's speech -- was amazing. It might be tainted history, but it's history nonetheless, and I felt privileged to be there.
Harpers Ferry, W.V.: After reading your article this morning on Bacsik you almost get the feeling he wanted to be the guy to give up the homer to Bonds. Think he grooved one?
Barry Svrluga: You know, I can't say this didn't cross my mind. I was joking with Manny Acta as far back as last week that Bacsik would be the perfect person to give it up because he appreciates the history of the game, seems to have the ability to shrug things off, is articulate and not overly serious, etc. Acta brought that up to me yesterday pregame, saying, "All you want is a good story." Which, of course, is true.
But one reason Bacsik was able to shrug it off last night is because the team came back and won. I think his demeanor would have been different after a loss. These guys are playing good baseball, and they didn't want that to get halted by all the distractions of the chase.
The Pug: Hey Barry. So, besides the first outing in Philly, John Lannan has been a pretty solid pitcher. I'm especially impressed with the way he handled all the home run hype on Monday night. At the same time, I don't think I've seen the kid throw anything over 88. What is he throwing up there and how is he finding success with it?
Barry Svrluga: Lannan is pretty composed, though he's definitely wide-eyed about the whole being-in-the-big leagues thing. He hit 90 with his fastball from where I was sitting, but in talking to scouts, he's definitely not an overpowering guy. Don't expect that. He needs to spot that fastball -- and he throws both a two- and four-seamer -- better than he did the other night, because everything starts from there for him. But he's going to be more of a crafty lefty than a Randy Johnson guy, and while his breaking stuff is decent, he doesn't have that tumbling Barry Zito curve. (How's that working out for Zito these days, by the way?)
Anonymous: First, Bascik and the Nats need to be applauded for handling their "supporting" roles with class as Bonds broke the Home Run Record yesterday. Second (and equally as important), hats off to the Nats in general who have gone 7 for 8! Third, why is Langerhans at .188 (or less) on the roster and Watson at .278 back in the minors? Beyond their relative hitting abilities, isn't Watson a better defensive player and a overall superior athlete (e.g., speed) when compared with Langerhans? What is your take?
Barry Svrluga: In general, you're right: The Nationals' reaction was widely received as classy, etc. I was actually struck by how many of them were excited to be part of the moment. Schneider, Lopez, Nook Logan, etc., all made comments like that (some of which are in my podcast from last night).
Second: Yes, seven of eight is pretty impressive for this bunch, and don't look now but they have caught Florida for fourth place in the NL East. A major accomplishment? No. But find someone who thought they would finish anywhere but last. Just try. (And no, don't look at this typist.)
Langerhans: Actually, he's a better defensive outfielder than Watson. And I think Watson's fate has been determined: He's been let go by this and other organization and is just seen as a slap hitter/stop-gap callup guy.
Mt. Rainier, Md.: It was written that Stan Kasten was "livid" at the snafu that happened with the broadcast of the Nats' game Saturday night. Regardless of who might be held accountable for the problem, do you believe that the Nats front office and/or ownership will make an attempt to re-acquire their TV rights from MASN through the courts? It seems like there are never any similar problems with the Orioles' game broadcasts. Moreover, the present owners of the Nats INHERITED this MASN TV deal. They didn't give their permission to MLB to allow Angelos to set this up.
Barry Svrluga: I asked Kasten about this the next day, and I think part of the reason he was livid -- and he was put-your-hands-over-your-ears-and-hide-the-children mad -- is that there's a stark realization that the Nationals really can't do much about it but stomp their feet. The deal never, ever runs out, though the Nationals' stake in ownership increases gradually to 33 percent (I think that's the right percentage). But I asked Kasten if they could even talk to Angelos about re-aquiring the rights (for a huge sum, no doubt), and he said that chance did not exist.
Annandale, Va.: I had an e-mail exchange with one beat writer that was hoping he would not be at game when Barry broke record. He thought it would be too hectic to write extra stories about that as well as regular game coverage. I thought seeing history would make it worth while.
However, it seems like you guys (and gals) do have a lot to do to get stories filed, then update. Are you glad you were there?
Barry Svrluga: Oh, absolutely glad I was there. Sports writers root for themselves, so you end up hoping for odd things -- that he hits it in his first at-bat so you have more time, that games don't go into extra innings or change at the last minute so you have to blow up your stories, etc.
But after all that, when you pack up and go get an adult beverage and talk about it all -- and how you handled it, and who wrote what, and who noticed what, etc. -- it's pretty darn fun.
Alexandra, Va.: Barry I heard there was a game last night and the Nats won, so why didn't the Post cover that? Who cares about Bonds, he's a cheater. This is the WASHINGTON Post, we want to read about the Nats and when the Nats are tied with another team in the standings we want to see them on top of the other team. Put the Nats ahead of Florida!
Barry Svrluga: Much consternation over this issue. One reality: Even if the Bonds thing hadn't happened, it would've been almost impossible to get game detail into the paper at that late hour. (I am, however, re-writing for the Web, so it could appear there.) But I think if we didn't go heavy on the Bonds stuff, we'd be making a mistake. There are 161 other games to focus on the Nationals, and we do that a lot. But on a night when history was made, I think even the Nationals could smile about their win, but then talk into the night about the seats they had for the show -- and maybe even debate Bonds's legacy a bit.
Check out Felipe Lopez's quote in my story on Bacsik (only appeared online because of the late hour):
"I'm real happy we won, but as far as excitement, that was unbelievable. I had goosebumps. It was awesome."
The standings: That's the way AP moves them, in alphabetical order.
Silver Spring, Md.: That another team should own the Nats' broadcast rights is preposterous.
When MLB gets a commissioner again, one of that individual's first tasks will have to be to ease Angelos out the door and clean up after his mess.
Barry Svrluga: Indeed, the MASN deal will forever limit the Nationals' ability to generate revenue from TV.
Arlington, Va.: The Nats are currently 26 out of 30 MLB teams in attendance, averaging a little under 24K per game. Shouldn't the Nats management be a little nervous? Despite the bad start, the Nats are playing good ball and should be drawing more. Sure there will be a bump next year with the new ballpark, but what happens after that?
Barry Svrluga: This is a key, key question, and one of the reasons I keep saying (and I'm sorry to those of you who are tired of hearing this) that the key season for this franchise is 2009. Next year, curiosity, etc., will draw some folks to the new ballpark. But the Nationals can't be cavalier and think people will just come. They're proving that at RFK, and the fact that the season ticket base dropped from 22,000 in 2005 to 15,000-something in 2007 has to be alarming. Has to be, and don't let anyone tell you differently.
There are also lots of questions about the club's marketing operation and what direction it'll head as the team goes into the new ballpark. There are lots of people in the marketing department who have experience in the NBA and NHL, but not baseball, and I know there are some people -- both internally and externally -- who wonder if they understand the differences (some subtle, some not-so) between baseball fans and fans of other sports.
It'll be a fascinating couple of years.
Baltimore, Md.: Was Frank Robinson there last night? If so, did he make any remarks concerning 756?
Barry Svrluga: Yes, Frank was here last night representing MLB. He did not make any public remarks that I know of, though he did congratulate Bonds in person on behalf of Selig, et al.
I talked to Frank Monday night and wrote a notebook about it. I have some suspicions about his true feelings, but he said point-blank, "You put your personal feelings aside."
Washington, D.C.: Do not the Nats get a reasonable if not sweet sum annually from MASN/Angelos from this deal? I mean, it's not totally a losing proposition for them.
Barry Svrluga: Right. They got $21 million the first season, and it goes up year by year, as well as an increased ownership stake. So if baseball is a flop here and the ratings are bad and no one watches, then they're still assured of some income from TV.
But if you're betting on baseball to be a success -- and you don't spend $450 million on a team if you think it can't work -- then it's disappointing to have a major revenue stream limited in any way.
Falls Church, Va.: My wife pointed out that "Rauch" translates to "Smoke" in German. So ever since, she's nicknamed him Smoky. I think it's a great nickname considering he actually has such a good fastball. This team needs more nicknames!
Barry Svrluga: I think you're right about the nicknames. Even the guys in the clubhouse seem to call each other by morphed versions of their own names -- Zimmy, Schneid, Churchy, Lopey, Belly (which, come to think of it, is appropriate). No "Captial Punishers" yet.
Giants: Barry, is anybody in San Francisco talking about how bad the Giants are? The Nats were supposed to be historically bad this season, but they have a better record than the Giants. The Royals have a better record than the Giants, too, with better young players. Besides Lincecum and Cain and Lowry, what the hell do the Giants have? A bunch of creaky old men, many of them (Aurilia, Roberts, Durham, Klesko) who are horribly overpaid? The team is bad and the farm system stinks. Go Giants!
Barry Svrluga: This is a really good point. Dave Sheinin, who has been at every Giants game since July 19, I believe, told me when I came to town that I wouldn't believe how bad the Giants are. Lots of old players with immovable contracts, etc. GM Brian Sabean had his contract extended for two years, and it's with the understanding that it's to rebuild. But other than the young pitchers -- and Lincecum and Cain are good enough to build a team around -- this team has nothing in the pipeline. The Nationals, I would say, are much further along toward being a good team.
Farragut North: How could there be $13 outfield tickets still available for that game?
Barry Svrluga: Pretty amazing, huh? And the dude that caught the ball was basically on a layover while heading to Australia. Wow.
1500 AM: What about radio? The Braves have an amazing list of radio affiliates, the Nats not so much. Does that generate any income? Has Kasten put any effort into building a radio network? Will he?
Barry Svrluga: Good point, and that's part of building a fan base. You want to have affiliates at the Delaware beaches and the Eastern Shore and all that so folks can keep in touch when they're on vacation, etc.
How much revenue it generates is an interesting question, and the Nationals are currently trying to figure out what to do about next year's broadcasts. The contract -- a one-year deal -- with Washington Post Radio (and Bonneville, its owner) is up after this season, and there's some debate about how to handle it. The Nationals are not going to land a huge rights fee like the Redskins did all those years ago, so there's some discussion about going back to a place like Post radio (which has a good signal) for a small fee and then selling the advertising inventory themselves, generating money that way.
I'll check in on this as the season gets closer to being over.
Role Model: Was Oscar Madison one of your role models?
Chicago: Agree that the MASN deal stinks, but Lerner et al knew all about it when they bought the team, so their outrage seems a little late in coming.
Did they adjust their bid for the team once MLB cut that deal? Did they make any effort to renegotiate or rescind it when they were trying to buy the team? Thanks.
Barry Svrluga: The outrage is more about the screwups in the broadcast. Yes, they went into this thing with eyes wide open, but I do think it's reasonable that they should expect that if they're told a game is going to be on a certain station, it should be on that certain station.
Arlington, Va.: Does Sheinin get to go home now?
Barry Svrluga: Not quite. He's going to stay today to write a "follow" on the whole thing and catch the red eye home, where he will presumably re-introduce himself to his wife and 10-month-old daughter.
I know I should have directed this toward your colleague Dave, but it would be nice if in The Washington Post there could be some acknowledgment by the national baseball correspondent of how well the Nats are doing relative to how they were picked to do. In the most recent Sunday baseball page, Sheinin only offers negative reflections on the lack of a trade at the deadline, the signing of Young, and the no-name character of the Nats' pitching staff. Especially in a week that had so much to celebrate, couldn't there be some recognition of this team's resilience and effort, not to mention the fact that (at least in the eyes of the "experts") the team has overachieved?
Barry Svrluga: Believe me, Sheinin understands all that, and I think one of the best parts about the Nationals being the team that ended the Bonds chase is a bunch of national ball writers got to see the team in person and look at their stats and hear Jim Bowden talking about how they're 43-36 since May 11, etc.
The Young deal, in particular, mystifies a lot of people. When I've explained the rationale on Belliard -- that at $3.5 million he can be a bargain as a starter or an invaluable bench guy -- they understand. But unless Nick Johnson's career is over (and no one has said it is), then people are scratching their heads on that one a bit.
State of confusion: Barry, Your coverage of John Patterson's return was very brief. However, Howard Fendrich of the AP wrote a much longer piece which appeared in many small newspapers across the country and included an expanded quote from Jim Bowden, very favorable to Patterson, and a quote from Manny Acta. I am wondering why we have to go outside the D.C. area to get complete coverage of our Nationals. Shouldn't our hometown newspapers, the Post and the Times, give us this coverage? Surely you must have had the same information that the AP writer had??? And please don't cite space limitations -- you could have put it online in the Journal. What gives?
Barry Svrluga: My good friend Howard does a nice job, no? Read his stuff on tennis.
But I believe I had plenty from Bowden on the topic. Here's what ran:
"We want a healthy John Patterson on the mound," Bowden said. "The good news is that he's making progress medically."
Bowden also defended his Opening Day starter, who has come under some scrutiny in his own clubhouse and in the media because of his inability to overcome the injuries.
"When you're a player and you're hurt, it's not your fault, and you tend to be criticized by the media and by fans and people questioning," Bowden said. "Well, you can't help it when you're physically unable to perform. And certainly he'd like to do his talking about pitching."
Could be Metro chaos come Sept. 23.
Do you think the Lerners are a little annoyed that the NFL scheduled a Redskins home game (Giants at 4:15) the same day as the last Baseball game at RFK (Phillies at 1:35)?
Barry Svrluga: It happened in 2005, too, the last day of the season. Not much can be done. The cunning fan will come watch some of the last baseball game at RFK, then hop back on the Metro and take the blue line out to Landover.
Section 213, Row 12: For all the Bonds haters out there. Take a moment, sit back, and enjoy what he has accomplished. I expect that as you all age and mellow, you'll look back and realize that you didn't appreciate the moment as it happened as much as you should have.
As for me, I'm not a Bonds apologist. I believe that Bonds took steroids, HGH, or other banned substances. But so did lots of other players. And lots of pitchers too were juiced. Not too mention all of the scuffers, cutters, and pine-tar applying pitchers out there; they cheated too. Gaylord Perry wrote a how-to book on throwing the spitter; he's in the HOF.
Barry Svrluga: There are those who believe that in a cheaters' era, you still have to appreciate the guy's ability.
Sports Journalist to Team Official: Serious question. Do you know of any baseball beat writer ever being hired by the team they covered as a consultant? You guys have incredible knowledge and a unique perspective on the team you cover that I think a team's management could benefit from, at least for a while.
Barry Svrluga: That sound you hear is Stan Kasten laughing from the bottom of his gut.
Seriously: There is one instance that I know of where a guy did this. Chris Snow was the Red Sox beat writer for The Boston Globe until midway through last season, but his previous job was covering the Minnesota Wild for the Minneapolis Star-Tribune. He caught the attention of the Wild GM as a bright young guy, and they hired him to be the director of hockey operations, I think. (Snow went to Syracuse with our own, brilliant Eli Saslow of the Post.)
But really, our jobs are much different. Most of us are storytellers, not businessmen or scouts.
OK, Stan. That's enough. Really. Stop laughing.
Arlington, Va.: Two words -Anti-Trust exemption
If the Nats ever wanted to get their rights back, all anyone would ever have to do is have the anti-trust exemption removed. Whether the Nats themselves would do this is probably a no, but it's clear baseball is a business and this law should be revoked. If it was revoked, it would be a clear example of a trust, and Angelos would have to give up the rights.
Another example of baseball hurting the new team here in D.C.
Barry Svrluga: I think you could find lots of people who would agree with that take.
Bacsik: Barry: There is no more overstated claim that somehow the pitcher who gives up a record-setting homer is scarred by this. Does anybody even remember who McGwire hit number 62 off of? I don't. Bacsik has nothing to worry about from history. He does have to worry about throwing strikes, however.
Barry Svrluga: I agree on this, and I think Bacsik had the right attitude. He said the other day, even before he gave it up, "Maybe me and Al Downing can do card shows together." Funny guy with the right perspective who had the national media fawning over him last night.
yang sing: Barry if you haven't eaten at Yang Sing, near the fisherman's warf. You are missing out on the best dim sum in America PERIOD!
That is all. Great coverage and so glad the NATS one, that's what really counts!
Barry Svrluga: Ooh, interesting. I have one dinner in town, though, tomorrow night, and I have my eye on Boulevard, my favorite restaurant here. Big fan of the Slanted Door for Asian food.
McLean, Va.: I was reading the paper this morning, and I saw right there on the front page coverage of the mine collapse in Utah. Don't they realize this is the WASHINGTON Post??
Barry Svrluga: Yeah, and what about that pesky war all the way over in Iraq?!
Thank you, McLean. You don't know how much I appreciate that.
Washington, D.C.: Barry-what's up with all the complainers today? I just want to say, I have NO complaints about you, Dave, or the fact that The Post has the Nats listed underneath FL.
Barry Svrluga: Thanks Mom. 'Preciate you, too.
Svrluga Nation, the world: It's time for some talk about Manny Acta for manager of the year. And if there were an award for assistants, Randy St. Claire would be the unanimous winner. What has gotten missed this season, is how the Nats have improved throughout season. Early in the season, they couldn't even lay down a sac bunt or hit a sac fly. While they aren't perfect, they seem to have gotten the fundamentals down. There are still slip ups, of course (see Logan, Nook and baserunning), but that the players and the team has improved as the season has worn on, is undeniable.
Barry Svrluga: This is an interesting topic. Joe Girardi won the NL manager of the year award for Florida for a team that went 79-83, though they were in the wild card race till late. I think that Acta will absolutely get some votes, and for those who were picking the team to go 42-120, he should get first-place votes.
As to improving: That was one of Acta's points of emphasis. I remember when they were in the midst of an eight-game losing streak earlier in the year, back in May. I was running out of things to ask Acta because his responses were almost always to "Preach and teach, preach and teach." Well, guess what. It just might be working.
San Francisco: I listened to Barry Bonds' post-game press conference and heard him get very testy with ESPN's Pedro Gomez. What was Gomez's question that set him off?
Barry Svrluga: I wasn't in the press conference (had stuff to get in the Nationals' clubhouse), but I believe Pedro asked something about the steroid controversy.
(A big thanks to Pedro for giving me a heads-up yesterday afternoon about the fact that Bacsik's father had faced Aaron when he was at 755. That got me thinking early in the day about calling the elder Bacsik, and he was pretty funny about the topic. So thanks, Pedro.)
I am sick of all the talking heads (some here in the DC area and some nationally) telling me I need to celebrate this record because what Barry did was not against the rules. Three points:
1. In 1991 MLB made it against the rules to use performance enhancing drugs.
2. Its against the law to use performance enhancing drugs. Shouldn't that supersede any CBA. Do the CBAs state its against MLB rules to murder people, etc, etc. Why should this be any different?
3. Barry Bonds has admitted using performance enhancing drugs. Just because he claims he didn't know, doesn't give him a free pass. Do you think I can use this excuse the next time I get pulled over for speeding?- "I'm sorry officer, you caught me doing 70 in a 40 zone, but I didn't know I was going that fast!"
Am I way off on this one????
Barry Svrluga: Wow. I can't believe there'd be that many people saying you need to celebrate.
20003: Barry Bonds owes an enormous debt to Hank Aaron for such a classy move. Aaron's statement really enabled many people to accept the moment much more graciously -- at least for the day or the week or whatever. It also defused what I think would have been a major controversy about Selig's own poorly worded statement, and his related actions (not clapping at 754, sending Frank Robinson who is on record arguing that people shown to have used steroids should not be allowed in the records, scheduling his Mitchell meeting this week).
In fact, it is probably Seling that owes Aaron more than anyone -- so a question, did the Giants really arrange the Aaron video or do you think Bud might have placed that call?
Barry Svrluga: That really was the most striking moment last night, when Aaron came on the screen, and it absolutely moved Bonds.
I think Selig's actions are interesting, too. His statements obviously indicate that he believes Bonds used steroids. More over, I think they indicate that indisputable evidence of that will be made public in time (as if "Game of Shadows" wasn't enough). And I think, when he was in San Diego, he had plenty of advisors saying, "If you clap, and then they prove he cheated, you'll be on film for eternity applauding a cheater." But the hands-in-the-pockets thing was reminiscent of him shrugging his shoulders during that tie All-Star Game in Milwaukee.
Not in Stan's back pocket: but a note to all of those who are bitter we haven't dished out a lot of cash on free agents so far -- how is Zito working out in his $120 million contract? I'd much rather watch our stable of young kids in Vermont right now come through the ranks or use them as trade bait for a real center fielder. Just sayin.
Barry Svrluga: It's a great point. Free agent signings have to be done judiciously.
Section 419:"The standings: That's the way AP moves them, in alphabetical order."
Well, yes, I guess AP does do that. But doesn't the Post have editors who fact-check AP copy and can correct as necessary? Such as bolding 'Washington' and flipping them to the top of tie pairings? Or am I just reading AP's Daily Movement rather than the Washington Post?
This may sound snarky, Barry (probably because it is), but you and others at the Post have often voiced concern about the Nationals' fall in attendance since 2005. Yet the Post never seems to acknowledge that it may (and probably does) have at least a small part in bringing that about. Lots of negative stories in the Post, such as on Opening Day with all of the customer service snafus, yet never any follow-up to see if things are improving or not. What is the average fan (who may also be the average Post reader) to think, based on this? That the old ballpark might actually be a good place to spend an evening? Probably not.
I recall a good bit of positive press about the Nats when they first arrived, to make an even balance with the negative stuff, but not much positive press (aside from some of your writing) this year. Not to say that the Post lies, because you don't. But you do provide a slant, and that slant surely hasn't helped the Nats at the gate, has it? It's the old chicken and egg problem, though: Which came first, poor Nats attendance, or the Post's coverage of the reasons for poor Nats attendance.
Of course, the 35 cent edition has some attendance issues of its own, doesn't it? Would 2009 be the decisive year for the Post, just as it is for the Nats, or are you not even likely to make it that long?
(And no, I'm not Stan Kasten, either. Just a first-year season ticket holder in 2007.)
Barry Svrluga: I would argue that it is our job to make sure things are running as they should for the Nationals. They are about to move into a $611 million stadium for which they did not pay (though the Lerners will add much of their own money, perhaps $50 million, to make it a top-notch place), and they are unlike any other business, something of a privately owned public trust, if that makes any sense.
I would also say that if the concessionaires are selling hot dogs that are actually cooked and people can get their food in a timely manner, this is not news. This may sound snarky, but here's my lede to a story like that:
Jim Smith bit into a hot dog yesterday at RFK Stadium.
"Wow," Smith, 32, of Alexandria, said. "This is warm. It's so good and cooked all the way through."
He then headed to his seat, happy. For the 42nd straight game yesterday, things ran smoothly at RFK Stadium, pleasing customers and Nationals President Stan Kasten alike.
Kasten would tell anyone that fans should expect superior customer service and a superior experience at a Nationals game. Nothing more, nothing less.
Section 422: The guys on the team sure seem to be having a good time. I appreciate that - I'm loving watching them, and like to think they're happy to be here too.
And Manny seems to be contributing to that.
No real question except maybe a "So Barry, are they really having fun?" Just a note that it's really turning out to be a nice season in our little corner of the upper deck.
Oh, except for that pesky broken water fountain right behind our section.
Barry Svrluga: Yeah, they're having fun. There are cliques in this clubhouse just like in any clubhouse, but the environment is much less tense than in years past. That's in part due to the fact that they're playing well. But one reason to keep a guy like Belliard (and even a guy like Young) is because they are good for the environment in there.
Acta, too, has some influence, no doubt.
Annandale, Va.: Wasn't the former Dodger GM Fred Claire a sportswriter first?
Barry Svrluga: Might be true. It happened more back in the day, I think. The Carolina Panthers GM used to be a sports writer for the Washington Times, too.
Washington, D.C.: The hour's almost up, but you haven't given the weekly Nick Johnson update--PLEASE give us some hope that he'll be playing this season!
Barry Svrluga: Wow, really wish I could, but I believe Johnson won't play this season. The window is closing on his opportunity to play in minor league games (they end around Labor Day) for rehabilitation, and he's not going to just go out there.
I think we'd be better off monitoring his progress in the offseason and hoping he comes back healthy in 2008 -- when he can battle with Dmitri Young for the first base job(?).
Burke, Va.: About Belliard and Young: until recently, the Nats had exactly two players hitting over .260.
They signed both of them to short term contracts.
How hard is that to understand?
Barry Svrluga: Yes, some people would agree with that perspective. I have just heard a lot of questioning and raised eyebrows -- particularly on the Young deal, and this is taking nothing away from the huge impact Young has had on this year's team. I mean, the guy could win a batting title. Who had that one in the pool?
RFK Finale:...is now listed as a 12:05 start. I assume they moved it back because of the Redskins.
Barry Svrluga: Interesting. I hadn't noticed, but will check on it. That would make a ton of sense.
D.C.: New chance that we see Wily Mo Pena in a Nats uniform in the next week or so? Is Theo Epstein as anxious to get rid of him as Sox fans are (like my husband, who thought it was fair to the Sox to trade WMP straight up for Ryan Church)?
Barry Svrluga: Just because Pena cleared trade waivers -- which has been reported -- doesn't mean the Sox will trade him. It just means he's available for trade. Would the Nationals sniff around this? Absolutely. But they wouldn't give up much, and I also think they have bigger plans to acquire a power hitting outfielder in the offseason, someone who's actually accomplished something. We'll see.
14th & G, NW: Where do the Nats rank on the sports radar at the Post? Obviously, the Redskins are 1. Are the Nats 2? I think the Wizards could be 2, but I'd put them at #3. I don't think any of the DC area colleges would claim #2.
Barry Svrluga: Not sure what that means. We have beat writers assigned to all those teams -- Redskins, Nats, Wizards, United, Caps, colleges, etc. On any given day, the Redskins rank first, and everyone else falls in line by how newsy they are or what's going on with them or if the beat writer has come up with a good story. There's no meeting where someone says, "The Wizards have now moved to No. 2 on our priority list."
Re: $13 ticket:$13 was the value of the ticket, not necessarily what the guy paid for it. If he bought it "outside the gate." Guaranteed it was from a scalper and guaranteed he paid more than $13.
Barry Svrluga: I believe -- believe -- he bought a standing room only ticket at face value from the Giants.
Solla Sollew, Va.: It's a week later ... still standing by your "buck sez" the Nats won't win 70?
Barry Svrluga: Well, I can't back down from a bet midstream, right?
I do, however, believe they'll win 70 games now. And yes, I was on record before the season as 62-100. As Stan Kasten reminded me the other day: "Wrong!"
He took pleasure in that. I walked away.
Barry Svrluga: Folks, lots of great questions, some of which went unanswered. Thanks for stopping by. Really fun to be there last night, regardless of what anybody thinks of the record-setter.
We'll chat again next week from RFK. Until then, check in at Nationals Journal on post.com and in the $.35 edition. I'll be there.
Washington via Moscow: I am an unemployed former USSR publicity writer who covered sports. I was thinking that some of the folks a complaining about your coverage would prefer me to write about the wonderful attendance, deft baserunning, fine conditioning, and the abundance of #1/#2 starters we see every night at RFK (which does not smell).
Barry Svrluga: Oh, wait. Here's one last one that I think deserved to be published.
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Ask Tom
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In a city loaded with diverse restaurants, from New American chic and upscale Italian to sandwich shops and burritos on the run, finding the best places to eat can be a real puzzle. Where's the best restaurant for a first date or an anniversary? Father's Day? What's the best burger joint? Who has the best service?
Ask Tom. Tom Sietsema, The Washington Post's food critic, is on hand Wednesdays at 11 a.m. ET to answer your questions, listen to your suggestions and even entertain your complaints about Washington dining. Sietsema, a veteran food writer, has sampled the wares and worked as a critic in Washington, Seattle, San Francisco and Milwaukee, and can talk restaurants with the best of 'em. You can access his Postcards from Tom to read his recommendations for other cities, read his dining column, First Bite and the Dish or read transcripts of previous "Ask Tom" chats. Tom's Sunday magazine reviews, as well as his "Ask Tom" column, are available early on the Web.
Tom Sietsema: Good news for fans of mini-burgers and pizza offered under one roof: Matchbox, the Chinatown hotspot, has just signed a lease for a second location, at 521 8th St. SE.
Co-owner Ty Neal says he and his business partners have been "looking for awhile" for another place to feed fans; the "under-served" Capitol Hill neighborhood had always been their goal. (Self-interest? Neal and one other Matchbox partner reside there.)
The new place will have the same menu and hand-built oven as the original. But the owners are asking for your patience: The launch date -- "in a perfect world," jokes Neal -- is at least 9 or 10 months away.
Where do you think I can find the best Gazpacho right now? It's so hot!
Tom Sietsema: Chilled soup is on my mind, too.
In past heat waves, I've had delicious bowls at the Oval Room, where it was made with diced melon and shiso; Poste, where the soup was garnished with Dijon mustard-flavored ice cream; and Cafe du Parc, where the tomato puree is poured over basil oil and pine nuts pre-set in the bowl. I also like the creamy-but-light white gazpacho served at Jaleo.
My friends and I need your help.
Here is the story: In early May, we had an incredible and memorable five hour lunch at Galatoire's in the French Quarter of New Orleans. It combined great food, with great champagne and an even better atmosphere at a relaxed pace. We had multiple courses and appetizers and even a mid meal dessert course. During that event, we mingled with others in the restaurant and came across a table that was there almost as long as us and in talking they told us their story. They were a bunch of high school friends who were now doctors, lawyers, and brokers who met each month at Galatoire's for a lunch to catch up and break away from the monotony and stress of life.
Later during that trip to New Orleans, my friends and I dined on heavenly fried chicken and banana pudding at Fiorella's, close to the French market. After that meal, we decided to start the Fiorella's lunch club here in Washington.
Our inaugural event was 1:30P.M. July 31, 2007 at Michel Richard's, Central. We had a three hour experience with great food, good champagne, and a respectable atmosphere. However, we realized that this may not be the place for these rendezvous' as we were told at 2:30 that we needed to order our entrees NOW and the vacuum cleaner at around 4 o'clock was a hint that maybe dessert was not a great thing to order after all. We spent time speaking with the GM, Brian, who although musically competent, expressed the body language that his restaurant was not the place for our desire of a leisurely dining experience nor offered any advice as to where we might take this show.
So given what I have described, the big question is .Where do you recommend my friends and I take our lunch club to have great food, great champagne, and an even better atmosphere?? Is there a restaurant that would embrace a four to five hour lunch experience? Does this place exist in our Washington world??
Thanks for considering our question.
Tom Sietsema: I bet Taberna del Alabardero, Le Paradou or Vidalia would welcome your business -- and wouldn't mind your lingering.
My question to you: What do you have for dinner after these epic lunches?
Toronto restaurant scene -- urgent!: Hi Tom,
After posting unsuccessfully a couple of weeks ago I desperately hope you pick my question today -- my Toronto trip is this weekend and I have nowhere to eat! Can you please shed light into the restaurant scene there? Low-to-mid budget preferred. ...
Tom Sietsema: You're in luck: I was in Toronto recently. While I don't want to give away too much of my forthcoming Postcard column based on my visit there (Sept. 2/Travel section), I'm happy to steer you to Lai Wah Heen for dim sum; Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar for small plates and the obvious; and Chiado for honest Portiguese cooking.
Washington, D.C.: Bottom line, where can I find the best steak in the area? Forgetting about service, ambience, wine lists, etc. Put simply who serves the best slab of meat?
Tom Sietsema: It's a toss between Carole Greenwood's prime steak at Buck's Fishing & Camping in the District and Michael Landrum's less traditional cuts at Ray's the Steaks in Arlington.
Gotta ask. Was it your dad quoted in the Lake Superior article in the Post? It says Ted Siestema and he is a retiree and smokes a pipe. The name Sietsema is unusual here but maybe more commom in the upper midwest?
Tom Sietsema: My dad's name was Elwin, not Ted, but he did smoke a pipe at one time.
Washington, D.C.: Any word yet on the impending opening of Gillian Clark's new place in Forest Glen? I keep submitting this question hoping you've heard something, but your lack of response tells me you probably haven't. I drive by there on my way home everyday, and it doesn't look like there's much activity ... thanks for any info you can give!
Tom Sietsema: I have no news to share with you (which is why I didn't take your question). But I'm curious, too!
Washington, D.C.: Thanks for taking my question. I was thinking of trying i Ricci during Restaurant Week. Is it worth trying?
Tom Sietsema: Not based on what I've heard from trusted friends who have eaten there recently ...
Houston, Tex.: Tom, can you use your influence to put a moratorium on the phrase "To die for?" I just have trouble imagining that a slice of cheesecake is worth dying for.
Tom Sietsema: Me too. I hate the phrase. You won't ever see it in anything I write -- unless I'm doing a column on phrases that need to, well, die.
Recommendation, please: Hi Tom, I know you hit each restaurant several times as you prepare to write the review, and thus you eat at a lot of restaurants. If you left the business (and I'm NOT suggesting you do) and could eat wherever you wanted, whenever you wanted, do you think you would change your pattern? Where would you go most frequently, or do you think you would eat at home more? Do you have a desire to be a "regular" somewhere? I guess I'm wondering whether you can take the boy out of the reviewing life but you can't take the reviewing life out of the boy!
Also, what metro area restaurant has the best fried chicken?
Tom Sietsema: Funny, I had a similar conversation earlier this week about my desire to push away from the table (a bit) and cook more. I was a food editor in another life and I really miss spending time in the markets and in my own kitchen.
If I were a civilian, I wouldn't feel compelled to travel all over Virginia, Maryland and the city to eat. And I certainly wouldn't bother returning to restaurants that didn't please me right off the bat, because there are too many good places competing for my time and attention. I'd probably pick six or so restaurants that I liked and then cultivate a relationship with the staff -- that's the best way to achieve Regular Diner Status and get the best from a given place.
As for fried chicken, the Hitching Post on Upshur St. NW does a very nice job. Any chatters care to weigh in with their favorite sources?
Fairfax, Va.: A couple months ago, I asked for some advice for where to go for my wife's and my anniversary (you suggested Vermillion over 2 Amys).
I've been meaning to write in for a few weeks since we celebrated about a month ago, but haven't had the time. Anyhow, we took your advice, went to Vermillion, and had a wonderful evening.
I made the reservation through Open Table and mentioned that we would be celebrating and asked for a table near a window. They followed our request and put us upstairs at a window looking out onto the street. They also did some research and found out that the traditional gift for the 13th anniversary is lace (nice touch!).
The meal was delicious and a great deal. We got the four course tasting menu with wine pairings with each course for $75/person. Also, it appears that since your review they have decided to forbid smoking anywhere in the restaurant before 10 p.m.
All in all, thanks for the great advice!
Tom Sietsema: Glad to hear the restaurant is still performing so well. About that lace: was it presented to you or ?
No Time for a Trip to California: And yet I'm craving fish tacos. Can you or the chatters recommend a local place with good to great fish tacos? Thanks!
Tom Sietsema: The last best fish taco I encountered was a $4 model at the new Oyamel in Penn Quarter. Am I missing something greater, I wonder?
Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom, I had lunch yesterday at DC Coast. At the beginning of the meal the server dumped an ice tea all over my blazer and slacks. She said she was sorry and offered me several napkins to dry off. That was it. Do restaurants no longer offer any type of compensation for such things...ie a free dessert or something?
Tom Sietsema: Did you ask for anything, or bring the problem up again? Most restaurants compensate diners for dry-cleaning bills. I'm guessing that in the crush of Restaurant Week, your server simply forgot to check back with you.
Washington, D.C.: Any help with Buenos Aires? Looking for both casual and fine dining; breakfast, lunch and dinner.
washingtonpost.com: Postcard From Tom: Buenos Aires
Tom Sietsema: Ask and you shall receive. I was in BA earlier this year, so the reviews here are still fresh.
Tales from the trenches: What, no Restaurant Week war stories? What's happening -- it's too hot to type in D.C.?
Tom Sietsema: Bring 'em on readers!
Toronto, Canada: Toronto, you're in luck. There's a lot of good food in the city. La Forchette in Little Italy is tasty. Sample things at St. Lawrence Market. Have some chocolate at Soma Chocolate in the Distillery District. Movenpick, while not haute cuisine, is fun. And Tom is definitely right, you'll find some good Portuguese food there. Enjoy!
Tom Sietsema: Ah, thanks for reminding me to list the St. Lawrence market, which is mouth-watering good fun.
Best Fried Chicken: Popeye's. Without a doubt. I get it for parties all the time, and everyone thinks I am a genius.
Tom Sietsema: You take it out of the cartons and plate it, right?
Washington, D.C.: Where would be a good place to celebrate a guy's 30th birthday?
Tom Sietsema: What kind of food does the guy like, and how much does the guy want to spend? (Chatter tip: The more detail I get, the easier it is to answer some of your questions.)
Washington, D.C. : Where is a good restaurant to get excellent Prosciutto and in general is there a restaurant that specializes in cured meats? I went to one in NY and was wondering if we have something similar in D.C. Thank you, Ellen
Tom Sietsema: Gosh, where can you NOT find good cured meats these days? Just about every new restaurant to open around here serves a charcuterie plate. My most recent encounter: the wine-themed Proof in Penn Quarter
Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom, I'm planning to eat at Il Mulino for restaurant week this Saturday. I've heard good things from friend in NYC, but am curious if you've eaten at the one in Washingt yet. Any thoughts?
Tom Sietsema: Here are my thoughts on the subject:
washingtonpost.com: Il Mulino: Style Over Substance ( Post, June 10)
Rockville, Md.: Fish tacos: Taqueria Poblano, by far. $3.95.
I hate Restaurant Week: Reluctantly went to RW week last night as a favor to my husband, whose friends had organized a night out. I normally avoid RW as my first experience left much to be desired. Last night was my 2nd RW experience and let's just say I'm never doing it again. Service was HORRIBLE. Empty plates were left on the table for too long; too much time between courses; small portions; no 2nd drink order. Just not worth it -- would much rather spend the extra money to not have to deal with RW.
Tom Sietsema: And you ate where last night?
Washington, D.C.: Have you tried some of the new restaurants in Columbia Heights yet? I looked at the menu at The Heights, but the best stuff on there looked like Ruby Tuesday fare at twice the price. The other stuff ... well, I didn't love meatloaf before it became "seared wasabi meatloaf."
Tom Sietsema: The Heights has some work to do, I concur.
I had a lovely dinner at D'Acqua last night and ordered the panna cotta for dessert. This might be a strange question, but how unhealthy of a dessert did I select? It was definitely delicious but I felt that the lightness was masking something else... Thanks!
Tom Sietsema: There are all sorts of recipes for panna cotta, a light custard thickened with gelatin. Some use skim milk, some use heavy cream, others use combinations of cream and sour cream. But panna cotta is probably a healthier bet than, say, creme brulee which uses whipping cream, sugar and egg yolks.
I have to thank you for your recommendation for Benoit in Paris, France on your Postcards from Tom last year. My wife and I went there for our honeymoon and really enjoyed the food and atmosphere. Next time we go to Paris we will definitely return there.
We are currently planning a weekend getaway to celebrate our first anniversary in Gettysburg. We plan on staying at a B and B in the country and want to enjoy some of the local fare. Do you or any of your chatters have any recommendations for a romantic place for dinner and some more casual places to enjoy the local atmosphere?
Tom Sietsema: Ah, Benoit is a jewel, isn't it? I'm so glad you enjoyed the restaurant as much as I did.
Gettysburg suggestions, anyone? I've never been there.
Gazpacho: A goodly portion of nice, bright gazpacho can be had at a decent price at Busboys & Poets.
Tom Sietsema: Thanks for the addition to our list. Another chatter suggested the gazpacho with crab at Olives.
I was wondering if your profession ever put you in contact with the late Dennis Getto, and if you'd be willing to share any stories.
Tom Sietsema: Dennis was a (great) colleague of mine at the Milwaukee Journal way back when. I was the food section editor and he was the restaurant reviewer.
I loved his passion for his job (I recall he built his own pizza oven, which he put in his back yard) and admired the connection he had with his readers. He died way too young.
To tip a sommelier?: Tom, what do you consider extra service deserving of a tip?
For example, the other night the restaurant was out of the wine we wanted (an all-too-frequent an annoying occurrence), so he suggested a different wine. We said we would take it at the price of the first choice, and he agreed. We made a point of thanking him on the way out, but should we also have tipped?
And who is responsible for keeping the list up to date?
Tom Sietsema: I run into the problem of "sorry, we're out of that" with some frequency -- two or three times a month. I don't have an issue with it unless I experience the same thing on a repeat visit, which suggests that the restaurant isn't updating its list much (if at all).
In your case, you were under no obligation to tip the sommelier *extra* for his service. A verbal thank you was sufficient.
washingtonpost.com: Postcard From Buenos Aires
Washington, D.C.: Went with some coworkers to Ceiba for lunch yesterday. The food was great, but the service was slow. I'm talking two hours for lunch slow. I mean it is August so we weren't in any rush to get back to work, but that seems a little slow even for Restaurant Week, right?
Tom Sietsema: Lots of people are reporting sloooooow service at participating restaurants. I'm not sure what the problem is. Too few servers? Too few cooks? Too many diners all at once? You'd think restaurants could plan for such.
Children in Restaurants: Hi Tom! I read last week's chat after the fact and wanted to comment on the issue of children in restaurants. I have an eight-year-old who we have been taking to restaurants since she was quite young. She has always been well-behaved and we have been very clear in our expectations of her and her behavior. Our problem is that now we also have a nearly two-year-old, who we are raising in the same manner -- however she has a very different temperament. She is much squirmier and rambunctious than our eldest. We pretty much don't take her out if we can help it -- but we can't always help it!
We are planning a trip to London in the Fall for two weeks and will of necessity need to take her to restaurants. Do you or any other chatters have suggestions for minimizing the impact of our wild-child on those around us? (Toys, crayons, books are all in my bag.) All my superiority on parenting has flown out the window and I'm looking for restaurant advice!
Tom Sietsema: Okay, parental units. Here's your chance to keep peace and quiet in some London restaurants this fall. Feel free to share your best tips for keeping the squirmy little ones happy (or at least subdued, sans medication).
Adams Morgan, D.C.: Hi Tom,
Thanks for taking my question. I have a question for you about dining solo. I would like to bring a book and read while I enjoy dinner at a nice restaurant when I'm traveling on my own for business, but am not sure if this is appropriate. What say you?
Tom Sietsema: Of all the things people take to restaurants, books are the least problematic. They don't make noise, the way cell phones do. Nor do they emit light or glare, as laptops do. I can't think of a single reason a solo diner shouldn't bring a good read to the table. (It certainly isn't rude to do so.)
Chevy Chase, Md.: Tom -
About two years ago, based on your reviews, I had a wonderful celebratory dinner and Tosca for eight people. The food was delicious and the service excellent. This winter, I went for another meal, which I would classify as uneven -- some courses were excellent while others were sorely lacking.
Last night, I was invited to visit Tosca yet again for restaurant week. The food was mediocre at best. The fried squash blossoms reminded me of unseasoned jalapeno poppers. The Osso bucco was better than your average Italian restaurant, but was not great and served with under seasoned and disgustingly green basil mashed potatoes. The chocolate cake was utterly unremarkable.
What accounts for this restaurants fast decline?
Tom Sietsema: I was a great fan of the place when it opened, but it hasn't tasted the same since its lead chef, Cesare Lanfranconi, stopped day-to-day cooking. (As I reported earlier this month, Lanfranconi will be cooking at Spezie, downtown, when that restaurant reopens next month.)
Restaurant Week Feedback: I've only been to one of my four planned Restaurant Week dinners this week, but it was a good one. Colvin Run Tavern at Tysons. I like how they still include an "amuse bouche" as well as the three-course meal, and the service is wonderful. Some complain about the small portions, but who wants a huge feast in this heat?
And to prove the worth of Restaurant Week, I and my friend have frequently gone to Colvin Run for full-price dinners, once we sampled how good it was at a RW several years ago.
Tom Sietsema: Good to know! Thanks.
Re: Gazpacho: Teaism's Asian gazpacho
Tom Sietsema: Mmmmmm. Sounds refreshing.
Falls Church, Va.: Tom -
I went to Komi last night and had their wonderful (and endless) wine paring/tasting menu. It was all so fresh and new and was really nice contrast to a place like the Inn at Little Washington which seems kind of old and stodgy in comparison.
The staff was really great too. Very knowledgeable without the slightest hint of snobbery or pretension. It was a toss up between Komi and Citronelle and we picked Komi based on a number of less than favorable comments in this chat about some of Citronelle's wait staff. When I'm dropping a small fortune on a meal, I feel that a condescending attitude should not be part of the experience.
Anyhow, I can see why there are all the raves about Komi. Have you done a "long" review of it? I can only seem to find the one paragraph version on line.
Tom Sietsema: My last full review of Johnny Monis's restaurant ran in 2004, but I've included the restaurant in more recent fall restaurant guides. The concept has changed since then, however, so I guess I'm due for another look-see-taste.
Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom, have you ever been to Singapore Bistro on 19th btwn L and M? If not, you have to try it. I was lucky enough to stumble across it only because of a work dinner there last night. The owner Grace is delightful and the sushi they served was amazing - some of the best I've had in D.C. They offer a low carb sushi wrapped in cucumber that was also delicious. The entrees were excellent as well. One of the items we tried was one of the house specialties Balinese Shrimp which was wonderful. I would also encourage folks who work downtown to stop by there for lunch.
Tom Sietsema: I've eaten there several times and have always enjoyed my lunches there. Plus, it's a cute setting. Funny, how some restaurant slip from the radar sometimes.
Books in restaurants ...: I'm the mom of the wild-child, and I used to always have a book (for me!) in my bag. When I went on business trips (solo) I always read at the table, sigh, I'm really missing those quiet meals about now, and whenever I see someone reading in a restaurant I'm not offended -- I'm jealous!
Tom Sietsema: I rarely dine solo, but when I do, I love to catch up on my reading (this from a guy who gets five newspapers a day and finds himself hopelessly behind).
Traveling with Books: I travel on business all the time and always bring a book or newspaper. I usually try to find good restaurants with bars so that I can also watch TV. Anything to stop me from staring straight ahead into space.
Tom Sietsema: Ah, a multi-tasker!
Washington DC: My mom used to play tic-tac-toe with us in restaurants, using knives to make the board, and sugar and sweetener packets for game pieces.
Tom Sietsema: Hmmm. I can see how that might be kind of annoying, though, especially when the food shows up.
Out of Wine: This used to happen to me repeatedly at a restaurant I used to frequent every week or two. I got sick of hearing the same excuse that they'd "run out" every time. And every week they acted like it only happened that one time and was a surprise to them. And it wouldn't be just one wine. I'd order the this cabernet -- oh, we're out of that. So I said, that cabernet - oh, we're out of that. After a few tries I'd say, just tell me what you DO have. There would be 2 choices every time -- a pinot, and a shiraz. I stopped going so frequently, tried them again a year later. Guess what? Out of all red wine except one pinot and one shiraz!
Seems like they must have run into some trouble other than being bad at predicting how much they needed.
Tom Sietsema: Thanks for the good laugh.
Re: Gettysburg, Pa.: Gettysburg has a couple of good places. The Blue Parrot Bistro for good American cooking, La Bella Italia on North Queen Street for casual italian and good N.Y.-style pizza, and Gina's Place in Bonneauville for the most amazing Italian food in a small town. For a truly great diner try the Lincoln Diner. My dad and I have been going there for 34 years.
Tom Sietsema: I knew someone would pull through for us. Thanks.
(not) your eve harrington: Hi Tom. Still waiting for your advice.
Tom Sietsema: I'm so sorry! But I had to leave town unexpectedly and I've fallen behind on my email. Please resend your query, ok? (I believe you're the budding food writer?)
Children in restaurants: I have two children who have been to many restaurants, and I think the top issue to consider is timing. When you hear complaints about fussy children in restaurants, it's often because parents have brought them at prime time. This means they have to wait for a table, getting hungrier, and they're tired, and they're eating at the same time as diners looking for a "grown-up" meal. I always go for an earlier dinner, around 5:30 or 6:00. That's when the other families are dining, and children are more expected.
Also, with a squirmy two-year-old, I would recommend one parent taking the child for a walk as soon as the food is ordered, either around the restaurant if that can be done politely, or outside. Return when the food arrives. When the child gets squirmy again, the other parent does a walk while the first parent eats. Take turns. Repeat as needed.
Tom Sietsema: Sounds like a good recipe to me.
Have you heard of a phantom reservation-taker?
Yesterday, we called and made a reservation at Matchbox. A gentleman answered the phone number from the Web site (202-289-4441) and took the reservation. When we arrived at ten before seven, we were told by the hostess that they did not take same day reservations. We explained that we had in fact made a reservation and got some story that there is a man who is taking reservations without permission. They refered to him as a phantom who does this ofen.
Have you ever heard of such a thing?
We called the main number, so the person must have access to be inside the restaurant in the morning! I was rather put off by the behavior of the multiple hosts we talked to. We waited close to an hour for a table and were only seated when a member of our party said it's time to leave and not come back to this place. They did not offer to get the manager, even after I asked for his/her name.
What can we do about the phantom reservation taker?
Tom Sietsema: Mr. Neal, can you help me out here? This sounds ... strange.
Washington, D.C.: I found recently while on work travel, chefs and waiters alike have been likely to strike up conversation with me. In Nashville I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in lengthy discussions about BBQ and eating with your hands...
Moral: when I bring a book I enjoy myself, when I don't I learn a lot about the local culture.
Tom Sietsema: You sound like my kind of diner.
Dress for Central?: Tom, sorry for the late question -- jeans and a nice shirt okay for Central on Friday night, or do I need to wear slacks?
Tom Sietsema: Jeans are fine. But more people will be dressed up than not.
Gaithersburg, Md.: While visiting Toronto our concierge sent us to lunch at the Federal court building. The chef is a French caterer who works the "lunch room" when catering business is slow (most weekdays). The dining room is in the middle of the law library, which is populated with attorneys and judges in their powdered wigs. The food was wonderful and the atmosphere was very unique. It was a highlight of our visit. And the cost was about $12.
Tom Sietsema: Sounds like fun. Do you remember the name?
Arlington, Va.: Hey Tom, when does your dining guide come out this year?
Tom Sietsema: October 14 (and boy, do I have a lot of eating and writing ahead of me!)
One more etiquette Q: Can I pick up chicken with my fingers in a nice restaurant? Or just a BBQ joint?
Tom Sietsema: Sure, if you're discrete about it. What I hate is when people lick all their fingers afterwards. Yuck.
Alexandria, Va.: Re: Fried Chicken
Bon Chon Chicken in Annandale serves an incredible fried chicken.
Tom Sietsema: Never heard of it. But thanks.
Washington, D.C.: Why haven't you done an updated review of Tosca since the first chef hasn't been cooking there in so long?
Tom Sietsema: Because I'm trying to keep up with all the new (and newsworthy) places that have opened!
Re: Tipping on Service: Just a bit of insider info from the industry perspective:
When a restaurant/bar runs out of an item, it isn't the server's fault. It's the owner/management's mistake, as they place the orders for the restaurant. I don't think it should affect the tip in a negative way if the server or bartender did what they could to remedy something being 86ed. If the guest received attitude or bad service, it's different completely. As a bartender and server myself, it's frustrating when we don't have what's listed on the menu, but part of our jobs are to make our guests happy in spite of any problems that can occur during their stay. Just a heads up. Don't always take bad news out on your server!
Tom Sietsema: You make a good point there.
(When a waiter says something is "86'd," by the way, it means the restaurant or kitchen is out of that ingredient, drink or dish.)
Washington, D.C.: Went to the Oval Room for lunch yesterday. They were playing music, with that horrible thumping, throughout the meal. I couldn't wait to leave the restaurant. The food was okay.
Tom Sietsema: Music in restaurants. A topic for another week.
Thanks for showing up, everyone. Let's do it again next Wednesday. Ciao for now.
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Major U.S. Raid in Sadr City Targets Shiite Militia Faction
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BAGHDAD, Aug. 8 -- U.S. forces staged a major two-pronged attack early Wednesday on a vast Baghdad district controlled by Shiite militia groups, killing at least 17 people, according to the military and Iraqi police.
The raid on Sadr City, an area dominated by loyalists to Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, was one of the largest in a series of U.S. attacks against Shiite militias. The most powerful group, Sadr's Mahdi Army, controls access to electricity, fuel and housing in much of eastern Baghdad as well as in some western neighborhoods.
The timing of the operation, less than 24 hours before the start of a major Shiite holiday, angered many of Baghdad's Shiites. A few hundred people staged a march Wednesday evening to protest the attack.
A U.S. military spokesman said in a statement that 32 suspected insurgents were killed and 12 others arrested in the operation, which targeted members of a Mahdi Army splinter group suspected of being part of a network that smuggles weapons from Iran.
Iraqi police said 17 people had been killed, including a handful of women and children.
The U.S. military has repeatedly accused Iran of providing weapons, training and funding to Shiite groups operating in Iraq. The people targeted in Wednesday's raid had facilitated the transport of "explosively formed penetrators," the deadliest type of roadside bomb used against U.S. troops, the military said.
Iran has repeatedly denied any connection to the militias, while some critics -- including some U.S. intelligence agents -- have said there is no concrete evidence of such a link.
Ahmed al-Shaibani, a spokesman for Sadr, condemned the raid. He said that the former director of the cleric's office, Amir al-Husseini, was arrested in the operation and that a significant number of innocent women and children were killed.
"The Iraqi government is responsible for the bloodshed of the innocents," Shaibani said in an interview.
Meanwhile, security forces spent the day preparing for a march by Shiites to the shrine of Imam Moussa Kadhim, one of 12 major Shiite Muslim saints. Iraqi police estimated that as many as 4 million pilgrims, some flogging and cutting themselves, will mark the holiday of grief, which was banned during the rule of Saddam Hussein.
Baghdad's streets are closed to cars from Wednesday morning until Saturday morning to prevent car bombings or other attacks during the holiday. Hundreds of additional Iraqi security personnel will patrol in and around Kadhimiyah, where the shrine is located, police said, but the U.S. military will keep clear of the area out of religious sensitivity.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki spent Wednesday in Tehran, meeting with several Iranian leaders to discuss Iraq's declining security situation. Maliki has long sidestepped the question of whether Iran is aiding insurgents but said Wednesday night that its leaders are in a position to help quell the violence in Iraq.
"The prime minister called on Iranian companies to invest in Iraq and participate in rebuilding Iraq," a statement from Maliki's office said. "From his side, the Iranian vice president stressed that the security and stability of Iraq is important for Iran and the region's security, and that the Iranian government is ready to provide support to the national unity government."
At least six people were killed and 11 injured in mortar attacks in Baghdad on Wednesday, police said. Meanwhile, at least four people were killed in several incidents of violence around the northern city of Kirkuk.
One U.S. soldier was killed and four others were injured in a bombing on Tuesday, the military announced Wednesday.
Special correspondent Naseer Nouri contributed to this report.
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BAGHDAD, Aug. 8 -- U.S. forces staged a major two-pronged attack early Wednesday on a vast Baghdad district controlled by Shiite militia groups, killing at least 17 people, according to the military and Iraqi police.
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Bonds Sets Baseball's Home Run Record
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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 7 -- Seven fifty-five, the most cherished number in baseball if not all of American sports, lived a good, long, noble life. Spawned from the powerful bat of an aging slugger named Hank Aaron on July 20, 1976, it grew in stature over the years, surviving the occasional challenge and ruling over the record book even as other, lesser records fell. But on a cool Tuesday night near the shores of San Francisco Bay, 755 finally perished at the hands of a relentless, controversial invader from the west named Barry Lamar Bonds. Seven fifty-five is gone. Behold, 756.
The time was 8:51 p.m. PDT, under a wind-swept sky, when Bonds, the San Francisco Giants' left fielder, crushed an 86-mph fastball from Washington Nationals left-hander Mike Bacsik over the wall in right-center field, the deepest corner of AT&T Park. It was a 3-2 pitch in the bottom of the fifth inning, and when the ball cleared the fence some 435 feet away, Bonds was alone atop the sport's all-time home run list. It was homer No. 756, one more than the great Aaron hit.
The dawning of 756 was witnessed by a sellout crowd of 43,154, many of them documenting each tension-filled pitch with cameras, their flashbulbs popping from all corners of the stadium. When the ball was struck, Bonds, 43, immediately dropped his bat and thrust his arms in the air as he watched its flight, the crowd exploding in an ecstatic roar that was heartfelt and unambiguous.
The game was stopped for roughly 10 minutes as Bonds circled the bases to the accompaniment of fireworks over the bay, touched home plate with both hands pointed toward the sky, then hugged his teammates and family members who had been whisked onto the field.
"I've got to thank all of you, all the fans here in San Francisco," Bonds told the crowd from the grass near the Giants' dugout before also thanking his teammates, his family and the Nationals. "It's been fantastic." When it came time to thank his father, the late Giants star Bobby Bonds, the hulking slugger broke down. "Thank you," he said, "for everything."
And then, in a stunning twist that brought gasps from the crowd, a taped message of congratulations was played on the giant video board in center field from, of all people, Aaron himself. Much had been made of the fact that Aaron had chosen not to show up in person for 756 -- a fact many attributed to the widespread belief that Bonds's record was tainted by alleged steroids use -- but the video tribute left no doubt that Aaron had given Bonds's record his unqualified endorsement.
"I move over now," Aaron said on the screen as everyone, including Bonds, stopped to watch, "and offer my best wishes to Barry and his family on this historic achievement."
Only three players in the last 86 years have held the sport's signature mark. Babe Ruth first captured it in 1921, then surrendered it posthumously to Aaron in 1974. And now, for better or worse, it belongs to Bonds.
"It meant everything," Bonds said afterwards of the Aaron tribute. "It meant absolutely everything."
Across the land, baseball fans, including many who play and run the game, are unsure what to make of 756 because of the player who struck it. Bonds is alleged to have used steroids beginning in the late 1990s, fueling a late-career explosion in offensive production that is unparalleled in baseball history. Even as Bonds took aim at Aaron's record this summer, a grand jury continued to investigate him for possible perjury and tax evasion charges stemming from his involvement with an alleged steroids ring.
"This record is not tainted," Bonds said in his postgame news conference. "It's not tainted at all. At all. Period. You guys [in the media] can say whatever you want."
In baseball, numbers matter, and 756 will have a short-lived reign, with Bonds almost certain to hit more homers this season and perhaps beyond. Plus, 32-year-old Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees last week became the youngest player in history to reach 500 home runs, meaning he could threaten Bonds's record -- whatever number it ultimately becomes -- by the time he is 40.
When Aaron broke Ruth's record in 1974 -- a watershed moment for the game, with its overtones of race, Aaron being a black man and Ruth a white man - the first words out of his mouth were, "I just thank God it's over."
This time, such a sentiment could sum up the prevailing attitude toward Bonds. Because of the controversy surrounding him, this summer's march to history -- in every corner of the nation except here -- was treated not as a glorious coronation or a celebration of the sport's history, but as a bitter inevitability.
Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig, who counts Aaron as a dear friend, made little attempt to hide his contempt for Bonds and his belief that Bonds's record is illegitimate -- wavering publicly over whether he would attend Bonds's games, staying out of sight when he finally did show up and never speaking the man's name in interviews. Selig was not present Tuesday night, instead sending two lieutenants, including former Nationals manager Frank Robinson.
Selig, though, phoned Bonds once the latter was removed from the game and issued a statement saying: "Barry's achievement is noteworthy and remarkable. . . . While the issues which have swirled around this record will continue to work themselves towards resolution, today is a day for congratulations."
According to Bonds, Selig told him, "Congratulations. You endured a lot. I have a lot of respect for you." Bonds then added: "I have a lot of respect for him, too."
Bonds had struck base hits in each of his first two at-bats against Bacsik, a 29-year-old journeyman and the son of a former major league pitcher of the same name who had faced Aaron when the latter was in the winter of his career. The younger Bacsik, who spent parts of 11 seasons in the minor leagues before cracking the Nationals' starting rotation, pitched to Bonds seemingly without fear of being known for eternity as the man who served up the historic homer.
"I dreamed of this as a kid," Bacsik said. "Unfortunately, when I dreamed about it, I thought I'd be the one hitting the home run, not giving it up."
Facing Bacsik again in the fifth inning, Bonds worked the count full, then fouled a pitch down the first base line. A new ball was put in play, and on the next pitch, Bonds unleashed his classic swing, its simple grace belying its awesome power, his orange-on-black batting gloves tracing a sunbeam across his body.
After both players were pulled from the game, Bacsik took the unusual step of visiting Bonds in the Giants' clubhouse to congratulate him, and Bonds, unsolicited, offered him an autographed bat. "To Mike," it read. "God bless. [Signed] Barry Bonds."
"He just said, 'You're going to be a good pitcher, and I'm going to enjoy watching you on TV in future years,'" Bacsik recalled. "He's the greatest of all-time. Giving it up to Barry Bonds is nothing to be ashamed of."
Within seconds of the ball's leaving the field of play, some Nationals players, led by veteran first baseman Dmitri Young, began moving toward their own dugout, while others congregated near the infield to get a better look. Many of the Nationals applauded as Bonds soaked in the ovation from his fans.
The teeming scrum of humanity in the stands where the ball landed finally parted to reveal the ball -- itself an object of obsession, not to mention potential riches -- in the hands of a man identified as Matt Murphy, 22, of Queens, N.Y. According to Giants officials, Murphy merely was stopping over in San Francisco on his way to a vacation in Australia, and had purchased his ticket (face value: $13) outside the gates on the day of the game.
When Bonds hit No. 755 in San Diego on Saturday night, there had been a mixed reaction, passionate boos and equally passionate cheers clanging against each other to form a dual-frequency wall of noise that spoke to Bonds's polarizing nature. But here, where Bonds is a native son and a beloved figure, there was scarcely a dissenting voice heard.
Let them mourn 755 elsewhere. Let the authorities claim foul play was involved in its demise. Here, they will celebrate the new king. They will all hail 756.
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Barry Bonds hits No. 756 on a 3-2 pitch from the Nationals' Mike Bacsik in the fifth inning Tuesday night, breaking Hank Aaron's storied record and becoming baseball's new home run king.
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SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 7 -- Mike Bacsik had been cool with the notion all week. He is a bit of a historian, a bit of a sports nut, so being part of one of the most momentous occasions in baseball history would be, in a way, just fine. He is, too, the son of a pitcher, and sons of pitchers know that home runs happen, and they must be shrugged off.
"You either have to be a really special player to be remembered in this game," Bacsik said late Tuesday night, "or be part of a special moment."
VIDEO | Bonds Breaks Aaron's Record
As it turned out, the 29-year-old lefty from Dallas -- a man who was nearly out of baseball a year ago, someone whose season began with the Washington Nationals' Class AAA affiliate -- now has his moment, however perverse. Bacsik will forever be linked with Barry Bonds, who passed Hank Aaron's all-time record Tuesday night at AT&T Park by drilling Bacsik's fifth-inning fastball into the seats in right-center field.
That the Nationals came back with a four-run eighth inning and took an 8-6 victory -- their seventh in eight games -- mattered not to those in the crowd of 43,154. The comeback featured a go-ahead double from Felipe Lopez, who told Bacsik after Bonds's historic shot not to worry, that the Nationals would win.
But with one out and the bases empty in the fifth, Bacsik, the Nationals' starter, worked Bonds to a full count. Bonds already had a single and a double, and with the wind blowing out, the possibility that he could hit his 756th homer -- the most ever -- filled the park.
The possibility rested in Bacsik's next pitch, a fastball down the middle of the plate. He is not an overpowering pitcher, and his hardest pitches top out in the mid-80s. He relies instead on breaking pitches he must control.
"The way Mike throws, he's going to give up some home runs," Bacsik's father, Michael J. Bacsik, said by telephone earlier Tuesday. "You can see that."
The elder Bacsik would know, because he spent parts of five seasons in the majors. And he would know, too, that the fastball Bacsik threw at that point wasn't good enough to sneak past a hitter of Bonds's caliber, of his accomplishments.
"I knew he couldn't overpower me with his fastball," Bonds said, "so I wanted to take his curveball out of play."
Needing to come with a strike, Bonds had done that. The fastball came at 86 mph, and Bonds simply crushed it.
As Bonds powerfully thrust both his arms in the air, knowing the result long before the ball landed, Bacsik watched the inevitable as well. When he began the season with Class AAA Columbus, he didn't know he would make it back to the majors for the first time since 2004. In a pro career dating back to 1996, he had allowed 29 homers in the big leagues, 168 more in the minors. None approached the magnitude of this shot.
"It's pretty special," Bacsik said, "to be part of history like that. ... As a kid, you always dream of this moment. Unfortunately, as a kid, you dream of being the one hitting the home run, not giving it up."
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The Nationals' Mike Bacsik will forever be linked with Barry Bonds for allowing the record-breaking 756th home run in the fifth inning of Washington's 8-6 win over the San Francisco Giants.
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The Home Run Champion of the Steroid Era
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I watched the first two at-bats, a double and a single, both smashed hard, and you didn't have to be Kreskin to know that Bonds was going to break the record momentarily, but I went to bed and missed it (great job by Dave Sheinin and the Sports desk on a tight deadline). See the video package here. And this excellent blog entry from Svrluga.
I'm shedding no tears this morning for being asleep during the big sports moment. Tony and Mike in one of their video chats recently had it about right: It's hard to know what the record means. Baseball more than any sport is defined by statistics, records, historical comparisons. But what do any of the slugging numbers mean in the steroid era? McGwire hitting 70 the year Sosa hit 66: In retrospect that was ludicrous. And ludicrous doesn't even begin to describe Bonds hitting 73 in 2001.
The way you break the all-time home record, Hank Aaron taught us way back when, is to sustain greatness for more than two decades, remain healthy, and somehow avoid the erosion of skills that befalls most players after the age of 35. But Bonds did something different: After the age of 35 he became the Hulk. He became a completely different player. This coincided with his involvement with a trainer implicated in a steroid ring. Somehow I don't think he was just eating his Wheaties.
Baseball is a beautifully designed game (sorry to sound like Boz or George Will) in which the dimensions of the diamond and the ballpark are carefully calibrated. Throw one dimension out of whack and you can ruin the game. That's why purists don't like baseball at a mile above sea level in Colorado: To compensate for thinner air, you need to move the fences farther from home plate, but that in turn creates oversized outfields that can't be patrolled effectively with three players. (Chaos ensues. Cats and dogs sleeping together, human sacrifices, etc.) When players began going to the chemist for their nutrition it was like yanking the outfield fences 40 feet toward home plate.
Today, with steroids in retreat, a lot of players have had a sudden power outage. Look at the Nats: Ryan Zimmerman leads the team with 17 home runs. And this is August. The team may finish the year without anyone reaching even 25 homers. The leader in the NL home run derby is at 33, a modest number. A-Rod has 36 to lead the AL. The game has been recalibrated: It has become, again, the game that Aaron played.
Aaron showed class (as always) in congratulating Bonds. He knows, and we know, and maybe even Bonds knows, that Aaron's 755 home runs are more authentic than the 756 of Bonds. Bonds himself was as combative as ever in the post-game press conference. Selig's statement was lawyerly and dull -- it didn't seem appropriate to the moment.
I think that home run ball is going to be worth more than $13:
As for Bonds, maybe it was the bat all along:
Read Gene Wojciechowski's column and watch how it changes tone: He can't sustain the this-is-historic narrative any longer:
Bonds and his career numbers are a fraud. Just like McGwire's. Just like Rafael Palmeiro's. Just like Sammy Sosa's. Bonds wasn't the first to take steroids and performance enhancers, but he's the first to overtake Aaron. And that's why you should care.
Here's one of the many (mostly rancorous) comments posted by readers of ESPN's Wojo:
You know my take on Bonds -- see the pieces posted a couple of days ago, plus this one, saying that, despite his sins, he should still be in the Hall of Fame:
Even if we believe that Bonds took steroids and that by doing so betrayed the game, the fact of the matter is that Bonds has been at the center of the steroid controversy not because he abused them in any special way. It's because he's a lot better than everyone else.
By | August 8, 2007; 7:34 AM ET Previous: Pleistocene Megafauna Re-wilding Makes Me Nervous | Next: Outlook Rebuttal: America Still Can Do
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Posted by: frostbitten | August 8, 2007 8:55 AM
That's a great point, Joel. If there were nothing more to his success than steroids, the place would be lousy with players breaking hitting records.
Still, what a shame that Bonds sacrificed his reputation and the opportunity to truly inspire for numerical records. Because my son thinks Bonds is a joke. You know who he really admires? Ryan Zimmerman.
Posted by: RD Padouk | August 8, 2007 9:05 AM
Slate has an interesting article on the way baseball recalibrates itself.
It also references the famous Stephen Jay Gould, who singe-handedly made me appreciate baseball.
Posted by: RD Padouk | August 8, 2007 9:34 AM
May Barry Bonds*' name be grouped with the likes of Karen Konig* and Catherine Menschner*. Of course, these East German athletes were deliberately misled into thinking they were swallowing vitamins. May Bonds* be forgotten decades from now--or remembered as a disgace to the sport of baseball.
Posted by: Loomis | August 8, 2007 9:35 AM
SCC "single handedly." "Singe-handedly" sounds real painful.
Posted by: RD Padouk | August 8, 2007 9:36 AM
As Martooni said, Barry Bonds must have attended the Dick Cheney school of fan relations. But, he did outperform the other cheaters so * or not he should be a hall of famer.
It does make me think of Mr. F's childhood collection of baseball cards and other sports ephemera. The 9 year old Mr. F wrote to many hall of fame players and for his trouble received autographs on their hall of fame cards. They sent him these cards at no charge, not even a SASE, and he never thought of how much they might one day be worth. He has them still.
On the culinary front. Chez Frostbitten North has a new coffee maker. This "brew station deluxe" brews and holds coffee so that it may be dispensed one handed, thus giving me what I've always wanted- GAS STATION COFFEE AT HOME!
From the last kit-If the rewilders want to put their creatures in depopulating areas they better consult Starbucks first. Yes! Even better than the brew station deluxe, as of August 20 we will have a Starbucks just 42 miles away in "town."
Posted by: frostbitten | August 8, 2007 9:45 AM
Frostbitten - we also own a "brew station deluxe." Keep an eye on the little washer inside the tank, or you will end up with gas station coffee all over your kitchen floor.
Posted by: RD Padouk | August 8, 2007 9:49 AM
To me the criticism that Bonds has not been good to the fans is especially damming. These guys aren't curing cancer or saving the environment. They play a game. The only value they have to society, beyond that whole bread and circuses thing, is to inspire. And to fail to be good to the fans undercuts that - perhaps even more than the steroids.
Posted by: RD Padouk | August 8, 2007 9:54 AM
frostbitten, I have one of those coffee machines as well, I really enjoy it.
When I was young I was a huge sports fan, and until my early twenties I wanted to be involved in sports journalism. The years between my youth and my early twenties we a long process of losing my love of watching a wide variety of sports.
I clearly remember the 1976 Olympics and telling my friends I would not see them for 3 weeks as I would be watching the Olympics - that year one of our club mates from swimming was on the Canadian team. I was 9 and that was one of the most exciting times I recall from that period. I also recall our girls being dwarfed by the E. German swimmers and the comments about the east germans using drugs.
Strikes, drugs, and attitudes of athletes all took their toll and I have lost much of the joy of watching sports. I still love international competitions and the odd sporting events but the passion has faded.
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 9:56 AM
SCC I am in denial I was 13 in 1976.
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 9:57 AM
The Dave Sheinin piece is some great writing. Makes me realize one of the things I miss about my mom is talking about the articles in the Post sports section.
Pacifica... were you at the game? Very cool.
Speaking of great writing.. already going off topic here, what a surprise... I'm finally reading Middlesex. Wow. Great book. Some of the sentences and paragraphs I read again just because the writing is so good.
Posted by: TBG | August 8, 2007 10:08 AM
CP, from last boodle - Northern Ireland was colonized by lowland Scots in the first half of the 17th century. See James G. Leyburn, The Scotch Irish A Social History:
It says a lot about this book, published in 1962, that it's still in print. Excellent telling of the history. I'm interested because this is the story of my mother's family.
Posted by: Slyness | August 8, 2007 10:14 AM
I got home too late to see the homerun live, but it was a shot. I think it went 435 ft. and it was a good game. I saw the giants take the lead against a drawn in infield and then the Nats got 4 to retake the lead. And hold on for the win.
Despite the steroids era, I still love the game. Nothing finer then listening to a game on the radio though.
I am glad Bonds got his dinger, now we can get along with the pennant races and the playoffs. Somebody just needs to slow down the Damn Yankees.
Posted by: greenwithenvy | August 8, 2007 10:15 AM
RD-thanks for the heads up. This coffee maker is a replacement for another manufacturer's "grind and brew" we retired for leaking. (It was time, a plastic latch broke 2 years ago so I had engineered a work around just to get it to brew.)
dmd-a couple years of taking weekend box scores for the Grand Forks Herald disabused me of my sports journalism desires. But wasn't it grand to love it so much once?
Posted by: frostbitten | August 8, 2007 10:15 AM
But wasn't it grand to love it so much once? writes Frosti.
Yes. But look what the young 'ems are asked to love....sigh.
Slyness: weren't you the "poster" of the Sean Connery pic? Either way, you have revealed yourself, perhaps, as a lover of the kilt.
RD -- JA's new kit obscured the kilt challenge before you. Will you or won't you? Answer and then pass the caber to BC or EF or GWE or any of the fine gents here.
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 10:21 AM
Rocco Forte, the Minneapolis disaster management coordinator is on MPR right now describing how/why the city was able to respond so quickly and effectively to the bridge collapse.
From the Minneapolis Star Tribune:
"Rybak said Forte has been dogged in pushing training for all involved in potential disasters. Forte concedes that his insistence on repeated run-throughs of varying scenarios griped some people in the emergency responder ranks.
A key point in upgrading the ability to respond to a major disaster in the city was several days of training at a federal emergency operations center in Virginia in 2002. Some 70 people from multiple jurisdictions attended.
Coincidentally, one weakness identified there was how the city would deal with a collapsed structure. So Forte led the effort to add $3 million worth of equipment that paid off last week. Those responding to the bridge disaster had cameras to peer into crevices, listening devices, saws to rip through concrete and metal, and hydraulic equipment."
I think you'll have to register to read it all:
Posted by: frostbitten | August 8, 2007 10:24 AM
I agree, Bonds would have been a Hall of Fame player without the juice. But I'd say he did more to harm baseball, long-term, than Pete Rose did.
Posted by: toledopatch | August 8, 2007 10:40 AM
I wonder if Bonds *really* understands why people aren't making as much of a fuss over his #756 as we did over Aaron's hitting #715?
Joel and others have hit some of those reasons on the head over the past few days, but I think that Bonds will wear his suspiciously large Home Run King crown without a lot of satisfaction. Perhaps he'll have time to become philisophical about it after he retires, and hand over a much smaller crown to A-Rod or whoever breaks his record...
Posted by: bc | August 8, 2007 10:41 AM
CP - here is a repost of my now embarrassingly off-topic comment:
If I were to show up wearing a tie of any kind my coworkers would throw me to the ground and physically remove it. (I'm not gonna make that mistake again.)
I don't know about the kilt, but given the reaction to the tie, I'm not gonna risk it.
That's the way it is with men. Anyone who seeks to look different in any way from the other men in the group invites suspicion. If all the guys wear suits and ties, you wear a suit and tie. If all the men wear jeans and polo shirts, it behooves one to do likewise.
When it comes to expressing individuality through clothing, women have far, far more freedom than do men.
Posted by: RD Padouk | August 8, 2007 10:43 AM
CP, I wouldn't rule out wearing a kilt where it's appropriate.
RD gets first crack, though.
Posted by: bc | August 8, 2007 10:47 AM
Gas station coffee has a more technical name: Hot brown water.
dmd, I turned 14 in 76 and remember those Olympic games well. That was the year I fell in love with woman's gymnastics.
I grew up loving football, but then sometime in the late 80's just grew bored with it. I can still get excited now and then when the Eagles are having a good year but that's it. For the rest I like sports that only occur once every four years: Olympics and World Cup Soccer.
Posted by: omni | August 8, 2007 10:48 AM
Ties? A decade ago, the one time I wore a tie to work was a giveaway that I was interviewing for a promotion.
Good dress shirts were abundant (Nordstrom was just a block away), but the only regular tie-wearer was a young IT guy who always had his shirt tails out.
Posted by: Dave of the Coonties | August 8, 2007 10:58 AM
Wore my kilt at my wedding, and other weddings I've participated in. I've always been fond of them.
But it was a little uncomfortable when my best friend's future mother-in-law spent a lot of time wondering why my sporran was furry rather than leather.
Posted by: Dooley | August 8, 2007 11:04 AM
I'm sure it just comes from a lifetime of being associated with the military but men in suits have that "expensive and useless" look that Julia Roberts said of Richard Gere in Pretty Woman. I mean, the shoes alone are enough to crack me up. I should say that here in the frozen north where plaid flannel rules 9 months of the year the only people wearing ties are "from the government and here to help."
Posted by: frostbitten | August 8, 2007 11:05 AM
i'm a giants fan and a bonds fan. do i think he took steroids? yeah, probably did. do i think it diminishes his greatness as a player? a little. do i think he should be in the hall of fame? definitely, and without a * or other notation. breaking the record doesn't take away from the awesome accomplishment of aaron nor does it take away from who aaron was or what he had to deal with because of the times he played in. it's a shame that it's only in light of the controversies around bonds that you now hear so much about aaron. he deserved the respect and accolades before bonds started the chase, he deserves them now. but so does bonds.
Posted by: robin | August 8, 2007 11:06 AM
Barry Bonds is a fraud and, as he continues to prove, a jerk. I'm not sure this will work, but it's a good idea...
Posted by: spoiledyourmoment | August 8, 2007 11:10 AM
I'm assuming we need a Front Page Alert...
Posted by: Scottynuke | August 8, 2007 11:18 AM
Good for you, Dooley. I think CPBro#3 wore this at his stealth wedding recently. I will ask.
Frosti-- that contrived useless look! Laughing! We ladies are familiar with that impulse.
RD -- men patrol the borders of style-conformity zealously. You do not have many choices, really. Women experience much for latitude; HOWEVER, in the sniping (and snipping) that occurs across packs, one problem is our "rules" are much more subtle and open to interpretation.
Frosti -- have you and others laughed about the Chicos' adverts to us all? Women of a certain age who shun suits are supposed to adopt the Chicos-look. Mandatory is a set of chunky bead necklaces and earrings for each bright color outfit. The elastic waistbands are cleverly concealed....
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 11:25 AM
On kit, at least once per day, like a vitamin:
steroid-use does not strenthen the eye-to-ball-follow-with-the-arms-extended-by-bat.
BUT, steroid-use adds the power surge once contact is made.
I cannot tell which variable drives homers more. I can say, that even on steroids, I would likely NEVER hit a ML home run. Recall that my mark of D in basketball reflects Fs at layup, dribble, passing, and free throws.
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 11:29 AM
>Answer and then pass the caber to BC or EF or GWE or any of the fine gents here.
CP, I may have the legs for it but I don't think anyone's in danger of catching me wearing a kilt. Considering I have some background from every part of the old isles EXCEPT Scotland, it really wouldn't be proper.
Posted by: Error Flynn | August 8, 2007 11:40 AM
What a shame!? How can people call this an acheivement? This is absolutely a national embarassment to baseball and the world. It just sends another message to the international community that Americans would do ANYTHING to win. Shame on you Barry Bonds and thank you so much for your example to our kids, our future leaders!
Posted by: Daniel | August 8, 2007 11:49 AM
"...the fact of the matter is that Bonds has been at the center of the steroid controversy not because he abused them in any special way. It's because he's a lot better than everyone else."
Well, if he's a lot better than anyone else, why did he take performance-enhancing steroids?? He certainly didn't need to!
Posted by: wpreader2007 | August 8, 2007 11:49 AM
No one mentions Barry's many Golden Glove awards. He has been wonderful to watch for many years.
Posted by: bookin51 | August 8, 2007 11:51 AM
*inching towards the bunker with my peanuts and Cracker Jack*
Posted by: Scottynuke | August 8, 2007 11:52 AM
Maybe he cheated, maybe not (he probably did). Only a few know for sure, and the rest is speculation until he makes an admission. And what is really the worst part of all this is that he would have been great without "performance enhancement." Unless the bottom falls out (conviction/jail/etc.), he will be in the Hall of Fame a few years from now. Baseball is a children's game loved by many adults. And our own children will often pick their heros from the ranks of men who play this children's game. We as parents can place in front of our kids those we see as examples of true greatness in the sport. Tom Glavine won number 300 and Alex Rodriguez hit number 500 a couple days ago. Craig Biggio got hit number 3023 yesterday. Do not forget, do not let our kids forget, that in sports there are still true heroes who deserve our admiration for the work they do.
Posted by: Craig Hall | August 8, 2007 11:54 AM
I, for one, am profoundly disturbed by the deep implications of Gene Wojciechowski's dark insinuation that the bat was made of Canadian maple.
Posted by: RD Padouk | August 8, 2007 11:59 AM
A little research reveal that the East German women's swim team did in fact take testosterone injections.
Another trivia bit: Princess Anne of the United Kingdom was the only female competitor not to have to submit to a sex test. She was a member of her country's equestrian team.
Which means she may have been the only virgin, oh wait, not the kind of test...
Posted by: omni | August 8, 2007 12:03 PM
RD, we certainly are an ingenious breed :-)
Bonds and his Canadian maple bats.
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 12:06 PM
CP no kilt for me either,I don't have the legs for it and people are always saying I need to wear suspenders. So I don't think a kilt would be any better. But ya never know, I have been known to do some crazy things just for the fun of it.
Posted by: greenwithenvy | August 8, 2007 12:06 PM
Canadian Maple (syrup) Bats! Can I get a physicist here? Tell us the forces and motions and frictions in hitting.
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 12:09 PM
Okay, crybabies. Listen up. It does not matter whether Barry Bonds might have taken steroids or not. People who talk about the "integrity" of baseball know absolutely nothing about the game. Since the 1920s, when the livelier ball was introduced, the office of the commissioner and the owners have been tampering with the game, from bringing in the outfield fences, to creating "pennant porches," to lowering the pitchers mound to sculpting baselines to keep balls that might go foul in fair territory. If the owners can "juice" the game to create more offense and fill more seats, why oh why can't ball players do the same thing -- and I'm not saying that Barry did, though others have admitted to steroid use. Basebal is entertainment, no matter what George Will or Boz say, a "pass time" as my father used to call it. It is a way to sit in a seat and enjoy yourself for a couple of hours on a hot summer day. Its players are not worthy of veneration, no matter what records they set or break, and it's time for people to grow up already. It's just a game!
Posted by: steve kindel | August 8, 2007 12:11 PM
CP, here is the story of Sam the man behind the Sam Bats (Maple), indeed physics was research in the process of designing the bats.
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 12:11 PM
Bonds. Feh. That's all I have to say.
I think I have to do a wee bit of nit-picking on something Bertooch wrote in the previous kit: "we don't recognize sports superstars like Sadaharu Oh, just because he's not American."
It isn't that Oh isn't American; in fact, there are several Japanese and Korean players in the major leagues, and about a third of all our players are Hispanic, though I couldn't swear on their passport nationalities. So it isn't a question of Oh's nationality, but rather that he didn't play in the American major leagues. There no question whatsoever that Oh is a great player, and no question in my mind that he'd have had a great career here. That said, there's one thing we do know: Oh didn't get those home runs batting against the likes of Greg Maddox, Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson or Nolan Ryan. Would Oh have had 800-something homers here? No.
(Wikipedia lists players by nationality but I didn't actually count them, at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Current_Major_League_Baseball_Players_by_Nationality. But there are 16 countries represented besides the U.S. There are 15 Japanese players. I think these are 2005 numbers, but they do give an approximate idea. And anyway, with trades and injuries, any "current" number is going to flucuate somewhat no matter what.)
I can't think of any other American sport thatis as "foreign friendly" as modern baseball.
Posted by: Curmudgeon | August 8, 2007 12:13 PM
It a shame. Bonds would have made it into the HoF even without the steroids, just with lesser numbers.
From what I understand of steroid, if he wants to clear his name, he could submit to a blood test.
Posted by: shhhhh | August 8, 2007 12:21 PM
Scotty, I've got the A.C. turned on in the bunker, and the Gatorade on ice.
CP, I'm conflicted. Can one wear a kilt AND a thong at the same time? (Fashion-wise, I mean.) Or is going commando a requirement? Decisions, decisions...
I know one thing for d@mn sure: as a 17-year umpire as well as former player (and worse, a sometime catcher at that), I'm eternally grateful baseball players don't wear kilts. *shudders just thinking about it*
Posted by: Curmudgeon | August 8, 2007 12:24 PM
'Mudge, I think you've just hit on a sure-fire way to increase baseball's female viewing demographic.
Posted by: Scottynuke | August 8, 2007 12:26 PM
Scotty, did you ever slide into a base or home plate and get a "raspberry" maybe 15 inches long? Now imagine the same slide in a skirt.
Posted by: Curmudgeon | August 8, 2007 12:30 PM
I didn't say it was practical, now did I???
Posted by: Scottynuke | August 8, 2007 12:31 PM
Here is a look at Barry's career stats
If he averaged just 25 HR over 22 years that would be? Plus 500 stolen bases,gold gloves, 7 MVP awards and all the flippin walks. He is a shoe-in for the HoF.
But I doubt 75,000 fans will show up for his induction as they did for Cal and Tony a couple of weeks ago. Those two guys just showed up for work everyday and did their jobs and did them well.
Posted by: greenwithenvy | August 8, 2007 12:32 PM
Oh, Mudge, thanks for the mental image of a face-first slide in a kilt.
I'm told by a reliable source that good Scots may indeed undergarment themselves in a kilt--boxers, tighty-whities, long underwear (as the season dictates)--you name it.
Posted by: Raysmom | August 8, 2007 12:39 PM
"Baseball is a beautifully designed game (sorry to sound like Boz or George Will) in which the dimensions of the diamond and the ballpark are carefully calibrated."
Um, all of the ballpark's have different dimensions; that's how you have "hitter's parks" and "pitcher's parks".
Posted by: mikem | August 8, 2007 12:40 PM
tee hee--bc said "crack" in the kilt context.
Posted by: Raysmom | August 8, 2007 12:40 PM
The notion that he should be in HoF because he's the best of the cheaters by a mile doesn't go down very easily. He probably would have made it the normal way, but he decided not to try. How about a Cheaters' HoF.
Posted by: LTL-CA | August 8, 2007 12:43 PM
Excellent idea, LTL-CA!! Barry and Pete can be the founding members. *L*
Posted by: Scottynuke | August 8, 2007 12:49 PM
can we go off topic now. all this bonds talk is boring me to tears. Maybe I'll just have to work instead...
Posted by: omni | August 8, 2007 12:54 PM
Dooley, How furry? Is your sporran made of horsehair?
Of course, the Persian lambswool sporran would be a lot softer to the touch.
It begs the question, "What's in your wallet?'
Posted by: Loomis | August 8, 2007 12:57 PM
Thanks for the Rhino Party link, dmd.
Posted by: Boko999 | August 8, 2007 12:59 PM
We could always switch to Garry "U.S." Bonda, omni...
Posted by: Scottynuke | August 8, 2007 1:00 PM
Mudge, I've never worn my kilt commando--I find wool to be rather scratchy.
And I'll make no further comment on the furry sporran, except to say that it's big enough for a whiskey flask.
Posted by: Dooley | August 8, 2007 1:03 PM
Hello all, I am having so much fun thinking about all the male boodlers in kilts playing baseball. This image is helping me get through my unusually heavily burdened workweek. Thanks :-)
Posted by: birdie | August 8, 2007 1:04 PM
SCC: Garry "U.S." Bonds, of course...
Posted by: Scottynuke | August 8, 2007 1:04 PM
Mikem, the distances to the fences is the ONLY variable in a baseball field's dimensions; otherwise every other dimension is idential. The statement of "careful calibration" is overhwelming accurate in any regard other than fence distance. What it usually refers to is distance to the pitching rubber (60 feet 6 inches, which originally was a misprint, from Doubleday's sloppy handwritten, which said 60 feet 0 inches), and 90 feet between bases. These are the controlling dimensions that matter. And not only are they ironbound, they are also repeatedly checked and rechecked. If you mess with these distances you change the game far, far more dramatically than messing with the fences ever would.
No one should EVER be sorry to sound like Boz (Tom Boswell). Best pure baseball writer ever. And Will (when he pulls his head out of his butt and writes about baseball) isn't that bad.
Posted by: Curmudgeon | August 8, 2007 1:08 PM
Second Mudge's emotion/opine that Boswell is a great writer. And Will on B-ball is reasonable and I would sit next to him at a ball game.
Onmi -- are you a suspenders man as is GWE or are you a kilt guy? BC paints himself in blue woad and drums in the woods.....
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 1:11 PM
I was wondering what that noise was, CP...
Posted by: Scottynuke | August 8, 2007 1:13 PM
And, you Snuke, are you a pocket-protector man? Do tell.
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 1:15 PM
Well, we know what's in Barry Bonds' sporran- not much, if the rumors about the side effects of steroids are true.
Posted by: crc | August 8, 2007 1:16 PM
My pockets are totally unprotected, CP.
Posted by: Scottynuke | August 8, 2007 1:19 PM
Loomis, the sporran page pretty much sunk any hope of keeping my lunch down after Mudge's 12:24.
Just when I was getting over the whole notion of Mrs Thatcher, and Mrs. Clinton having cleavages...
Posted by: dr | August 8, 2007 1:20 PM
Which explains why I never play quarterback, I guess...
Posted by: Scottynuke | August 8, 2007 1:21 PM
Serious business, for a moment...
Breaking news that a third British cattle herd will have to be culled (euphemism for killed) because of spreading foot and mouth disease south of London.
Investigators have not been able to pinpoint if the virus escaped from the British lab Pirbright or the private vaccine manufacturer Merial's facility--adjacent to Pirbright.
Tossed out overnight were the theories that the virus may have been spread on the wind or by water, given Britain's recent flooding rains.
In now are two new theories --a lab employee working his allotment, or garden, or possibly an act of sabotage.
The following link below has good, breaking-news coverage--with a hard-to-look-at photo of the cull and an EXCELLENT map showing all the hotspots. NYT had an op-ed this morning on the outbreak, as well as continuing prominent dot.com coverage. Reporter Jane Perlez is doing an outstanding job. The WaPo zippo. Our local paper featured the story at the beginning of the week on page A3, but provided only two grafs on A11 this morning.
Brian Williams said last week that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown had been tested in his first weeks in office by fire (Glasgow-terrorism) and water (floods). Now apparently by virus, since he's has five meetings with his COBRA emergency team since last Saturday over this foot and mouth outbreak--a far better handling of the situation than Tony Blair ever mustered in 2001.
Interesting, too, in my reading this morning, I learned that Plum Island got its foot and mouth strains for research from Pirbright, brought to the Plum Island from England on a Navy ship. The author noted early on that Plum Island's cause celebre is FMD. Interesting, too, that Merial in Britain is half-owned by Merck. Chemist George Merck had quite a hand in setting up Fort Detrick, Md. I also learned that the type O strain that they're dealing with in Britain is quite virulent.
Posted by: Loomis | August 8, 2007 1:23 PM
Cp It has been suggested that I wear suspenders, I do not, but maybe I should to hide my plumbers aura that seems to plague so many men.
Posted by: greenwithenvy | August 8, 2007 1:28 PM
As a follow up to yesterdays discussion, just saw this article, Police in Niagara Falls, Ontario are attempting to locate a 700 lbs Grizzley that got loose (OOPs).
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 1:29 PM
no suspenders here. no kilt, no sporran, no thong, briefs not boxers, never commando, belt only when I need to, no tie of any kind. I think that covers it...
Posted by: omni | August 8, 2007 1:39 PM
Pretty good coverage, omni, except you left off your pants and shirt.
Posted by: nellie | August 8, 2007 1:43 PM
Raysmom, thanks for your 12:40, I was wondering if anyone was going to shag fly balls like that.
Posted by: bc | August 8, 2007 1:48 PM
Oddly, no matter how much foot-in-mouth shows up among the presidential candidates, no one seems able to cull that particular herd.
Posted by: kurosawaguy | August 8, 2007 1:57 PM
" I think that covers it..."
omni... doesn't sound like much is covered at all!
Posted by: TBG | August 8, 2007 2:11 PM
Amen to that K-guy, though is a group of presidential candidates a herd . . . based on their "mascots" the democrats could be a herd or a pace or a drove, I guess and I do so like a memory of elephants for the republicans (the more distant the better), though they could also be a parade or a herd.
I am sure others more creative than I, can come up with more interesting names for groups of presidential candidates though.
Posted by: lurkgineer | August 8, 2007 2:14 PM
Hey, CP, I *do* love the kilt. I actually own one I bought on High Street in Edinburgh in 1972. It's a Black Watch, and floor length. IIRC, I paid the equivalent of $20US for it.
Posted by: Slyness | August 8, 2007 2:19 PM
Hey, lurkgineer, how about a "sirocco" of presidential candidates? (A hot, dry irritating wind.) I was working on "a Santa Ana of presidential candidates," but I think the syntax could be difficult. (Same basic meaning.)
For Republicans, "elephanta" works two ways: "A strong southerly or southeasterly wind which blows ... during the months of September and October and marks the end of the southwest monsoon. "Mistral" might also work for them: "A cold, dry wind blowing from the north over the northwest..." blah blah. I could go with "white squall," too.
I suspect the Hilary controversy re: decolletage and Robin Givhan might be considered a "haboob": "A strong wind and sandstorm (or duststorm) .... The name come from the Arabic word, "habb", meaning wind."
Or maybe that's a poor choice, I dunno.
Posted by: Curmudgeon | August 8, 2007 2:36 PM
I have a brother who wears a kilt on all formal occasions -- Royal Stuart, by way of clan Forbes, to which we have some allegiance. He took to it originally when he refused to wear a suit for any reason. He will now occasionally wear a suit, but still prefers the kilt. And I must say, he looks magnificent in it. He's one of those big black Scots, not the pear-shaped red ones.
Posted by: Yoki | August 8, 2007 2:38 PM
...although I understand they call the rain Tess, and the fire is Jo, and they call the wind Maria. Never quite figured that one out.
Posted by: Curmudgeon | August 8, 2007 2:39 PM
I fell like such an idiot, sitting here all alone giggling over "haboob." Which I presume is pronounced "HA! Boob!"
Posted by: nellie | August 8, 2007 2:40 PM
Nellie, you weren't giggling alone.
Posted by: Curmudgeon | August 8, 2007 2:42 PM
Thanks Mudge, definitely laughing about those, though I could probably do without additional Hilary cleavage images in my mind.
Posted by: lurkgineer | August 8, 2007 2:43 PM
Just read an email alert asking all on campus to reduce energy use NOW, until further notice. The risk of a Pepco rolling black or brown out over east and north of the city is a real possibility.
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 2:46 PM
Yoki -- loved reading this from you:
"...one of those big black Scots, not the pear-shaped red ones."
My darling (departed) mother descends from a long line of extremely tall and dark (illegally so) Wexford families. Nearly all sport gaelicized French or Breton names. So, tis partly Froggie in there too. NONE of my sibs inherited this look. We are all gingery-red; not pear-shaped in our middle-to-dotage, but tend to resemble the apple.
However, all the gents have calves befitting the kilt. And, unlike the tall, dark, and devlish cousins, we tend to keep the hair, taking it to the grave. The others, look like Sean Connery. Not that there is anything wrong with tha.
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 2:53 PM
Good stuff here about winds, from the novel The English Patient:
There is a whirlwind in wouthern Morocco, the aajej, against which the fellahin defend themselves with knives. There is the africo, which has at times reached into the city of Rome. The alm, a fall wind out of Yugoslavia. The arifi, also christened aeref or rifi, which scorches with numerous tongues. These are permanent winds that live in the present tense.
There are other, less constant winds that change direction, that can knock down horse and rider and realign themselves anticlockwise. The bist roz leaps into Afghanistan for 170 days - burying villages. There is the hot, dry ghibli from Tunis, which rolls nd rolls and produces a nervous condition. The haboob - a Sudan dist storm that dresses in bright yellow walls a thousand metres high and is followed by rain. The harmattan, which blows and eventually drowns itself into the Atlantic. Imbat, a seabreeze in North Africa. Some winds that just sigh towards the sky. Night dust storms that come with the cold. The khamsin, a dust in Egupt from March to May, named after the Arabic word for "fifty", blooming for fifty days - the ninth plague of Egypt. The datooi out of Gibraltar, which carries fragrance.
There is also the secret wind of the desert, whose name was erased by a king after his son died within it. And the nafhat - a blast out of Arabia. The mezzar-ifoullousen - a violent and cold southwesterly known to Berbers as "that which plucks the fowls." The beshabar, a black and dry northeasterly out of the Caucasus, "black wind." The Samiel from Turkey, "poison and wind," used often in battle. As well as the other "poison winds," the simoom, of North Africa, and the solano, whose dust plucks off rare petals, causing giddiness.
Travelling along the ground like a flood. Blasting off paint, throwing down telephone poles, transporting stones and statue heads. The harmattan blows across the Sahara filled with red dust, dust as fire, as flour, entering and coagulating in the locks of rifles. Mariners called this red wind the "sea of darkness". Red sand fogs out of the Sahara were deposited as far north as Cronwall and Devon, producing showers of mud so great this was also mistaken for blood. "Blood rains were widely reported in Portugal and Spain in 1901."
There are always millions of tons of dust in the air, just as there are millions of cubes of air in the earth and more living flesh in the soil (worms, beetles, underground creatures) than there is grazing and existing on it. Herodotus records the death of various armies engulfed in the simoom who were never seen again. One nation was "so enraged by this evil wind that they declared war on it and marched out in full battle array, only to be rapidly and completely interred."
Posted by: Achenbach | August 8, 2007 2:59 PM
That must be some "whirlwind in wouthern Morocco"!
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 3:03 PM
And also the Alpine föhn, which is blamed for everything from crankiness to migraine to psychotic episodes. When I was a kid in Switzerland, there was a court case in which a murderer's defense amounted to "the föhn made me do it."
Posted by: Yoki | August 8, 2007 3:06 PM
Datooi - a fragrant wind? We talking methane again?
Posted by: Scottynuke | August 8, 2007 3:07 PM
CP-As I near 50 I've decided to make my style mark by not wearing bright colors. Chicos just makes me more militant about it.
Posted by: frostbitten | August 8, 2007 3:08 PM
Thanks CP. The men in my mother's line who took after her Scots grandfather are all ginger and pear-shaped (though quite good-looking) and those who resemble her grandmother, tall and massive and dark (perfect for a kilt). It becomes complicated by my father's black Irish (willowy and dangerous-looking) heritage. I, sadly, got the pudgy-pear shape but the Irish dark hair, blue eyes and white skin (love the colouring, the shape not so much). I expect, when I arrive in Dublin in November, to see a lot of people who look like me.
Posted by: Yoki | August 8, 2007 3:12 PM
'the solano, whose dust plucks off rare petals, causing giddiness.'
Maybe that's what happens to the boodle some days!
Posted by: dr | August 8, 2007 3:25 PM
Then there's the "kamikazi," the "divine wind," so named for a typhoon that destroyed an invading Mongol fleet before it got to Japan in 1281 A.D.
Me, I'm goin' back to "Maria."* I love the way Bob Shane sings it on the Kingston Trio "Live From the hungry i"** album.***
*A.k.a. "They Call the Wind Maria."**** ** Lowercase "hungry i" is correct. ***Album: Archaic. Similar to 8-track, also archaic. See CD-ROM. Refers to a vinyl disc turning at 33 1/3 r.p.m. on a device with a photo of a dog with his ear turned to a megaphonic device. **** Lyrics by Alan J. Lerner, music by Frederick Loewe; also the source of Mariah [sic] Carey's first name
Posted by: Curmudgeon | August 8, 2007 3:27 PM
Datooi, the wind that dare not speak its name. Is this breaking news of a startling wind, or startling news of breaking wind? And as an aside, those of you wishing to see flatus ignited on screen, check out Werner Hertzog's "Stroszek." The flamethrower scene is early in the film which is by turns funny and tragic, but has one of the best closing lines in the history of film. "We have a 10-80 (police code for an explosion) out here, a truck on fire, we have a man on the lift. We are unable to find the switch to turn the lift off and we can't stop the dancing chicken. Send an electrician. We're standing by..."
Posted by: kurosawaguy | August 8, 2007 3:29 PM
Yoki -- loved reading this from you:
"...one of those big black Scots, not the pear-shaped red ones."
My darling (departed) mother descends from a long line of extremely tall and dark (illegally so) Wexford families. Nearly all sport gaelicized French or Breton names. So, tis partly Froggie in there too. NONE of my sibs inherited this look. We are all gingery-red; not pear-shaped in our middle-to-dotage, but tend to resemble the apple.
However, all the gents have calves befitting the kilt. And, unlike the tall, dark, and devlish cousins, we tend to keep the hair, taking it to the grave. The others, look like Sean Connery. Not that there is anything wrong with tha.
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 3:37 PM
Yoki -- you can pass as Dublin-born, easily. Just don't open your mouth and no one will know that you are not native.
Colm Toibin comes also of that dark line, however, he is only average hieght. His hair has been MIA for a long time.
Those black Irish -- illegally handsome! And the women so winsome, you too, with that buttermilk and ebony look. My gingery brothers are powerless for that combination. Aha! They would be looking for their mother. Freud was right!
Frosti -- another woman who says fie on Chicos....I was given a gift certificate two years ago, and had hard time giving it away to anyone who wanted the stuff.
All this talk about Paint Your Wagon! Let us recall with suitable incredulity that Lee Marvin and Clint Eastwood played roles in that musical. Lee Marvin sings "I Was Born Under a Wandring Star."
Only in America (or Western Canada!).
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 3:44 PM
Where did that repeat post come from? Shall we blame the heat?
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 3:45 PM
"Paint Your Wagon" AAAAAAAAUUGH! The Horror! The Horror!
Posted by: kurosawaguy | August 8, 2007 3:46 PM
Then there is the Yellow Wind:
SOUTH KOREA: April 10, 2000
SEOUL - South Korea, battling outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease, warned farmers on Friday to protect their herds from "yellow wind" from China which it said may be a culprit in spreading the infection.
The wind comes every spring, bringing desert sand and industrial pollutants from China across the Yellow Sea to Korea and Japan, environmentalists say. "Yellow wind is among the causes we are investigating," the agriculture ministry said in a statement. "With forecasts of yellow wind, we thought it best to advise farmers to be careful."
Posted by: Loomis | August 8, 2007 3:47 PM
Don't think I've ever seen a double-posting 44 minutes apart before. Interesting.
I'm rather fascinated with the fact that Joel, wherever he is (presumably at home), can quickly lay his hands on "The English Patient" and knows it well enough that he can draw out of it that long quote on winds. (I assume he's at home, unless he has a copy of it in the office, which, having seen his desk, is both possible but unlikely he could actually put his hands on it.)
I'd have quoted Raymond Chandler: "Those hot dry winds that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen."
Posted by: Curmudgeon | August 8, 2007 3:50 PM
I'm not a Chico's fan either, CP, though I do like jersey and cotton knit. Too expensive and they don't carry petites. If I have to alter it, forget it. Though I did by a tee in there today, half price.
Posted by: Slyness | August 8, 2007 3:52 PM
Awwwww, CP and K-guy, didn't you guys notice I carefully avoided all mention of "Paint Your Wagon"? I did, on purpose, you know. I'm not a sadist, after all. I like the song--not the whole &^%$#&^% musical.
Posted by: Curmudgeon | August 8, 2007 3:52 PM
Tribute video to Lee Marvin. Stay with it to hear Lee Marvin's astonishing effective untrained basso-profoundo voice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqjSgMZ_CSo&mode=related&search=
Better than I remember. Really. Could do with out the cheesy backup vocals that sound like they rented a section of the Morman Tabernacle Choir.
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 3:55 PM
BTW, the temp hit 102 at Washington National today. Seems to be 101 here now according to my desktop icon thingee. Wind chill factor makes it feel like the char-broil setting on my new grill.
We lost power (presumably a brownout) last night in Waldorf until 8 p.m.
Posted by: Curmudgeon | August 8, 2007 4:03 PM
Good grief! Next you'll be linking to Clint Eastwood singing "I Talk to the Trees", otherwise known as "the cinephile's Kryptonite."
Posted by: kurosawaguy | August 8, 2007 4:11 PM
President Bush was managing general partner of the Texas Rangers from 1989 until he was elected Executioner of Texas in 1994. Several former Rangers -- Ivan Rodriguez, Juan Gonzalez, Rafael Palmiero, and Jose Canseco -- are all alleged to have used, or have admitted to using, steroids while playing for Bush.
Old El Arbusto made a delayed phone call to Bonds today. Canseco authored a book about the prevalence of steroids in baseball during the early 90s and pointed out that Bush must have known about the drug use in the clubhouse. George Junior, born with a silver coke spoon in his mouth, has denied that Fredo covered up his drinking and driving.
Posted by: The Arbusto Bandido | August 8, 2007 4:15 PM
Slyness, in our spare time -- with Frosti -- we would develop a clothing line based on jersey, with subtle patterns that flatter as needed; conceal as needed, etc. (the comfort and forgiveness of knit!)....fire retardant, to boot!
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 4:16 PM
The sad part of this is that Bonds was so talented, but I suppose that ego got caught up in the Sosa/McGuire/home run record races. Without juice he'd have still probably been around 650, but he reduced himself to Big Pappa Pump or Hulk Hogan of professional wrestling by taking steroids; in other words, the record now belongs to a circus freak.
Posted by: Muskrat | August 8, 2007 4:22 PM
For two weeks now "the Koreans" have been on my schedule at the insistence of a colleague who is basically my mayoral counterpart in tribal circles. The group's arrival was deemed so important that a messenger was dispatched this morning to stop by my house and make sure I was still available. I arrived at the appointed place and time only to be greeted as if meeting the mayor was as much an honor as the president himself granting an audience. Before I knew what was happening I was whisked away to receive a manicure and a very gentle "sharing of Christ's love." Still recovering from the blinding camera flashes and hand shaking. The Koreans have departed for a softball game and a tour of an historic logging camp and I'm left thinking about their brethren in Afghanistan.
Posted by: frostbitten | August 8, 2007 4:22 PM
Mudge... thanks to iTunes, the word "album" is being used again. Which makes sense, since it has nothing to do with the physical being of the collection. It's an album of songs.
Remember the Simpsons' version of Paint Your Wagon?
Gonna paint our wagon, Gonna paint it good, We ain't braggin', We're gonna coat the wood. Chorus: They're gonna paint their wagon, gonna paint it good, they ain't braggin', they're gonna coat the wood.
I'm gonna paint this wagon, I'm gonna paint it fine, I'm going to use oil-based paint because this wood is pine. Ponderosa Pine!
Posted by: TBG | August 8, 2007 4:23 PM
*giggling again* bc, you said "shag" in your 1:48.
Posted by: Raysmom | August 8, 2007 4:30 PM
We're at 90 with a heat index of 97. 52% humidity is much better than the 93% we had this morning, but it's still miserable.
Needless to say, not much work being done in the shop right now. It's kinda hard to stain and lacquer something when you're dripping sweat all over it. I also discovered that under these conditions, lacquer has a tendency to pool instead of leveling off.
btw... I'm back to zero on the sobriety counter and probably going to stay there for a while. I'm also not planning on mentioning it again because I'm tired of sounding like a broken record and giving recovery and AA a bad name. I'd *like* to quit drinking, but I really don't *want* to, so I'm just going to shut up about it.
So how about them Nats?
Posted by: martooi | August 8, 2007 4:44 PM
3 red line Metro stations are closed (DuPont Circle, Woodley Park & Cleveland Park) due to a suspicious package.
Looks to be a fun commute home.
Posted by: Moose | August 8, 2007 4:44 PM
101 degrees currently, feels like 104.
CP, I love the idea! We could make fabulous clothes...
Posted by: Slyness | August 8, 2007 5:07 PM
NOT running to the bus. Walking, slowly, staying in shadows wherever possible.
Posted by: Curmudgeon | August 8, 2007 5:25 PM
Just remember, Martooni, my prior posts about "controlled alcoholics." Those of us to just don't want to stop, but know enough to keep in under control.
Posted by: Shiloh | August 8, 2007 5:31 PM
Mudge writes, 'I'm rather fascinated with the fact that Joel, wherever he is (presumably at home), can quickly lay his hands on "The English Patient"...'
Yeah, it's a remarkable thing I've invented, Mudge, called Google.
Posted by: Achenbach | August 8, 2007 5:35 PM
And "who" become prepositionally challenged after a few beers.
Posted by: Shiloh | August 8, 2007 5:37 PM
Joel will next be stalking the Gore claim to invention of the internet.
Posted by: Shiloh | August 8, 2007 5:39 PM
Yeah, my dad was one of those controlled alcoholics. He spent years gradually destroying his brain. It was so much fun to observe. He used to wander outside in the middle of the night stark naked to take potshots at the birds. Finally he became so disoriented that wandered out in front of a speeding car. They had to remove half his skull to let the brain swelling go down. Of course, there is a bright side. He finally stopped drinking.
Posted by: RD Padouk | August 8, 2007 6:03 PM
Ad hominen object lessons, RD, are a stock in trade of rehabilitation programs. My favorite story is about the transactional analysis of AA groups that feast on lapsed members. It is when all have been dry that they all again begin to drink because that becomes the only basis for retaining the group dynamic.
Posted by: Shiloh | August 8, 2007 6:17 PM
Just keep talking, dude. 'Cuz we care no matter what. *hugs*
Posted by: Scottynuke | August 8, 2007 6:29 PM
Several kinds of hell-on-earth. At least two involve addiction. Case A: The suffering of a person who struggles with addiction. Case B: The suffering of people who are related to a beloved with a drinking problem. And, to think that they are related, these cases of suffering.
RD is not speaking as a AA person to another. He tells a true story about how drinking devasted his father and -- I expect his -- family. He is entitled to his irony. I expect it stings. It should.
Martooni: The day of drinking does not undo the days not drinking. The dry days stand. I hope that, eventually, the dry days will be something you like and want. Take care.
One uncle stopped drinking in his late sixties. Never too late. He missed out on lots. And many hearts were bruised, other than just his.
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 6:38 PM
Mudge--if doing a baseball slide, dark plaid boxer briefs (and jockstraps) would definitely be a must under a kilt. Thongs wouldn't hold up under the friction, I would think.
Error Flynn, like your namesake, you should wear the appropriate manly Anglo-Saxon gear-- a tunic.
Brecs/ hose might be optional, and a suitable cloak goes well with tuxes, too http://www.housebarra.com/EP/ep06/09anglodress.html
Frostbitten, while I agree on the lack of utility of those necknooses up north...
You're forgetting about the "Canadian tie"-- aka a scarf, cravat etc.
And I can't believe I'm actually writing about male "fashion." I have been infected with the givhanvirus, or was that the haboobvirus?
Posted by: Wilbrod | August 8, 2007 6:43 PM
I have proposed, CP, RD, and Scotty, a "middle way." Nuke is the most supportive of the reactionaries, RD has imposed his personal angst, and you, CP, have failed to consider Case C.
Posted by: Shiloh | August 8, 2007 6:46 PM
Is Case C the moderate drinking path? That is a fine road to be on. That is my highway.
Shiloh, I don't want to ruffle feathers or be sanctimonious.
The middle path, a strategy valued in many codes, often works wonders. I think we agree on that.
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 6:58 PM
I hear buddhism helps with the middle way. Taoism, (balance), epicurism, etc. also are good philosophies to embrace.
But if at heart, one likes to go from extremes to extremes, the middle path may be hard to walk.
Posted by: Wilbrod | August 8, 2007 7:02 PM
Shiloh, how to put this?
For some of us who grew up with controlled or functional alcoholics, personal angst about liquor reverberates in our souls. It can strike us hard and deep and bring forth feelings which may be impossible to express without years of therapy, if then. Sometimes it takes you back to seemingly what you felt then, when you had no escape. I don't know that that's where RDP is coming from, but I think *imposed* is a word you might want to reconsider.
What do you really think Option C offers the family of a controlled alcoholic?
Posted by: dbG | August 8, 2007 7:03 PM
Can you actually impose angst? Look, my little story was just to remind people that one need not be a classic fall-down-and-drive-the-porcelain-bus alcoholic to do grave damage to both your body and your life.
Posted by: RD Padouk | August 8, 2007 7:08 PM
Case C, CP, is indeed the moderate or (self) Controlled path. And we agree. I expected no less from you in understanding, and my expctation of Scotty was on target. RDs object lesson is not unwelcome, but there should be some sense of understanding of the human condition inherent in our personal experience.
Posted by: Shiloh | August 8, 2007 7:11 PM
I'm going to the gym to cool down from this, but I agree with RDP.
Posted by: dbG | August 8, 2007 7:11 PM
'Tis not for me to judge, nor to ask someone to do what they have said they are not willing to.
All I can do is listen and then try to understand.
Posted by: Scottynuke | August 8, 2007 7:12 PM
This far too serious a disscussion for the heat wave you seem to be under.
Yesterday on my commute home, I passed a half ton truck with a heaping truck box full of buns. Hot dog buns, hamburger buns, submarine buns.
I'm fairly certain by the way they were tossed on the load that they were not for human consumption in their original form. What in heavens name would anyone do with that much bread?
Considering yesterdays mega fauna, my first thought was someone was stuffing a really really big bird.
Posted by: dr | August 8, 2007 7:15 PM
Option C. dBG, offers the family of the acknowledged alcoholic an avenue for understanding that neither supports nor demonizes the disease, but proves that love conquers all.
Posted by: Shiloh | August 8, 2007 7:18 PM
The baseball topic reminded me of this treasure in "American Memory" at the Library of Congress: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/bbhtml/bbhome.html
If you search on players, you will find one Dude Esterbrook, who played first base for the Indianapolis Hoosiers. Take a look at his uniform and moustache. Enjoy.
Off to water the flowers, again, and watch yet another moonflower unfold.
Posted by: College Parkian | August 8, 2007 7:21 PM
The other danger about "controlled alcoholism" is that chronic low-level drinking can also be used to both mask and self-medicate an underlying emotional problem.
In later years we figured out that my Dad was mildly bipolar, but his drinking made these cycles far, far worse.
So before one settles in to a life as a comfortable well-managed functional alcoholic, it might be prudent to make sure that demon rum is the only demon one has around.
Posted by: RD Padouk | August 8, 2007 7:24 PM
My moonflowers are being coy. I have spoken softly to them, and tried to be a good listener, but so far they refuse to reward me with any blooms.
Posted by: RD Padouk | August 8, 2007 7:26 PM
Of course, my moonflowers are adopted, and they might still be pinin' for their childhood home.
Posted by: RD Padouk | August 8, 2007 7:30 PM
CP my garden desperately needs help drought and heat have taken their toll, as an eternal optimist I am holding out hope they will recover next year, in the mean time my neighbours have a lovely view of some dried up plants and a few that have been shorn of this years growth hoping the roots take hold. Not a pretty sight.
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 7:32 PM
Shiloh, I was taught to love the person, hate the sin.
My friends have spoken to me somewhat of the pain incurred by being raised by alcoholics, functional or dysfunctional.
One in fact seemed to be heading down the same path herself despite knowing and hating alcoholism... she said alcohol was the only thing that killed the pain. She also had multiple suicide attempts and likely suffered from bipolar depression.
Think about it. She hated it, but she was drawn to it anyway-- not just the genetics, but also the daily message she got that alcohol somehow changes things.
Likewise, I had a friend start smoking at 13 because she lived with heavy smokers. She finally quit in her 20's.
My friends, being deaf, did not have the option of Al-Anon or Alteen or whatever support programs are out there for families of alcoholics, smokers, even parents dying of cancer.
Sure, the parents could "hide" those problems, but it takes a toll anyway.
All I can say is that I am everlastingly grateful I did not have to deal with those issues growing up, support groups or no.
Posted by: Wilbrod | August 8, 2007 7:33 PM
I saw a program about the Lin family on TV last night on Recreating Eden.
I thought of the gardeners among us. You cannot believe the flowers they develop. (also kind of megafaun-ish)
Posted by: dr | August 8, 2007 7:37 PM
Familial dlagnostics, RD, are a popular anodyne for coping. Better, in my estimation, to directly address the issues, to not look for fault, but to deal with the condition at hand.
Maybe it is time to get back to the frivolity of the blog, but some see humor in the realities that a community of invisible friends may enounter as they address issues as friends.
Posted by: Shiloh | August 8, 2007 7:38 PM
dr - aren't orchids fascinating? I used to work with a guy whose wife raised them. When they went for vacation I would water the flowers and try, desperately, not to kill the orchids by my mere presence.
Posted by: RD Padouk | August 8, 2007 7:51 PM
The orchids are indeed beautiful dr, indoor orchids have always intimidated me, I believe they need more care and attention than I generally provide my plants. My garden works only because I try to buy hardy plants that will survive my neglect, baring that I generally do a lot of replacing of "weaker" varieties. As such roses, orchids and anything to tempermental are not found in my garden - I just admire others.
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 8:01 PM
Martooni, you know perfectly well that there is no such thing as controlled alcoholism. Why are you deluding yourself yet again?
You know what the answer is. Why are you running away from it? Why are you so afraid of changing in a positive way? What is so important about your little ego that you can't put it aside and acknowledge the truth? Every day that you keeping running and hiding, you make the damage greater and more difficult to repair. You know that.
I have always liked M. Scott Peck's definition of love: the will to nurture one's own or another's spiritual growth. He says it takes two forms: work, the act of listening, and courage, the act of changing to ensure that positive growth can occur. Does that make sense? Why aren't you loving yourself and your family? Do you understand the pain and hurt and damage you're doing?
Why are your little problems more important that loving your family?
Adults find the courage to acknowledge their problems and then find the help they need to solve them. When are you going to grow up and do that? Can you live with the consequences of being too cowardly not to?
I care enough to say this: Get up off your GD lazy, selfish a$$ and do what you have to do.
Posted by: Slyness | August 8, 2007 8:03 PM
Just a thought for you, Martooni -- consider using us as a mirror, allowing you to see yourself -- however you see yourself at any period in time -- in the thoughts you write, in the quite possible anguish and disappointment you feel, in the exultation of triumph, one day at a time. And I understand that a mirror reflects what you give it, with no mask, and to that extent it may be something that, from time to time, you might want to throw a quilt over to hide it (and you, perhaps).
While, for myself, I would like you to continue to write about your struggles with alcohol, I understand why you don't want to. And, for myself, but presumably for others here, I don't want you to feel as if you're disappointing *us* along with yourself. We still have your back, and we will always be here lofting support right back at you. You have been telling us your stories for a reason, and we haven't abandoned you and we haven't thrown up our hands in disgust. We haven't lost sight of the value you bring, whether clouded by liquor or cloaked in your unrequited hopes and dreams. It ain't over yet, Martooni. Not for any of us.
Maybe in some respects, those of us who come from families which put the "fun" in dysfunctional, can relate to your struggles, whether we come from families with alcoholics or not. We have become the family we picked, and not the family we're stuck with -- and guess what? In that way, we don't have to deal with the family politics (that's the best part).
Do what you feel that you need to do. We're still here. And we'll still probably nudge you from time to time to let us know what number you're on. Because we're like that.
Posted by: firsttimeblogger | August 8, 2007 8:03 PM
firsttimeblogger, that was so beautifully said.
Martooni I hope you can find the strength to love yourself enough to look after your health, you are a person with so much to give. I also wish for you the ability to see what we see in you, an amazingly bright, talented, creative and caring person. Those qualities are inherit in you not the alcohol.
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 8:16 PM
Posted by: dbG | August 8, 2007 8:20 PM
Wow. This is a boodle full of heart. Amazing place, isn't it?
Martooni... ftb's right that we don't want you to feel like you're disappointing us. You're not. You're probably disappointing yourself more than anything.
We're offering you many things: a helping hand, a kick in the butt, a friendly ear... whichever one works is the one that works for you. How profound is that?
Stick around and keep us posted. The bottom line: we care about you.
Posted by: TBG | August 8, 2007 8:25 PM
Dmd, indoors orchid are indeed fincky creatures, I believe. However, every year around February there's an orchid show (at the U.S. botanical conservatory) in DC that I simply love... it's a refuge from the dry brittle winter.
The best of orchids, without the care or fuss. What could be better?
Roses may need some time to establish themselves, but many roses are far from being "coddled". All you need to do is prune them back so they don't take over the garden and fail to flower as they should.
I grew up with a wild-seed rambler rose-- a cross between a white and a red or pink rose that had a pink blush (and no really strong odor). That rosebush was over 8 feet long, nearly as wide, and as high. I believe one year it got 11 feet wide before I pruned it well back.
I used to prune it lightly, rake under it to remove thorns and branches, then put straw down and read under the rosebush.
I believe that rosebush helped to kill 3 trees in its proximity-- a japanese cherry, a dogwood, and a silk tree all died over 20 years but it lasted and thrived dark green and strong. Yeah, we had our japanese beetles, but some years seemed worse than others, and it always had hundreds if not thousands of roses ready for the picking.
Not all beauties are high-maintenance.
Posted by: Wilbrod | August 8, 2007 8:46 PM
Wilbrod, you just reminded me of the roses that grew up our house when I was young - thank you. Beautiful climbers. In all honesty I am not a big fan of roses, I do like lavender roses though and bought a climber once that was ment to be very fragrant and lavender - it turned out to be red, single and not a showy bloomer - it did not last long in my garden. Like Rain Forest's sister I can be very impatient with plants.
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 8:58 PM
"Not all beauties are high-maintenance."
Maybe not all, but most of us are.
Posted by: TBG | August 8, 2007 8:59 PM
TBG-- really, we could do with less, but why, when we deserve so much more?
Posted by: Wilbrod | August 8, 2007 9:09 PM
And that is so true of the two of you! :-)
Posted by: dbG | August 8, 2007 9:10 PM
I on the other hand subscribe to the method taught to me by the mother of a childhood friend, no matter how you look, look in the mirror and say I am beautiful - even better do this with others around especially strangers.
That is another in my long list of rationalization for being a no fuss, low maitenance person. :-)
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 9:23 PM
SCC no rationalization for spelling maintenance incorrectly however.
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 9:25 PM
This whole conversation is making me crazy.
I just wrote a really long angry interventionist post, which I have deleted.
I won't post what I want to, but I will say that I think that Martooni and Shiloh are lying to themselves and others. There is a choice to be made.
There are consequences to be, and which will be, suffered no matter which choice you make.
Don't try to fool us, or rationalize the choice. There are too many of us who have been *exactly* there for you to believe that you can lie to us.
Posted by: Yoki | August 8, 2007 9:29 PM
I have to vent on one of my peeves. It is NEVER, EVER 90 degrees and 90% relative humidity at the same time. Relative humidity is useless as a measure of mugginess because it means nothing without knowing the dry bulb temperature. Relative humidity is highest in the morning and late at night when the temperature is coolest (which is when most people are watching the weather on TV). It gets lowest mid-afternoon when the temperature is highest, but that is when the heat (and humidity) is worst.
If you are going to measure humidity, use dew point. It is currently a dew point of 73 degrees which is pretty durn humid. We don't need all these phony heat indexes and misery factors when we already have a perfectly valid well-reported number to measure humidity. If we really need a silly number that combines temperature and humidity, we should report enthalpy.
Posted by: yellojkt | August 8, 2007 10:03 PM
And thanks to Wilbrod, I have had random unwanted mental images of Hillary in an off-the-shoulder peasant blouse all evening.
Posted by: yellojkt | August 8, 2007 10:06 PM
I am thinking you would not be a fan of our "humidex" up here yello. Current temp 25c, dewpoint 17c, humidex 30c, humidity 63%. I must admit the only numbers that mean anything to me are the temp and humidex - sorry.
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 10:07 PM
yellojkt, the one that cracks me up is when it's winter in Florida and they report something like, it's 69 degrees, but with the WIND CHILL FACTOR, it feels like 66. And they are totally serious.
Posted by: kbertocci | August 8, 2007 10:20 PM
dmd, I'm with you. But you can't argue with yello on the engineered "humidex" or "sundex" or "feeldex" or "forddex". He caught me out whilst you were on vacation, and I had to grovel.
I would remind our Murkin friends that us Canajans really aren't used to hot humid weather (except for Eastern Ontario residents in August), and so most any number sounds credible to us, after 28.
Posted by: Yoki | August 8, 2007 10:22 PM
kbert, that is probably done for all the Canadian Snowbirds.
Last night was a good example here, it was not to hot yesterday as it rained for quite a while, but in the evening after the rain I went outside thinking it would be a pleasant 23c, only to find the humidity was around 90 something percent, not being used to using the dewpoint as a marker I can only relate to the fact that it was unpleasant and felt like 32c, or so Environment Canada told me.
Yoki I did happen to see that post of yours, 53 or 58 that is not a nice day. Highest recorded Humidex here was 50, I remember it well as I was pregnant that summer, I was not amused.
Posted by: dmd | August 8, 2007 10:34 PM
Barry Bonds just hit 757 into the cove - out of the park into the slough behind the park. Tons of kayaks and other small craft wait for out of the park balls.
TGB - I wasn't at the game - I'd heard there were no available tickets - I guess "got the ball dude" proved that report erroneous. Lots of folks from my office had gone to the park for a game last week, hoping that they would see history made. No history - lots of fun.
ORCHIDS - now this is a topic I can relate. I grow some lovely Cymbidiums. March/April is gorgeous blooming plants everywhere. I am attempting to grow/re-bloom some Masdevallias.
I am able to grow these outdoors - My climate cool - The ten day forecast has a high of 67 and a low of 53. Winter is slightly cooler with lows in the 40s.
I can't grow tomatoes here except the Italian plum or cherry variety. Not enough constant heat.
Posted by: Pacifica | August 8, 2007 10:36 PM
The discussion tonight made me think of Tom Waits:
The piano has been drinking, my necktie is asleep And the combo went back to New York, the jukebox has to take a leak And the carpet needs a haircut, and the spotlight looks like a prison break And the telephone's out of cigarettes, and the balcony is on the make And the piano has been drinking, the piano has been drinking...
And the menus are all freezing, and the light man's blind in one eye And he can't see out of the other And the piano-tuner's got a hearing aid, and he showed up with his mother And the piano has been drinking, the piano has been drinking As the bouncer is a Sumo wrestler cream-puff casper milktoast And the owner is a mental midget with the I.Q. of a fence post 'Cause the piano has been drinking, the piano has been drinking...
And you can't find your waitress with a Geiger counter And she hates you and your friends and you just can't get served without her And the box-office is drooling, and the bar stools are on fire And the newspapers were fooling, and the ash-trays have retired 'Cause the piano has been drinking, the piano has been drinking The piano has been drinking, not me, not me, not me, not me, not me
Martooni, forgive yourself and talk openly with the ones you love.
Posted by: bill everything | August 8, 2007 10:43 PM
bill everything, I read that song, and I think it might be the most heartbreaking true thing ever.
Posted by: Yoki | August 8, 2007 10:52 PM
Post hoc ergo propter hoc, I just broke Wordpress.
Sometimes I wonder if there's a better way here than discussing an issue and quickly turning away if there's conflict.
Maybe that's because I'm not as well-bred as some of my imaginary friends. Or maybe it's just the inevitable consequence of being the only person in my family who would say the emperor has no clothes. Not a popular position in an alcohol-hazed family, but apparently I was individuated even at 5. I almost never care what anyone else thinks about what I'm doing, and as an adult, that's a big blessing and sometimes a strong curse. You never know what this does to your kids, I guess. :-)
Martooni, love 'ya man. As Yoki said, though, there are consequences. Your consequences don't belong to me or any other Boodler, just to you and your family. That's why I haven't said a lot. But, again, as Yoki & Slyness said let's not pretend. We're here, we're supportive, but let's not pretend the stakes are insignificant.
Shiloh, controlled may work for you, and I hope it does. We all have a right to our own opinion, and in mine, your using words like *imposed*, *reactionary*, *ad hominum*, and *familial diagnostics* is judgemental even as you chide someone for what you imply as judgement to Martooni. Every opinion written here is worth no less than yours. Period.
Slyness & Yoki, thanks, tigers. You both stood up and spoke from your big hearts and the world needs more of that. And to the peacemakers, thank you too.
Posted by: dbG | August 8, 2007 10:58 PM
Yoki, Tom Waits, simply, rules.
Posted by: bill everything | August 8, 2007 10:59 PM
shiloh, with all due respect, i'd have to hear the private opinions of your family member before i could believe you.
martooni, based on some things you've said, your health won't let you keep going down this road. take care of yourself.
Posted by: L.A. lurker | August 8, 2007 11:14 PM
Your inference, dbg, may not be what I imply, and I will agree that you are judgmental and opinionated, but that is your right. As attributed to Arouet (Voltaire) "I may not agree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to say it."
Posted by: Shiloh | August 8, 2007 11:19 PM
Snide words speak for themselves, Shiloh.
Posted by: dbG | August 8, 2007 11:23 PM
Interestingly, lurker, it is the love and support of family that keeps me to the "middle way."
Posted by: Shiloh | August 8, 2007 11:25 PM
But then, the exasperation and inability to suffer fools lightly pulls from the other side of the "middle way."
Posted by: Shiloh | August 8, 2007 11:27 PM
Yoki, to perfectly understand it, you gotta hear the vocal
The video, not so much.
Posted by: bill everything | August 8, 2007 11:29 PM
I can only confine my opinion to what I know, not what I think.
What I do know is that alcoholism killed my cousin, and he had tried to quit and went into denial but kept going back, so my heart is with what Slyness and Yoki are saying.
I remember dancing with my cousin at his sister's wedding, beer on his breath; I didn't think anything of it although I did joke he had a beer or two in order to want to dance with me. He later came back that evening and insisted that he had only one beer-- again and again. I hadn't even thought he was drunk, you know, it was just a joke.
I guess I should have suspected then what was common knowledge in his family-- that he was an alcoholic. Later, he was a drunk driving accident-- his girlfriend was hospitalized and he was fearful of jail time as he had already had his license yanked for DWI.
He was down, he started drinking because he was down, and he had a gun at hand and decided to take the "easy way out."
As it happened he shot himself 12 hours before I was scheduled to arrive at my uncle's house for a holiday visit. You can imagine the expressions that greeted us when I arrived, and how quickly that holiday turned into a funeral planning.
He left behind 3 children.
Yes, there was the post-mortem analysis of what made his drinking spiral out of control. Grief and depression were involved.
My heart is also with the concept that quitting is much easier said than done, but said it must be, again and again. "No" is a word that has to be practiced.
Dbg, you'll know about deconditioning from working with your rescue dogs.
The key is to turn away when a conflict arises; not to reward excuses or aggression by any means, let things settle down and be ready to come back later.
How this works with the wily, complicated world of humans is something I'm still figuring out, of course.
I wouldn't say my cousin was stupid. He was bright enough, made a life for himself. But alcohol made him do very, very stupid things.
Why he surrendered to letting alcohol do his thinking for him is truly the mystery of addiction that others cannot fathom. For those others, "Option C" makes no sense.
Posted by: Wilbrod | August 8, 2007 11:31 PM
On the good side of this issue, I'm glad that alcoholism is finally out of the closet and in peoples' minds more than it ever was. It's interesting that martooni and others are willing to share their battles with addiction. I wonder if any boodler would dare to tell us, "I keep cheating on my spouse and I can't stop."
Posted by: TBG | August 8, 2007 11:34 PM
I am a man of simple desires. All I desire from baseball is this: to know how to pronounce "Svrluga" and "Wojciechowski".
Posted by: Tim | August 8, 2007 11:38 PM
TBG, Maybe if Bill Clinton boodled... ;)
Sex addiction is an interesting issue. I think they'd be using the internet for other purposes rather than boodling.
Posted by: Wilbrod | August 8, 2007 11:38 PM
And Yellojkt? Sowwy. *Evil cackle*.
Posted by: Wilbrod | August 8, 2007 11:41 PM
Keeping on the off topic, Tim, Svrluga and Wojciechowski and probably more easily pronounced with the assistance of Aquavit and Polish Vodka.
Posted by: Shiloh | August 8, 2007 11:48 PM
Posted by: Shiloh | August 8, 2007 11:49 PM
I think if the truth were known sex addiction would be commonplace.
TBG, good question. I can tell you that both my Mum and Dad had hopelessly lost addicts in their immediate families, but at no time did they tell us five kids about it. We had to *winkle* it out of them.
I have been upfront with #1 and #2 about the danger to their health. #2 had me laughing out loud, when she was something around 9 years old, and parodied her grandparents by winking and hiding her mouth behind her hand and stage-whispering, "It is something we are not very proud of!"
Posted by: Yoki | August 8, 2007 11:54 PM
According to the Nationals Journal, the blogger's name is pronounced
sverr-LOO-ga, just like it's spelled: the SV is the same sound as in RSVP.
Doesn't sound that hard to me.
That sounds like something Wilbrodog could pronounce.
I think if I get another chow-chow mix, I'll call him Who-joe-chow-ski too.
It's just the perfect name for a Vizla-chow mix.
Posted by: Wilbrod | August 8, 2007 11:55 PM
I've deleted a couple of comments already, but just want to say that I think the alcoholism discussion has been heartfelt and well-intentioned, even if there is disagreement and possibly hurt feelings. I think I can speak for the boodle in saying that we want you to beat this, Martooni. I hope you find a way that works for you.
Posted by: mostlylurking | August 8, 2007 11:57 PM
Wilbrod, you make me laugh. Thank you.
Posted by: Yoki | August 8, 2007 11:58 PM
Tonight's off topic discussion has been brought to you by the W.C.Fields Memorial Foundation and the Lady's Christian Temperance Union. Your support of this non-profit panel discussion can be enhanced by making a contribution to your favorite candidate in the current presidential race. Good night.
Posted by: Shiloh | August 9, 2007 12:08 AM
Yesterday for treats I figured I'd teach Wilbrodog how to help me make the bed. It's just grab and drag to indicated spots, and putting pillows on, right?
Well, I had to encourage him to lie down and keep his balance to pull pillows up, and we had a minor disagreement on where to place the pillows, and frequent stops for the treats.
In all, he did do the tasks I outlined for him, and he didn't shed on the bed TOO much, but I'd have to have an arm in a cast and a bad back to WANT to have him help make beds on a routine basis. So it was successful, unlike the vacuuming lesson (dang, he shed it, he should vacuum it, right?)
Dog maids are just a bad idea.
Posted by: Wilbrod | August 9, 2007 12:15 AM
It is sort of like giving 3-year-olds the job of setting the table. What is your goal? To have place mats (or tablecloths) on the table, with a counted number of cutlery-items, and some napkins? Or to have all those items properly placed?
It is instructive for us, I think, to examine our own motivations and intentions.
Posted by: Yoki | August 9, 2007 12:23 AM
Wilbrod - can I take it that you have a chow mix? Is there anything you can recommend to help me train my lab-chow mix? I'd like for him to be more friendly around other dogs. The trainer we went to said that it could just be the chow breed that makes him cranky around other dogs.
BTW - I'm still sniffling reading this.
Posted by: AZBlueHen | August 9, 2007 12:27 AM
If anyone is interested in tonight's wildlife report. I saw some type of big cat down by the river. It may have been the mountain lion I saw earlier this spring. Unfortunately just before I saw the big cat I saw a fawn and it seemed to be alone.
There was also a strong smell of skunk along my commute, really strong like it just sprayed.
That's all back to the normal boodle.
Posted by: greenwithenvy | August 9, 2007 12:43 AM
Good analogy with the 3 year old-- when you teach, you don't expect perfect results immediately.
My motivation was mostly to review some old training in a new application and see whether he could understand my directions and do a gentle hold and not rip cloth (well trained)-- and in that it was a success, and also to see what tasks he might need training on.
He didn't do apple-pie, nor did I expect it, but he was able to pull the cloth to where I wanted it to be and I could finish out smoothing myself.
I finally got him to place the pillow correctly on the bed, by showing that while he couldn't jump on the bed with the pillow, he COULD jump on the bed and then drag the pillow up.
He may put that lesson to good use in a different situation later, such as retrieving something from a ditch.
You never know when you may have to improvise, so I try and give him unusual multi-step tasks now and then, telling him when he has gotten one step right and then going to the next step.
Examples were when I needed him to take and bring to me the strap of a backpack to my hand, not the backpack itself (too heavy for him) so I could pull it out. It took 3 tries for him to get what I needed.
But above all, it was a chance for him to earn some treats ;). The shedding is the top reason why I wouldn't have him make my bed, though.
Posted by: Wilbrod | August 9, 2007 1:09 AM
I really don't know what to say, other than I really don't want to say anything. But I suppose I have to, considering I started it.
I chose to share my "condition" -- with all its ups and downs -- but I never intended it to become either a pity party or a soapbox platform. I'm sick. If I can't get a grip on it, I'll more than likely die from it. So it goes.
And that's where I'd like to leave it -- so it goes.
There are way too many people (a certain Boodler comes to mind) who are in worse straits than me health-wise for no reason other than bad luck. They are the ones who deserve your prayers and well wishing. Not me.
I'm not saying that addiction should be ignored or belittled. It's a real disease. It may be a disease with an easy cure -- just stop -- but as they say in AA, it's cunning, baffling, and powerful. Abstinence is the obvious solution, but when you're a miserable wretch who only finds peace at the bottom of a bottle of hootch, what the he11 are you supposed to do? Pills don't work. Love only goes so far. When your brain is on fire and your body is shaking itself apart -- and you know a shot of whiskey will make it all better -- what would you do? Tough it out? Been there, done that. But even after months of "being good", it creeps up on you. It twists your brain around. It whispers like the lover you always wish you had. It promises you paradise. It plays on your guilt, your pride, your strengths, your weaknesses, your fears and hopes.
Basically, addiction is a parasite that never rests until its host is dead.
I know that I'll never win against my parasite. My only hope at this point is a draw. I like to drink and nothing will ever change that. On the other hand, I can't drink like I used to, which is also an undeniable fact.
Abstinence hasn't solved this conundrum (nor has God, a Higher Power, Me, or AA), so enforced moderation is the only alternative.
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Collapse Is Latest Fight For Coal's Best Friend
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As he keeps watch outside the Utah coal mine where six of his employees have been trapped since Monday, Robert E. Murray angrily fends off suggestions that it was his company's mining technique, and not an earthquake, that caused the collapse 1,500 feet below ground.
Murray's confrontational stand outside the Crandall Canyon mine is just one more battle in a war he has been waging in defense of an industry he believes is unjustly vilified. In the past year, Murray has emerged as one of coal's most ardent defenders against charges that it is driving global warming, arguing on Capitol Hill and in interviews that restricting coal would decimate the U.S. economy.
"I know what's going to happen to families . . . and I cannot sit back and let it happen," Murray said in a lengthy interview with The Washington Post earlier this summer. "I'm an American first, and I resent extremely that what you are doing is destroying the American economy and causing the deterioration of the American way of life."
Yesterday, he told reporters at the scene that rescuers were seeking to drill a hole within two days to provide the miners with air, water, "everything they need, even a toothbrush and comb." He repeated that it could be at least a week until the miners could be brought out, after rescuers were forced to give up the fastest route, an old mine shaft, because of falling rock.
The stocky 67-year-old mine operator's style in handling the disaster fallout is getting as much notice as the progress of the rescue. In the televised news conferences, he has struck a feisty, unpredictable tone, swinging between tart rebuttals of reporters' questions -- he singled out some for "particularly bad reporting" -- and pledges of solidarity with the trapped miners. "I will not leave this mine until those men are rescued, dead or alive," he said.
On Tuesday, he used the spotlight to deliver a general paean to coal, with harsh warnings of a sort that many economists have challenged: "Without coal to manufacture our electricity, our products will not compete in the global marketplace against foreign countries because our manufacturers depend on coal for low-cost electricity, and people on fixed incomes will not be able to pay for their electric bills," he said. "Every one of these global warming bills that has been introduced in Congress today will eliminate the coal industry and increase your electric rates four- to fivefold."
Murray's unconventional handling of the news conferences has drawn criticism from Reps. George Miller and Lynn Woolsey, both California Democrats and chairmen of House committees that oversee labor and workforce issues. They have urged the Labor Department to take over the spokesman role from Murray, saying his statements do "not meet [the] standard" expected at such emergencies.
Despite the lawmakers' criticisms, Murray was back at the microphones in his characteristic sweater vest yesterday, dismissing the notion that the mine collapse was caused by a method known as "retreat" mining. The technique involves miners working their way out of a mostly exhausted mine by excavating coal in the rock pillars that support the roof of the mine. As the coal is extracted, the pillars and the mine roofs eventually fall down.
The mine had a permit to use this approach, and Robert M. Friend, deputy assistant secretary of labor for the Mine Safety and Health Administration, said in an interview last night that while the cause of the collapse is still undetermined, it is clear that "there was retreat mining where these miners are." Of Murray's denials that retreat mining played a role, Friend said, "I can't speculate as to what he meant."
Seismologists have disputed Murray's contention that the collapse was caused by an earthquake. An analysis of seismic waves that occurred in the area around the time the mine collapsed are consistent with what would be seen from a mine collapse, not an earthquake, said Harley Benz, who heads the National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo. Any subsequent seismic activity that has been detected may have been related to energy being released in the aftermath of the collapse, he said.
Murray Energy, which co-owns the Crandall Canyon mine with Utah's Intermountain Power Agency, is based in Cleveland and operates 11 mines in Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Utah producing 32 million tons of coal annually, with $468 million in sales and 3,000 employees. It is the country's largest independent, family-owned coal producer, though it is dwarfed by corporations such as Peabody Energy.
Murray has been at the company's helm since he founded it 20 years ago, but he likes to remind his audiences that he is no boardroom suit. He comes from three generations of coal miners in southeastern Ohio, his father was paralyzed in a mining accident, and he himself has been injured below ground. (He pulled back his shirt to show reporters one scar this week.) To help support his family, Murray worked in mines and mowed lawns as a teenager, using a miner's hat with a lamp to allow him to work after dark. After considering medical school, he won an engineering scholarship at Ohio State University and spent the next three decades at North American Coal. He rose to chief executive but left in 1987 after, he says, clashing with the board over its plan to slash workers' pensions. He then took out a mortgage on his house to start his own company.
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As he keeps watch outside the Utah coal mine where six of his employees have been trapped since Monday, Robert E. Murray angrily fends off suggestions that it was his company's mining technique, and not an earthquake, that caused the collapse 1,500 feet below ground.
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Vacancies Whittle Away Right's Hold On Key Court
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Four years ago, Judge Diana Gribbon Motz challenged the conservatives who dominated the federal appeals court in Richmond, urging her colleagues to reverse a decision backing the Bush administration's detention of a U.S. citizen as an "enemy combatant." She called the ruling unprecedented and "chilling."
In June, Motz, the leader of the court's moderate-to-liberal wing, gave her views the force of law, ruling against President Bush in another major terrorism case involving an enemy combatant. The administration might be unable to get the full court to overturn her ruling -- there aren't enough sympathetic judges left.
Motz's ascension illustrates a remarkable turnaround: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, long considered one of the nation's most conservative appellate courts, is shifting to a moderate direction with the balance up for grabs. A growing list of vacancies -- now five -- has left the court evenly divided between Republican and Democratic appointees.
With an election year approaching, experts predict the court will tilt decisively to the left if Democrats keep control of Congress and reclaim the White House.
"There is a very good chance that this court will be solidly Democratic for many, many years," said Arthur D. Hellman, a University of Pittsburgh law professor. He said the current 5-5 split -- which began July 17 when Judge H. Emory Widener Jr., a Republican appointee, took semi-retirement -- is "tremendously significant."
The battle over the 4th Circuit, part of the broader struggle for control of the federal judiciary, resonates nationwide because the court has played a key role in terrorism cases since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Its rulings affect everyone who lives, works or owns a business in Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the Carolinas.
The 15-member court has lost several prominent Republican appointees. Two of Bush's nominees, bottled up in the Senate even when Republicans ran it, were withdrawn this year when Democrats took over. The president only recently submitted one additional nominee, triggering concern among some conservatives that an opportunity to keep control is being lost.
"The White House has not moved with an urgency that is warranted by the situation," said Charles J. Cooper, a Justice Department official in the Reagan administration, who called the 4th Circuit's vacancies "an absolute crisis." He said Senate Democrats also deserve blame for blocking Bush's earlier nominees.
Emily Lawrimore, a White House spokeswoman, said the administration "is actively working to identify high-quality candidates to fill all judicial vacancies. We look forward to announcing these nominees as soon as possible." Liberal groups said Bush can still shape the 4th Circuit, and they called on him to nominate consensus candidates likely to win Senate approval. "The president still holds most of the cards when it comes to judicial appointments," said Wade Henderson, president of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
Whatever the outcome in the Senate, the growing list of vacancies has started affecting the court's decisions, legal observers say. The shift can be seen most prominently in two key terrorism cases. The 4th Circuit has been the administration's court of choice on national security, issuing key rulings that backed, for example, the prosecution of Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui.
In 2003, a three-judge panel supported Bush's detention of "enemy combatant" Yaser Esam Hamdi, a U.S. citizen captured with Taliban soldiers in Afghanistan who, at that point, had not seen a lawyer. Motz, a former assistant state attorney general in Maryland who was appointed to the 4th Circuit by President Bill Clinton in 1994, tried to get the case reheard by the full court. By an 8 to 4 vote, her colleagues refused.
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AP: Seafood From China Wasn't Screened
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-- At least 1 million pounds of suspect Chinese seafood landed on American store shelves and dinner plates despite a Food and Drug Administration order that the shipments first be screened for banned drugs or chemicals, an Associated Press investigation found.
The frozen shrimp, catfish and eel arrived at U.S. ports under an "import alert," which meant the FDA was supposed to hold every shipment until it had passed a laboratory test.
But that was not what happened, according to an AP check of shipments since last fall. One of every four shipments the AP reviewed got through without being stopped and tested. The seafood, valued at $2.5 million, was equal to the amount 66,000 Americans eat in a year.
FDA officials stuck the pond-raised seafood on their watch list because of worries it contained suspected carcinogens or antibiotics not approved for seafood.
No illnesses have been reported, but the episode raises serious questions about the FDA's ability to police the safety of America's food imports.
"The system is outdated and it doesn't work well. They pretend it does, but it doesn't," said Carl R. Nielsen, who oversaw import inspections at the agency until he left in 2005 to start a consulting firm, FDAImports.com. "You can't make the assumption that these would be isolated instances."
If the system cannot stop known risks, Nielsen said, how can it protect against hidden dangers, such as the ingredients from China that made toothpaste potentially poisonous and killed dozens of pets earlier this year?
"The FDA itself admits that this seafood needs inspection, but then doesn't have the capability to inspect it," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., a critic of the FDA's food safety record, said in reaction to the AP's findings. "This is an example of government failure at its worst."
China is America's biggest foreign source of seafood, the 1.06 billion pounds it supplied in 2006 accounting for 16 percent of all seafood Americans buy.
President Bush has asked a Cabinet-level panel to recommend better imported food safety safeguards. Chinese officials have promised to inspect fish farms closely for the use of drugs and chemicals, even as they called the FDA's testing mandate illegal under world trade rules.
FDA officials acknowledged that some shipments slip through import alerts, but said overall they work.
"Any time you introduce a human element into something, I don't think you can necessarily guarantee 100 percent," said Michael Chappell, the official responsible for field inspections and labs.
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-- At least 1 million pounds of suspect Chinese seafood landed on American store shelves and dinner plates despite a Food and Drug Administration order that the shipments first be screened for banned drugs or chemicals, an Associated Press investigation found.
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Newseum's Debut Will Be a Late Edition
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The building has already gobbled up part of the skyline along Pennsylvania Avenue NW, but the public will have to wait a while longer to visit the Newseum.
Museum officials confirmed yesterday that, because of what they described as delayed construction deadlines, the $435 million project will not open Oct. 15, as previously announced.
A new opening date has not been set, said Charles L. Overby, the museum's chief executive officer. "We are aiming for a formal opening in the first quarter of next year," Overby said. "We now have assurances that they will be done by the end of the year. We think they will be done by the end of November. Yet, having been burned once, we are holding up on setting a grand opening."
The delay is attributed to the complexity of the building and the final installation of state-of-the-art electronics that has to be done after the general contractor, Turner Construction, is finished. "We always knew it was going to be challenging," said William M. Brennan, executive vice president of Turner. "The museum folks are journalists and are not used to building buildings every day. They are fine-tuning the physical product to get exactly what they want." He said the company would be "out of there by mid-September."
After that, Overby said, the electricians and the designers who work on the cases and put up the big media screens will do their final work. Then comes a shakedown as invited guests try the different devices. "After Turner and all the fabricators, we want to have a period for calibrating and testing. A huge issue is sound levels. We have all these movies and videos. We want to do that for at least a month," Overby said.
The main funder of the Newseum is the Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan foundation in Arlington.
"It is a minor inconvenience. Yes, I'm annoyed that I didn't put more time into [the time frame between the construction completion and the opening]," Overby said. "Everyone we have informed has been understanding. People would be far more annoyed if they came on October 15 and it was only three-quarters done."
The building, at Sixth Street NW, is a departure in its size and the experience of the electronic age of media. It has seven levels totaling 643,000 square feet, with the museum occupying 250,000 square feet and 70,000 square feet dedicated to exhibits. It also includes apartments and a restaurant by chef Wolfgang Puck.
The museum has 14 galleries, 15 theaters, two broadcast studios and 130 interactive touch screens.
On July 24, the museum posted a story on its Web site under the headline "Construction Update: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like a Newseum." The report said "major construction is complete" and that exhibits were being installed in a half-dozen areas. Hard-hat tours for special guests will continue, such as one this week for the journalism educators' association, but social events scheduled for the fall have been moved or postponed.
Earlier in the year, a three-story-tall guard tower that was part of the Berlin Wall was erected in a gallery; also moved into the building were a satellite truck and a bullet-pocked pickup truck used in reporting in the Balkans. A 74-foot-high engraving of the First Amendment, in Tennessee marble, was installed on the facade facing Pennsylvania Avenue.
The museum recently activated a news ticker, already visible from the street.
The Newseum will explore five centuries of news-gathering and major news events. A timeline will include giant photographs of the fall of Saddam Hussein's statue in Baghdad, the World Trade Center in flames on Sept. 11, 2001, and O.J. Simpson's mug shot.
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The building has already gobbled up part of the skyline along Pennsylvania Avenue NW, but the public will have to wait a while longer to visit the Newseum.
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In the Middle of a Civil War
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In late February 2006, al-Qaeda destroyed the Askariya Shiite shrine in Samarra. During the previous two months that my cavalry squadron had been operating in Iraq, my main focus was the technical training of the Iraqi national police and combined operations with them against Sunni insurgents in west Baghdad. Before Samarra, it did not seem important which areas of Baghdad were Shiite or Sunni or that the police battalions I operated alongside were almost completely Shiite. Before Samarra, I assumed that Iraqi citizens saw the national police as the security arm of the elected, and thus legitimate, government and that the officers had the people's support against insurgents.
It took about three weeks after the attack, in which time my combat patrols sprang from one Sunni mosque to another to protect them from Shiite militias that were at times supported by members of the national police, for me to realize what was really going on. For me, Samarra came to define the nature of the violence in Iraq: civil war.
Some say that Iraq cannot be in a civil war because the country's major institutions are not fighting each other with conventional military forces. But this is too formulaic and restrictive for what I saw and heard. On the streets of west Baghdad, almost every person I spoke to told me of a close relative or friend who was killed by Sunni insurgents or Shiite militia members.
In the summer of 2006, my squadron was assigned to Amiriyah, a Sunni district of Baghdad. I was the American commander in charge, and over five months I came to know well Sunni perspectives of Iraq. Many if not most Iraqi Sunnis think that the Iraqi government is not legitimate but sectarian and out to crush them. The Sunnis in Amiriyah believed that the government was using its institutional powers to deprive them of essential services such as electricity, trash pickup, banking facilities, health care and, most important, security. People I spoke with said that Iraqi security forces, especially the local and national police, were determined to kill them because they were Sunni. Their response to these ideas was not passive: Residents of Amiriyah, working with Sunni insurgents, would regularly target the Shiites in the area as payback for what they saw the government doing to them. The bodies that my squadron helped retrieve from the streets each day were almost always Shiite.
I decided that the best way to secure the neighborhood would be to hire local men, vetted by me and trusted imams in the district, and turn them into a police force. Not only did this prove to be exceedingly difficult, but government officials often told me that doing this was arming their enemy.
I ordered a concrete barrier to be built around Amiriyah and limited entry to one checkpoint controlled by the Iraqi army. The goal was to keep Sunni insurgents from bringing in weapons and to prevent attacks by Shiite militias. But while the barrier helped isolate the neighborhood from outside insurgents and militias, it could not stop, and actually facilitated, killings within Amiriyah. The security we helped provide for Sunnis gave them increased freedom to go out and kill Shiites or, more recently, to conduct fights against local al-Qaeda members. Amiriyah became one of the safest areas in Baghdad for Sunnis but lethal for the few remaining Shiites.
On many days I watched families moving in or out of Amiriyah. The families moving in were Sunni and often had been told to leave another area of Baghdad that was predominantly Shiite. If they were moving out, they were Shiites whom the Sunni locals or insurgents had threatened. Sometimes I saw homes burning, having been set aflame because the owner or occupants were Shiite.
The war that I faced was an insurgency within a civil war. I wish it had been the other way around. Had it been a civil war within an insurgency, the extremes could have been targeted and controlled and the large center of the people moved toward local compromise.
My primary objective as a commander was to protect all the people. I felt a measure of responsibility every time a Shiite body showed up on the streets. One day last October, my patrol came upon a scene I keep trying to forget. A man was lying on the street; his wife, who had blood running down her face, stood nearby crying as she clutched their baby. The child in her arms was dead, shot in the head, as the father had been. The man, who was a Sunni, and his child were killed by Sunni insurgents or local Sunnis -- sometimes it was hard to tell them apart -- because he had married a Shiite woman.
How can this not be civil war?
The writer, a lieutenant colonel in the 4th Infantry Division, operated in west Baghdad last year.
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For me, Samarra came to define the nature of the violence in Iraq: civil war.
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Chatological Humor (UPDATED 8.10.07)
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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.
Today, for the second week in a row, we begin with yet another unnerving glimpse into the peculiar personal relationships between members of the large family of individuals who deliver Chatological humor to you.
Today's chat is being produced by Mr. Paul Williams, who is filling in for Ms. Elizabeth Kelly, who is on vacation with extended family, in Duck, N.C.
As it happens, when I first attempted to enter the Washington Post computer system from home this morning, to begin answering early chat questions, there was a technological glitch. I could not get into the appropriate question queue.
Thus, I e-mailed Liz, who happened to be online. (Liz is always online. She is digitally accessible at all hours, an immature entendre I am not going to further exploit. At this time.) Anyway, Liz performed some operation at her computer in Duck, N.C., and it somehow enabled me to get online, into the appropriate queue.
I began working. Suddenly, on my screen, in an area reserved for private communication between host and producer, Liz sent me this message: "Are you in?"
It was a straightforward question. The average, normal, professional response to this question, between professional colleagues, would have been something like. "Yes, thank you for your help." Or, "I am! Thanks!" But this is me and Liz, two people who enjoy a robust friendship, and who seldom communicate in platitudes or ordinary office-speak. And so, in response to Liz's question, "Are you in?" I wrote back:
"Like a [personal body part] in cottage cheese."
Ominously, Liz did not respond right away. Finally, she wrote back to thank me for this information, on behalf of both herself and her four nieces and nephews, ages 15, 11, 9, and 7, who were gathered 'round her computer to see what Aunt Lizzie does at work, with the famous columnist Mr. Weingarten.
I want to link to something very very odd, without further comment. It is a church-distributed, specially produced Archie comic.
Meanwhile, something else odd, and possibly disturbing, occurred in the comics pages this week. Now, Lynn Johnston is all sensitive and everything. We can agree on that. But do we not here have a five-panel strip that relies, for its gag, on a "retard joke"? Can anyone offer a more benign explanation?
I would have used that as a poll this week, but we seem to still be without polls. So I do welcome open commentary.
Another weak comics week. The CPOW is Sunday's Brewster Rockit, because it is intriguing. The First Runner up is Sunday's Lio, simply for the rats. Honorables: Saturday's Big Nate, Thursday's Baby Blues.
Delray Beach, Fla.: I have a question for you that has been on my mind for years. As a medical student on rounds, we went through a floor of people for whom death was imminent -- comatose, last stages of cancer, severe trauma patients -- an ICU. The attending brought us into a room to discuss the case of a woman in late stage cancer who was in the throes of delirium. She kept saying over and over, "Sylvia, Sylvia, I'm so sorry." I said to the nurse, "Who is Sylvia?" She said, "Sylvia is her daughter. They must be estranged because this lady's had no visitors." Without hesitation--or thought, really--I bent down to her ear, put my hand on her shoulder, and said, "It's okay, Mom. I forgive you." Everyone in the room was just dumbfounded. She immediately became quiet and went back to sleep. She died the next day. What do you think? Did I do the right thing? I think I did, but I'm still not sure. And this happened about 15 years ago.
Gene Weingarten: Wow. I hope this is true.
I'm really curious what Randy Cohen, the NYT ethicist would say about this.
Here's my thinking: The only person who might be bothered by this would be Sylvia, if she doesn't forgive her mother, and wouldn't want her mother to have any solace on her deathbed. Or, conceivably, Sylvia, had she been there, would have done exactly as you had done. You can't know.
What you did was the equivalent of easing someone's pain. You did right. I don't care what Randy would have said.
Gene Weingarten: Okay, let me add this. The journalist in me says that what you did was an assault on the truth. So, the question becomes: Is it wrong to lie to a dying person?
It's a more interesting question, perhaps. I'd say that the fact that she is dying is irrelevant; the question becomes, is this an excusable lie? I say yes.
I've been trying to decide whether or not to friend you on Facebook. On the one hand, I'm young and cute and female, so would add pretty well to your collection of young and cute females who've friended you.
On the other hand, I'm not sure you would like me very much. I'm a nice Republican girl from a Red State, I work for Republicans, I'm generally fairly conservative. I am a hardcore devotee of your chats and usually find you hilarious, but only because I have a highly developed ability to roll my eyes at the things you say that I feel are eye-roll worthy.
So should we be friends?
Gene Weingarten: Most of the gorgeous young persons who have friended me so far, I notice, identify themselves as "liberal," "very liberal," or "pastafarian," all of which seems to amount to the same thing.
I think you should friend me, but first answer a question on my "wall." Answer how one can be young and idealistic (I presume you are idealistic) and be a conservative Republican.
I easily can understand how one can be old and jaded and be a conservative Republican. I can understand how one can be young and callow and be a conservative Republican. I understand how one can be any age and be a conservative Republican if one is simply a political enthusiast and that happens to be the tribe into which one was born.
I understand how one can be middle-aged and disillusioned and be a conservative Republican. I understand how one can be any age and rich, and be a conservative Republican out of naked self interest. I understand how one can be associated with a religion that almost compels you to be a conservative Republican in order to stay true to values your religion enforces. Though this is sad.
I understand being young and an active neocon, and thus being a conservative Republican, but this supplants idealism with smug cynicism.
So, I need you to explain how you can be young and idealistic and a red state Republican conservative. Do that, on my wall or in a Facebook message, and I will immediately, and gratefully, friend you.
Silver Spring, Md.: Gene, when I was in high school, the door to our English class was often locked after lunch. Whoever got there first had to enter through the classroom next door and open the door for everyone who followed.
One day, I was the first kid there. By the time I got to the classroom door, our exchange student from Norway, Halvard Naaken was there, pulling on the locked door.
And I said, "I hear ya, Naaken, but you can't come in."
Now, I'm not saying this the greatest pun in the history of the world, but it's better than any pun I've ever come up with. And no one who I tell the story to laughs or even groans. I think I deserve my groan.
What am I missing here?
Gene Weingarten: It's a fine pun. I sanctify it, son.
You are being uncharacteristically harsh and un-empathetic with men writing in concerning their midlife crises.
I think these men feel comfortable reaching out to you because you are a great admirer of women and are comfortable admitting your attraction to them, while remaining deeply committed and satisfied with your wife and the life you have together. I feel the same way about my devoted, wonderful, supportive, smart, pretty wife. But I understand what these men are expressing: the gains of aging are not unconnected with certain, bittersweet losses. I find it hard to believe that you don't understand.
You seem almost threatened by these questions, like you suspect that these men are hoping you will absolve them for their desire and give them permission to cheat; is it not possible that they are just looking to you with envy for your ability to embrace what you have, while acknowledging the existence of desirable experiences, relationships and intimacies that they (and I, and you) must forego?
Your response to the second writer, who is aging and single and lonely, seemed -- let me be blunt -- especially heartless. I was single from the time I was 27 to 31 (but I had a paunch and a bald spot, and felt about 60), and it was such a miserable time that I have nothing but sympathy for anyone who, despite great intentions, is unable to make a connection with a significant other. Haven't you cited T.S. Eliot's "Love Song of Alfred J. Prufrock"? Is it possible that you didn't understand it?
How about some words of encouragement to those of us who are resolved to be good men, who want to be good men, but who sometimes feel sadness and loss for the things we give up, or never had, to BE good men?
Gene Weingarten: The reason I came down hard on that man is that his attitude was thunderously callous and stupid: That when a woman ages, she becomes, perforce, less physically desirable. I simply do not believe that.
I am not an absolutist about this at all. I understand the allure of youth and health. I am far less judgmental than many people on this subject, I think. People fall in love, and out of love, and I don't consider marriage to be ownership. Where I am pretty unyielding is in the matter of children: I believe that parents have an enormous responsibility to remain together when children are growing up, and that if they ignore that responsibility cavalierly, they are acting irresponsibly.
None of this really impinged on my answer to that guy. That guy was in deep, deep existential funk over the fact that he would never again sleep with someone who excited him, physically. I think he really needs to adjust his thinking.
Prufrock? Prufrock was a man who let life and love pass him by because he was an emotional coward. This is not parallel.
This guy is suffered because he is, basically, a cad.
Duck, N.C.: So, ummm, had any chocolate lately?
Gene Weingarten: This is Ms. Chatwoman, writing from vacation. On the day before she left, she came to my house to deliver the least funny book ever written, some cucumbers from her mommy's garden, AND some Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, which is an expensive dark chocolate made in Sicily, flavored with cinnamon.
Chatwoman contends that this is the best dark chocolate in the world, and that even a dark chocolate hater like me would have to agree. I promised I would try it and review it in this chat.
This is amazing stuff. The cinnamon gives it a nice, pebbly-grainy texture, kind of like the best cookie dough, plus cinnamon and chocolate is a quite delightful underutilized combination of tastes. The dark chocolate itself, while dauntingly musty and bitter, like all dark chocolate, does not impel my gag reflex, like most dark chocolate.
In short, I can nibble at this material without revulsion, and could down the entire chocolate bar without digestive eruption if need be. If I were wandering a forest, starving, and the only safe nourishment to be had was eating the maggots off rotting tree stumps, I can confidently state that Antica Dolceria Bonajuto would be the equivalent of the very best of the maggots, the one I would greedily consume, the ones I would hoard and keep from others, to stay alive.
It is nowhere near as good as a bar of Nestle's milk chocolate.
Turtle B,OY: You are so wrong about turtle boy. The kid is hysterical. Don't think about it as an adult, think about it as a kid. I would have loved doing that as a kid. And would have died if one my friends had done it. That is funny. It's even fun to do it as an adult. Next time someone asks a mundane question like "how you doing?" or "what's going on?", answer with "I like turtles." It is, indeed, good times.
Gene Weingarten: You are humor impaired. I have just finished a column on this very subject.
Rochester, N.Y.: Hey, I'd like to ask a serious question about humor...
You, Dave Barry, and Joel Achenbach (sic) are just about the only three newspaper people whose writing genuinely amuses me. And you all used to work at the Miami Herald. Is this a Miami thing? Is there something in the water down there? Does the paper encourage a certain sort of writing that isn't found elsehwere?
Seriously, I'd like to know.
Gene Weingarten: There is a serious answer, but it is boring.
Dave taught Joel and me a lot about being funny.
Distantly related to googlenopes: Slate.com recently ran an article about what Google suggest shows about society.
"A suggestion-enabled search is like an instant popularity contest. Just type in a couple of letters, and you've got access to oodles of data on what your fellow Web surfers are hunting for."
The author later mentions that Google suggest for the phrase "blacks are" has been disabled because it turned up offensive suggestions.
I now present to you some suggestions that Google should have scrubbed.
In case you couldn't tell because it got cut off, gays are going to hell.
I think Google suggest could be used to humorous effect in a future column, but right now I'm stuck on how the only stereotype that turned up for "whites are" was superior.
Gene Weingarten: Yeah, this is interesting, and it doesn't surprise me. It is the anonymity of the Web that makes this all so disturbing. This is what people really think, not what they say.
I always assumed, growing up, that antisemitism was a thing of the past. I have never really felt it in my own life, not once.
Then, a few months ago, in connection with a funny screenplay I was writing, I needed to research the liberation of Treblinka (don't ask.) And in an instant I found myself in a parallel universe of Holocaust deniers. You can get lost in it -- hundreds of thousands of Web pages, with at least tens of thousands of active users out there. The things that are simply taken for granted are mind boggling. It was a real eye opener.
I feel the same way, to a milder extent, obviously, when I am traveling and the rental car's radio is set to the right-wing nut jobs. A whole different world.
Whenever I write anything critical of our president, I get a few e-mails from people who seriously compare George W. Bush to Abraham Lincoln. This is entirely right-wing-nut-job radio generated. It's one of their "themes."
Beware!: I'd be careful discussing the Shannon Lake character (the one that looks like a female Bobby Hill). She's based on Lynn Johnston's developmentally disabled niece, and LJ and her minions get very unpleasant when they think she's being treated with anything other than fawning respect.
Gene Weingarten: So what is this joke all about?
Stephan P., Santa Rosa, Calif.: I answered the question you e-mailed me about the crocs. Please post it, as well as my answer, so that I can be a part of your fine chat.
Gene Weingarten: This is Stephan Pastis, creator of Pearls Before Swine. Yes, Stephan, you answered a very shrewd question posed by a reader, but you answered it seconds ago, too late for me to adequately explain the question OR your sniveling answer. You and the readers will have to wait until tomorrow's update.
FBOFW: Is that really a retard joke, though? I don't see a punch line. Is the mispelling supposed to be funny? I took it just as Johnston mispelling random words in the strip because that's how the girl would have written it.
Gene Weingarten: Yes, it is the misspelling. Why would that have been there if that were not pertinent to the punchline?
Silver Spring, Md.: Hi Gene. Has the straight razor experiment ended? If not, have you taken young Weingarten into the fold?
Gene Weingarten: Nope. I still shave with a straight razor. And no, I could never persuade Dan do this. There is a very small group of people who would be tempted. It would appeal to the following:
1. People who are outraged how expensive shaving is. After an initial outlay of about $300, you basically do not have to spend any more money, ever again, to shave. Shaving soap is very cheap. And that's pretty much it. Everything else lasts a lifetime.
The problem is that once you accept 1), and it matters to you, you must deal with 2 and 3.
2. Shaving takes much longer. I have gotten it down to about six minutes. At the beginning, it takes about 15 minutes. You can complete a perfectly good Bic-razor shave in 90 seconds.
3. You take your life in your hands once a day. There is nothing on earth as sharp as a freshly honed straight razor.
Now, the thing is, I happen to LIKE 3. I also like being able to do something that virtually no one can do anymore.
None of this appeals to Dan. Or to you, probably.
Gotcha!: Okay, Gene. I recall from a chat several months ago my horror and revulsion when you freely and proudly admitted that you cheat up on long lines of traffic and force your way in ahead of the "suckers" who have been properly waiting their turn. Now I read your repeated sanctimonious declarations that anyone who reclines an airline seat without permission is a monster because, "we are all in this together." So which is it, Gene, are you are heartless monster on the stick, or a pathetic loser over the wing?
Gene Weingarten: Good question. I've never quite come to terms with the rightness or wrongness of my exit strategy on highways. The fact is, a long line for an exit will often sneak up on you, and you are already past the line when you realize there is a line. This ALWAYS happens if the line is so long that you are not yet even in the right lane when it becames. Then you have to force your way in, anyway, at some point.
I admitted to letting that anyway extend a bit, sometimes, though I never proceed all the way to the exit, and then cram in. I compromise (ethically and distance-wise) in my own head.
I excuse myself, in part, by saying that it is the drivers' decision to be docile and get in that line at the first possible moment, whereas another reasonable exit strategy for everyone might be the sudden cram-bottleneck approach.
To me, this is not really parallel to the seat situation, where you are annoying a specific person in a specifically bad way. My getting on in the middle of that line is not an equally heinous offense.
But I do not claim clean hands here.
France: In many rest stops along the French highways, the toilets (for both men and women) are what the French call "Turkish toilets," i.e., a toilet sized and shaped hole in the floor with a flush mechanism. Someone has recently had the clever idea of applying automatic flush technology to these marvels of medieval engineering. A few days ago, in a rest stop near Strasbourg, I (a woman, for the record) was surprised to discover that as soon as I got into position, as it were, water started to run gently around the toilet. Fine, I thought, as long as it doesn't splash. As soon as I stepped away, pants not yet pulled up, the water began to gush -- dozens of gallons, and it quickly became clear that it could not possibly drain as fast as it was flowing. So, I had a choice -- run out of the stall half naked (knowing that men could possibly see in to the ladies room where I was), or stand in the pee water. In that moment, I learned that any fear I have of germs pales in comparison to qualms about public nudity. I chose the pee water.
Gene Weingarten: Most people would.
Washington, D.C.: So what is the least funny book ever written? I mean, at some point an unfunny book becomes very funny because of the uptightness of its author (Sean Hannity's "works" come to mind).
I'm just trying to think what book is so horrible and reprehensible that you can't even laugh at the author. I'd guess "Mein Kampf."
Gene Weingarten: I misspoke. This is the least funny attempted humor book. It is a compendium of Henny Youngman jokes and tricks.
Washington, D.C.: This isn't really the same level of conundrum as the Sylvia situation, but when my grandfather was in the last stages of Alzheimer's he often spoke to me (his granddaughter) as if I was my mother. At first I tried to correct him, but after awhile I'd go along with it completely lying to keep up with stories that I didn't even know so I wasn't sure what the right answer was or wasn't. But if I was vague enough he'd go on happily. Some people I've told this to have been uneasy, but I have no regrets about it.
Gene Weingarten: It is similar, actually.
Washington, D.C.: Two diatribes on last week's updates:
I feel compelled to defend the poster whose fiance is homophobic. In Friday's update, you and a correspondent take her to task for the sentence "I do not believe in discrimination against homosexuals but the fact is homosexuality is aberrant behavior." Neither of you seems to have noticed that this line is within an excerpt from a 2002 chat archive and pretty clearly does not represent her own opinion.
On the (hot-button) topic of airline seats: I have been seething for over half an hour -- actually pacing back and forth -- after reading the post from the guy who reclines his seat all the way back because he can, and his comfort is his only priority, and there's really nothing the poor schmuck behind him can do about it. I enjoyed your response, but I'm going to spell out what you so elegantly implied, because then maybe I will be able to stop pacing and go to sleep tonight.
It disturbs (and disgusts) me how many people seem to share the view that any action is okay as long as the actor will suffer no specific, meaningful consequences. This jerk is quite correct: it is a "dog-eat-dog world" in general. Once you realize that society, like nature, often operates this way, you have two choices: either use Darwin as a justification for doing anything you want, as long as you won't suffer retribution for it, or decide that ideas like altruism and benevolence have worth. In other words, try not to behave like an animal. I really do feel not just anger, but also pity for people like this guy, who see no difference between a human society and a pack of dogs.
At least 25 percent of me does. The other 75 percent would like to meet him and punch him right in the face. By his own moral code, this would be a laudable action. He's a stranger, after all, and my mild satisfaction outweighs any pain he may suffer.
Hitler probably wasn't personally acquainted with any of the victims of the Holocaust, either.
Gene Weingarten: I was with you until you violated Godwin's Law, at the end. As soon as someone compares something to the Holocaust, they lose.
There's another law, though, which we will hereby refer to as the First Law of Chatological Inattention, and it relates to your first observation. When I answer chat questions, I am under extraordinary time pressure and subject to a certain kind of devious manipulation: I have no time to go back and check things, and my short-term memory is faulty. Therefore, if someone writes: "When the last poster said pederasts, he meant pedophiles," I am inclined to accept this as true, and proceed from the most recent information received.
This makes me susceptible to much misinformation. If you do it to me deliberately, your morals are as corrupt as those of Obersturmbannfuhrer Reynard Heidrich at the Wannsee Conference.
Arlington, Va.: Does your distaste for bitterness extend to all bitter foods, or have you simply been socially conditioned to accept milk chocolate as the appropriate chocolate taste?
Look. I'm not a chocolate snob. Sometimes nothing will do except a Reese's peanut butter cup, NOW. But the combination of bitter and sweet in a well-made dark bar is better by far for lingering over.
Gene Weingarten: I love coffee, which is essentially ALL bitter. I add no milk or sugar.
I taste no sweet in dark chocolate. It is all musk and bitter to me.
Arlington, Va.: I hope Delray, Fla., went on to become a doctor -- I know she did the right thing, and would hope she would have the courage to repeat this act should the need arise!
Gene Weingarten: Me, too. And it took some personal courage, in a room full of others. We need doctors like that.
Werewolves, London: I just finished a great (funny, sad) bio of Warren Zevon. Humor-wise, he seems like your kind of guy. Are you a fan? Did you ever get to meet him?
Gene Weingarten: Only once, when he was playing with the Rock Bottom Remainders.
I really liked his stuff. If you listen to one of his lesser songs (though most famous) -- the werewolves of London, you understand he had a genius for meter. Little old lady got mutilated late last night. Needs to be said aloud.
re: young conservative chick: She never said she was idealistic. I'm sure she's one of those categories you described: rich, self-interested, religious.
Gene Weingarten: I am still awaiting an answer. I bet she comes through.
Washington, D.C.: To Silver Spring -- if it makes you feel better, I just snorfled a large bite of egg salad over your pun. I love puns, and that one was very, very, funny. I am now back to my egg salad sandwich!
New Haven, Conn.: I think you can comfort someone without lying -- or giving what is not yours to give.
If you didn't believe in Heaven, for instance, would you tell a dying child that it was waiting for them?
Too often, we use lying because it is easier when often the greatest comfort comes from trusting and knowing what you are told is true.
Gene Weingarten: I think this is a reasonable response. I don't think I would tell a dying child about heaven.
This situation, somehow, seems different. And very, very interesting.
Gene Weingarten: Yes, it is.
Washington, Dull City: Every Monday, I sit down to craft a clever and infuriating submission for this chat, one which will merit your attention and thus validate my drab existence. I labor long and hard, hit the "submit" button, and invariably get an error message.
So is the question-blocking software set to block just entries from my computer, or is it a more general "block dumb/puerile/self-aggrandizing questions" filter? Also, how can I apply this to my boss's computer to block his bleeping questions to me?
Gene Weingarten: My guess? You are using some forbidden keystrokes, such as numerical lists with numbers and close parens. Read the error message carefully.
profou, nd: The name of the CEO of Checkfree Corporation, which provides software to the banking industry for online banking and electronic payments, thus obviating the need for checks: Pete Kight.
Gene Weingarten: Nice. Now, like "catamite," there is another word that has almost disappeared. I don't think I've heard of this verb in 20 years. How many of you understand the joke here?
Chippiedom:: Sweetheart, only your friends can write on your wall. Jr. Republican can send you a message, or you can accept her friendship assuming she's got a dang good answer. You're so old, it's cute.
Gene Weingarten: Dang. Well, I SAID message, too, right?
I have received messages from persons asking to friend me.
Jefferson City, Mo.: D.C. Native, lifetime reader of the WaPo. I come here vertically.
If you'd asked me, oh, 5-7 years ago about paying for the Post online, there wouldn't have been any doubt in my mind, of course I'd pay.
Not anymore. Why? Not because of this online discussion session, or Liz's or the best sports reporting/commentary in the country. But because your political reporting is, well, craptacular. I know, you'll rise to defend your own just like every other WaPo person does when a fellow reporter is called out.
But for going on seven years now, I've seen some of the laziest regurgitation of right-wing talking points on the planet, not to mention the cheerleading for the Iraq war.
I always ask myself, where are the Woodward and Bernsteins? Actually, they're in the Sports Page.
Don't get me wrong, the WaPo does some incredible reporting (Dana Priest doesn't get paid near enough no matter what she makes) but given the abrogation of responsibility this paper has done during the Dubya Years, this lifelong reader (and subscriber when I lived back there) won't give you a DIME!
Start charging for online content and watch your vertical, horizontal, astrological, chattalogical and numerological hits to dry up and go away.
Yes, I'd give up you, Liz, Wilbon, Priest and the rest all because your political reporting and blinder-equipped political reporters....blow.
Gene Weingarten: You probably won't believe this, but conservatives think we are pinkos.
NYTimesSele,CT: Any thoughts on the the demise of the NYTimes Select? Is advertising truly the only way for papers to makes money on the Internet? And why has the WSJ been able to successfully charge for content while something like NYT Select failed? Is it a matter of degree (WSJ being almost all paid whereas at NYT it was, well, only select content for $$)?
washingtonpost.com: TIMESSELECT CONTENT FREED N.Y. Post, Aug. 7
Gene Weingarten: I never liked the whole idea of that. It's intellectual redlining. I don't think a newspaper -- even an online newspaper -- should have two classes of readers.
I am worried: I am doing what I can to spread the faith. My oldest, at age 12, is encouraged to read the newspaper. I fear for the Washington Post and all that it stands for -- real journalism, fearlessness (the Post allows these chats, for instance), and the ability to still produce articles like the obituary of the WWN.
Is there hope for the newspaper?
Gene Weingarten: Yes, in some form. Maybe not on paper.
Silver Spring, Md.: Hey! You know everything. The other night I ate some beets, in part because they looked pretty at the farmer's market and in part...okay, to see if it's true that beets turn your poop red. Well, not only did I have some serious red in the poop, my pee turned reddish, too. I wouldn't be surprised at this point if I blew my nose and got beet-red snot. I poked around vaguely on the Internet -- is it true that this is a sign of anemia? And does this mean Kaiser should pay for me to go out for steak today?
Gene Weingarten: I didn't want to finish the sentence that began "I poked around..." but it turned out okay.
Yes, I have mentioned to red pee aspect, too. But the red poop aspect is more insidious, because it isn't immediate. You kind of forget you had beets by the time it presents itself to you. This is exciting for a hypochondriac.
Anemia? No. This is totally normal. Indicative of nothing more than that you ate beets.
Public Service Announcement: Beet greens are even better than beets. Beet greens, boiled like spinach, are better than spinach. And cheap. I have turned many people on to beet greens in my life. I should be paid a lobbying fee by the beet growers of America.
Re: Naming a kid Attic, US: I understand the irritation expressed from a chatter in 8/3's update about the trendiness of naming kids Atticus.
You're right that, tactically, it wouldn't have made sense for Atticus to have made the trial about the perspective of a black man. But that doesn't change the fact that Atticus is a symbol of the white patriarchy, even though he's a good man who cares about black people. It doesn't change the fact that the novel is completely about the perspectives of white people, even thought the issues of racism addressed in the novel are infinitely more pressing for black people.
It may be true that a lot of white people won't start acknowledging racism against blacks as problem that they can and ought to fight against until they see how racism against blacks affects white people. But that fact can be maddening to people who think white people should care about the oppression of blacks wholly because black people are fully realized, equal human beings who shouldn't be suffering systematic oppression, irrespective of the effects the oppressive system has on white people. Atticus is a symbol of racism becoming important to white people because a white person said it was important.
Or, in other words, the name can come across like someone aspiring to be a Nice White Lady.
Gene Weingarten: I love Nice White Lady. This is a really excellent MadTV clip. Right on point. However:
By your argument, Lincoln is overrated and no one should be named Abraham in his honor.
Great Falls, Va.: Thought you (and Molly) might like this.
washingtonpost.com: Pet spider kills its owner (The Sun Online, Aug. 6)
Gene Weingarten: Hm. I am slightly suspicious of this story. It looks real, but I know something of black widows. Their venom is potent -- more potent than most snakes -- but they are tiny and inject very little into you: it is seldom enough to kill. Their bites make you sick in extremely scary ways, but to my memory, when they kill, the victim is usually a baby or small child.
Well this bites: Good afternoon, Gene. I'm interested in sharing some parts of an e-mail I received this morning from a dear, lifelong friend who is now a Captain in the U.S. Army and has been in Iraq since last September. I've been so proud of him for maintaining his superior sense of humor, remarkably high spirit and enviable affability. This morning's message, though, had a pretty gloomy feel to it:
"There are a lot of retarded people here. We were patrolling in one of the more rural areas and we went by this farm house to talk to the people. They had a retarded person in a cage on the front lawn. They taped his pant cuffs tight around his ankles and his pants were full up to his knees of his own s--t. It was really disturbing. Another time, we were talking to some people inside their house and they asked us to sit down and drink some chai with them. Then they brought out their retarded son and presented him to us like he was an entertaining floor show. They laughed. That was pretty strange."
"It's pretty fun here sometimes. The best part is seeing the culture over here and how much we have (screwed) these people over, which sucks. It used to be pretty nice here, with the exception of the harsh dictatorship. Now there are no utilities and there's violence everywhere. The Iskandiriyah Little League Soccer Tournament got the (crap) mortared out of it the other day. It was really sad."
I hope he's all right. I miss him. Just wanted to vent.
Gene Weingarten: I'm publishing this without knowing whether it is true. I regret doing that, but I didn't want to not publish it.
Baltimore: I know the Holocaust isn't funny. But yesterday's Baltimore Sun newspaper reported that in Israel, Holocaust survivors were protesting the measly increase in their pensions. Some of them were carrying signs that said "Forgive us for surviving." I found that slogan incredibly funny -- it is a perfect example of the stereotype of the self-sacrificing, guilt-tripping Jewish mother. Do you think it's funny?
Pete Kight: Check kiting aka making out fake checks and passing them off as real ones. For the record I'm 26. The joys of watching too much "Law & Order."
L'Enfant Plaza: In what ways did washingtonpost.com journalists and producers contribute to the success of the Joshua Bell piece?
Gene Weingarten: John W. Poole, a washingtonpost.com videographer, was the person who suggested secretly videotaping the entire performance. He set up the camera.
This proved instrumental (haha) not only to my reporting of the story -- I had the video to refer back to time and again -- but to maximizing the story's presence on the Web.
Herndon, Va.: Mr. W: Could we please have a few thoughts, memories, whatever about the soon-to-be-late and very lamented "World Weekly News"? My favorite past headline is "Rabbit-Faced Baby Has 12-inch Ears, Bucktoothed Mom Ate Carrots While Pregnant" The headline about the pickup truck with Elvis's picture on the side that cured cancer was a close runner-up.
washingtonpost.com: All the News That Seemed Unfit to Print (Post, Aug. 7)
Gene Weingarten: Carlson did a wonderful job on this story. My favorite WWN story was about four inches long. It was that a Russian space probe had located a mysterious object circling the earth that turned out to be a giant clot of all those helium balloons kids had let go of during the last 40 years.
I put everything I knew into my obit for Eddie Clontz a few years ago. We linked to this a couple weeks back. It contained the super secret story of how Dave Barry and I conspired to plant a story in the WWN. It was one of the highlights of my life.
N.J., the garden state: Poll technology must be fixed. I cannot believe that most people would choose pee water over public nudity. My vote is nudity.
Gene Weingarten: NO man would choose nudity. It's just a little pee water, for cryin out loud.
I think very few women would choose nudity.
No one said anything about poo. That might change the equation.
Chocolate and FOOBs.:1. I am also a dark chocolate hater, but Dove's dark chocolate is the best I've ever had. It's a step down from the creaminess of milk, to be sure, but it's actually a pleasant eating experience.
2. Yes, it came off as some kind of horrid "retard" joke. Which seems all the more ironic, given the aforementioned Internet harassment that comes from people making parodies of any Shannon comics. For Lynn to do it herself...what the heck was she thinking?!
Gene Weingarten: It's odd. I'd really like to hear her explanation.
it's ov, ER: 'delightful underutilized combination of tastes'
Gene, I'm a young journalist. Until today, I admired you professionally, totally dug your writing. Plus, from your chats I know I'm Molly's age, and you seem a lot like my dad.
Then you used "utilize." I think people mostly use this word because they are jerks. When I see someone I respect write this word, they die, just a little, in my mind.
I'm sorry. That's how I feel.
Gene Weingarten: Sorry, honey, but you have some growing up to do.
Had I said "underused," there would be a confusion. Underused, connotatively, sounds like used too lightly. Not enough cinnamon. Underutilized makes this clearer. Not used at all, tactically.
It's okay. As your daddy, I forgive you.
Liber, AL: If I told you I was a young, liberal, attractive female who would love to befriend you, and that you are god of all things funny, would you help me get a real-issue liberal op-ed into the Post? Pretty please?
I also agree with you on dark chocolate- it's not sweet at all.
Gene Weingarten: Oh, we have several. Dionne, Cohen, and whatsizname. He's real good. Name escapes me. Jewish name, other than Cohen. Like, Meyrowitz or something. Very good writer and thinker.
Black widows: I have a friend's brother who just died from the bite of that spider. They were sick from something else though, so their immune system was compromised.
Gene Weingarten: Yeah, that makes sense.
Dog is mostly okay with dog : In "The Selfish Gene," Richard Dawkins explores animal behavior and whether or not selfish aggression is best for a species. Using game theory, he showed that the most evolutionary stable strategy is not one that employs a dog-eat-dog mentality, but rather one of cautious acceptance (this is a vague paraphrasing -- the book lays it out nicely). For the purposes of this chat, anyone who belives that it's a dog-eat-world should consider all the acts of kindness and decency that support his life, from the people who raised and educated him or to the people he encounters daily -- coworkers, mail carriers. Even if a percentage of those people are jerks or even abusive, the vast majority either support his existence or, at least, leave him alone.
Wikipedia: I think it's about time you update your wikipedia entry in crediting yourself with coining "googlenope." I mean, that is quite an accomplishment, the way it's taken off!
Gene Weingarten: I am not allowed to alter my own Wiki entry.
Washington, D.C.: So let's imagine that post.com magically resolves the problems with the polling software (or even attempts to resolve them)... how will we know there's a poll again that first week? Is there going to be a huge banner across the front of the Web site that Monday afternoon?
Gene Weingarten: We'll see. I am being deliberately opaque, because I know things you don't know.
Crush Ti, ME: Really, will there be no discussion about the crushes between young ladies and older, wiser, handsome, mature men? I'm happily married at 29, but have a nice little crush on my 50-something mentor right now.
Gene Weingarten: Well, elaborate. The whole class is listening.
Irvine, CA: I'm a 28 year old female. Those posts from the midlife-crisis dudes last week finding women past 30-something physically useless have been bringing me down ever since. Say this ain't the majority of men out there, please. I hate the thought that I have a shelf life (or worse, that I'm not good looking enough now and wasting my only "chance.")
Gene Weingarten: It's definitely untrue. That guy was a douchebag.
Alexandria, Va.: I've been meaning to ask this for months but keep forgetting: why is "woman" used as an adjective these days? "She is the first woman CEO of such a company," "woman-owned business," "I did not mention that I have a woman doctor." This drives me absolutely nuts. We'd never see "he is the first man nurse on the unit," "did I mention that I have a man doctor?" "man-owned business." Please explain.
Gene Weingarten: I guess it's wrong. I use it. "Female" seems too... clinical. I can't explain this, so I am sure I am wrong. 'Tricia?
Nopers: What do you think of the googlenope.com site?
Gene Weingarten: It's too early to rate it, but I got a few laughs. I am partial to this googlenope.com-generated googlenope: "Professional masturbator wanted."
I see that users have so far rated my published googlenopes very low indeed.
Two dear friends of mine will be getting married at the end of this month. The bride is a woman of great spunk and wit, from a Sikh background and currently working in poetry marketing. A remarkable concept in itself.
Her soon-to-be-espoused -- our former neighbor -- is a bright, charming Oxford grad, who sells rare ancient books and maps for a living and is a collector of British Imperial swords and uniforms. Geek. They are, in short, a great couple.
She had always expected that upon marriage she would not change her name -- for reasons that she could occasionally expound upon at great length to do with patriarchy and oppression and the b------ liness of men. However, when he pointed out to her that her unusual Sikh forename and his typically British surname would form a Googlenope, making her the only person of that name in the known universe, she could not resist.
By the magic of the Internet, with your assistance, I would like to now transform her from Googlenope into Googlewhack:
Congratulations, Tim and Pinda Bryars.
Gene Weingarten: This is very sweet, and as the Father of the Googlenope, I am honored. However, as a practicing cynic, I should point out that the following names are also Googlenopes:
liber,AL again: I mean that my organization has written a "liberal" op-ed and I wanted extra help in getting it in the paper.
And I still think you're the god 'o' funny.
Gene Weingarten: You'll never get it in the paper, because it was written by an "organization." The only committee that ever wrote anything good was the Declaration of Independence committee, and that's because it apparently basically consisted of Thom. Jefferson.
Black Widows: You're right. I was bitten by a black widow when I was 28, and all that happened was I had really bad flu symptoms 6 hours later. After getting drugs from my doctor the next day I was better in no time.
Gene Weingarten: It can be worse. You were lucky. But death is just really, really rare.
A gift from Frederick, Md.: This quote, provided by a reporter at "O" magazine no less, is my gift to you this Tuesday.
O: With so much on your plate, when do you find time to read?
J.K. Rowling: I never need to find time to read. When people say to me, 'Oh, yeah, I love reading. I would love to read, but I just don't have time,' I'm thinking, 'How can you not have time?' I read when I'm drying my hair. I read in the bath. I read when I'm sitting in the bathroom. Pretty much anywhere I can do the job one-handed, I read.
Gene Weingarten: Thank you. The "O" makes it special.
breasts and airplane seats: When attempting to breast-feed an infant on the plane (which helps them adjust their ears and not scream) I find it nearly impossible to do without reclining the seat. Which is worse, reclining the seat, or having a screaming baby?
Gene Weingarten: I like this wrinkle. You recline, but first explain the situation to the person behind you. You will get his endorsement.
Bowie, Md.: So the myspace question from the Republican intrigues me. Would you drop a casual friendship if you discovered that the person had conservative views? Not Pat Robertson crazy in their opinions or manner but things like: against affirmative action because it is reverse discrimination and they don't feel it is effective, against abortion more or less but not enough to picket clinics, in favor of lower taxes? What about the chatters?
Gene Weingarten: No, of course I wouldn't terminate a friendship over politics, unless it was, like, discovering someone is a member of the Aryan Brotherhood.
I wouldn't marry a serious, committed conservative. Wouldn't work out.
VA: It's not a joke. It's a very sweet strip about how sweet developmental disabled people are.
I have my own issues with it, but I'm just saying, it's not supposed to be funny. That particular strip has a tendency to not be funny, eh?
Gene Weingarten: But why the misspelling?
Barry Bonds: What is your opinion of the teams (Washington Nationals included) that keep pitching balls to Barry Bonds so they're not the ones to give him the pitch that breaks the record? Right, wrong, or a little wimpy?
Gene Weingarten: Very wimpy. One of my heroes is a young man (okay, not any more) named Tracy Stallard, who faced Roger Maris on the last day of the season in 1961. Maris had 60 home runs. Stallard was a Red Sox rookie. He got behind Maris 2-1. It was a 0-0 game at that point. The cowardly thing would be to give Maris nothing to hit. The bold thing was to try to get him out, and not put the winning run on base. Stallard had guts and heart. And now, he's in the history books, despite being a lousy pitcher.
He's the only Red Sox I like.
Sheboygan, Wisc.: I'm a newbie...What IS the deal with beige bras? Is it a secret that all women except me know? Probably something I'd know if I read the Oprah magazine, right?
Gene Weingarten: You'd know it if you read this chat. Even EYE know it. If you don't want your bra to show through a white shirt, and you are a Caucasian, wear a beige bra. If you are dark skinned, wear a black bra. You are welcome.
Washington, D.C.: Gene, I know you've said a number of times that a man's greatest fear is failing to please a woman. With that in mind, what is the kindest thing for a woman to say upon the occasional systems failure? "It's okay"/"I don't care"/"It happens to every guy"/"I know you've been stressed lately" -- these all seem pretty lame and condescending, even if they are meant sincerely. Is it best to just turn away and not say anything?
Gene Weingarten: No, a man's greatest fear is not that he won't please a woman, it's that she will laugh at him. That she will humiliate him.
The circumstances you describe are pretty darn conducive to that feeling. You need to act in as opposite a fashion as possible, given the contours of your relationship. In some relationships, that might actually constitute mutual laughter!
"Professional Masturbator Wanted": You've been saving that for Liz's week off, haven't you?
Gene Weingarten: I think Lizzie would have okayed that.
Washington, D.C.: We submit roughly 650 questions a chat. You answer about 75.
Based on your post about "link-monkey Liz" filtering the chaff from the posts you'd like to answer, almost 90 percent of people here have nothing to add.
So the chat is more like a 650-student college lecture, with a dozen students in the front row dominating class participation?
Should the chat be renamed "Poop, Baby Names and Comics 101"?
Gene Weingarten: I suspect that your math is flawed. It proceeds from the assumption that everyone who asks a question asks only one question. It may be more like a cavernouse, 4,000 seat lecture hall with nine dorks in the front going "oooh, ooh," and waving their hands frantically all through the class. They'd get beat up afterwards, if this were not in cyberspace.
To the woman with the bigoted BF: Make no mistake, he does treat us differently. We gay folk know when someone is "treating us the same" but thinks we are sick and immoral. Think about it. Don't you know when someone really dislikes you, but is being polite? It's not just not beating us up. To treat us the same means to laugh about our dating foibles with us. To cry at the breakups. To come to our weddings and dance with joy. To celebrate the birth and adoption of our children. To not vote for politicians that seek election based on exploiting hatred against us. If he (or you) thinks we are immoral and aberrant, you aren't doing that.
So, it's not just the potential child. Although that's huge. If you have two kids, that is a 20 percent chance one will be gay.
Really, you are selling yourself short. See, gay people don't want to be friends with you if it means hanging out with your BF. And probably, at least if it was my family, our families don't want to hang with your BF. So, if you are comfortable saying that for the sake of this man you will cut a huge swath of the population out of your potential group of friends, go ahead. But I think you are selling yourself short. And that's just sad.
Gene Weingarten: I like these observations.
Washington, D.C.: I'm having a horrible day at work -- despite my Masters degree and extensive experience, my bosses think I am a secretary and continue to dictate letters to me. Please, Gene, make me laugh!
Gene Weingarten: Okay, take this down. You ready?
To my bosses: Stop treating me like a secretary. I have a master's degree, for Cripes sake.
Then sign it, make one copy for your files and send it to them. You're welcome.
Step-parent Again: The response that you posted in response to my question about step-parenting was simply excellent. Thank you both. The thing is that I have done every single thing that that person recommended. Every single thing. The result is that one child adores me and the other doesn't. But I got my question answered, so thank you.
Gene Weingarten: Glad it helped. I thought the poster sounded wise, too.
Central Virginia: Gene - Did you see the reverse aptonym in The Post? Someone wrote in to complain about cell phone chatters on public conveyances (Close to Home, 7/22), and Valerie Silensky defended them (Close to Home, 7/29). There were rebuttals in Sunday's paper under the header Cellphone Silliness, Continued.
Godw, IN: I'd never heard of "Reynard Heidrich." So I googled him. Wikipedia spells his name as "Reinhard Heydrich." I still hadn't heard of him.
So I am doubly amazed: first, that you knew who Heidrich or Heydrich was, especially given that he didn't live long after Wannsee; second, that you were able to make your point again in a sneaky way by deliberately planting an error for us to find.
By the way, I love Godwin's Law. Who was the genius who derived it? (There should also be a parallel law applying to Rosa Parks.)
Gene Weingarten: One fact that I seldom get to mention is that I know a great deal about the Nazis. I've just read a lot. For example, Hitler's adjutant was named Putzi Hanfstaengl. And his private secretary was Traudl Humps.
Woman CEO: It's called an appositive noun - a noun placed next to another noun, used to identify or explain it. This is allowed in English and is not considered bad grammar or anything like that. Saying "the woman CEO" is roughly equivalent to saying "the CEO, a woman,...".
Gene Weingarten: But why don't we discuss a "man nurse"? Why is it "male"?
The previous poster is wrong. I'm a banker, and we actually just had a refresher course on check kiting.
Kiting is when you have 2 accounts and you write checks from one account to cover the other, using "uncollected" funds to prevent you from bouncing. The checks used are real and legal tender.
PS - I love you.
Gene Weingarten: Ahhhhhh. Thank you. I love you, too.
Pat the Perfect: Re "woman/women" as an adjective: Yeah, it's just a weakness in the language. "Female" sounds biological. If you don't like either of those options, it's best to write around it -- which can be awkward in itself.
Gene Weingarten: This SOUNDS like Pat, and it is something she would say, but I have a secret reason to believe it is not her. She.
Weekly World News aptonym: I hope you read Peter Carlson's article today about the demise of the WWN. I was delighted to read that the guy responsible for the paper's demise has the charming name of David Pecker.
Gene Weingarten: You better believe it.
Vienna, Va.: So you're not doing polls until they upgrade the software, eh? What difference does it make to management if you do or do not include polls in your chats? I'd bet the overwhelming majority of us will continue to read the chats.
Are you able to show how the polls increase traffic before the chat? Maybe if you can show them how your not doing polls hurts their bottom line, then they'll cave.
Gene Weingarten: As I said before, we are working on this. Things are Happening. Stay tuned. The polls might or might not return at any moment.
I'm the guy who sent in my explanation of why I will recline my airplane seat come hell or high water. Thank you for posting it.
I am not backing off my stance, nor apologizing. I just wanted to explain that off an airplane I'm a nice a reasonable guy. I work full time for a charity, I don't cut people off on the highway, I stand to the right on the Metro elevator, I move out of the fast lane when I'm doing 70 and someone wants to do 80 and do everything else that makes for a decent society.
But planes are a different animal. We buy tickets and we KNOW, absolutely, that the ride will be uncomfortable. You, as the person behind me, cannot really do anything to alleviate my discomfort so I see no reason why I should compromise mine just to ensure that a perfect stranger is somewhat more comfortable. There is no trade off to be had, no benefit conferred to me. Now if the person behind me could influence the behavior of the person in front of me, then perhaps we could work out a deal where we all reclined just a quarter of the way. But that social contract does not exist, your desires notwithstanding.
Planes are dog eat dog, and there is no room for compassion on them. None.
Gene Weingarten: Is your name Niccolo?
I find your attitude intriguing, and completely at odds with how you describe the rest of your life.
Let's say your seat were broken, and it were possible to recline completely, so that you were literally on the lap of the person behind you? Would you do that? No? Why? It might be comfortable for you, a sudden upgrade to First Class.
Women in their 40s: Do not despair, ladies. Gene has said here in this chat that women in their 40s are hot, with the self-confidence that 20 year old women never have. Which is why we all love him.
Do all men feel this way? No, but you don't want to be with a guy like that anyway.
An almost 40-year-old married woman whose husband still thinks she is hot
Gene Weingarten: More men feel this way than you know.
We are all of course familiar with your fondness for the double dactyl- a lighthearted but structurally rigid poem. Delightful to read, deadly for most of us to try and write. I wanted to know how you felt about the clerihew, an equally enjoyable breed of poem which is simple to create. The clerihew is a whimsical, biographical work. Four lines, rhyme scheme AABB. It must be deliberately non-metrical, and the first line must be the subject's name. The clerihew should be funny, but ought to reveal a biographical truth about the person.
Had a Kenyan pops and a Kansan mama
But some folks still say
He just isn't black enough to be president of the USA
Gene Weingarten: I am not a big fan of the Clerihew. It's too easy and arbitrary. I did, however, partake in a Clerihew contest with the last poet laureate, Donald Hall. Paul, can we link to that?
Gene Weingarten: Oh also, "Clerihew" is the middle name of its creator, E.C. Bentley, who wrote "Trent's Last Case," which is one of the best murder mysteries ever written. Just FYI.
washingtonpost.com: Nice Doggerel:Gene hounds the poet laureate (Post, Aug. 6, 2006)
New York, N.Y.: Traudl Humps is a great name! Too bad he's a Nazi, or I would say we have found the next trendy baby name.
Gene Weingarten: She. Even better. Traudl is a German diminutive for Gertrude.
My Finest Pun: Was when I was playing on the floor with my infant, crawling son. We were playing peek-a-boo and he was just starting to learn to cover his face and play peek-a-boo back at me. I said: "Oh, you can hide, but you can't run!" Until now, he is the only one to have heard this line. He didn't get it. He did laugh, though.
Gene Weingarten: I like it.
Fred from New Orleans: Hi Gene!
(A small joke as you will see!)
Last Saturday, my wife was grocery shopping and had a sudden, urgent need. She ran into a room, which she thought was marked "Women." She saw the urinal but in a desperate moment of rationalization ignored it and entered the stall. She was sitting there and realized that there was someone "next door." She tried to check out the shoes but the stall wall ran all the way to the floor! She then came to the next critical decision path to wash hands or not. Since she was more interested in hygiene than embarrassment, she elected to wash up and was able to leave the room without further embarrassment.
I asked some of my female friends if this had ever happened to them. Some replied that they used the men's room on purpose when in dire straights! One said she just walked into the men's room and entered a stall. She said that the men were accommodating but I believe that they were shocked beyond speech.
So the questions are: what is the etiquette of using a different sex facility? How desperate must the need be? (One woman says any pregnant one is always in desperate need.) And can a man use a woman's facility?
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.
There has been some discussion about the imminent move of the Style Invitational from its traditional Sunday home to Saturday. Do you have any rationalization for the move? And, if they are going to move it, why keep it in Style, instead of moving it to another section?
As one prominent Loser inquired:
"An even better question is why they didn't move the Vite to the Magazine, which, it seems, is so short of material that it has resorted to printing a full page of 'find the differences between these photos' just to fill space?"
Gene Weingarten: There really were a whole bunch of options, none perfect, none as good as the one they chose.
Sunday Style is disappearing, merged into a new Style-Arts section that is mostly arts. The Invitational would have seemed out of place there, and probably buried deep in the section.
The magazine wouldn't work. Its three-week deadlines would make the whole thing too difficult.
You want the Style Invitational to move to a section other than Style? So, it becomes, like, the Business Invitational?
This was a good solution. Most Invitational nuts read it online on Saturday anyway.
By the way, as I said last week, for reasons I find unaccountable, but unignorable, that new photo feature in the mag is very popular.
Washington, D.C.: I think we need another "Google-" phrase to describe the Google suggested search when it returns no hits. I can't think of any offhand, but I know that's happened to me before. I'll type in a phrase and get the "did you mean x,y,z?" page. After clicking on the link, oh sorry, that doesn't exist either. I thought maybe "googletease," but that has a slightly dirty sound to it.
Gene Weingarten: Yeah, this happens to me all the time. I like Googletease.
Lincoln, Part II: Re last week's debate, I favor the Second Inaugural too, not least because the famous lines "Fondly do we hope -- fervently do we pray -- that this mighty scourge of war shall speedily pass away" can be sung to the tune of "Bells on bobtail ring, making spirits bright, what fun it is to laugh and sing a sleighing song tonight!"
Gene Weingarten: I am laughing, but the meter of the second phrase is not quite right. We need to amend Lincoln to "fervently we pray."
Riverdale H.S., GA: No surprise that Archie's illustrator (Al Hartley) was a converted evangelical Christian. I met Al through his son Fred - an evangelical pastor in North Atlanta. Fred performed our wedding for my (now Catholic) wife. Fred's grandfather co-sponsored the Taft-Hartley Act. Could this post be more random?
Gene Weingarten: It's a NICE post. I found that Archie thing completely creepy. Is that because I am an atheist? Did it creep out any believers?
"I get a few emails from people who seriously compare George W. Bush to Abraham Lincoln. This is entirely right-wing-nut-job radio generated. It's one of their 'themes.' "
I don't think it is entirely from radio. That may make it easier for you to discount the idea. But when I proposed it as a possibility I have not even listened to the radio in years and stay away from people like O Reilly.
Some of us think a determined will to win a war is not bad. Especially when our losses are not high and we have prospects for a reasonable outcome.
I suspect you have good reasons for your position, but it would be nice of you to think that those who do not agree also have reasons that are good.
Gene Weingarten: There is no good reason for this comparison. I'm sorry. I can imagine arguing that Bush is a far better president than the majority believes. To compare him to the greatest president in history is just asinine.
Godwin's Law: Mike Godwin was the "genius who invented it", though the original version was not about "losing" the argument. The original version (paraphrased) said that the longer an Internet argument goes on, the probability of someone making a Nazi or Hitler comparison approaches 1. It was later that the corollary developed where the argument is over at that point, because it's probably no longer useful to continue, and that the person who brought up the comparison probably "lost" the argument. Wikipedia has more details, of course.
Lying to a dying person: Well, not to bring a downer to the chat, but this was an interesting post for me.
My mother was very strict. Not strict in the "bad" sense, just very no-nonsense strict. One did not lie to mom. Kids loved her and flocked to our house. But no one lied to her.
She died of cancer about 10 years ago. My sister and I, both in our 20s at the time, were with her at the end. She was in and out for the few days leading to her death, and didn't always know what was going on.
At one point just my sister and I were there when she semi-woke. I believe she had heard her (idiot) doctor talking about how close she was to the end and she looked at us, quite frightened, and said "Girls, I'm not going to die, am I?" We both froze. Neither of us could say anything. Even at that moment I physically could not lie to my mom. The opportunity to comfort her was gone in an instant.
This bothered me for the longest time. Why couldn't I just tell her it was all ok? Why couldn't I give her that little bit of comfort? Finally someone pointed out to me that my mom would have been proud of how unswervingly I held to honesty and (frankly) a little amused that at 27 I still couldn't lie to her face.
But I think the med student did the right thing, too.
Gene Weingarten: I think I would have answered with humor. But that's just a different family dynamic at work.
Of course you're gonna die, mom. So am I. Maybe you're just a little closer.
Nosh,IT: Gene, the other night I had a dream in which I was in a college course and you were the professor. It was during finals, and there were a few students besides myself who arrived early. Anyway, I remember making some kind of remark about men and my sexual abilities, to which you smirked, and said something like "intelligence is found at the core of a woman's heart and between her legs." (I'd taken one Percocet for back pain the night before.)
Also, I think the other columnists you were trying to recall might be named David Horowitz.
Gene Weingarten: Hm. Okay. Noted.
Fans of 40+ Women: We are legion. It's sad if women out there don't realize this.
Southern Maryland: You seem to think that all Republicans are Bush/Cheney ideologues. That's not the truth at all. I am a conservative, but only because of the 3 main points of conservatism: smaller Federal government/more state's rights; strong defense to protect us and our allies; and lower taxes. I do not discriminate against gays, I do not dispute a woman's right to choice, and I don't agree with this war, or for that matter, most things this administration has done. But quit lumping all of us in to a huge group of uncaring, religiously motivated, Bush-adoring, gay-bashing warmongers. We are not all like that, you know.
Gene Weingarten: Sorry, but I do not define you as a conservative. You appear to be socially liberal.
Atticus Continued: This whole "Atticus Finch was a part of the patriarchy" thing boggles me. Racial integration would have happened much more slowly if not for men like that, who turned their back on the patriarchy in the name of justice. Is that not the opposite of oppression?
Gene Weingarten: Yeah, I don't sympathize at all with that view. Again: Lincoln.
Washington D.C.: Standing in line at the grocery store, my brother and I (aged 7 and 9 at the time, or thereabouts) saw a WWN cover that said "Space Aliens Invade from Mars!" with a photograph. My brother said, "that's no alien, that's a chambered nautilus." My mother swelled with pride. Then I said, "And that's not Mars, it's the moon." I think there were actual tears, she was so proud.
Okay, we're done. I will be updating as usual, and let's all be exciting to watch as Stephan Pastis concedes a reader is right and admits to incompetence, in tomorrow's update.
Gene Weingarten: My friend Horace LaBadie wrote in a few days ago to point out that the Aug 6 Pearls Before Swine contains an egregious logical error. How did the croc get into the Zeeba neighba's house? And once he was IN the house, why did he have to pose as furniture? He was a croc, deadly and fast, and he was IN THE HOUSE! That has always been his goal. He could snarf up that zeeba in an instant. This is not a major inconsistency, in a strip that is entirely predicated upon the reptiles plotting to eat the mammals by GETTING INTO THEIR HOUSES. So I forwarded this question to Stephan Pastis.
Here is his response, which arrived too late for yesterday's chat:
"Hmm. Actually, they've been in his house before. They were in the zebra's water cooler in February. But it is a little inconsistent. I suppose if I were a better cartoonist, these kind of things wouldn't happen. On the bright side, I'm one of only 3 or 4 comics that aren't drawn by the son of the son of someone."
Gene Weingarten: I think Tom Toles is the best political cartoonist alive. I also think today's was probably a misfire. An error in judgment. The man is allowed one a career.
New York, N.Y.: My friend told me this one 16 years ago and I can't forget it. At the time it happened, she was attending high school in Western Massachusetts, about 30 minutes from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, which is commonly referred to as UMass. School clubs frequently went up to UMass for events, competitions, etc. The principal came over the loudspeaker one morning and said "All UMass debators should report to the cafeteria immediately."
Gene Weingarten: Boy, this is so good. I just hope it is true. This made me laugh aloud.
Crush on Older Man: I am the 29-year-old with a little crush on my mentor. To elaborate, the 50-ish man has this wealth of life experiences a youngin' like me has not yet enjoyed. He is respected by our colleagues, which a young woman wouldn't experience for decades. He is handsome but in a solid way, not in a gangly-young-man way. Not awkward, rather, confident. Those things speak to the allure of the older man. If you ask any young lady if she'd take Sean Connery over Zach Braff, or Harrison Ford over Orlando Bloom, I don't think there would be any surprises there. The older man/older woman debate -- sounds like a poll to me! I'd never actually DO anything to follow up on a little crush. I am happily married to someone my age who is my perfect partner, and I choose to be in love with my hubby and love my marriage (which I do). I don't see the problem with the temporary crush, do you?
Gene Weingarten: Nope. When what happens in the mind, stays in the mind, there is no reason for guilt, ever. Even a teensy bit.
Stalling for time: Of COURSE she should have used the men's room! As a gay man, I find straight-people's anxiety about men's vs. women's restrooms amusing. In fact, I predict that by the end of this century, America will have abandoned the practice of gender-separated restrooms and locker-rooms. What does it accomplish? To keep the men away from the tampon machine? It's certainly not to allocate urinals vs. stalls efficiently, because as everyone knows, there's never a line for the men's room. Perhaps it protects genital modesty from a potentially interested person? Hello! Not effective in my case, obviously (in either direction -- gasp!). Perhaps to limit the embarrassment of poop sounds? Why is that worse with one gender, whether you are in the workplace, at a sporting event or being a tourist? Most modern restrooms are designed with enough visual privacy so that genitals aren't visible, anyway. Locker rooms are harder to design that way. But as Barney Frank once said, we gay people get used to this pretty easily: "We don't dry-clean ourselves." Trust me, you straits can handle it, too! At gay bars and clubs, the designations are completely ignored as pointless. Indeed, gender separated restrooms discriminate subtly against women and, I submit, gays. I understand these taboos are breaking down in Belgium/Luxembourg/Holland. Like gay Americans, they have gotten over some pointless taboos and mystifications of gender. It makes it easier to see other people as the human beings they are.
Gene Weingarten: You are correct about absolutely everything, logically, except for the practicality of the matter, involving human nature, where you are tone deaf. You are like Karl Marx. Men and women do not want to appear undignified and vulnerable in each other's presence. Joint bathrooms will never become the norm.
Archie Comic: Not only was this comic creepy, it was racist. Notice that the school has had problems since they started to "bus" students across the prairie. Then, teacher says the students are acting like monkeys! Where I grew up we bused in students to help integrate the schools. The students were African American. That really jumped out at me as being evil and nit just stupid/creepy.
Gene Weingarten: Yes, it is. That's why I linked to it.It's pretty amazing to see the familiar Archie characters used in this way, no?
Hmmm...: Gene, For someone who claims to be an open-minded liberal, you are often very, very rigid in your beliefs, including believing everyone else thinks like you (e.g. thinking no one uses the hole in their briefs). Could you elaborate a bit on this contradiction? Thanks
Gene Weingarten: This is just absurd. I don't think everyone thinks like me. I think everyone SMART thinks like me. Get your facts straight, please.
FBOFW interpretation: I do not believe Lynn Johnston is making a "retard" joke. In the first four panels all of the text (without misspellings) is contained in thought bubbles. The text in the last panel (with misspellings) is not in a thought bubble, but is supposed to be from the actual e-mail. I am guessing that Lynn Johnston is trying to show that just because a disabled person's words may appear to convey unintelligence, that doesn't necessarily mean that intelligent thoughts weren't behind the whole process.
It is not the most apparent of messages when you first read the strip though.
Gene Weingarten: A couple of people have made this interpretation. It is, in my opinion, very generous to Ms. Johnston, but I have to say it is probably what she MEANT.
Witse, ND: Gene, I shared your Googlenope article with my wife over dinner and the usual sorts of questions came up. Hasn't he done this before? Somebody gets paid to write this? Things like that. A question I had was the nature of the googleyup. Is it a googleyup if the only place it appears is in a list of googlenopes?
Gene Weingarten: A googleyup is something that by all rights SHOULD be a googlenope, but isn't. As in "died in a freak silly putty egg accident."
More on the God -vs- no God debate: Believing in God is a choice and most likely governed by an individuals fear or comfort level in gambling odds. No one knows for certain if there is a God.
1. Believe in God/Is a God
2. Believe in God/There is no God
3. Don't believe in God/Is a God
4. Don't believe in God/Is no God
There are only 2 losing options. Whether you believe in God or not, your odds are 50/50 in having a positive outcome. I will say that it would be a chilling outcome to not believe in God but find out there is a God -- to think you haven't asked for forgiveness and accepted him as your savior before you take your final breath. Equally problematic would be believing in God and finding out there isn't a God -- especially if you have a dark soul and painfully suppress many urges throughout your lifetime to fulfill your soul only to find out there isn't a "reward" in the end.
Now, I have to get back to work before I find out that even though I don't believe they are monitoring my computer activity that they are, in fact, monitoring my computer activity.
Gene Weingarten: Nope. Only 3 is a bad result. If there is no God and you thought there was a God, you'll never find out. You'll just cease to exist, ignorant of your folly. Not a bad result at all. It is precisely why people believe in God. Your argument, of course, is that it is a "bad result" because you would not have lived your life selfishly, according to all your base impulses. But you can't go back and create an alternative reality, with any degree of certainty. I would argue that your belief in God saved you from errors that would have probably ultimately hurt you.
Devil's Advocate: Okay, so morals are a result of evolutionary selection. How does homosexuality possibly benefit a species evolutionarily? In purely scientific terms, is it not aberrant?
Gene Weingarten: I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than I has expounded on this. It's hard to imagine what Darwinian purpose homosexuality serves, since the existence of gay people seems to do nothing tangible for the propagation of the species, or its survival. See, but you're just not thinking it through. Anything that civilizes us helps. Art, beautiful interior design, fashion sense, etc. Okay, that's weak. I dunno. Anyone?
Gene Weingarten: Just heard from a reader who suggests this --
"The general idea behind evolution applies to more than the species level. So, if there are folks that can contribute to the survival of the family/tribe in ways other than producing offspring, it's seen as supportive of community selection. So, the grandparent hanging around and helping raise the grandkids, or some other individual supporting the family or tribal units without raising their own offspring is considered to contribute to the survival of the group."
I think this makes some sense, but like my example, is weak. I think it would do more to explain why people live longer than their procreative years than to explain why gays serve a Darwinian function. There are a lot more grandparents than gay people.
I think the real point to be made is that, whatever the reason may be, there is obviously a reason. Gays comprise a very large percentage of humanity even though, amazingly, they do not procreate. They exist in all cultures. If you are a believer in natural selection, it makes little sense that they would still be around and in large numbers if they served no species-survival function. Right?
Gene Weingarten: And now, this --
"Being left-handed doesn't serve any evolutionary purpose either; in fact, it can be detrimental, because machinery and equipment are designed for right-handed people, causing lefties to suffer more serious or fatal accidents. But it does not follow that being left-handed is immoral; neither does it follow that being homosexual is immoral, even if it runs counter to the evolutionary instinct to live long enough to reproduce."
Gene Weingarten: First, the left-handed argument is not parallel, simply because, your mild examples notwithstanding, there is nothing inherently or intuitively anti-Darwinian about being lefthanded. There is in being gay.
But we are not talking morality here. No one is making a moral judgment here, except maybe the original poster, who equates non-Darwinian with "aberrent." We're simply discussing whether any current understanding of natural selection would explain homosexuality. I don't see it yet.
Burp, IN: I have a medical question for you. It's something that's bothered me for a long time and I wondered if you'd ever heard of anyone else with this problem. I don't burp like normal people burp. I'd say I don't burp at all but that's not true. I burp sometimes. My burps are always very small and always unexpected. I can't burp when I need to though. When I started college and college drinking it became a big problem. I'm a beer drinker, but I can't relieve the gas in my stomach in the usual way. Ever since I started drinking beer it's gone something like this: I have a couple of beers and the gas begins to build in my stomach. The more I drink the worse I feel until a point when I feel as though I'm going to vomit. I try to act cool and get to a private bathroom area where I belch violently into the toilet. I need the toilet because maybe 1 out of 10 times there's more than just gas. The belching sounds to anyone who can hear it like vomiting anyway. It's usually 3 or 4 violent and loud burps and then it's all clear. I can resume drinking. I have scared a lot of people when they drink with me for the first time if they hear this. I have been kicked out of bars because a staff member heard me in the bathroom. This is usually when I'm still quite sober. It's really embarassing to rush to the bathroom after three beers and emerging from the stall to a bathroom full of people with tears in your eyes isn't that cool either. Now that I've been drinking for a while I have learned to stifle it in some toilet paper and I don't even need to lean over the toilet most times anymore. In an emergency sometimes I can even do it outside of the bathroom if there's a very large crowd. I've tried and tried to learn to burp on command and nothing I have tried has helped. I've never ever met anyone who has even heard of anything like this before.
Gene Weingarten:This is one of the odder medical questions I've ever received. I am going to forward it to a gastroenterologist friend of mine, and report back with an answer.
You figure it o, UT: I believe that no one on the planet is 100 percent sure of the proper way to use a sanitary toilet seat cover. We are all completely alone in trying to figure out whether the perforated middle section should be folded to the outside, left to hang on the inside, or torn out altogether and tossed into the bowl as a splash attenuator. I say this because not only are there never instructions on how to use these things, but also because this is the one item that we are never taught to use. Nobody uses them at home when they are potty trained. A person's first encounter with them is usually in solitary confusion within a public stall.
So, guru of all things [ch]atological, is there some protocol for these things? Or did all knowledge die with the inventor?
Gene Weingarten: I believe I can help. You are supposed to disconnect the hanging, tonguelike flap, and drape it down so it falls into the water from the rear of the toilet. Then when you flush, it is sucked down with the pee, etc.
Conesto, Ga.: a rather tragic aptonym, from the washpost report on Minnesota's bridge collapse: Kristi Rollwagen, Minnesota director of emergency preparedness
Morals are More than a By-Product of Evolution: GW: "It makes total sense from a simple Darwinian perspective. If we all get along, if we team up to practice controlled agriculture, if we stop killing each other to steal each other's women, the species survives and prospers. Surely this is clear, no?
Then we need the occasional war when it becomes necessary to thin the herd."
I don't like where this line of thought eventually leads you. Logic dictates that if the only reason people have morals is for the survival of the species as a whole, then living a moral life has no intrinsic value or meaning to you as an individual. Morals are nothing more than some lemming-like instinct for the survival of the species. And, as a good-old fashioned self-interested rational economic being, I'd be playing a sucker's game by behaving rationally, because there is no direct benefit to me in the short term, as opposed to immense possible short term benefits if i were to act as if I had no morals whatsoever.
I'm sorry, but when I contemplate doing something I know is wrong, like stealing a book or, at an extreme, killing someone, the feeling of revulsion and guilt I can imagine is not simply some lame extension of a species-propogating trait. I am not a religious person, but when I think about taking another huuman life, I feel like I would be hurting myself in some irreparable way, a part of me would die at the same time the other person died. Are you telling me this powerful feeling is nothing but some cultural artifice, a selectively bred disposition not to kill reinforced by human cultural norms? It sure feels more profound than that.
Gene Weingarten: Yes, and I am sure that when you look at a person you find physically attractive, and come to love this person deeply, to the point where you would die for him and her, that you believe this is because it is good to love, and not because it is in our Darwinian interests to feel strongly for others.
C'mon. We are machines. Fortunately, many of the things we are programmed to do are terrific and noble.
most of youtube stinks...: ...but tell me this guy doesn't have you laughing after about three lines. I think he's serious too.
The best part is you can make up your own song, just add nonsense in between the title lyrics.
Gene Weingarten: This is just wonderful. I believe I shall link to it next week as well. You have to love this man.
Near death experiences: A recent Newsweek article about bringing people back from clinical death ended with this:
"That's also what motivates Parnia, who has begun a study of near-death experiences in four hospitals in Britain, aiming for 30 by the year-end. The study will test the frequently reported sensation of looking down on one's body from above, by putting random objects on high shelves above the beds of patients who are likely to die. If they later claim to have been floating near the ceiling, he plans to ask them what they saw."
Clever, no? Also, is that comma between above and by superfluous?
Gene Weingarten: Interesting. And, no, that comma is absolutely necessary. Otherwise there is confusion as to whether one looks down by putting random objects on shelves.
Not safe for work or the chat, but enjoy this great moment in sports journalism.
Gene Weingarten: Okay, this is very funny, but you really want to listen to it alone, or not at all. There are many loud uses of the F-word.
It is an audiotape of Tommy Lasorda reacting to a sports reporter's question, one he thought was stupid. What's interesting is that LaSorda is not a cruel man, but he just couldn't help himself.
Colesville, Md.: Oh! I'm all worked up. First of all, I feel so betrayed that you cut in traffic. I have had to commute from Falls Church to Silver Spring five days a week for the last two years. Sometimes on Fridays, my commute home is two hours. It enrages me that someone thinks their time is more valuable than mine. You people who cut in line or switch lanes to ride the onramp to get ahead of waiting cars make me so angry. I want to be home too. You probably haven't been on the road as long as I have and you don't mind screwing people over and making their wait longer so that you can get where you are going.
As to telling the dying child about heaven, why not? I am an athiest and do not believe, but I see no reason not to be compassionate. I came to my conclusions about religion after study and exploration. I think people who have beliefs other than mine are wrong, but so what? My ethics don't demand that I impart my truth on those around me. I rather see a dying child leave the world peacefully than with fear clouding her little eyes. Besides, it's not like I'm going to go to Hell for lying.
Gene Weingarten: 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.
I would tell a child the most comforting thing I could, without resorting to something I felt was a lie. I would perhaps say that no one knows for sure what happens after death, and that it could be, for all we know, a really exciting adventure she is going to get to have before I do. I would talk about how much her life has meant to other people, and how she would always be alive to all of us, etc.
"more random": Am I wrong, or is the word random only used by people under 30?
Gene Weingarten: It is only used INCORRECTLY by people under 30. Same with awesome. "Random" isn't a fabulous word to use about something off-the-wall that someone says. And if everything is awesome, nothing is awesome.
At this point, awesome should be used only ironically.
New York, N.Y.: Why didn't I think to ask you earlier?! My poop has been green for two weeks. In the past, it would happen for two days or so, and I'd assume I had a stomach bug. (This would happen to my roommate, too, and we'd each wander around muttering "green poop" to try to gain sympathy from the other.) Anyway, now it's been two weeks... am I dying? Or just not eating enough vegetables?
Gene Weingarten: Three weeks is a long time for this to persist, actually! There are lots of causes for green stools, most of them benign, but fresh bile is green, and fresh bile shouldn't be in your stool. Also, occult blood in the stool sometimes looks green. So, see a GI person. If you're feeling well, you're probably fine.
Submit questions for 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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As British Leave, Basra Deteriorates
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Three major Shiite political groups are locked in a bloody conflict that has left the city in the hands of militias and criminal gangs, whose control extends to municipal offices and neighborhood streets. The city is plagued by "the systematic misuse of official institutions, political assassinations, tribal vendettas, neighborhood vigilantism and enforcement of social mores, together with the rise of criminal mafias that increasingly intermingle with political actors," a recent report by the International Crisis Group said.
After Saddam Hussein was overthrown in April 2003, British forces took control of the region, and the cosmopolitan port city of Basra thrived with trade, arts and universities. As recently as February, Vice President Cheney hailed Basra as a part of Iraq "where things are going pretty well."
But "it's hard now to paint Basra as a success story," said a senior U.S. official in Baghdad with long experience in the south. Instead, it has become a different model, one that U.S. officials with experience in the region are concerned will be replicated throughout the Iraqi Shiite homeland from Baghdad to the Persian Gulf. A recent series of war games commissioned by the Pentagon also warned of civil war among Shiites after a reduction in U.S. forces.
For the past four years, the administration's narrative of the Iraq war has centered on al-Qaeda, Iran and the sectarian violence they have promoted. But in the homogenous south -- where there are virtually no U.S. troops or al-Qaeda fighters, few Sunnis, and by most accounts limited influence by Iran -- Shiite militias fight one another as well as British troops. A British strategy launched last fall to reclaim Basra neighborhoods from violent actors -- similar to the current U.S. strategy in Baghdad -- brought no lasting success.
"The British have basically been defeated in the south," a senior U.S. intelligence official said recently in Baghdad. They are abandoning their former headquarters at Basra Palace, where a recent official visitor from London described them as "surrounded like cowboys and Indians" by militia fighters. An airport base outside the city, where a regional U.S. Embassy office and Britain's remaining 5,500 troops are barricaded behind building-high sandbags, has been attacked with mortars or rockets nearly 600 times over the past four months.
Britain sent about 40,000 troops to Iraq -- the second-largest contingent, after that of the United States, at the time of the March 2003 invasion -- and focused its efforts on the south. With few problems from outside terrorists or sectarian violence, the British began withdrawing, and by early 2005 only 9,000 troops remained. British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced further drawdowns early this year before leaving office.
The administration has been reluctant to publicly criticize the British withdrawal. But a British defense expert serving as a consultant in Baghdad acknowledged in an e-mail that the United States "has been very concerned for some time now about a) the lawless situation in Basra and b) the political and military impact of the British pullback." The expert added that this "has been expressed at the highest levels" by the U.S. government to British authorities.
The government of new Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pointed to the current relative calm in three of the region's four provinces -- barring Basra -- as evidence of success. According to one British official, Brown told President Bush when they met last week at Camp David that Britain hopes to turn Basra over to Iraqi control in the next few months. Although a further drawdown of its forces is likely, Britain will coordinate its remaining presence with Washington after an assessment in September by Gen. David H. Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq.
As it prepares to take control of Basra, the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has dispatched new generals to head the army and police forces there. But the warring militias are part of factions in the government itself, including radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr -- whose Mahdi Army is believed responsible for most of the recent attacks on the airport compound -- as well as the Fadhila, or Islamic Virtue Party, and the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council, the country's largest Shiite party.
In March, Fadhila pulled out of Maliki's ruling alliance of Shiite parties in Baghdad after it lost control of the petroleum ministry to the Supreme Council. Last week, under pressure from the council, Maliki fired the Fadhila governor of Basra. Fadhila has refused to relinquish power over the governate or over Basra's lucrative oil refineries, calling the Maliki government "the new Baath" -- a reference to Hussein's Sunni-led political party -- and appealed the dismissal to Iraq's constitutional court.
Jockeying for political power in Baghdad has long since translated into shooting battles in Basra. The militias have shifted alliances with one another, as well as with the British and with Iran as they fight for control of neighborhoods and resources. With the escalation of street battles and assassinations, much of the population is confined to homes and is fearful of Islamic rules imposed by militias.
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Iraqi Crisis Deepens as 5 More Ministers Quit Cabinet Meetings
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BAGHDAD, Aug. 7 -- Iraq's political crisis deepened Monday as five more ministers withdrew from cabinet meetings, delivering a major blow to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's fractured unity government and efforts to reconcile Iraq's warring parties.
Hours earlier, a truck bomb in a Shiite village near the northern city of Tall Afar killed 31 people and wounded scores more, striking an area that was once hailed by President Bush and U.S. military commanders as an oasis of stability, following U.S. operations against insurgents there. Six children were among the dead, police said.
The U.S. military also announced the deaths of nine American soldiers, including four killed in an explosion Monday in volatile Diyala province, where U.S. forces are engaged in a major offensive against Sunni insurgents. The blast injured 12 other U.S. soldiers, the military said in a statement.
One soldier was killed by a sophisticated roadside bomb in west Baghdad on Monday, and another was killed during combat in eastern Baghdad on Sunday, the military said. Three soldiers were killed Saturday when a roadside bomb struck their convoy south of Baghdad, the military announced Tuesday.
The names of the slain soldiers were not released.
Meanwhile, U.S. and Iranian diplomats met in Baghdad to launch a new security committee in an attempt to bring stability to Iraq. The committee is a product of face-to-face talks the two sides have had in recent months, following nearly 30 years of diplomatic freeze.
"It is an established channel of communication, and we will see in the future as to whether or not it is a useful channel of communication," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters in Washington.
The latest boycott by the five ministers, a mix of Sunnis and Shiites loyal to former Iraqi prime minister Ayad Allawi, followed last week's decision by the top Sunni political bloc to pull its six ministers from the cabinet. Monday's action left the government, at least for the time being, without any politicians from Sunni factions in the Shiite-dominated cabinet.
Legislators loyal to Allawi said the ministers would continue to run their ministries but not attend any cabinet meetings. They cited as reasons for their action a lack of progress on issues such as the status of Iraqi detainees, the repatriation of displaced Iraqis and the return of former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party to government jobs.
"This act is not an escalation, but it is an objection to what the government is doing," Alia Nusaiyef Jasim, a legislator in Allawi's secular Shiite al-Iraqiyah bloc, told the al-Jazeera television network. "The Iraqiyah bloc participated in the government on the basis of sharing in the decision-making, but the bloc is marginalized in the government"
In Qabak, 15 miles north of Tall Afar, police officials said the suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden truck carrying ice blocks into the village center and detonated it near a crowd that included women and children.
The small village, which has no police station or military barracks, was targeted because of its vulnerability, said Brig Gen. Najim Abdullah, Tall Afar's mayor.
"The perpetrator of this act was aiming at raising the sectarian tension among the citizens since Tall Afar is known for its sectarian and ethnic diversity," said Abdullah.
"There isn't a single house in the village which does not have someone killed or wounded in the bombing, because it took place in the center of the village," said Salih al-Qaddo, director of Tall Afar's main hospital.
Hours later, another suicide truck bomb targeted an Iraqi army patrol in the northern city of Mosul, wounding 12 soldiers, Maj. Khursheed Ahmad said.
South of Baghdad, a roadside bomb exploded in a bus station, killing 8 people and wounding 10, police said.
In Baqubah, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, Iraqi security forces found 60 unidentified bodies in a mass grave. Most had been shot and handcuffed, and they showed signs of torture, police said. In Baghdad, police found ten corpses Monday.
Special correspondents Dlovan Brwari in Mosul province and Naseer Nouri and Saad al-Izzi in Baghdad contributed to this report.
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BAGHDAD, Aug. 7 -- Iraq's political crisis deepened Monday as five more ministers withdrew from cabinet meetings, delivering a major blow to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's fractured unity government and efforts to reconcile Iraq's warring parties.
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Before Olympics, a Call for Change
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BEIJING, Aug. 7 -- A group of prominent Chinese dissidents and intellectuals called on the Communist Party government Tuesday to honor its human rights commitments out of respect for the Olympic spirit and next summer's Beijing Games.
The unusually blunt appeal, in an open letter to the party's top three leaders, added respected Chinese voices to a chorus of foreign complaints over human rights abuses as China begins the one-year countdown to the Olympic Games scheduled to open here Aug. 8, 2008. The letter came as government officials are striving to make the Games an international endorsement of China's swift development under Communist Party rule.
The human rights group Amnesty International and the Committee to Protect Journalists, a New York-based press freedom organization, issued separate reports Tuesday lengthening the list of foreign criticisms. Both charged that the Chinese government had not carried out the pledges it made in 2001 to secure the Games, including improving human rights practices and loosening restrictions on press freedom.
"Unless the Chinese authorities take urgent measures to stop human rights violations over the coming year, they risk tarnishing the image of China and the legacy of the Beijing Olympics," Amnesty warned.
"In fact, since the games were awarded, media restrictions ordered by the government and the Communist Party have grown," said Paul Steiger, chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists, in a preface to the group's 79-page report, titled "Falling Short."
The criticisms, including two protests by foreign activists, overshadowed what officials here intended to be a cheery celebration, including ceremonies Wednesday on Beijing's Tiananmen Square, to mark the one year remaining until the Games begin. The statements tended to confirm the fears of Chinese officials that foreign-based groups could use the Olympics as a platform to promote political causes in front of the world's television cameras.
Six activists were detained Tuesday after displaying a large banner on the Great Wall calling for a "Free Tibet," according to the London-based Free Tibet Campaign. Three of the six were U.S. citizens, the group said, identified as Leslie Kaup of St. Paul, Minn., Nupur Modi of Oakland, Calif., and Duane Martinez of Sausalito, Calif. Their protest followed a Reporters Without Borders demonstration Monday in which foreigners unfurled a banner across the street from the Beijing Olympics headquarters depicting the Olympic rings as handcuffs and urging that jailed reporters be freed.
The open letter posted Tuesday on the Internet represented a different -- and perhaps more difficult -- challenge for Beijing. Signed by 40 Chinese men and women widely known for scholarly work or anti-government agitation, the appeal seemed harder to dismiss than complaints lodged by foreign groups.
Chinese of all persuasions have endorsed the choice of Beijing as a venue for the Games, happy to show off the progress here over the last 30 years. Most also have taken pride in the opportunity to see their country embraced as a normal nation by an expected flood of foreign visitors. In that light, even those who yearn for political change often have been reluctant to question the government's legitimacy as Olympic host.
The letter, organized by two longtime democracy activists, Ding Zilin and Liu Xiaobo, was addressed to President Hu Jintao, who also heads the Communist Party; Wu Bangguo, head of the National People's Congress, or legislature, who is the second-ranked party leader; and Premier Wen Jiabao, who ranks third in the party hierarchy. It said the slogan for the Beijing Olympics, "One World, One Dream," should be expanded to include "Equal Human Rights." Otherwise, it asked, "what kind of world, whose dream" are being promoted by holding the Games in Beijing?
The Chinese government has violated promises it made to secure the Olympic Games, the letter said, by jailing dissidents, pushing poor people from their homes to build stadiums and keeping censorship in place for Chinese journalists and artists.
"All this violates the Olympic spirit," the writers said. "It makes the world distrust the Chinese government and it makes the Chinese people distrust the Chinese government. So people complain more and more and the crisis grows, hurting the image even of political leaders who are close to the people."
The result is what the writers called "a crisis of rule," suggesting broad disenchantment with the party's monopoly on power. "In a situation like this, how can you indulge yourself to believe the citizens are going to have one dream?" they asked.
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Flight Delays in June Were Among Worst on Record, Government Says
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Woe be unto those who took a domestic flight in June.
The month was the one of the worst for air travelers in the past 12 years, according to data released by the Transportation Department yesterday. Nearly a third of domestic flights operated by major U.S. airlines were delayed or canceled, and the first six months of the year had the most delays the industry has experienced since the government began tracking data in 1995.
Delays at the three Washington area airports worsened only slightly compared with a year ago.
In June, 62 percent of flights landed on time at Ronald Reagan National Airport, compared with 69 percent last year. At Dulles International Airport, 64 percent of flights arrived on time, down from 67 percent. At Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, 69 percent of flights arrived on time, compared with 70 percent last year.
The decrease in the percentage of on-time arrivals can be blamed on the tough storms that roared across the northeast region in June, said Richard DeiTos, the executive director of the Metropolitan Washington Airlines Committee, which represents airlines operating out of National and Dulles. Almost 45 percent of flight delays were a result of weather, up from 42 percent the year before, according to the Transportation Department.
But airline labor groups also blame layoffs, which have led to staffing constraints, in the face of increasing traffic. Airlines also point fingers at the Federal Aviation Administration for not upgrading satellite navigation systems to improve air traffic control.
Most arrival delays at the three Washington area airports have been the result of a domino effect from the flights' airports of origin, said Doug Abbey, a partner at the Velocity Group, an aviation consulting firm in Washington.
Abbey warned that the situation would not improve soon.
"The analogy is the bridge in Minnesota," Abbey said. "When you don't deal with infrastructure, it collapses." Many major hub airports, for example, are constrained by limited gates and runways available to handle the growing traffic.
Travelers who flew out of the three airports in the New York metropolitan area have suffered the worst this summer, according to the data. Just over half the flights at John F. Kennedy International, La Guardia and Newark Liberty International airports arrived on time.
In addition, the Transportation Department said airlines are losing more luggage and passengers are lodging more complaints. In the first half of the year, incidents of mishandled baggage increased to 7.34 reports per thousand passengers, up from 5.86 a year ago. Customer complaints rose 47.2 percent.
For Mary Bargerstock, 52, of Reston, reports of the dismal performance of the airlines rang true to her experience of flying to Dulles last Tuesday from Salt Lake City.
Her flight was canceled an hour before takeoff, after she had checked in, because it had no flight crew. The airline did not pay for her stay at a hotel and then lost her baggage.
"This has been the trip from hell," she said.
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Chrysler Hires A Fix-It Man
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Will Robert L. Nardelli come to be known as the Jack Welch of the American auto industry or just another outsider run off the road in Detroit?
Nardelli was named chairman and chief executive of Chrysler yesterday by its new owner, Cerberus Capital Management. The job offers a chance for a comeback for Nardelli, who was criticized for his lavish severance deal after he resigned as chairman and chief executive of Home Depot in January.
Yesterday, Nardelli presented himself in Detroit as a low-key operator whose mission is to accelerate Chrysler's restructuring plans, not to gut factory capacity and slice engineering and design staffs or wrest concessions from the United Auto Workers union.
"I'm not from the auto industry," Nardelli said during his introductory news conference. "It's important to know what you know and know what you don't know."
Nardelli said he planned to intensify Chrysler's focus on international markets. Chrysler already had plans underway to import small cars from China and invest more heavily in fuel-efficient technology, and it had vowed not to kill any of its three brand names, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge.
"It's not about creating a new strategy," Nardelli said. "We're going to have a laser focus on the execution" of the existing plan.
Chrysler's restructuring plan calls for the elimination of 13,000 jobs and the closing of an assembly plant in Delaware. Nardelli will have to steer Chrysler through the collapse of the sport-utility-vehicle market and intensified competition in the pickup-truck and minivan categories, where the automaker is slipping fast. The 82-year-old company is also sagging under the weight of billions of dollars in retiree health-care costs.
Although he's new to the car business, Nardelli is a veteran of heavy manufacturing and has tackled other difficult assignments in the industry. In the 1990s, he climbed the executive ladder at General Electric, leading divisions that made appliances, locomotives and industrial equipment for power plants. Nardelli is one of a group of executives groomed by Jack Welch, GE's former chairman.
Nardelli is credited with taking Home Depot to new heights in his six years at the helm -- doubling the company's sales and profits and expanding the number of stores. But the improvements failed to lift Home Depot's stock price. He was criticized for leaving with a severance package that totaled about $210 million.
"There is a lot to be brought over from the GE experiences, and there is a lot that can be brought over from Home Depot," said Noel Tichy, director of the Global Leadership Program at the University of Michigan's business school. "He came into Home Depot at a time when they needed a transformational leader."
Nardelli identified international growth as a key area of focus for what he called the "new Chrysler." Each of Detroit's automakers is looking for growth in foreign markets, particularly the emerging markets of China, India and South America. Chrysler is far behind GM and Ford, which began developing overseas operations in the middle of the last century.
Earlier this year, Chrysler signed a deal to import small Chinese cars from Chery Automobile in China. While at Home Depot, Nardelli helped expand supplier activities there.
Nardelli spent the day at Chrysler's suburban Detroit headquarters, meeting employees on the company's lawn and taking congratulatory calls from other industry leaders.
Nardelli noted that the company had a "broad range of constituencies." Its 80,000 workers are anxious about whether Chrysler will be thrown into another period of wrenching job cuts and plant closings. Nardelli also has to consider the UAW, which is involved in contract talks over wages and benefits. He said yesterday that he was steering clear of "creating any issues in the negotiations," saying he would leave those talks to other executives.
Also yesterday, Chrysler announced that its previous chairman, Thomas W. LaSorda, would serve as vice chairman and president.
Charles Hughes, a former president of Mazda's North American operations, said Chrysler already had strong brands in Jeep and Dodge.
"Jeep is the iconic brand we all understand," Hughes said. "Chrysler has worked hard to make Dodge the American male brand -- tough Ram trucks, Dodge Vipers and Hemi engines. In a world of too many brands and too many products, at least two of the three brands have a pretty good market positioning."
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One Year Out From Olympics, A Test of Openness in Beijing
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The protest, staged by the international press freedom advocacy group Reporters Without Borders, was a rare open expression of anti-government sentiment in the heart of the capital. Although it involved only a handful of people, it dramatized official concerns here that protests could cast a pall over what the country's political leaders intend to be a joyful coming-out party for modern China and its Communist Party government.
The warning Monday and the brief protest were both timed to the start of an elaborate one-year countdown of ceremony and civic events, scheduled to end with the Games' opening ceremonies on Aug. 8, 2008.
In recent days, international human rights groups have accused the government here of reneging on promises of press freedom and other rights that it made to gain the International Olympic Committee's approval to host the Games.
Reporters Without Borders' secretary general, Robert Ménard, said during Monday's demonstration that the group fears there has been little change in China's attitude toward access to the Internet, free expression in print and broadcast media and imprisonment of dissident journalists.
"It is the Chinese government that has taken hostage the Olympic Games, because it does not respect its own commitments," Ménard told the Reuters news agency at the protest across the street from the Beijing Organizing Committee's headquarters.
Some U.S. and European entertainment and political figures have also called for a boycott of the Beijing Olympics unless China brings more pressure on Sudan to resolve the conflict in its western region of Darfur. China is Sudan's largest oil customer and has provided weapons to the Khartoum government.
Closer to home, Chinese officials have expressed worry that anti-government groups such as separatists in Tibet and Xinjiang province or the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement could use the international focus on China during the Olympics to promote their causes. This would be particularly difficult to handle, analysts said, in the case of sympathizers holding foreign passports who arrive during the Games to stage demonstrations like the one held Monday.
Jiang Xiaoyu, one of the organizing committee's executive vice presidents, told reporters Monday that China welcomes intense foreign news coverage, including criticism, before and during the Olympic Games. But he added that Beijing organizers will not accept attempts by rights groups and others to inject into the mix political agendas unrelated to the competition.
"We are absolutely opposed to politicization of the Olympics," Jiang said. "This is against the Olympic spirit and against the Olympic charter."
The Foreign Ministry issued new regulations beginning Jan. 1 that say foreign reporters have the right to report without interference by authorities. But despite the new rules and Jiang's pledge of openness, Beijing police forced several foreign reporters who were covering the Reporters Without Borders protest to remain at the site for more than an hour. Some were pushed and shoved, they reported, before being released without explanation.
The protesters were escorted by police to Beijing's international airport Tuesday morning for a previously scheduled flight out of the country, the group reported.
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Get Washington DC,Virginia,Maryland and national news. Get the latest/breaking news,featuring national security,science and courts. Read news headlines from the nation and from The Washington Post. Visit www.washingtonpost.com/nation today.
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Beyond the Fog of Fear
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If you're lucky, you'll spend a lifetime in the D.C. area without ever going to Children's Hospital. It's only a few miles from the Washington Monument, but the tourists strolling the Mall seemed continents away on that spring day when my baby boy was admitted. Three years on, I've come to recognize how Children's is at this city's heart.
Aidan had always been a skinny little guy, and he was late to sit up, but he was such a happy, mellow baby that we'd never really worried. Everything had been fine at his four-month appointment. Then, 10 weeks later, when we were on vacation, Aidan stopped eating and started crying, so we took him to the local doctor.
She weighed him, measured him, poked and prodded, and said, "There's something wrong with his head -- it's way too big. And his weight is so low, he's barely even on the charts anymore. You need to get him to a neurologist."
Thus we found ourselves back in Washington at Children's, where Aidan was admitted so various specialists could throw themselves into the task of finding the problem and fixing our baby. That week in the hospital passed in a blur of fears and tears.
Geneticists quizzed us about our family histories. Gastroenterologists asked about his digestion.
Neurosurgeons and neurologists measured his head, over and over again. Twice, they put him under general anesthesia; and twice I wandered the corridors, shaking with grief.
The nutritionists told me to measure everything that went into his stomach: No more breast-feeding. I held him as he gulped formula, silently swallowing my own fear that my milk hadn't sustained him.
We stayed in the hospital for a week. By the time we left, Aidan had had an endoscopy and an MRI. His chromosomes had been analyzed. His sweat had been studied. His blood had been drawn countless times. At night, he'd slept fitfully while I lay awake, listening to the cries of nearby children and wondering what was wrong with them -- better than wondering what was wrong with my baby. I'd moved from a life of play dates and burp cloths to this surreal world where the parents I met used such phrases as "permanent brain damage" and "end-stage renal failure."
I desperately wanted my old life back. I made deals with God there in the darkness of hospital nights, while children wailed and nurses moved softly through half-lit hallways, shushing the patients and soothing their parents.
A diagnosis was made: hydrocephaly, reflux and "failure to thrive." That word "failure" hit me hard, indicating as it did that I had failed my baby.
On an intellectual level, I knew it wasn't my fault. Aidan's hydrocephaly had caused his skull to expand as water pooled inside. His reflux meant that his tiny body couldn't take in enough nutrients to grow. The combination left him with a too-large head and a too-small body, which meant he couldn't roll over or sit up like a normal baby. His MRI also revealed what's called a Chiari malformation -- a tiny bit of his brain was in the wrong place, which might cause more problems for him in the future.
None of this was caused by my failure to nourish him. Still, I spent that week in the hospital consumed by fear for my child and shame that I hadn't somehow caught the problem myself.
That week saved Aidan's life. He began taking medicine to control his reflux, and the hospital's nutritionists helped me to determine how to feed him so he would begin to gain weight. He was assigned a physical therapist, who spent hours working with him. The neurologist and the neurosurgeon together determined that he would not need shunts to control the hydrocephaly -- a bit of good news, at last -- and they taught me about possible symptoms the Chiari malformation might cause so I'd be prepared if a new problem arose.
After Aidan's discharge, we returned to the hospital several times a week for checkups and physical therapy, but I never got used to the routine: Hours each day in waiting rooms, always surrounded by sad-eyed parents.
I didn't want to spend time in that hospital, didn't want to belong to that select group of parents whose kids were sick enough to warrant attention from all of those doctors. I wanted nothing more than a normal baby, with a boring routine that didn't include hospital visits.
After a few months, Aidan slowly improved and his appointments became more infrequent. He sat, then stood, then started creeping, all a bit later than expected. When he took his first teetering steps, the physical therapist pronounced him "all caught up" and canceled his therapy. He was beginning to thrive.
Aidan is now 3, and he still has follow-up appointments with the neurologist to make sure his condition stays stable and benign. We worry when our top-heavy little guy topples over and slams his head. When he's late on a milestone, we panic, wondering if he'll start to spiral down again.
At our most recent appointment, the neurologist answered all of my questions carefully, never giving an indication that there were 15 patients stacked up behind us in her waiting room.
Then she left, but as I was getting Aidan dressed, she poked her head back in. "Mrs. Gorman?" she said. "You have a healthy little boy now. Remember to relax and enjoy that for a while."
She's right. Nearly losing Aidan reminded us of what a gift he is to us, every day. Now I watch my boys playing together on the kitchen floor, and it takes my breath away: Two healthy, happy little boys.
What mother could ask for more than that?
Every time I go back to Children's, I watch the other mothers, wondering how they cope with their own private tragedies. Some walk the halls in a fog of fear, just as I once did. Others seem resigned to their fate, looking at home there in the waiting rooms and the corridors.
One particular scene haunts me. We were waiting for yet another blood test. As I bounced Aidan impatiently in my lap, I watched the woman across from me. She wasn't old, but her face was lined and her hair graying. A boy -- I guess he was 10 or so -- slumped in her lap, trying to sleep. His whole weight leaned on her. But she didn't even shift positions. She just held him and kissed his head, stroking his hair as she sang him a lullaby.
I could understand something of what she was suffering, but she bore it with grace, dignity and love. While I was fretting about time wasted in the waiting room, she held her child -- really held him -- and focused on being his mother.
I pray for that mother, still see her in my mind's eye -- alone with her child in a crowded waiting room, singing him lullabies that he doesn't seem to hear, rocking him slowly to sleep as she supports all of his weight on her own narrow shoulders. And I hope that one day when I'm out with my children, I may recognize her strolling with her son among the tourists on the Mall. ·
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If you're lucky, you'll spend a lifetime in the D.C. area without ever going to Children's Hospital. It's only a few miles from the Washington Monument, but the tourists strolling the Mall seemed continents away on that spring day when my baby boy was admitted. Three years on, I've come to recogn...
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At Odds Over Immigrant Assimilation
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Hernan Ruiz, a concrete finisher with a gray streak in his dark hair, shot up his hand during a recent citizenship test prep class at a sunny Silver Spring community center. Called on to answer a question about who elects the U.S. president, the El Salvador native carefully pronounced "electoral college," a response he might need to know for his official transformation into an American.
After 22 years in the United States, Ruiz said, he feels like one.
But he knows that not everyone sees people such as him -- an immigrant who prefers to speak his mother tongue -- that way. To this, he responds that the U.S. government should demand that newcomers know English -- and help them learn it.
"This country was founded by immigrants. There should be a lot of cultures," Ruiz, 48, said. "But at the base is the government."
Ruiz's idea lies at the heart of a question that has recently entered the national immigration debate, one some researchers say is important as new trends challenge old integration patterns: Should the government encourage assimilation?
The Bush administration is taking steps to do that. The Task Force on New Americans, created by executive order last year, recently presented initiatives that supporters say will help immigrants "become fully American."
Among the government initiatives is a Web site to direct immigrants to information on benefits, English classes and volunteer work. Another site offers resources for English and citizenship-test teachers. More than 12,000 copies of a tool kit containing civics flashcards and a welcome guide in English and Spanish have been distributed to libraries. This fall, the government has scheduled eight regional training conferences for civics and citizenship instructors. The task force is to deliver more recommendations to President Bush after convening discussions on assimilation with immigrant advocates, teachers and local officials around the nation.
Immigrants "need to come here and feel as American as the founding fathers," Emilio T. Gonzalez, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the Department of Homeland Security, said at a news conference announcing the efforts.
Social scientists emphasize that assimilation has never been a first-generation process. They rely on such measurements as language, education, economic mobility, intermarriage and geographic distribution to assess assimilation -- the test of which is not a loss of ethnic identity, but parity with the majority. The massive wave of immigrants a century ago made few gains, but its grandchildren were integrated.
The modern immigrant wave arrived after laws were relaxed in 1965, so evidence of its generational progress remains incomplete, said Tomas R. Jimenez, assistant sociology professor at the University of California at San Diego. But researchers say the newcomers and their offspring seem to be following the broad historical pattern, although Mexicans are progressing more slowly. English acquisition is occurring at the same or a faster rate, said Rubén G. Rumbaut, a sociology professor at the University of California at Irvine.
Although adult immigrants generally have a hard time learning English, their children are commonly bilingual. "By the third generation, it's over. English wins. Even among Mexicans in Southern California," said Rumbaut, whose research has found that more than 95 percent of third- and later-generation California Mexicans prefer to speak English at home.
Still, there are indications that the assimilation equation has changed, researchers said.
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Hernan Ruiz, a concrete finisher with a gray streak in his dark hair, shot up his hand during a recent citizenship test prep class at a sunny Silver Spring community center. Called on to answer a question about who elects the U.S. president, the El Salvador native carefully pronounced "electoral ...
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Bush's Optimists Club
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Facing a public that has lost confidence in him and his war in Iraq, President Bush has embarked on a personal quest to convey an important message. But it's a message that is remarkably free of substance -- and that may lead even more people to conclude that he's lost touch with reality.
Bush's message, in a nutshell: I'm a sunny guy.
The latest group ushered into the Oval Office to experience Bush's optimism first-hand -- and off the record -- consisted of 10 fawning right-wing talk-show hosts who visited the White House on Wednesday.
I mentioned this in yesterday's column, quoting two of the invitees: Hugh Hewitt and Glenn Beck. Beck told his CNN viewers: "Above all, I can tell you that the president has incredible passion and resolve. I have not seen this George W. Bush since he had a fire truck behind him and a bull horn in his hand. He was so clear-minded; he was focused. This is not the guy you see on television."
I've since found write-ups from a few more of the participants. Michael Medved writes: "I can officially reveal that he seemed energized, optimistic, focused, articulate, comfortable and totally in command. Anyone who doubts that this chief executive enjoys the Presidency and its demands has never seen him in the White House. As the President unequivocally declared (and as I think I'm permitted to quote): 'I like the atmosphere in the Oval Office.'"
Scott Hennen's detailed description of the visit was the most revealing.
How did Bush set the tone for his chat? By telling the story of the rug.
"He started with an explanation of why he wanted us in the Oval Office," Hennen writes. "He said the room was the place where he made the vast majority of his decisions as President. He gave us a sense of the magnitude of those decisions and what information he learns on a daily basis there. He shared a story of one of the first decisions he was asked to make in the Oval Office. What style of rug would he want? He chuckled and explained [that he asked] Laura -- as he didn't do rugs. He used that as a metaphor to explain how he manages the awesome responsibility he has. His role is to focus on the big decisions utilizing his core convictions that the United States is a force for good in the World. That we must lead and take on evil . . . wherever it is, so as to assure as many people as possible will enjoy the God given inalienable right to freedom. He spoke very eloquently about Good vs. Evil and even brought the story back to the rug, which was designed with only this Presidential input -- to let it reflect light so as to influence his decision making. Light as in good vs. darkness as in evil."
(As Peter Baker wrote in The Washington Post last March: "Bush seems fixated on his rug. . . . 'He loves his rug,' said Nicolle Wallace, the [then-]White House communications director. 'I've heard him describe it countless times. . . . When you're giving a tour of the Oval Office, you're trying to point to things that emphasize what you're trying to do' Wallace said. 'For him, the optimism is very symbolic of what he wants his presidency to be about.'" Here's Bush talking about the rug on the White House Web site.)
Hennen continues: "If every American could have the opportunity I did today -- to sit with the President of the United States and hear him firsthand describe his resolve to win in Iraq and around the world, we would have a very different situation with public opinion. . . .
"His descriptions of the enemy and their brutal, cold-blooded-killer tactics were enough to make a graying group of radio talk how hosts want to enlist and serve this country in uniform."
Hennen describes Bush sharing information he doesn't share with just ordinary people. "The President was passionate about our military successes -- he walked us through example after example of real stats and facts that are benchmarks. Many of us asked why he does not share those with the public. He explained the military's reluctance to be seen as taking out the enemy for the benefit of a statistic used to explain our success."
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Facing a public that has lost confidence in him and his war in Iraq, President Bush has embarked on a personal quest to convey an important message. But it's a message that is remarkably free of substance -- and that may lead even more people to conclude that he's lost touch with reality.
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Lit Up For Liftoff?
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Someone's gotta do it. No one's gonna do it. So I'll do it. Your honor, I rise in defense of drunken astronauts.
You've all heard the reports, delivered in scandalized tones on the evening news or as guaranteed punch lines for the late-night comics, that at least two astronauts had alcohol in their systems before flights. A stern and sober NASA has assured an anxious nation that this matter, uncovered by a NASA-commissioned study, will be thoroughly looked into and appropriately dealt with.
To which I say: Come off it. I know NASA has to get grim and do the responsible thing, but as counsel for the defense -- the only counsel for the defense, as far as I can tell -- I place before the jury the following considerations:
Have you ever been to the shuttle launch pad? Have you ever seen that beautiful and preposterous thing the astronauts ride? Imagine it's you sitting on top of a 12-story winged tube bolted to a gigantic canister filled with 2 million liters of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. Then picture your own buddies -- the "closeout crew" -- who met you at the pad, fastened your emergency chute, strapped you into your launch seat, sealed the hatch and waved smiling to you through the window. Having left you lashed to what is the largest bomb on planet Earth, they then proceed 200 feet down the elevator and drive not one, not two, but three miles away to watch as the button is pressed that lights the candle that ignites the fuel that blows you into space.
Three miles! That's how far they calculate they must go to be beyond the radius of incineration should anything go awry on the launch pad on which, I remind you, these insanely brave people are sitting. Would you not want to be a bit soused? Would you be all aflutter if you discovered that a couple of astronauts -- out of dozens -- were mildly so? I dare say that if the standards of today's fussy flight surgeons had been applied to pilots showing up for morning duty in the Battle of Britain, the signs in Piccadilly would today be in German.
Cut these cowboys some slack. These are not wobbly Northwest Airlines pilots trying to get off the runway and steer through clouds and densely occupied airspace. An ascending space shuttle, I assure you, encounters very little traffic. And for much of liftoff, the astronaut is little more than spam in a can -- not pilot but guinea pig. With opposable thumbs, to be sure, yet with only one specific task: to come out alive.
And by the time the astronauts get to the part of the journey that requires delicate and skillful maneuvering -- docking with the international space station, outdoor plumbing repairs in zero-G -- they will long ago have peed the demon rum into their recycling units.
The most dismaying part of this brouhaha is not the tipsy Captain Kirk or two but the fact that space makes the news today only as mini-scandal or farce. It all started out as a great romance in the 1960s, yet by the 1970s -- indeed, the morning after the 1969 moon landing -- romance had turned to boredom.
When the Apollo 13 astronauts gave their live broadcast from space, not a single network carried it. No interest. Until, that is, the explosion that nearly killed them, at which point the world tuned in with rapt and morbid attention.
Well, we are now in stage three of our space odyssey: mockery and amusement. The last big space story was the crazed lady astronaut on her diapered drive to a fatal-attraction rendezvous.
It's hard to entirely blame this state of affairs on a fickle public. Blame also belongs to the idiot politicians who decided 30 years ago to abandon the moon and send us on a pointless and endless journey into low Earth orbit. President Bush has sensibly called an end to this nonsense and committed us to going back to the moon and, ultimately, to Mars. If his successors don't screw it up, within 10 years NASA will have us back to where we belong -- on other worlds.
At which point, we'll remember why we did this in the first place. And when we once again thrill at seeing humans on the moon -- this time, making it their home -- we won't much care whether the extra bounce in their gait is the effect of the one-sixth gravity or a touch of moonshine.
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Someone's gotta do it. No one's gonna do it. So I'll do it. Your honor, I rise in defense of drunken astronauts.
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E. J. Dionne Jr. - The Rise of Kos - washingtonpost.com
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Perhaps you missed it, but Wednesday was the 19th anniversary of Rush Limbaugh's radio show. Limbaugh was celebrating his ripe old age, in media years, in the same week that liberal blog fans were trekking to Chicago for the YearlyKos convention. Therein lies one of the most important stories in American politics.
Make no mistake: From the beginning, Limbaugh was a revolutionary figure. He befuddled Democrats and the journalistic establishment because he was an up-to-date throwback. The large audience he won on the right marked the return in the United States of openly partisan mass media, a 19th-century phenomenon that had all but disappeared in the late 20th century.
Limbaugh is not primarily about information, though he freely uses even those bits that come his way courtesy of dreaded "liberal" media sources. His goal is mobilization, and he has been extremely good at it. He spawned conservative imitators in media markets all over the nation and aroused a faithful band of Dittoheads who despise all things liberal and Democratic.
The greatest gift to Limbaugh was Bill Clinton's election as president in 1992. Talk-show hosts are much better on offense than defense. Limbaugh was unusually hesitant about Pat Buchanan's challenge to the first President Bush during the 1992 Republican primaries because their fight split Limbaugh's base. With Bush dispatched that fall, Clinton brought conservatives together in rage, and Limbaugh stoked it. He deserves major credit for the Republicans' 1994 landslide.
Democrats and liberals realized they needed a mobilizing force of their own but could not match Limbaugh's reach on the radio. Enter the Internet, and Markos Moulitsas.
An Army veteran, a former Republican, and the son of a Salvadoran mother and a Greek father, Moulitsas, 35, created his Daily Kos Web site on May 26, 2002 -- "in those dark days," as his site puts it, "when an oppressive and war-crazed administration suppressed all dissent as unpatriotic and treasonous." Daily Kos took off because so many Democrats shared Moulitsas's view of the second President Bush.
Daily Kos is often described as liberal, but it is, more than anything, partisan. Its core assumption is that ideological conservatives made the Republican Party their vehicle and rallied in lock step against Democrats. The party of FDR and JFK needed to find the same discipline. The key litmus tests for Kos and his many allies in the blogosphere involve not long lists of issues developed by the American Civil Liberties Union or the AFL-CIO, but loyalty in standing up against Bush and doing what's necessary to build a Democratic majority.
And just as Limbaugh aroused passionate opposition on the left, so has Kos become the object of conservative rage. In the lead-up to Moulitsas's Chicago gathering, Fox News's Bill O'Reilly, a right-wing showman who knows a threat when he sees one, has gone after Kos. "There's no question that the most vile stuff imaginable is posted on this hate site and others like it," O'Reilly said Tuesday.
O'Reilly is irate that the leading Democratic presidential candidates are showing up this weekend. "The far left wants a quasi-socialistic economy and a one-world foreign policy, where national security decisions are made only with the approval of other countries," O'Reilly fumed. "So that's the soup the Democratic presidential candidates will be dining on when they show up at the Kos convention."
I'm not in the habit of giving advice to Bill O'Reilly, but there's always a first time: Liberal rage at Rush Limbaugh not only was useless, but it actually strengthened his credibility with the right. (I speak from experience.) Bill, I bet Markos loves what you're doing.
Personally, I dislike the use of obscenity on the Web, and many online posts are way too nasty. But the right wing, suddenly so concerned with the niceties of political discourse, did not worry much about what its militants said about Clinton, Al Gore or John Kerry. Limbaugh even blamed the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on a president who had been out of office for eight months. I'm still waiting for his apology.
George Bush and Dick Cheney have heaped praise on Limbaugh ("Well, Rush, you've got a great show, as always," Cheney said during one of his many interviews) because he's an effective organizer for the right -- even if Limbaugh has, of late, become disenchanted with some of Bush's policies. Limbaugh desperately needs a Democratic president. Another Clinton would be perfect.
Democratic candidates know they owe a debt to Moulitsas. They're paying homage to him because he has started to beat Limbaugh and O'Reilly at their own game. No wonder O'Reilly is so annoyed.
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Perhaps you missed it, but Wednesday was the 19th anniversary of Rush Limbaugh's radio show. Limbaugh was celebrating his ripe old age, in media years, in the same week that liberal blog fans were trekking to Chicago for the YearlyKos convention. Therein lies one of the most important stories i...
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What Matters About Romney's Religion
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The first Mormon to run for president was the first Mormon. Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, formally announced his candidacy on Jan. 19, 1844, urging his supporters to "tell the people we have had Whig and Democrats presidents long enough. We want a president of the United States." Smith's campaign lasted about five months before it -- along with his life -- was ended by a violent mob in Carthage, Ill.
Mitt Romney's campaign has been better received. He possesses a winning public personality, enough personal wealth to ensure that he will be around when the voting starts and durable strength in Iowa and New Hampshire that could slingshot him to the nomination. As the author of an impressive oxymoron -- Republican governor of Massachusetts -- Romney stakes a strong claim to electability. And even after some recent ideological reinvention on social issues, he has successfully courted conservatives. The only criticism I have heard of Romney after these meetings is that he may be "too perfect" because of his Osmond-like looks and wholesomeness -- which is another way of saying he might seem "too Mormon."
Without intending or desiring it, the Romney campaign has poked the sleeping bear of debate about the role of religion in American politics. Liberals tend to argue that all theological beliefs, including Mormonism, are fundamentally private and dangerously coercive as the basis of public policy. Some religious conservatives are concerned that this particular theology is too eccentric to be welcomed at the White House.
Facing even deeper suspicions about his Catholicism while running for president in 1960, John Kennedy gave a response at the Greater Houston Ministerial Association that was politically masterful, historically influential -- and should not be Romney's model. Kennedy said that a candidate's "views on religion are his own private affair," which should not be "imposed by him upon the nation." Kennedy did more than reassure Americans that his public decisions would not be dictated by the pope. He claimed that his public decisions would not be influenced by his religious convictions at all.
There is a long tradition of American leaders who believe that religion is so personal it shouldn't even affect their private lives. But this rigid separation between religious conviction and public policy lies outside the main current of American history. Abraham Lincoln's theology, while hardly orthodox, was not his "own private affair." "Nothing stamped with the divine image and likeness," he asserted, "was sent into the world to be trodden on." Martin Luther King Jr. claimed that to find the source of our rights, "it is necessary to move back behind the dim mist of eternity, for they are God-given."
These were theological arguments, not merely rhetorical adornments. But they were also carefully limited.
American political leaders have generally not talked about soteriology -- how the individual soul is saved. In Christian theology, these choices are fundamentally private, and government attempts to influence them are both doomed and tyrannical. American leaders have also wisely avoided the topic of eschatology -- inherently speculative theories about the end or culmination of history.
But religious convictions on the topic of anthropology-- the nature and value of men and women -- have profoundly and positively influenced American history. Many of the greatest advances toward the protection of minority rights, from the abolition of slavery to the civil rights movement, came in part because people of faith pushed for them. And religious men and women made those efforts because they were convinced that all human beings -- not just all believers -- are created in God's image.
So what does this mean for Romney? Many Christians have serious problems with Mormon theology on personal salvation and the nature of history -- disputes that go much deeper than those between, say, Baptists and Presbyterians. These disagreements are theologically important. But they are not politically important, because they are unrelated to governing.
Romney, however, should not make Kennedy's mistake and assert that all religious beliefs are unrelated to politics. What Mormonism shares with other religious traditions is a strong commitment to the value and dignity of human beings, including the unborn, the disabled and the poor. This conviction is unavoidably political, because it leads men and women to act in the cause of justice, not in order to impose their religion, but to protect the weak.
Given this common ground, evangelicals and other religious conservatives should not disqualify Romney from the outset. There may be other reasons to oppose him for president, but his belief about the destiny of the soul is not one of them.
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Without intending or desiring it, the Romney campaign has poked the sleeping bear of debate about the role of religion in American politics.
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Broder on Politics
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Broder has written extensively about primaries, elections, special interests and the business of politics. His books include "Democracy Derailed: The Initiative Movement & the Power of Money," "Behind the Front Page: A Candid Look at How the News Is Made" and "The System: The American Way of Politics at the Breaking Point."
washingtonpost.com: A Setback For Civility (Post, Aug. 2)
Archive: David Broder discussion transcripts
Eastern Shore Republican: A general rule of thumb is that that the party that is most united and has the better morale wins presidential elections. The Democrats have both morale and unity in their favor. On top of that, there's the war in Iraq and President Bush's role in splitting the GOP on immigration. Do Bush, Rove and the administration even acknowledge that they've put their party behind the eight ball in 2008?
David S. Broder: Good day to everyone in the chat room. No, I don't hear that kind of acknowledgment from anyone I talk to at the White House, but I certainly hear comments like that from Republicans in Congress and around the country, who are more objective about their situation.
New York: Hello, Mr. Broder. Thanks for taking my question. In a recent Washington Post op-ed, I read that reporters use anonymous sources to "expose government malfeasance" and "gross abuses of power" -- which makes a federal shield law important. But these days, at least on the level of the national political press, anonymity is used in that way in a tiny minority of cases. In the vast majority of instances, anonymity has a far different and far less noble purpose -- to enable our most powerful political officials to spread pro-government claims, information and propaganda through the media without any accountability. Do you think those types of sources need the same protection as whistle-blowers -- and if so, why?
David S. Broder: You make a very good point. It is contrary to Post policy and to my personal policy to allow anonymous government officials to spread propaganda without attribution. That is very different from the whistle-blower situation; one is deserving of protection; the other is not.
Re: Totally unprepared again ...: There is a report today that details a growing rift between the Bush administration and Saudi Arabia, which says, in essence, that Bush is angry with what it sees as Saudi Arabia support of Sunnis in Iraq. But wouldn't most experts in this region have predicted the Saudi's behavior? How many more instances can we have at how unprepared Bush was for this whole fiasco in Iraq -- and the consequences of his going it alone?
washingtonpost.com: Another Tour Ends Without Solid Plans On Mideast Peace (Post, Aug. 3)
David S. Broder: Saudis have been playing a complex game of politics in the Persian Gulf for a long time; and certainly the Bush family was as well briefed on their operations as any people could be. They must have decided to look the other way.
Washington: Do you get any sense about whether President Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney are privately favoring any Republican presidential candidates? I know sitting presidents tend to stay out of it during the primaries, but is there someone either of them are rooting for?
David S. Broder: If they have a favorite, they are cloaking their choice very well. I can't tell.
Rolla, Mo.: Have you heard any prominent Republicans state that they fear the precedent being set by this Administration's "unitary executive" arguments and what it would mean under a possible President Hillary Clinton administration? As a Democrat even I am concerned that given the Clintons' experience of the "oversight" by Congress during the 1990s, she may well wish to keep some of the questionable practices of the current administration.
David S. Broder: Sen. Arlen Specter has joined many Democrats in challenging that doctrine, and I think other Republicans would echo those views if they thought as far ahead as your question goes.
Re: John McCain: It's reported that McCain is changing his stance on immigration. How does his campaign handle the inevitable flip-flop, pandering and because-he's-down-in-the-polls questions that seems a given?
David S. Broder: If Senator McCain has changed his views on immigration, I am not aware of it. I talked with him on the night the Senate bill went down and he was unshaken at that point.
Washington: Did you catch the president's comments yesterday? I don't like to get too caught up in the past or recriminations but I was surprised to hear him sounding so concerned about congressional spending. Why didn't anyone ask him what changed for him after six years of completely unrestrained government growth that he suddenly gets so worried about this? This turnaround was so shocking to me, I expected to read all about it in today's papers, but why the silence?
David S. Broder: What changed is that this Congress has a Democratic majority. And President Bush knows the Democrats are spenders; Republicans, by definition, are not.
Crestwood, N.Y.: Mr. Broder, I'm starting to get a feeling about this Fred Thompson, that he might be the GOP's answer to "the Democratic Hamlet": Mario Cuomo. Is it possible that he really doesn't want to exchange his current very comfortable life for the "joys" of running for national office -- and then, heaven forbid, the killing job of being president of this zoo? From what I've been reading, he didn't seem to enjoy his senatorial term very much. Isn't running for president the most unpleasant experience imaginable, even for those who crave the job with every fiber of their being? How do you read this?
David S. Broder: I cannot pretend to be a mind-reader when it comes to Senator Thompson. But I know he walked away without regret from a safe Senate seat in Tennessee, so I have decided to take a wait and see attitude toward his presidential candidacy. When he says he is running, I will believe it.
Oostburg, Wis.: As someone who has seen lots of Washington politicians come and go, is it possible that Bush is so intransigent in his views and policy decisions that he would jeopardize his party's chances in 2008 and beyond? Are there any similar parallels in the last 50 years or so in the American presidency?
David S. Broder: Presidents have a hard time coming to grips with big policy failures. Lyndon Johnson carried forward for years in Vietnam after his own doubts about the war were very large indeed. Richard Nixon fought against the Watergate cover-up exposure to the bitter end. Both led their parties to ruin.
Washington: Although they were appointed by Republican Presidents, Justices Stevens and Souter often take the more liberal position in their decisions. Justice Kennedy occasionally joins them, in particular ruling to uphold Roe vs. Wade. My question is, do their loyalties reside with the Republican Party that appointed them, or the Democrats, who they might be more ideologically in tune with?
David S. Broder: Again, I cannot claim to read the minds of these men, but I think they would say they followed the law, the Constitution and the precedents, rather than worried about the partisan positions on these issues.
Arlington, Va.: Mr. Broder, regarding the "civility" of Ray LaHood, it matters little what one's manners are if -- as in the case of Ray LaHood -- one votes to support the corrupt and immoral policies of the Bush/Cheney regime. Polite or not, his departure from public life only can be viewed as a positive step. Unless, of course, you approve of the horrible policies that Ray LaHood voted in favor of.
David S. Broder: Your comment is all too typical of the degeneration of politics in our day and age. Because you disagree with the policies of the Bush administration, you are prepared to trash the character of a conscientious legislator who happens to disagree with you. That kind of moralizing judgment that consigns all who disagree to the fires of hell is what is wrecking our politics.
Westwood, Mass.: What are the odds that FBI Director Mueller has notes from other meetings related to the NSA wiretapping program (including his critical one-on-one meeting with Bush to walk through Mueller's legal reservations)? It sure seems like Mueller knew he was on dangerous ground with this administration that would one day come to public light, and he wanted a good record of the issue and his actions. Would it make sense for Conyers to request Mueller's notes from any meetings regarding the NSA wiretapping program (and what's the deal with his strange wording to describe the "NSA program that has been much discussed")?
David S. Broder: I don't know the answers to any of those questions, but you might want to bounce them off of Sen. Leahy and the Judiciary Committee Democrats and see if they can follow up your leads.
Northampton, Mass.: "David S. Broder: What changed is that this Congress has a Democratic majority. And President Bush knows the Democrats are spenders; Republicans, by definition, are not."
Mr. Broder, respectfully, you must have been sleeping the past six years as Republicans ran everything, because we went from running a surplus to a deficit while they were in charge. Don't confuse the Republicans of the past with the ones we have now -- things change.
David S. Broder: I was being facetious. I guess I should label my efforts at humor, but I thought it was obvious that I had tongue in cheek.
Kettering, Ohio: Good afternoon Mr. Broder! I lament the loss of bipartisans as you noted in your column yesterday. However, do you have faith that the American electorate will demand better of its leaders in the future? I don't think either party can expect to go too many more cycles of bitterness, name-calling, mediocrity and do-nothingness before its throws the bums out. I think Americans can smell a rat as well or better than any other. If the Dems and the administration think prefer to refuse to work with the other, and the perhaps inevitable Democratic win in 2008 allows the Republicans to think they have cover to not cooperate with the Dems, I think they surely will be wrong.
David S. Broder: I agree with you. I think public opinion is near the boiling point at the spectacle Washington politicians of both parties are making of themselves, and I think 2008 can see a political explosion as a result.
Portland, Ore.: Hi Mr. Broder -- your colleague Mr. Ricks is quoted today on NPR's "Here and now" as saying in Iraq there are no good options and that U.S. troops probably will be in Iraq through the next president's term. It seems to me that there is some disconnect between what the American people voted for in the last election and our current "surge" and future outlook there. Your comments, sir?Thanks.
David S. Broder: Tom Ricks has the best grasp of the military situation in Iraq of any reporter I know, and I take his views very seriously. But domestic opinion in this country is not static, and the pressure to reduce forces will continue to grow. I do not believe we will have anything like 150,000 troops in Iraq in the fall of 2008.
Cincinnati: Mr. Broder: Thanks for taking my question. Do you have any opinion on the chaos that erupted last night on the House floor when a vote incorrectly was called and the vote count was changed after the gavel came down? Thank you.
David S. Broder: What happened on the House floor last night was reminiscent of the worse moments of Republican control. Democrats should be embarrassed by that comparison.
Princeton, N.J.: This is a news policy question: Do you believe that when a politician makes a mathematically false statement, The Post (reporters, not columnists) have an obligation to point that out? As an example, in 2000 we were told that the group of married people paid more taxes than they would if they had been allowed to file as single -- the Marriage Tax Penalty. Fifteen minutes at bls.gov and an eighth-grade math education would have shown this was false. Because reporters did not do their homework, we got an unfair tax bill that was simply bad policy.
David S. Broder: Factually false statements should certainly be corrected in news stories, no matter who is uttering them.
Ottawa, Canada: I agree with you that there has been a general loss of civility in politics. However, given the types of policy choices presented by the Bush administration, such as starting a war or not allowing stem cell research, isn't it nearly impossible for an opposing politician to not be angry with those on the other side? It's a lot easier to disagree about taxes and remain civil, is it not?
David S. Broder: Of course issues are important, and passion is justified. But make the argument on the issue--and leave the character attacks unspoken. Whether it is taxes or stem cells or war, there is plenty to argue about. But we don't need to be sliming the opponents.
Portland, Ore.: Mr. Broder, I am confused. First Sen. Clinton criticizes Sen. Obama for suggesting he might use military force against targets in Pakistan, then she tweaks him for noting that he would not use nuclear weapons in the assaults she just criticized. I guess her thought is that if she criticizes everything Obama says it raises doubts about his foreign policy experience, but I think the exchange suggests that Clinton has no substantive policies of her own to offer and is only reactive, and that she must be worrying that Obama is gaining traction with his foreign policy pronouncements. What is your take?
David S. Broder: I think the Clinton campaign is a little confused. They think it's January of 2008 not August of 2007. A little quick on the reflex, I would say.
Savannah, Ga.: Mr. Broder, do you really believe President Bush will reduce troops in Iraq before he leaves office? I simply don't believe he can do it without repudiating everything his administration believes in -- and he won't do that, will he?
David S. Broder: The president has the upper hand for now as commander in chief, but the forces are gathering in Congress that may well curtail his freedom of action in coming months.
Washington: I generally agreed with your comments about LaHood and the decline of civility. The counter-argument I've heard from Republicans, however, is that Bob Michel-style leadership (gracious disagreement, not sharpening differences) brought the Republicans 40 years of minority status in the House. It was only when the Gingrich insurgents challenged the basic tenets of the Democratic majority that they gained power in 1994. If so, why would either party risk being seen as acquiescing when in the minority?
David S. Broder: That's a reasonable argument, and I think the case can be made that Bob Michel's generation of Republican leaders had been beaten down to the point that they were not putting up much of a fight against the Democrats. But Newt Gingrich claimed more for the Contract with America than the evidence supports; Democrats lost the election of 1994 as much as Republicans won it, and almost everyone says that the aftermath of that switch was an increase in poisonous partisanship that has continued to this day.
I've enjoyed the discussion and now must go back to work. Thank you, 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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Difficult Conditions Hamper River Search
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MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 3 -- Feeling their way forward in murky water with barely six inches of visibility, teams of divers Friday located more vehicles that plunged into the Mississippi River in Wednesday evening's collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge, but they failed to find any bodies inside, authorities said.
As the grim, treacherous recovery effort continued for a second full day, the National Transportation Safety Board reported a curious finding from its nascent investigation: The southern part of the bridge collapsed in a different way from the rest of the span, shifting about 50 feet to the east as it fell, while the rest of the bridge collapsed in place. Officials declined to speculate on what the anomaly meant, saying it needs to be thoroughly studied.
Conducting their search in conditions they described as better than before -- but still difficult and hazardous -- divers found five submerged vehicles Friday morning just upstream from the collapsed bridge, Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek told reporters. The divers searched four of the vehicles, finding no victims in any of them, but they were unable to examine a car that was sitting on the bottom of the river, crushed underneath another vehicle, he said.
The confirmed death toll from the disaster stood at five Friday, including a man whose body was pulled from a burned truck on the collapsed bridge late Thursday. Three other victims died at the disaster site Wednesday when the eight-lane bridge suddenly collapsed during the evening rush hour, falling 64 feet into the river. One victim who was pulled from the wreckage died of his injuries shortly afterward in hospital, Medical Examiner Andrew Baker said.
The number of people missing in the disaster remained uncertain Friday. Police initially gave an estimate of 20 to 30. By Friday morning, some officials said they could confirm only eight people missing. But at an afternoon news briefing, Stanek declined to give a figure.
"We don't know," he said. "It's a terrible mess, quite honestly. We don't know how many cars were on the bridge when it collapsed, and we don't know how many victims were in the cars."
He said one woman who previously had been listed as unaccounted for was found at work Friday morning. Her car had been recovered at the disaster scene, but her whereabouts were unknown until detectives located her at her job.
Minneapolis Police Chief Timothy Dolan later would say only that "several people" were missing. "It could be more than eight; it could be less than eight," he told reporters. He estimated that 50 to 60 vehicles were on the bridge when it collapsed, about 30 of which are visible on the fallen slabs of concrete or in the wreckage.
Slowing the recovery operation have been treacherous river conditions, as well as the hazards of trying to extract bodies from vehicles amid the surface wreckage. Swimming practically blind in the muddy river, divers must navigate perilous debris, including twisted steel girders, tangled cables and jagged chunks of concrete bristling with iron reinforcement bars.
Visibility remains "terrible," said Capt. Bill Chandler, commander of the 20 divers at the site. "They can see maybe six inches at best." Once they locate a vehicle, the divers report back on the license plate number and then check inside, reaching in and feeling for bodies, he said.
"It's all Braille diving -- zero-visibility diving," said Capt. Ken Schilling, a coordinator for the recovery operation. "It's all about the feel."
So far, divers have located 12 vehicles in the water, Stanek said.
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House Forms Special Panel Over Alleged Stolen Vote
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The House last night unanimously agreed to create a special select committee, with subpoena powers, to investigate Republican allegations that Democratic leaders had stolen a victory from the House GOP on a parliamentary vote late Thursday night.
The move capped a remarkable day that started with Republicans marching out of the House in protest near midnight Thursday, was punctuated by partisan bickering, and ended with Democratic hopes for a final legislative rush fading. Even a temporary blackout of the House chamber's vote tally board led to suspicions and accusations of skullduggery.
While Democratic leaders hoped to leave for their August recess on a wave of legislative successes, the House instead slowed to an acrimonious crawl that threatened to stretch the legislative session into next week.
The agreement to form a special committee was extraordinary. Such powerful investigative committees are usually reserved for issues such as the Watergate scandal and the funneling of profits from Iranian arms sales to the Nicaraguan contras in the 1980s.
"I don't know when something like this has happened before," said House deputy historian Fred W. Beuttler. He called the decision "incredible."
House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) accepted GOP calls for an investigation. "I do not believe there was any wrongdoing by any member of the House. I do believe a mistake was made," he said. "And I regret it."
"We are not irrelevant here," said House Minority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.). "Just because we are in the minority doesn't mean we're irrelevant."
GOP lawmakers had marched out of the House chamber about 11 p.m. Thursday, shouting "shame, shame" and saying that Democrats had "stolen" a vote on a parliamentary motion to pull an agriculture spending bill off the floor until it incorporated an explicit denial of federal benefits to illegal immigrants. The bill already would deny such benefits to illegal immigrants, and Democrats stressed that they won the vote fair and square. But a campaign has been launched, and the House has not fully recovered.
"Last night sent a clear message to the American people that there are people in this town who are willing to break rules and utilize extraordinary maneuvers just so that illegal immigrants can receive taxpayer-funded benefits," said Rep. Brian P. Bilbray (R-Calif.).
Anger-driven delaying tactics threw into uncertainty an agenda that was to include important votes on a huge energy bill, a defense spending bill and a terrorism surveillance measure before Congress's departure for its month-long summer recess.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) accused Republicans of blatant obstructionism. "They've just been deluged by the success of the Democrats on behalf of the American people," she said.
After Rep. Patrick T. McHenry (R-N.C.) violated House rules by calling Democrats "cheaters" on the floor, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-N.H.), a freshman and relative political neophyte, warned her colleagues that their mothers might be watching.
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Three Top Democrats Share Lead In Iowa Poll
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Less than six months before Iowa voters open the 2008 presidential nomination battles, the Democratic contest in the Hawkeye State is a deadlock, with Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards in a virtual tie for first place, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.
While Clinton has a clear and consistent lead over Obama in national polls, with Edwards generally running a distant third, the contours of the campaign in Iowa appear far different. Edwards's strong base of support, built on the foundations of his second-place finish in the state's precinct caucuses in 2004, has turned Iowa into the most competitive early state for the Democratic field.
As is the case nationally, Clinton gains from being seen as the strongest leader and the most electable contender. But in a state where retail politics can be crucial, she lags far behind her main rivals in voters' rankings of the most likable candidate.
The survey of likely caucus participants captures attitudes among a small fraction of Iowa's population; historically, relatively few eligible voters turn out for caucuses. But these activists could have significant influence in shaping the Democratic race as it moves from the cornfields of the Midwest to the hills of New Hampshire and beyond to the mega-primary on Feb. 5.
Americans elsewhere may not be paying attention to the presidential race on a day-to-day basis, but nine in 10 likely Democratic caucus attendees said they are closely following the movements and statements of the candidates. Seven in 10 said they have been contacted by at least one of the presidential campaigns this year, and four in 10 said they have attended at least one campaign event.
In the poll, 27 percent said they would vote for Obama, 26 percent for Clinton and 26 percent for Edwards. The only other Democrat to register in double digits was Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, at 11 percent. Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) and Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio) trailed at 2 percent, and Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (Conn.) at 1 percent.
Former senator Mike Gravel (Alaska) did not get any support among the 500 likely voters in the Post-ABC News survey, conducted by telephone between July 26 and July 31. The results have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four percentage points.
Iowa Democrats were also asked to name a second choice. When those results were combined with first choices, the race remained equally tight, with each of the three leading candidates being the first or second choice of about half of those surveyed.
History suggests that these voters are quite willing to change their mind as caucus day approaches and the campaign intensifies with television advertising and more direct engagement among the candidates. In the 2004 Iowa caucus day poll by the National Election Pool, 42 percent of caucus-goers said they made up their mind in the last week of the campaign. Just 30 percent made their final decision more than a month before caucus day.
Iowa is crucial to Edwards's presidential aspirations. More than Clinton or Obama, the former senator from North Carolina needs a victory in the caucuses to give his candidacy a boost heading to New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. At this point, Clinton and Obama are far better positioned than Edwards in both New Hampshire and South Carolina, and he remains at a distinct disadvantage financially.
Clinton's rivals believe it is essential to defeat the senator from New York in Iowa if they hope to deny her the nomination. Her campaign worries more about Iowa than any of the other early states, and in the past two months it has made structural changes designed to overcome a slow start.
And many appear to have noticed. Asked which candidate has campaigned the hardest in Iowa, voters were as likely to name Clinton as Edwards.
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'The Bourne Ultimatum' Chases Its Tiresome Tale
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I give up. No medium as thin as language can capture the snare-drum riffs that propel "The Bourne Ultimatum" along faster than the speed of sound, light and thought. It's not a movie; it's a trip through a gun barrel at the head of a cloud of exploding gas, and you end up splattered against a wall, then sliding into the dust with the sound of the drums ringing in your head for hours.
Good? Who could tell? It's like watching french fries crackle in a spew of hot bubbles in the back of a Mickey D's. Do the actors act? Again, you got me. Does it make sense? Ask the scriptwriters; they'd probably have a good idea. Does it give you a headache? Hmm, about the size of beautiful downtown Rockville.
The third in the series of films derived from novels by the late Robert Ludlum, it stars Matt Damon and is the second to be directed by Paul Greengrass, the brilliant Brit who like everybody affiliated with the project is much too good for it. Other luminaries whose careers will be tarnished by this express train without destination include Damon himself (grown grave and tragic in his mid-30s), Julia Stiles, Joan Allen, David Strathairn and Scott Glenn, whose face looks like the Grand Canyon from 40,000 feet. All of these people have immense amounts of talent, and they all walk around with their secret-agent faces on, scowling and saying things like "People, we have a national security alert here, now, dammit; let's get cracking!" Try to say that three times fast with your jaw clenched like a fist and see if you don't fall to the floor laughing.
Greengrass, God help us, has a style, brilliantly deployed in his documentary-style re-creations such as "Bloody Sunday" and "United 93," but it's sorely overused here, never settling down to give us poor protoplasm sacks a chance to rest. He doesn't want us to catch our breath, which his why his SteadyMount camera guy (now there's a boy who earned his paycheck!) dances around his subjects as if he's the third member of a two-man conspiracy, always close enough to hear the muttering, likely as not to get knocked flat in a fight, completely out of breath in the movie's too many chase sequences.
The plot seems to be: Jason Bourne, who two movies ago awoke with no memory while floating face-down in the sea but with a great number of alarming, unexplained skills (he can start any motor vehicle with his fingernails and flip any 10th-dan black belt into the balcony), is closing in on the puppet masters who vacuumed his brain and turned him into an assassin automaton. (Clearly, I have failed in my attempt to convince the American people that "amnesiac superagents" should be banned from the movies.)
In any event, after the movie's dim opening (to connect it to the last one, which ended in a car chase in Moscow), Bourne is headed to England to link up with a British reporter who has knowledge of the black op that programmed Jason, while the agency is politicized (Allen is the liberal exec, Strathairn the conservative) by the crisis and tries to either kill him (the con position) or bring him in (the lib).
At this point, the movie deploys a modus operandi that it will cling to throughout. It devolves essentially into three behaviors: The first is downloading. Oh, say, it's really interesting to watch the bytes trickle down the computer screen while the newly accessed data drizzle in and we learn (if we're bothering to pay attention) who the players are, what their relationships are, what team they play for and whether they bat "L" and throw "R" or the other way around.
The second is the Multitask Chase. Greengrass isn't content to have A chase B. Instead, he has A chase B while fleeing C, as B, meanwhile, chases D to kill her. Clearly A (Bourne) is the key figure because he's got to keep moving toward B while evading C but never forgetting to care for D, which is like trying to figure a trig problem in your head in the prison shower with the Noble Pagans MC. It's pretty silly, particularly when Bourne chases a Moroccan hitman who chases Stiles while the Moroccan police chase all of them.
The last key component of "The Bourne Ultimatum" (no ultimatum is ever issued or even mentioned, by the way) can only be called the John Frankenheimer Ultimatum. This is a scenario repeated seemingly ad infinitum, just as the great director did back in the "Playhouse 90" control room in the days of live TV. As it plays out in "Bourne," the senior exec takes command of a roomful of techies at monitors and it's so razzle-dazzle that we forget we are watching people in a room, talking. "Sir, he's moved to 11th --" "Go to green, Number 7!" "Sir, on Ninth he's picked up a cellphone and -- there's the TARGET, TARGET ACQUIRED!" "Prepare to vector." "Roger that, vectoring commenced." "Vector, vector -- " "He's de-vectored the vector." "Wilson, I told you to stay on the vector." "Sorry, sir." "Sir, Scotland Yard is arriving down 13th Street," and on and on it goes, achieving a surrealistic delirium as everyone tries to out-wonk-voice the other.
For a while the movie plays its games in various sordid European locales, but eventually it moves to New York, figuring if it can make it there, it can make it anywhere.
Frenetic to the point of crazy while achieving a mark that barely exceeds the mediocre, "The Bourne Ultimatum" does have a few nice touches. It has a car chase (multitasked, of course) with real cars, where the stunt guys do some tremendous real-time, real-space crashing on the actual streets of New York. Then there's the climax of that 3-hour 17-minute Moroccan quadruple relay race, where Bourne and the hitman end up trying to beat the Jockeys off each other, which, in Greengrass's rendering, is immensely physical, an epic of strength on strength and pain threshold on pain threshold. It could be edited into "300" and nobody would notice.
But I reached my pain threshold halfway through the opening credits, so the rest was pure hell.
The Bourne Ultimatum (110 minutes, at area theaters) is rated PG-13 for violence and intense action.
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Playground Networking, Now Online
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These days, it's little brother who's watching.
Younger and younger children want their share of the social networking craze, but popular Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook are reserved for older crowds. So sites are now aiming at children 14 and under, with online worlds where their animated personas can play games, chat with others their age and even engage in adultlike activities such as e-commerce.
This week, Disney announced the acquisition of Club Penguin, a virtual world for children that's been around less than two years but has grown to 12 million registered users, largely without marketing. Disney executives said the deal, valued at as much as $700 million depending on the company's performance, won't result in changes to the Club Penguin site, which requires parental permission for membership and doesn't have advertising.
But the deal has prompted child advocates to ask whether kids are helped or harmed by exposure to the Web.
"The perception in most of our minds is that Disney is wholesome and surely would not do anything to harm children," said Peggy S. Meszaros, director of the Center for Information Technology Impacts on Children, Youth and Families at Virginia Tech. "But it's dangerous to believe that any company in business to make money has the consumer interest at heart, whether it's a young child or adult."
There are a growing number of sites that claim to offer entertainment and education for children.
Disney said it wants to invest in sites where parents can be assured of their children's safety against adult content and contact from strangers, said Steve Wadsworth, president of Walt Disney Internet Group.
"It's a critical priority," he said. "This is one of the many types of entertainment that kids can and should be exposed to." Wadsworth said Disney does not plan to advertise on Club Penguin; the site sells premium memberships at $5.95 a month or $57.95 for a year.
Other sites targeted at kids, such as Whyville, make money primarily off corporate sponsorships for virtual product placement.
Whyville said its sponsored programs help kids learn about the real world, such as one funded by Toyota. There, children can buy virtual cars, make virtual monthly payments and review their virtual credit scores. If they fall behind on their payments, the car is virtually repossessed.
"Marketing done right involves real benefits to the kids," who learn about how the real world works, said James Bower, founder and chief executive of Whyville's parent company, Numedeon. "It's not parasitic, sugar-coated cereal advertising on television."
Some advocacy groups worry that Internet marketing could have a similar effect as television ads, which they say contribute to childhood-development problems, including obesity, youth violence, erosion of creativity and promotion of materialistic values.
"It teaches them impulsive buying and unthinking brand loyalty," said Susan Linn, a psychologist and co-founder of Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. It is also more difficult for parents to monitor what their children do on the Internet than what they watch on TV, she said, and children engage with the products longer through the Internet than they would watching a television commercial.
Virginia Tech's Meszaros acknowledged that exposure to computer technology and the Internet can be important for a child's development, but so can other activities, such as reading, outdoor exercise and social interaction, she said.
"You don't want too much of any of those, but if parents aren't careful, kids will choose the things they love best," she said. "That may not always be what's best for them."
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These days, it's little brother who's watching. Younger and younger children want their share of the social networking craze, but popular Web sites such as MySpace and Facebook are reserved for older crowds. So sites are now aiming at children 14 and under, with online worlds where their animated...
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Wall Street's Lucrative Tax Break Is Under Fire
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The most controversial tax break on Wall Street, known simply as the Carry, is not authorized by any law and was never approved by Congress.
Instead, it grew quietly over several decades, hinted at but never directly addressed in obscure court cases and arcane regulations issued by the Internal Revenue Service.
Unchallenged by lawmakers, it swelled into a benefit that, by one back-of-the-envelope estimate, spares a small band of the country's richest and most powerful financiers $6 billion a year in personal income taxes.
The astonishing cost of this tax break to the federal government has riveted attention on Wall Street's titans of the moment, the extraordinarily wealthy managers of private-equity firms and hedge funds. Until now, they have gone largely unexamined by Washington. But at a time of rising income inequality and with Congress engaged in a desperate hunt for cash to expand aid to a disgruntled middle class, the Wall Street money men have become an appealing target for Democratic lawmakers and presidential candidates, who say the financiers are woefully undertaxed.
At the heart of the dispute is the way the fund manager's profits are taxed. Known as carried interest, or the Carry, those profits are taxed as capital gains, for which the rate is usually 15 percent. That is less than half the 35 percent rate paid on regular income.
The Carry came into focus when private-equity firms, also known as buyout firms, recently began to sell themselves to the public. The transactions forced the firms, which are lightly regulated, to disclose how much their managers earn. The amounts were staggering. Last month, when Blackstone Group, the nation's largest private-equity firm, completed its initial public offering, co-founder Stephen A. Schwarzman pocketed $684 million.
Lawmakers were not only dazzled by the amount but also disgusted by how little Schwarzman and other private-equity managers pay in taxes.
The AFL-CIO expressed its outrage to members of Congress. The labor group complained that private-equity managers, many of whom live lavishly, were paying lower tax rates than firefighters and janitors. Even billionaire Warren E. Buffett, the third-richest person in the world, said it was wrong for him to pay a rate lower than the rate paid by his $60,000-a-year secretary.
Several key Democrats, led by Rep. Sander M. Levin of Michigan, attacked the Carry as an unfair tax break that Congress would never have granted. He is pushing a bill that would subject it to a higher tax rate, the one paid by ordinary taxpayers.
In response, private-equity firms have hired an army of tax lawyers and lobbyists to block the legislation, and a companion bill in the Senate that would boost taxes on private-equity firms that go public. They contend that the Carry, and its characterization as a low-taxed capital gain, has been common practice for years and accepted by the IRS.
Changing it, they say, would be a radical departure from accepted partnership law that would harm not only buyout firms but also partnerships in other major industries, such as real estate and oil-and-gas drilling.
Private-equity executives say they never dreamed that the tax status of their payouts would be questioned. "I don't think that anybody felt it would ever be challenged," said Scott M. Sperling, managing director of Thomas H. Lee Partners, a private-equity firm. Managers' earnings are "capital gains in every technical and spiritual sense."
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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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Populism For a Price
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Allama-wool hat swathing his head, Santos Paredes took the floor with photos in hand -- images of a half-built medical clinic in his village on the high plains of the Andes. Paredes, the mayor, entreated Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, for money to finish the job.
"I ask for your blessing," Paredes said, laying the pictures across a red-velvet tablecloth as the president leaned in for a look. Morales was here to distribute aid supplied by his ideological kinsman, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
"I don't know if I'll give you the money," Morales teased before flashing a grin. Paredes took home a handwritten check for $27,437.
After two decades of reliance on the economic prescriptions of the United States, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, Bolivia has turned left, embracing Venezuelan and Cuban aid, nationalizing industries and championing what its leaders call a pragmatic version of socialism.
Bolivia's break from Washington is part of a regional trend underwritten by Chávez, who has lavished aid on allies to roll back the influence of the United States and Washington-based institutions that have long shaped Latin America's development.
In the past two years, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Argentina and Ecuador have used Venezuelan aid to pay off their debts to the IMF or allow credit agreements to lapse, while adopting unorthodox development strategies that would have been barred so long as they depended on the fund for credit.
Lending by the IMF to Latin America and the Caribbean plunged from $49 billion in 2003 to $759 million last year, according to the fund.
The new course, with its emphasis on health clinics and classrooms for poor communities, draws cheers in many parts of this country of 9 million, where about two-thirds of the population is poor. But economists and political opponents say they doubt it will lift large numbers from poverty.
"These populist policies -- we've already lived through them in Latin America," said Carlos Bohrt, vice president of Bolivia's Senate and a member of the opposition. "They don't create long-term sustainable growth. It's just handouts. This funding could just disappear without any impact."
Since taking office last year, Morales, a former coca grower and the first indigenous tribesman to lead Bolivia, has nationalized Bolivia's oil and gas industry, reversing a privatization orchestrated by the IMF. He forced foreign energy firms to accept drastically diminished profits, increasing the government's royalties by more than $1 billion a year and earmarking the money for schools and hospitals. To gain a free hand, he has ended a credit agreement with the IMF and pulled out of a World Bank body that referees disputes with foreign firms.
"What drives things now is social conscience," said Florencio Choque, a government engineer. "This is rule by the poor."
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ORURO, Bolivia Allama-wool hat swathing his head, Santos Paredes took the floor with photos in hand -- images of a half-built medical clinic in his village on the high plains of the Andes. Paredes, the mayor, entreated Bolivia's president, Evo Morales, for money to finish the job. "I ask for your...
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Too Little Room in White Space
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But it didn't work as planned, according to a report released this week by the Federal Communications Commission. After four months of testing, the agency concluded that the devices either interfered with TV signals or could not detect them in order to skirt them.
Now the coalition of companies backing the devices, which includes Dell, Intel, EarthLink, Hewlett-Packard and Philips, is going back to the drawing board, possibly to redesign the devices and meet with FCC engineers to explore other options.
The FCC said Tuesday that it would continue experimenting with such devices, which use vacant TV frequencies.
The companies' goal is to find a way to use the idle TV spectrum, known as white space, to carry Internet service to rural areas, homes and offices without relying on existing wireless carriers. Such devices would be embedded in laptops or cellphones. Proponents of the technology argue that an Internet service using TV spectrum could be less expensive and more accessible, forcing other high-speed Internet service providers to drop their prices.
The FCC's recent findings are a setback for the companies hoping the TV airwaves could be used with portable consumer devices that could send information to a wider audience. The companies said in a written statement that they "remain confident that unlicensed television spectrum can be used without interference."
The airwaves will be available when TV broadcasters move to digital signals in early 2009. The FCC must balance the technology companies' interests with those of broadcasters, sports leagues, cable operators and phone companies that have expressed concern that their signals might cross, causing fuzzy reception, dropped calls or blank TV screens.
The signals could also interfere with other uses of the white space, such as transmitting wireless signals from microphones on the set of Broadway shows, or between a quarterback and a coach.
"The test results prove that portable unlicensed devices should not be allowed to operate in TV spectrum," said Mark Brunner, senior director of brand management at Shure Inc., which makes wireless microphones and other audio equipment. "I think it reflects the technical challenge of cooperating in this spectrum."
Analysts said the technology is promising, particularly if it proves to be cheaper and helps extend high-speed Internet access to rural areas.
It is not unlike WiFi technology, which also uses unregulated airwaves, in that it could be deployed cheaply and easily, said Julie Ask, an analyst for Jupiter Research.
The potential downside, however, is that too much traffic could clog the airwaves, reducing the quality of the Internet connection. And embedding a white-space-enabled radio chip in every consumer device could drive up costs, Ask said.
"The more refined it has to be, the more expensive it will become," she said. "The service itself sounds reasonable. The question is at what cost."
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This is your source for news on personal technology. Find info and reviews on the newest technology that affects your life. Read our latest features on new tech gadgets.
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Scores Die in Congo Train Derailment
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NAIROBI, Aug. 2 -- At least 68 people were killed when an eight-car freight train derailed Wednesday night in a remote area of Congo, a calamity exacerbated by the problems plaguing the vast central African country: poor roads, a lack of rescue equipment, inadequate hospitals and limited electricity.
In a country where public transport means hitching onto anything with wheels, hundreds of people were on top of the dilapidated train, hanging on to its sides or squeezed inside when an apparent mechanical failure caused all eight cars to jump the tracks, U.N. officials said Thursday.
"The scene is very chaotic," Alexandre Essone, a spokesman for the U.N. mission in Congo, said Thursday night. "Bodies are lying all over. People are still jammed between the wagons, some at the knees with their heads hanging out."
Essone said that he had counted 68 bodies but that the death toll was sure to rise because "scores" of people remained trapped under the heavy steel cars. A government spokesman told the Associated Press that "about 100" people were killed.
The train was traveling south from the town of Ilebo to Kananga, capital of Kasai-Occidental province in central Congo. It careened off the tracks around 11 p.m. Wednesday, about 150 miles north of Kananga in a forested area. U.N. officials dispatched a helicopter, doctors and equipment to the site, where a rescue operation hobbled along Thursday night.
More than 100 badly injured people were carried on handmade wooden bicycles or on people's shoulders to the nearest hospital, which is about eight miles away, Essone said. The hospital has only 22 beds.
"We are in a very, very, very closed area where there are no roads or infrastructure," Essone said. "So you can imagine the situation."
Congo, a country of about 900,000 square miles and more than 65 million people, has less than 500 miles of paved roads. The massive Congo River and a poorly maintained railway system left over from Congo's Belgian colonial era are the primary means of transport in the country.
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NAIROBI, Aug. 2 -- At least 68 people were killed when an eight-car freight train derailed Wednesday night in a remote area of Congo, a calamity exacerbated by the problems plaguing the vast central African country: poor roads, a lack of rescue equipment, inadequate hospitals and limited...
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Suicide Bomber Kills 13 at Iraqi Police Post
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BAGHDAD, Aug. 2 -- A suicide car bomber drove into a police station north of Baghdad on Thursday and detonated his explosives, killing 13 people, police said.
The attack in Hibhib, just north of Baghdad in Diyala province, took place as police recruits were lined up outside the station, according to Diyala police Lt. Muhammad Hakman. Hakman said police arrested a man acting suspiciously near the station just before the bomb detonated. The man is suspected to have aided the bomber, he said.
Hibhib, a small town with a largely Sunni population, is where Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq, was killed by an American airstrike last year, and Hakman said he believes Thursday's attack was the work of that group. The number of insurgents in the town linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq has risen recently as military operations in Baqubah, Baghdad and western Anbar province pushed them out of those areas, Hakman said.
News of the attack came shortly after the U.S. military announced that the Iraqi army had killed a man in the northern city of Mosul on Thursday who was suspected of leading al-Qaeda in Iraq there.
The military said an Iraqi army convoy had spotted the man, identified only as Safi, as he rode in a pickup truck. Soldiers attempted to pull the vehicle over. The man's bodyguards opened fire on the soldiers, who shot back, killing the bodyguards and Safi.
On Thursday night, police said, mortar shells hit the Baghdad offices of the Iraqi Accordance Front, the country's largest Sunni political group. The attack came a day after the group announced it would withdraw five of its six ministers from the government in protest against Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's policies. In a public statement Thursday, Maliki formally asked the Accordance Front to reconsider its decision.
Meanwhile, police in the northern city of Kirkuk announced that they had found a young boy crying next to the corpses of his five adult brothers. The five were apparently killed in sectarian violence after they and the boy were abducted Wednesday as they drove south out of the city, police said.
News that a child had apparently been present during the killings created nationwide outrage. Newscasters on Arabic-language television stations spoke at length about the incident, and several prominent politicians and religious leaders condemned the kidnappers.
The U.S. military said two U.S. troops were killed Tuesday in Baghdad by indirect fire, a term that usually means a rocket or mortar attack. The announcement raises the number of U.S. troops killed in July to 80, one fewer than in March. U.S. death tolls exceeded 100 in April, May and June.
Special correspondent Naseer Nouri contributed to this report.
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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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A Break for Back-to-School Shopping
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Shoppers in the District will get a tax break when they buy school supplies, clothes and accessories under $100 for nine days beginning Saturday, city officials announced yesterday.
D.C. Council member Carol Schwartz (R-At Large) kicked off the tax-free summer savings holiday outside the shoe boutique Wild Women Wear Red on U Street in northwest Washington.
"You can actually spend thousands of dollars, but you don't pay any taxes on items $100 or less," Schwartz said.
She was joined by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) and Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D), who applauded Schwartz for promoting the six-year tradition, which allows residents and visitors to stretch their dollars. The city's retail sales tax is 5.75 percent.
"The District's sales tax holiday comes at the perfect time of year as parents around the Washington metropolitan area prepare to send their kids back to school," Fenty said. "Not only does it offer savings for families buying school supplies and clothing, it draws more consumers to the District as a boost to local business."
Added Gray: "You know the idea is good when it continues year after year."
Gray said that Schwartz's tax-free holiday is a win-win: Parents get a break on back-to-school shopping and businesses get a competitive edge over the suburbs.
Schwartz, who pushed through the legislation in 2001, said she grew tired of watching District residents trek to the suburbs to shop. She proposed the tax-free holiday to keep them in the city and to draw suburbanites to support city businesses.
Virginia officials announced its second tax-free holiday, which began yesterday and will continue through Sunday. Tax will not be charged on school supplies priced at $20 or less, or clothing priced at $100 or less.
District officials estimated the tax loss at about $1.1 million, but Schwartz said you can't put a price tag on the advantage of luring patrons to District stores and boutiques. Many shoppers also buy goods that cost more than $100, which are not tax-free.
"Actually, we think we break even," Schwartz said. "We think it's revenue-neutral."
The next tax-free shopping period in the District starts the day after Thanksgiving and continues through Dec. 2.
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Shoppers in the District will get a tax break when they buy school supplies, clothes and accessories under $100 for nine days beginning Saturday, city officials announced yesterday.
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What's the Deal?
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· A dive package at Voyages Hotels and Resorts' Heron Island property, on a coral cay on Australia's Great Barrier Reef, has been discounted for stays through Aug. 31. The five-night package, which includes lodging, breakfasts and five dives to the Heron or Wistari reefs, starts at about $768 per person double. Priced separately, a room with breakfast would cost about $821 and the dive package an extra $225, for a savings of about $556 per couple. Book through a travel agent or via e-mail at travel@voyages.com.au. Request promo code DS. Resort info: http://www.heronisland.com.
· Organic Tuscany's Farm to Table has reduced by 10 percent its Sept. 29-Oct. 5 organic cooking course. Cost is now $1,439 per person double and includes lodging in the Tuscan village of Il Pino, Italy, about 40 minutes by car from Florence; four cooking classes; visits to organic farms; most meals and wine; and excursions to Florence and Siena. Airfare is extra. Info: 347-417-5907, http://www.organictuscany.org.
· General Tours is doubling the discount on its Splendid Waterways of the Czars cruise to members of AARP or AAA. Members of both organizations typically enjoy per-person savings of $140 and $150, respectively, on any small-ship cruise in Europe, Russia or Egypt. However, for trips booked July 30-Aug. 4, AARP members will receive $280 off the seven-night cruise aboard the Volga Dream between Moscow and St. Petersburg, and AAA members will receive $300 off. AAA members must book through an AAA agent. Price before discount starts at $1,799 per person double including taxes; cruise operates May-September 2008. Info: 800-221-2216, http://www.generaltours.com.
· Take a six-night barge cruise through the Burgundy region of France departing Sept. 2 and receive a discount of 34 percent from French Country Waterways. Post-discount price on the nine-stateroom Esprit is $3,200 per person double and includes meals, estate-bottled wines, open bar, sightseeing, bicycles and transfers between Paris and the barge. Info: 781-934-2454, http://www.fcwl.com.
· Seabourn has 50 percent discounts on several Caribbean sailings in November and December aboard the Seabourn Pride. For example, a seven-night Yachtsman's Caribbean cruise departing Bridgetown, Barbados, on Nov. 24 now starts at $2,613 per person double (plus about $62 taxes); the ship stops at a different island every day. Info: 800-929-9391, http://www.seabourn.com.
· New airline Virgin America is offering introductory fares on nonstop service from Washington Dulles to San Francisco, scheduled to begin Sept. 26, and to Los Angeles, scheduled to start Oct. 24. Fare to either city is about $258 round trip (including taxes); other airlines are matching, but nonstop fares are typically about $445 round trip to San Francisco and $377 to Los Angeles. Buy by Aug. 8; travel through Nov. 14. Info: 877-359-8474, http://www.virginamerica.com.
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· Pay for a Friday or Saturday night stay at the Magnolia Hotel in Omaha and get the second night free . The Summer of Love special, good through Labor Day weekend, starts at $119 (plus 16 percent tax). Those who can stay for only one night will receive a gift certificate good for a future weekend...
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Bridges and Beliefs
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One of our basic beliefs as we go to work and back is that the bridge we have to cross will not fall down. When one does, as happened in Minneapolis yesterday, we want to know why. Our readers are asking questions, offering theories and pointing fingers while also praising the competence of the rescuers, who are working today as recovery teams with many people still missing. They want to know (or already have a strong opinion) about whether our tax dollars are being spent in the right place (Iraq instead of infrastructure) and concerned about whether something similar could happen here, wherever here is.
As clermontpc said, "this really makes you wonder. If this can happen there, it can happen anywhere."
And joejack65 wrote, "WoW!!! I can only imagine how many people are going to have anxiety when driving over bridges for awhile. My condolences to the families who lost loved ones to this tragedy! I would also like to express my appreciation to the rescue workers for doing their job!!!"
But the political debate that envelopes much of our conversation these days is drawing the bulk of the comments about the Minneapolis tragedy. katman13 wrote that it's "Too bad we are spending billions on Bush's phony war against terror instead of investing in our infrastructure." That concern was also expressed by ggwalt123, who wrote that "...If Republicans remain in power, I suspect we'll see more and more of this. With deregulation and tax cuts, there will be no money for maintenance or inspections, and no one to make sure things are being done properly. Once again proving that Republicans are a threat to our national security..."
But nowanna, with a tone that can only be regarded as sarcastic, said that "As expected, out of their caves come the 'blame Bush/Republicans/Iraq/Haliburton' crowd. We all know that if we had a Democrat in the White House, the tax cuts would have been repealed and used to fix up the bridges, specifically this bridge, with the extra money." julian2 said, "...we should all stop pointing our finger at the Iraq war for a moment" and pointed to the fact that the Twins have postponed a scheduled game and delayed a ground-breaking ceremony "for the NEW BILLION DOLLAR STADIUM that will be effectively given to the Twins in order to get them to stay in Minnesota. A touching show of respect for the dead, don't you think?" And Washington area reader killerm raised a long-running local issue in writing, "...Should one of our local beltway bridges suffer the same fate what is the regions plan to route traffic? To me this highlights the need for a new bridge across the Potomac from Maryland to Virginia."
All comments on the Minneapolis bridge story are here.
By Doug Feaver | August 2, 2007; 8:48 AM ET Previous: Truth and Alberto Gonzales | Next: Obama, Health Care, Gonzales
Over a lifetime of 65 years, I have watched the Federal government deregulate everything. They deregulated the rail system, and it went sour. But we have air transportation and the highways, they said. The air transportation system was deregulated, and now most carriers are fighting to survive. Today as you drive your car on the highways, you are surrounded by trucks pounding the pavement and our bridges. Yes, deregulation, with competition, made things cheaper, but is deregulation worth the "price"? There is little leadership in this country anymore, and without overall leadership to our transportation systems, we are close to having no transportation system at all.
Posted by: Locustspicy | August 3, 2007 6:43 AM
I live in Mineapolis and have driven over that bridge twice every day for the last 12 years. It's been resurfaced multiple times in that period, it's been inspected at twice the norm (it's inspected yearly, rather than every other year). Minneapolis believes in high taxes and high public spending. If you can't pay for infrastructure here, you can't pay for it anywhere.
It isn't that we aren't paying for infrastructure, it's that we are not getting what we are paying for.
Let's not ask the taxpayer for more - lets ask for more for our tax dollar.
Posted by: kents | August 2, 2007 10:21 PM
we're all smart people -- i mean, we're reading this top-of-the-line newspaper, and not getting our news from some breathless TV reporter. we all know this bridge collapse is telling us something. everyone who drives the interstate daily has seen for themselves in what state of repair the infrastructure is in. and how this massive ribbon of highways across the country was the product of a different america. while we're busy patting ourselves on the backs as the royal nonesuch of history, it's not london bridge that's falling down...
Posted by: wpahnelas | August 2, 2007 12:32 PM
The comments to this entry are closed.
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The Power in the Carbon Tax
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Successful laws to protect the environment are built on simple concepts. They discourage harmful behavior -- the dumping of sewage or industrial waste into bodies of water, the destruction of habitat, the emission of toxic chemicals -- by a variety of measures, all of which raise the cost of engaging in certain behavior. You can't develop land, and profit, if you're endangering a threatened animal. You have to dispose of chemical substances responsibly. And so on.
Good environmental law can also encourage good behavior: the development of alternative approaches, such as substances that cause less harm, or new technologies.
We should keep this in mind when discussing carbon. How do we raise the cost of emitting carbon, promoting conservation and efficiencies, and make alternatives more economically viable, thus addressing the problem of climate change?
Alternative energy sources -- those that are not carbon-based or substantially improve on (i.e., reduce) carbon emissions relative to the fuels we now consume -- are fairly well known: wind, biofuels (cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel), solar, waves, geothermal and nuclear.
Each source of energy faces obstacles. For example, wind and nuclear power present "not in my back yard" challenges, as we're seeing with efforts to install a wind farm off Cape Cod, Mass., while ethanol plants are welcomed with generous subsidies in the Farm Belt. Some raise issues regarding land use. All are more expensive to produce than the energy we currently use.
There is general agreement that we should devote more research and development funding to alternative energy and, in some cases, subsidize development. But there are limited dollars available and debates about the relative merits of each, rooted in regional differences.
I don't mean to dismiss improvements to existing technologies. The House Energy and Commerce Committee recently approved legislation to require 43 separate efficiency standards for appliances, buildings and more. When fully implemented, the standards will reduce carbon emissions by 8.6 billion tons, an amount equal to the annual emissions of all the cars on the road today. I have also endorsed a minimum 30 to 35 percent increase in vehicle fuel economy standards.
But to get the emissions reductions we need, we must do more.
I apparently created a mini-storm last month when I observed publicly for at least the sixth time since February that some form of carbon emissions fee or tax (including a gasoline tax) would be the most effective way to curb carbon emissions and make alternatives economically viable. I said, as I have on many occasions, that we would have to go to some kind of cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions.
A carbon tax or fee has been endorsed by President Bush's former chief economic adviser, Greg Mankiw; Nobel Prize-winning conservative economist Gary Becker; the chief executive of the largest U.S. auto-dealer chain, Mike Jackson; and several environmental organizations. From Alan Greenspan to Greenpeace, many recognize its utility.
There may be disagreements as to the proper level or the best use of revenue. The United Mine Workers support a fuel-based fee that would fund carbon sequestration. Others have suggested using the revenue to reduce Social Security taxes. Congress must hash out the details.
History shows that we respond to market forces. Between 1980 and 1981, the fuel economy of the vehicles Americans purchased increased 16 percent. That wasn't because of a technological breakthrough or a regulatory requirement. It was because the price of gas had risen to the point where consumers made fuel economy a priority. Market forces and mechanisms proved far more powerful than mandates.
I don't expect to overcome ideological Republican opposition to all forms of taxation, but if CEOs, economists, environmentalists and citizens speak out, we could effect real change. I don't pretend to speak for my party on this; I'm trying to speak to common sense and experience.
Former vice president Al Gore told the Energy and Commerce Committee this year: "We should start using the tax code to reduce taxes on employment and production, and make up the difference with pollution taxes, principally [on] CO2. Now I fully understand that this is considered politically impossible. But part of our challenge is to expand the limits of what's possible. Right now we are discouraging work and encouraging the destruction of the planet's habitability."
He's right. This Congress may be able to enact a cap-and-trade system, and other policies to address climate change, only without a carbon fee. Ultimately, though, we're going to have to be more ambitious.
The writer, a Democratic representative from Michigan, is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
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Successful laws to protect the environment are built on simple concepts. They discourage harmful behavior -- the dumping of sewage or industrial waste into bodies of water, the destruction of habitat, the emission of toxic chemicals -- by a variety of measures, all of which raise the cost of enga...
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A Setback For Civility
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It is rare that a retirement announcement by a single back-bench member of the minority party in the House of Representatives sends shock waves through the whole chamber. But that was the reaction last week when Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois put out word that this would be his final term.
LaHood is not a familiar figure to most Americans, because he isn't a Newt Gingrich or a Duke Cunningham. He has never occupied a leadership position or been involved in a juicy scandal -- usually the only ways to stand out among 435 members.
But he embodies the characteristics that make the House work as an institution. He takes care of his constituent duties, he carries more than his share of the legislative workload, and -- most important -- he cultivates the kind of personal relationships that build trust across partisan and ideological lines.
In this era of polarized politics, fewer and fewer members of the House fit that description. So when LaHood, who is only 61, announced that he is leaving after seven terms, it signaled trouble for the House -- if not for his Republican Party.
The central Illinois district he represents, stretching from his home city of Peoria south through rich farm country to the state capital of Springfield, regularly delivers solid GOP majorities. But no new Republican can really replace LaHood in the dynamics of the House.
This is a man so thoroughly schooled in the rules of procedure, and so trusted by both Republicans and Democrats, that he was the natural choice to preside over the House during the explosive days when it was debating the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.
This is a man who was first elected in the "Gingrich Revolution" of 1994 but showed his independence by being one of a handful of Republicans who declined to sign on to the party's "Contract With America."
LaHood is a throwback to an earlier, less strident kind of Republicanism. As a young man in 1977, he joined the Illinois staff of Rep. Tom Railsback, a moderate. When Railsback was defeated by a more conservative candidate in a GOP primary in 1982, LaHood began working for Rep. Robert Michel of Peoria, Gingrich's predecessor as Republican leader. When Michel retired in 1994, LaHood moved into the vacancy.
He has built his legislative base on the Appropriations Committee, one of the few major power centers in the House. The Democratic chairman of that committee, David Obey of Wisconsin, said that LaHood "fought for his principles, but he always fought fair. He was a link to the Bob Michel kind of civility."
LaHood told me that his quitting did not reflect on prospects for a Republican recapture of the House -- though in a separate interview Michel clearly indicated that when he and LaHood talked, the GOP troubles were on their minds. Michel said that "when I tried to dissuade him, I said our situation is not so hopeless, lightning could strike."
But after 30 years on one House payroll or another, LaHood said, "The tone is very negative and disheartening. The decibel level is the highest I've heard in politics."
Soon after he became a member, LaHood served as a Republican sponsor of a bipartisan family retreat -- a weekend get-together for House members and their families. The idea, he said, was that "if you befriend somebody, you're far less likely to quarrel."
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Thompson's Top Adviser
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Speaking at his $1,000-a-ticket fundraiser at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in downtown Washington on Monday night, Fred Thompson began by introducing "my campaign manager -- oh, I mean my wife." That little joke about Jeri Thompson reveals how the prospective Republican presidential candidate regards the attack on his intelligent, beautiful wife.
As the actor-lawyer-politician nears his long-awaited official announcement, Mrs. Thompson is slurred as a "trophy wife" -- privately by her husband's opponents for the Republican nomination and publicly by the media. Even Thompson supporters grumble that Jeri, 40, is too alluring, that she should modify the way she dresses and that, even then, she should not practice her skills as a professional political operative on behalf of her 64-year-old husband.
That Thompson made light of this at his fundraiser reflects the cool reaction to crises he has displayed as GOP counsel for the Watergate investigation, as U.S. senator from Tennessee and in many dramatic roles (most recently, district attorney of Manhattan). That he is in a commanding position for the nomination may explain the extraordinary attention paid to his wife.
Murmuring about Jeri Thompson hit a peak July 22 on "Fox News Sunday," when the program's roundtable engaged in whimsical contemplation of debate between spouses of Democratic presidential candidates. "Well, first," said Juan Williams of National Public Radio, ". . . I think you should get Jeri Thompson in here, the trophy wife, right?" William Kristol of the Weekly Standard interjected: "That's unfair." Williams: "Unfair, unfair, I know, but --" Kristol: "It is unfair."
That ended the discussion. I asked Williams, a respected journalist, whether he regretted the comment. He did not, but he explained that he got the idea from a July 8 New York Times article by Susan Saulny. "Is America ready for a president with a trophy wife?" she asked in the paper's Style section. "Subsequent to that," Williams told me, "I heard the same thing in conversation with people in other campaigns -- about her being so young, so attractive and so powerful."
The archetypal "trophy wife" (a phrase coined by Fortune magazine 18 years ago) conjures up the image of a rich corporate executive who tires of the woman he married when they both were young, whom he has grown old with, and turns to a young, chic new wife, usually seen as a home wrecker. Mrs. Thompson does not fit that mold. Thompson had been divorced for 17 years and was on friendly terms with his first wife when he married Jeri Kehn in 2002. They also have two small children -- not the trophy wife caricature either.
Nor does Jeri Thompson's background fit the caricature. After working for the Senate Republican Conference and the Republican National Committee, she became a big-time political media consultant in Washington. She has been intimately involved in the planning of her husband's campaign, including last week's staff shakeup. When Tom Collamore left as Thompson's campaign manager, he told CNN that he was "very respectful of the desire of Fred and Jeri to make some changes as they move to the next level." Those comments generated whispers in the political community that whoever ran this campaign would have to answer to the candidate's wife.
Actually, Collamore is a former bureaucrat and tobacco lobbyist with vastly less political experience than Mrs. Thompson has. Not even Collamore's friends could conceive of him running a national campaign. Indeed, Fred Thompson's close associates maintain that there was no chance he would be a candidate for president were he not married to Jeri. He tells friends that he abandoned what seemed to be a promising campaign for the 1996 nomination because he did not feel he could manage that endeavor as a single man.
The spectacle of Thompson's Republican adversaries demeaning his wife in conversations with journalists suggests how seriously they regard his prospective candidacy. He starts his campaign in the top tier of candidates and is already the candidate of the South and the favorite of social conservatives. His test is how he will do after Labor Day when his candidacy's phantom stage is over. Jeri Thompson will be at his side as an asset, not a liability.
© 2007 Creators Syndicate Inc.
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Post-Fidel Plans for U.S.-Cuba Relations, Migration Policy
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A Wave of Uncertainty: U.S.-Cuban Migration Policy (washingtonpost.com, July 31)
Related Discussions: Post Reporter Miguel Roig-Franzia, 1 p.m Tuesday ET| Two Cuban Rafters, Noon Wednesday ET
Mark Falcoff: Good morning, readers. I am happy to be with you.
Severn, Md.: I visited Cuba for a month in 1996. I spoke to political and economic leaders and befriended a diplomat in their "state department." I also took the time to have dinner with poor families in the "projects" and hear about their lives and their families. The one thing I noticed is that the government intentially limits the amount of wealth a person can accumulate by limiting access and limiting the size of independently owned businesses. In fact the government limits the wallets of the people. It would seem to me that if the people had more stake in the economy, and greater access to money, they would demand greater rights. Right now they have little stake in anything because they own nothing. If the U.S. were to lift trade and travel restrictions to Cuba, this would benefit "the people" by providing them more access to cash. Once they had a greater stake, they would demand more from the government to preserve their interests. I believe that U.S. actions assist Cuba remaining communist by making the population in Cuba poorer than they should be.
Mark Falcoff: I think you are half right. The legalization of the holding of dollars in the 90s created a whole new class of Cubans who owed nothing to the government. This was because they received remittances from relatives abroad. They could buy items in dollar stores and get enough to eat, for example.
However, they were not allowed to start businesses or engage in any kind of independent economic activity. This is the nub of the matter. Lifting the travel ban would not necessarily change this state of affairs. There might be other reasons to do so, but it does not follow automatically that giving Cubans more access to the U.S. dollar would enhance their economic independence, given the way the society and polity are structured.
Pasadena, Calif.: I was in Spain recently and the press (particularly El Pais, the country's largest newspaper) was indicating that Raul Castro recognized the country's many economic problems and was taking steps to correct them. Nevertheless, I got the impression that so far there was more talk than action on economic reform. Do you see any concrete changes at this time, and if so, how much can Raul actually do while Fidel is still around?
Mark Falcoff: This is a subject of great speculation, because it is know that in the early 1990s it was Raul who was fascinated by the Chinese model and convinced his brother to loosen up controls and allowed greater economic autonomy to the farmer's markets, etc. Since then, however, much of the concessions made in that period have been withdrawn, because of the improved flow of dollars from Chavez.
Most people who know Cuba think Raul would like to make more changes but has not done so yet because his brother, who is ideologically opposed to them, is still alive. What he will do when Fidel dies remains to be seen.
Philadelphia: What is so frustrating to me, is that there appear to be almost no voices of reason on any side. We have political rhetoric coming from La Habana, Miami and Washington alike; none of them speaking frankly. In the midst of all this, the Cubans themselves (and I am not referring to the permanent exiles of Miami) are forgotten by all.
I know quite a few people who have and are suffering as a result of this political football. Do you know of anyone with a voice, politically speaking, or with any sort of political position who is speaking seriously and responsibly who spares a thought for those who are caught in this political game of football?
Mark Falcoff: Actually there is a richer dialogue going on, available to those who read Spanish. For example, the important cultural magazine ENCUENTRO (published in Spain), advocates national reconciliation and dialogue between the two Cubas, the community on the island and the diaspora.
Also, some human rights leaders in Cuba like Oswaldo Paya have refused to accept US money, not because they are anti-U.S. but because they do not want to compromise their independence.
People forget that many Cubans visit their families on the island (often more times a year than is legal, by going through third countries), phone calls, letters, remittances, etc.
Also the Miami community is in transition. Most of those who have arrived since the 1994 migration agreements do not share the view of the "historic" emigration, that U.S.-Cuban relations have to be necessarily conflictive.
Washington: Thanks for taking my question. I understand that the embargo is here to stay, at least for the time being. But what is the rationale for keeping the travel ban in place? I would think that an influx of American tourists into Cuba would foster capitalism within the country, giving the populace a view of what life could be like with a free market and serving to undermine the current regime. Also, it seems that most Cuban tourist resorts are owned by foreign (largely Spanish) companies ... so I'm not even sure tourism would prove as much of a cash cow to the regime. What are your thoughts?
Mark Falcoff: It seems to me that the embargo makes no sense if we are going to lift the travel ban, since tourism is bound to be the country's major source of income for many years to come.
I am less convinced that an influx of tourists would particularly change the outlook of Cubans (whatever that outlook might be). Don't forget that for more than a decade Cubans have been able to come into contact with tourists from Western Europe, Canada and Latin America, so they have a pretty good idea of what's out there.
Arlington, Va.: With respect to the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, how does it fit in to the larger issue of immigration in the United States? Is this policy, which is so specific to Cubans, going to change?
Mark Falcoff: This is a very complex issue. When I was writing my book I spent a full day with people at the INS trying to understand it. I am afraid that I feel unqualified to address it here.
Tucson, Ariz.: Fidel and Hugo Chavez seemed to enjoy a very close personal relationship, with Fidel considering the Venezuelan president to be a faithful disciple of the socialist project. What do we know of Raul Castro's personal relationship with Hugo Chavez?
Mark Falcoff: Good question. We know next to nothing about the relationship between Chavez and Raul Castro. One thing, though, is certain. The Cuban military and political elite do not regard Chavez as a logical successor to Fidel Castro in Latin America. They are Cuban nationalists first and foremost; they have their own thing going; they are more disciplined, organized and ideologically committed than Chavez's people; many probably look down on Chavez as a clown, which is the way he is seen in much of Latin America, even among people on the Left.
Washington: When you think of the dreams of the Cuban Revolution (equality being a major part) how can Cubans not fall into the free trade trap that is increasing the poverty gap in other Latin American countries? The idea that any job is better than nothing has led to low pay and dangerous conditions in other countries; how can Cuba avoid this?
Mark Falcoff: Cuba already has low pay and dangerous conditions in its work place. (The average Cuban earns $20 month if employed.) There is much unemployment as well. Or disguised unemployment. You are right about the scene in other Latin American countries. And logically Cubans would not wish to go there. But where do you suppose they CAN go, given the penury, perpetual shortages, and lack of economic opportunity that exists now? That is the challenge.
San Antonio: What is the likelihood under a potential Raul-led government that the U.S. would lift the current trade embargo with Cuba?
Mark Falcoff: I think it is more likely that we will resume relations with Cuba and lift the embargo under Raul Castro. But he will have to do a few things too ... like open the political prisons and allow the International Red Cross to visit dissidents who are under house arrest, etc. It cannot be a one-way exchange of favors.
Monroe, Mich.: Many Cuban-Americans seem to believe that once Castro dies they will return to Cuba and take over the political system and repossess property they lost when they fled. What are your thoughts? What do Cubans think of an imminent return of some Cuban expatriates?
Mark Falcoff: I think this is extremely unlikely. Cuba is a very different country today than it was in 1958, for good or for ill. I am amazed at the persistence of this fantasy of returning to Cuba on the part of people who haven't set foot there in 45 years. They are headed for a big surprise if they do go. Younger Cuban Americans who have decided to go to the island always come back telling me "that isn't the country my grandparents have told me about." And few have any plans to return.
Philadelphia: A few years ago the Washington Post ran a series of columns by Gene Robinson on race issues in Cuba, as the island's demographics has shifted significantly from 70 percent white in pre-Castro days to 65 percent Afro-Cuban now because of the mostly white Cuban exodus. Will a post-Castro (either brother) government face exploding race problems as the white exiles return and seek their old homes and properties?
washingtonpost.com: Cuba Begins to Answer Its Race Question (Post, Nov. 12, 2000)
Mark Falcoff: First of all, the white Cubans will not be returning, even if they think they can. I have already addressed this question previously.
Second, Eugene Robinson is right about demographics. But there is another, rather nasty detail, which is that the Castro government is disproportionately white given the color of the island. It doesn't look like Cuba. I thus predict some racial tension in the future regardless of political regime. In fact, I devote considerable space to this issue in my book (chapter on Civil Society).
Los Angeles: How can you defend the U.S. trade embargo when it clearly has not worked over decades. Frankly sir, the fact that you do not see the embargo for the outdated, politically motivated failure that it is makes me think you are more of a politician than an analyst. Can you tell us what good the embargo has done for anybody over past decades?
Mark Falcoff: I do not think you have read my book. I do not "defend" the embargo at at all. I think in some ways it is irrelevant except politically. And please be more courteous in posing your questions.
Baltimore: What are your realistic expectations for the pace of change, if any, when Fidel actually and finally is declared dead, if ever? Many of my British and Canadian friends who have traveled to Cuba report that they expect a cataclysmic, overnight tidal wave of capitalism to sweep over the island before the body's even cold, and some are poised to take advantage of it, intending to beat out the Americans at their own game, so to speak. This stuff with Raul certainly complicates that prediction. Your thoughts?
Mark Falcoff: If you have been following my answers to this dialogue you will see that I expect a relatively smooth transition to a Raul-led dictatorship, one possibly even endorsed and supported by some future U.S. administration.
There is another wild card in the deck, which is the desire of some potential foreign investors -- even some Cubans in Miami -- to cut a deal with Raul, or in his absence, the Communist elite, so that they can get access to cheap non-union labor, such as in China or Vietnam.
I have some anecdotal evidence, only anecdotal, so I can't use it in any scholarly publication--that some Cuban Americans are already investing in the island through third Latin American or European parties.
Washington: In the 1990s there was a report indicating that the best way for the U.S. to pave the way to better relations with Cuba once Fidel and Raul were gone was to encourage contacts between mid-level officers in the U.S. and the Cuban military. This idea was based upon the assumption that without the backing of the Cuban military there can never be change in Cuba. Have these contacts occurred, either between Cuba and the U.S. or Cuba and any of America's allies in the region?
Mark Falcoff: This card was played and obviously went nowhere. I doubt we will pick it up again.
Washington: What do you think will happen when all the wealthy Cuban Americans from Miami go back to Cuba and try to kick out the people who have been living there for 50-plus years?
Mark Falcoff: Let's consider demographics for a moment. People who left Cuba as, say, adults with a career already developed were probably about 25 at the time. So today they would be 75, if they aren't already dead.
The next generation left as children, and have no memory of the island at all.
Their children know Cuba only by third hand, have been born in this country, speak English at least as well if not better than Spanish, and have careers here.
The largest group of Cubans born in Cuba who live in the U.S. are the 250,000 who have entered here since the 1994 migration agreements. They live in extremely modest economic circumstances, often do not speak much English, have little or no interest in politics, are darker racially, and probably wouldn't have come here at all if the Soviet Union hadn't collapsed and stopped giving the island $6 billion a year.
For what it may be worth, by the way, the Cuban American National Foundation is publicly opposed to their members seizing residential property expropriated by the regime and kicking their occupants out into the streets.
Bogota, Colombia: Are Spain's efforts to relax EU policies towards Cuba increasing Cuba's legitimacy in the international arena, or at least in Europe?
Mark Falcoff: I doubt Spain's efforts are succeeding in making the Castro regime more acceptable to Europe. For one thing, there has been a change of government in France, and the new foreign minister Kouchner is a long time human rights activist. The German, Czech, and Polish governments oppose the Spanish efforts on Cuba. And many observers of Spanish politics think that this Socialist government will be out of office next year.
Washington: After the Cuban Misil Crisis, the U.S. made a policy not to invade Cuba. After power is transmitted to Raul Castro, what are the perspectives for a major U.S. presence in Cuba? Particularly in terms of business, Caribbean real estate is at an historic maximum demand as the Caribbean vacation business is too. Cuba will have miles of precious shorline that the U.S. will not be able to ignore.
Mark Falcoff: Actually Cuba is not a particularly attractive proposition, at least as it stands now. It has a terrible decaying infrastructure. And it is far from the only place with beaches and long coast lines. If you compare Cuba to, say, Mexico, you can see that the island is 50 years behind in hotels, roads, internet facilities, etc.
I have been many times to the Dominican Republic. It is at least 30 years ahead of Cuba in hotel facilities. Much better food and services. So, I don't think there is any burning imperative for U.S. business in Cuba.
Downingtown, Pa. : What are the chances of us ever having ties to this country post the Fidel Castro era or are there no chances for this to happen? Thank you for your time.
Mark Falcoff: As long as Fidel Castro is alive we will not normalize relations with Cuba. We don't want it, and he certainly doesn't. He's sabotaged various efforts in the past by previous administrations (this I get from Cuban foreign office officials who have defected).
Dublin: What is the basic principle that the United States adheres to when it refuses to lift the trade and travel sanctions and embargos in respect to American citizens and business? When Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union and China among others were under different political and economic systems -- some still are -- the United States still permitted travel and travel in respect of its citizens. If Cuba had large reserves of oil, would it make any difference?
Mark Falcoff: I assume if Cuba had large reserves of oil we would decide that the embargo was not a good idea. And we would praise the regime for its contribution to stability in the region, just like Saudi Arabia. So far, however, those reserves have not been found.
U.S. policy is driven by a number of things, one of them is a grudge. As an Irish citizen you should have no trouble understanding the role of such sentiments in international politics. Ireland was, after all, neutral but sympathetic to the Germans in World War II. For its own reasons, of course.
Venice, Fla.: When we were in Cuba during December 2000, a briefing at the U.S. Interests Section estimated that up to 2 million Cubans could come to the U.S. with uncertainty about a reverse flow of Cuban exiles back to Cuba. Is the U.S. government currently planning for this potential mass migration?
Mark Falcoff: First of all, I was in Cuba in February 2001. I do not recall a briefing at the Interests Section such as you cite. Possibly such numbers were produced, although I don't know how anyone can know exactly how many Cubans would come to the U.S. (or be allowed to come).
My own view is that our policy has been based for 50 years on the idea that Fidel Castro will live forever (that is his policy for his relations with the U.S., too). Thus I doubt much thought has been given to the possibility of a mass migration in either direction. Obviously Americans of all political stripes would be opposed to such uncontrolled movements.
Washington: How has Cuba's relationship with other countries and trading blocs such as CARICOM and the EU affected the U.S. embargo? Can Cuba continue to trade and find markets for its products and services with these partners, as well as with Latin America, one day rendering trade with the U.S. almost an afterthought? Thank you.
Mark Falcoff: The answer is yes. Cuba is able to trade with everybody except the U.S. In that sense trade with the U.S. is an afterthought. The embargo is more of an ideological matter than one of hard economics. Cuba has nothing we need or want. And they can get what they need elsewhere, often from close by.
Munich: What drawbacks do you envision if Raul Castro were to lobby Washington for the commencement of trade with a Cuban administration that intends to conduct business using the Chinese model?
Mark Falcoff: This is a difficult question to answer. It would depend probably on the context. Obviously the Chinese model would improve the life of ordinary Cubans and probably also assure stability and continuity of the regime. As I have said elsewhere in this chat, I think we might well choose that as the best of all possible alternatives. We do not want chaos and disorder on the island, and neither does Raul.
New York: Please explain why you believe the U.S. has any right to dictate what kind of system Cuba should choose for itself, so long as that system poses no direct threat to the U.S.?
Mark Falcoff: I have never said this so I do not feel obligated to answer your question.
Clinton, Md.: Can you tell me what is truly the big issue regarding trade and tourism in Cuba? Is it largely because of communism? If that is the case, the U.S. deals with communist countries on a daily basis. Look at China, dictatorship, no freedom of speech or pretty much most freedoms. This thing is older than I am, it is time to get over it wouldn't you say? Help me really understand. Thanks!
Mark Falcoff: I suppose part of it has to do with historic grudges against the Castro regime (the missile crisis, which you may be too young to remember; I can recall it vividly). Part of it ideological. Part of it political (the Cuban vote in Florida nad New Jersey). And part of the idea that Latin American countries are part of the West and that it is reasonable to expect a certain degree of openness in their societies that we do not demand of, say, China or Vietnam. This may, of course, be wrong. Maybe we should be completely agnostic on the subject of Latin American political regimes. But I cannot help noticing that the same people who urge "realism" upon us with respect to Cuba found similar policies intolerable when they were applied to right-wing military dictatorships in the 1970s. And vice versa, to be sure ...
Cabarete, Dominican Republic: Do you believe the USG-funded Cuba democracy promotion activities have been useful in preparing Cuba for a transition to democracy? In what way could they be more useful?
Mark Falcoff: I do not think they have been particularly successful or are likely to be. The only thing they have done is to discredit those who take U.S. money.
Wheaton, MD.: What are the odds that Washington will relax or end its embargo against Cuba? Will it depend on who wins the presidency in 2008? Also, what will become of all of the previously seized Cuban property, as well as "dual trademarks" like Bacardi that are used by different companies in the U.S. and Cuba?
Mark Falcoff: The big variable is what happens to Fidel Castro. I cannot personally imagine any U.S. president normalizing relations with him, as opposed to his brother, but I may prove wrong on this score. We will see in 2009.
The property issue is too complex to deal with here except in a cursory fashion. First of all, many expropriated U.S. companies have collected insurance on their property and have no outstanding claims. Second, those who have certified U.S. claims have put themselves at the mercy of whatever deal the U.S. works out with the Cuban government. Typically these settlements run at about 10 cents on the dollar. Third, Cuban Americans cannot grandfather their properties into such a settlement. The idea that the Helms-Burton act authoritzes this are quite wrong. People need to read it again.
I am afraid as far as dual trademarks are concerned we will have to await the decisions of the courts and the WTO.
Philadelphia: I do not expect a great deal of change coming directly from the Cuban population, unless Raul makes very serious mistakes. It seems apparent that he realizes that almost immediate economic relief is necessary. The population simply cannot take much more. Already, there is no sense of loyalty to Communism among the 18-30 year old generation, a fact easily confirmed by talking with them. That does not however, translate into a support for what the current U.S. administration calls "democracy," i.e., unbridled capitalism. People seem wary, more than cautious. Do you view there as being anything that might come from U.S. sources which could break the ice, moving us toward more reasoned discourse? Encuentro may present interesting discourse, but I am focused upon the U.S. role. Even if, as I believe, the important discussion is among and between Cubans living in Cuba, just the appearance of a U.S. government, which is not stuck in a 1950s mentality, would give a great deal of hope and energy to many.
Mark Falcoff: Cuba will find its own way, regardless of what the U.S. wants. This has always been the case, not just since 1959.
Raul Castro has already started a more reasoned discourse. His most recent speeches have been very interesting. I assume that after 2009 his brother will be gone, we will have a new adminstration, and there will be a breaking of the logjam. To be sure, this won't be democracy for the Cubans, even in the limited Latin American sense. How much prosperity it will bring remains to be seen.
Harrisburg, Pa.: What will a post-Fidel Castro do to the Cuban American voters in Florida who influence politicians not to recognize Cuba? Does this influence disappear?
Mark Falcoff: Actually the Cuban American vote has been tending away from the Republican party for some time. We now have two senators -- one Republican, one Democrat, both of Cuban origin. After normalization of relations I assume the ethnic edge would gradually disappear, to be replaced by the usual economic and social drivers that determine party identification.
Washington: I visited Cuba legally with a humanitarian project in June. The infrastructure (roads, power, water) leaves a lot to be desired for a country with great potential given its human capital. What are its prospects for improvement if the U.S. opens trade relations? Will all the tourist influx money just go to a rich few who will not use it for improvement?
Mark Falcoff: I am not certain that Cuba possesses much long term interest for the U.S. That is the great paradox of our policy.
Where the money from U.S. tourism will go once it is legal remains to be seen. The country has been taking in $2 billion a year (gross) for some time from Europe and Latin America, as well as Canada, and so far it has not been used for anything but to prop up the military and police.
Mark Falcoff: I appreciate the questions. I hope I have answered them. I am going to close the dialogue now, as the hour is up.
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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Color of Money Book Club
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Personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary hosted an online discussion with author Stanley Bing, who wrote "Crazy Bosses" (Collins Publishing, $21.95), on Thursday, Aug. 2 at Noon ET.
His book is the Color of Money Book Club selection for July.
In her column from July 8, Michelle says: Bing uses corporate history, his own experience and that of others to put to rest a question you may ask yourself every day as you walk into work: "Am I crazy?" Nope, it's more likely your boss, Bing writes.
Read Michelle's past Color of Money columns.
Michelle Singletary: Good day all. I've been looking forward to this dicussion for weeks. Based on my e-mail seems like a lot of folks work for some crazy people.
Washington, D.C.: Hi Michelle, A little off topic, but I'm hoping you can help. If I add someone to my mortgage or credit card, will his lack of credit history affect the rate? I'm getting married to someone with no credit history in the U.S. Adding him to my credit card (and of course the mortgage) seems like the easiest way for him to build credit quickly, but I'm worried the rates will skyrocket. Thanks.
Michelle Singletary: Once you get MARRIED (and not a day sooner) you could add your now husband.
To add him to the mortgage you would need to refinance the house. You could add him to the title with no problem but I wouldn't do that unless you are married and you refinance the house so that you both are reponsible for the debt.
You could add him to your credit card as an authorized user but soon that may not help him build credit as it may have in the past. That's because the credit scoring system is changing. The way the system work is when you add an authorized user to your credit card ALL your positve and negative credit history get's transferred to that person's credit file. IF the information is positive that's a good think for the authorized user since it appears he or she has had good credit. That can help boost that person's score.
Because of some shading business by some borrowers that statergy may not work in the future.
Now if you add your husband as a co-signer to the card meaning he would also be responsible in full for any charges, his lack of a score could hurt your rate for that card. It's not certain but could.
Perhaps the best way to tackle this issue is to help your husband get a secured credit card. Go to www.bankrate.com to find out about this.
Upper Marlboro, Md.: Ohmigosh, my pastor is the beginning, middle and end of the book! We are just waiting for the unfortunate explosion and hoping not to get splattered in the process.
What really horrified me is that I have worked for all of these people, and I am a burgeoning narcissist. Of course, I am wonderful enough to pull it off...
Michelle Singletary: Crazy comes in all colors, age, sex and religious affliations!
Phoenix, Ariz.: I had a nitpicking, nasty boss until I changed agencies. He insisted we wear our beepers on our person...not always easy for a gal. I laid mine down on a desk... it disappeared. He had been in the area... I was sure he took it. Sure enough, when I called my beeper number, I could hear the beeper going off in his office in a desk drawer. He was going to teach me a lesson... all it did was delay my work. It was mean; he was mean.
Stanley Bing: What a loser. I think the next time you are in his office, you should see if you can take HIS beeper and flush it down the toilet. Lacking that capability, you might set off your beeper ten or twelve times while it's in his drawer. At least that will make you look busy. Do it while you're in his office. When you hear it buzzing, you can say to him, "Gee, Earl, do you think I could have my beeper back now?" You should also know that the requirement to WEAR your beeper is in itself insane. Good luck with this guy. He's a twerp.
Buffalo, N.Y.: What if many of us employees seriously suspect our boss is mentally/emotionally handicapped, unable to be a decent leader, but is a principal of an elementary school, and therefore the leader of staff, parents, students? We (teachers) can't oust her without a large majority taking action and, in doing so, risking great harm to our own reputations in the school district, and, therefore, our own futures. How should we handle this person when she makes requests we think are unreasonable or worse?
Stanley Bing: Don't you have a professional organization of some kind there? A Parent/Teacher's Association? I'd like to know how crazy your Principal is, really. Academia of any kind is a hotbed of institutional insanity. Schools at all levels tend to harbor maniac control freaks and people obsessed with order, status and rules.
Washington D.C.: Hi Michelle, I have a question concerning family responsibilities and finance. I am in my early thirties, the youngest of four girls, and am single with no kids. My three sisters a married with children. My elderly parents currently live with me, however every time I try to ask my sisters for help they say they are too busy, something comes up and needless to say I end up footing the bills. Two questions how can I get my sisters to help -- I know that they are preoccupied with their families and what financial options do I have being a caretaker..
Michelle Singletary: Perhaps it might help if you called a family meeting and as nice and loving as you can, ask for their help.
Ask them to bring their calendars to the meeting. Then see if you can get them to agree to help with specific things -- a doctor's apt. etc.
Then ask -- againg as nice and loving as you can -- if they could help in some way financially. For example, if your parents have co-payments for medication see if they can help with that. The point is to be specific and as forceful as you can.
Finally, good for you for helping your parents. There's a special place in heaven for you.
Ashburn, VA: Hello Michelle and Stanley! I read with interest your column on Mr. Bing's book (which I admit I have not yet read, but will!). For most of my adult life (which is not much, since I'm only 27) I have been in one situation or another with a boss that I just don't get along with. Some of them are "crazy," some are just mean. And I haven't been perfect either. I have a short fuse and don't react well to criticism. So whenever I am in a situation I don't like, I leave. So far, I have depleted my six-months expenses, and I haven't been at a job long enough to build it back up. I know this is wrong, but I don't know what to do about it. (It may go without saying, but I am in between jobs right now.)
Please help this lost, misguided 20-something who feels like she's in a sinking ship!
Stanley Bing: There's an old line from The Godfather. "It's not personal, Sonny," says Michael. "It's business." You have to develop the ability to see issues from a distance, and stop moving around so much. Your problem may be your level of expectations. What do you expect in the workplace? You SHOULD expect that you will be managed by a person who is hyperactive at times, depressed at others, angry, moody, needy, cold, whatever. It is your job, more than any other in your working life, to figure out the key to each boss's craziness and figure out a way to live within it, manage it. If you don't, if you are always "in the right," but can never fit in, you'll be just as you are now, aimless, incapable of working within the insane organization that is just about every workplace. Roll up your sleeves, determine to stick it out and for goodness sake, BUY MY BOOK!
Springfield, Va.: I'm sorry this question probably doesn't have anything to do with the book discussion... I have about $10K in credit card debt and I still owe $6K on my car. I have over $5500 in Series I bonds that I am thinking about cashing in and applying towards my car and making the last payment in full. Or do you think it would be better to apply it against my credit card? If I pay off my car that is an extra 350 toward my CC payment that I can make. I've been paying over $350 already a month to get the balance down. But if I could apply $700 to it a month I could pay it off in a little over a year. My CC is no interest. What do you suggest?
Michelle Singletary: I would first ask if that $5,500 is the only savings you have. If it is, don't cash it in. You may need that in an emergency. Plus don't forget taxes.
Sounds like you are in a rush for a problem that took a while to get into. Now if those bonds is extra money and you do have a good savings cushion, pay off the debt with no interest, then as you plan aggressively pay off the credit card debt.
I had a boss that "conveniently" forgot. I would have deadlines and projects where I needed his input to be successful and he said he didn't remember that. How frustrating! It's payback now, since he's finally being held to task for his past loss of memory involving mgmt higher than him.
Stanley Bing: You have what I refer to in my book as a Disaster Hunter. All bosses are eventually brought down by the crazy stuff that makes them tough to work for. In your case, you are probably working for a narcissist who is very wrapped up in his own world and doesn't remember other people very well. Narcissists have really bad memories and very short attention spans. They take aggressive management. You need to be in his or her face every day with each important project. That way they don't have to remember anything and can simply react to your agenda, which they can be quite good at.
Stanley Bing: It also may be better for you to help this forgetful person who is your boss. Who knows what kind of crazy maniac may pop up in the corner office next? Forgetful is not as bad as mean.
Silver Spring, Md.: Hi Michelle,
I think you would be proud of me. I have been monitoring my family's spending while in the process of creating a monthly budget.
Our main problem area is food! Our family of four can and has spent more than $1000 per month on food. To the folks in the peanut gallery - yes, I know it's way too much and that's why I'm writing in.
We will stop eating out, start going to only discount grocers, stop buying convenience foods, but we also need to find recipes (quick and easy preferably) that use inexpensive ingredients. Any ideas on where to find them?
Also - to you and others - any other tips on saving on foods costs??? Thanks so much for your help!
Michelle Singletary: It's tough I know. I have a family of five and the food bill can get crazy.
First, whenever you go to the grocery store take a list. Seriously this will cut down on your getting things you don't need. Now before you go to the store with that list plan out your meals so you know exactly what you need to buy. Whenever I do this I spend less time in the store and spend less.
Second, for easy and cheap recipes go online. For example, type in "easy, free and cheap chicken recipes." Up pops a number of web sites with recipes.
My favorite cooks.com or epicurious.com.
Also in the grocery store at the checkout you will find those inexpensive recipe books with easy and cheap recipes. I buy them a lot.
Washington, D.C.: I worked for one in a lab on Potomac. He womanized and would tell me to work on SAturday nights in the lab on the experiments, have the results ready for him see on Sunday morning after he drops his woman friend to her home. No sleep for me!! this was on top of 40-60 hour week M to F. Then he promotes his friends who helped to find woman friends. I am glad to be out of there!
Stanley Bing: The womanizing works hand in hand with the workaholic personality. This guy is an addictive character. he probably drinks too much, too. This is a very difficult person to work for. You have to establish limits. I see that you did, and you're not there anymore. The truth is, there ARE jobs out there for people who want to jump ship. I generally advise people to stay where they are and work it out. But anybody who made me work on Sunday every week would eventually drive me out of the company... unless they were paying me seven figures, that is...
I am a newly wed (3 weeks) my credit is not the best but it is okay (I own 2 homes) and have paid off my car (by the way I'm 28). My husband is 36 and has awful credit and 2 car notes. 3 months before my wedding (April 2007) I found out that one of his car notes hadn't been paid since October 2006. Is adding him to my primary residence mortgage a good ideal? I really don't even want to file taxes etc., with him because I don't want his bad credit to worsen my credit. Any advice?????
Michelle Singletary: First, get find a counselor. Seriously. Because you are in for a rough ride my dear.
Sure, you could keep all things separate but that won't mean his bad money habits won't end up affecting you and your money.
Talk to him right away. If you are the better money manager than agree that you should handle the bill paying, filing of taxes etc. But try to involve him by showing him what you are doing.
And the only way to get him on the mortgage as opposed to the title is to refinance. At this point that wouldn't help because his bad credit will make it hard to get a good loan.
I would not add him to the title unless you have a joint mortgage on the home -- something you should work towards as you seek counseloring.
Silver Spring, Md.: Hi Michelle, I would LOVE to meet with a financial planner and checked some out on the Garrett Planning Network. However, the rates are anywhere from $180 to $220 per hour--ouch! How many hours will it take for a plan? Thanks so much!
Michelle Singletary: Fee only planning can be expensive but at least you are supposed to be getting unbiased advice since the person doesn't make money on the financial product you chose.
A comprehensive financial plan could cost about $1,000 to $1,500. But if you are at the point where you need really good advice, it may be worth it.
Washington D.C.: We have a female manager here who has a PhD in economics and she supervises only two employees. One of the two employees is also a female and also with a PhD, but not in economics. The supervisor super-micro-manages the female employee with a PhD, but not the other. Any suggestions as to how to deal with this "crazy boss"?
Stanley Bing: You'd be surprised how many really crazy people respond, over time, to a sustained campaign of reasonableness. this is a gradual thing. If YOU are the one being micro-managed, the key challenge is having the patience to hang in there and make it work. It means on a daily basis doing a good job and, when the micro-managing starts, simply stating, "Hey, I think you know I can do the job without being quizzed like this. Why not give me a try?" At first, the boss will be resistant, because this is his or he perception of what it MEANS to be a boss. After a while, though, if what you do is good, and if you have a decent relationship, they will start to back off. Of course, if you're a screw-up and need to be micromanaged, then it's not a question of craziness, it's a reasonable policy on the part of a boss that doesn't trust you. that's a bigger problem, because the issue isn't the boss -- it's you.
Good Financial Problem in Maryland: Michelle,
Thanks for taking my question. I have what may be called a good financial problem. I'm expecting a $500-$600 per month raise from the government. My question is how do I most effectively use that money to lower debt.
My financial picture is as follows - approximately 30K in consolidated federal student loans at 3 percent interest ($250/month), 25K in private student loans at 8 percent ($295/month), 10K car loan at 9 percent ($230/month). My living expenses are currently about $1000 per month with out food. My take home is approximately $2150 a month. I've developed approximately at month's cash reserve. I fully invest in the TSP plan at the highest matching amount available.
I'm over paying an extra payment per year adding it in 12 equal shares for the car and personal loans. My employer is in the process of developing a student loan reimbursement program which I applied.
My question is with the extra income I'm receiving which loan(s) should I apply the extra money towards? I'm paying the minimum on student loans with the expectation that my employer will take them over within the next few months and they are at the lowest interest rate. My thoughts are to pay my car off first to give me an asset plus its the highest interest rate. Thanks for your help.
Michelle Singletary: I agree, start with the car loan. But if the student loan repayment doesn't come thu go after that debt with a passion, first the private loans then the low-interest student loans.
homeownership: Michelle, Can you remind me why homeownership is supposed to be so great compared to "throwing away money on rent"? We've been owners for 8 months now and all I can see is that it's great to paint it the colors I want; otherwise, we've had to cut back on eating out, taking vacations, etc. And now my husband may have a chance to work overseas for a year and while we were renting, I would have said, "great, throw everything in storage and we'll live overseas for a year" and if I found work there too, great, but if not we could manage. We can't manage to keep up the mortgage if I don't get a job overseas as well and there are no guarantees I could also find work. You always say don't be a slave to debt, but I feel like I'm a slave to a mortgage and I never totally bought into the notion that renting was throwing your money away - it's buying a roof over my head. Is that wrong?
Michelle Singletary: First, I don't believe renting is throwing money away. Like you I agree that you are paying for a roof over your head.
Second, welcome to the world of home ownership. Yup, it's tough. But you can keep second guessing yourself. Homeownership if done correctly is still one of the greatest wealth building tools out there. However notice I said if done correctly, meaning you bought a home that gives you room to save, save up for vacations, eat out once in awhile etc.
You may still be able to go overseas. Have you thought about renting the home for a year? Perhaps you can find a program where someone is moving into your area for a temp job and just needs to rent for a year. That way you get the mortgage covered and you don't sweat if you can't get a job overseas. Check with job relocation services, etc.
But in the end you may find that you can't take advantage of this opportunity and that my friend is called being an adult. You can't always have everything you want when you want it.
Washington, D.C.: I guess I'm lucky...my boss is kind, supportive, and all around a great guy! If anything, I like him a little too much. It's a big part of what keeps me in my current job.
Stanley Bing: Hey, do you work for me?
Richmond, Va.: My boss always talks horribly about other colleagues in our meetings. I'm SO uncomfortable being pulled into his nasty gossip. And he REALLY says nasty stuff about his ex wife and his (female) supervisor. All his comments about women in power are of the "all women are shrews" tone and I feel like yelling "HELLO! I'm right here!!!!"
Stanley Bing: This guy is cruising for his own destruction. What could he possibly be thinking? He has tons of hostility for women, and you are the target of his free-floating aggression. Again, I always believe that long-term, sane, dignified and open communications is a good place to start. The next time he begins his disgusting drivel, let him talk for a while and then say, "Hey, Barry, do you have any idea how uncomfortable this kind of talk makes me?" He'll say something like, "Aw, come on! Can't you take a joke?" And you can say, "Sometimes. But maybe not about that. How about we talk about something else. Like cheese. Or wine. Or dogs." Something he likes, you know? Give it a shot.
Michelle Singletary: I agree with Stanley.
I also think you should start keeping a diary and record when he does this. If it gets to be too much, take your evidence to human resources.
High food bills: Another thing to do is plan your next week's menu on Saturday or Sunday and shop by Sunday. The major grocery stores tell you what will be on sale (normally starting on Friday) in the Wednesday Post. Look at what will be on sale and make a menu to fit what you can buy more cheaply. For example, boneless chicken breasts (3lb+ package) goes on sale at Giant tomorrow - less than 1/2 price. Grill one night and have leftovers another.
Also, as much as it hurts to spend, do NOT cut out the fresh fruits and veggies. They cost more but are so worth it for your health.
Boston, Mass.: What do you do when a boss seems to be working out a plan to oust you from your job or make you quit voluntarily but you can't prove it? In the office, there's new management and they have redrawn organizational charts, leaving certain people barely included. In public, one boss will even declare that one department doesn't exist, even though the man who is responsible for that department definitely exists but is being pushed out of the org chart?
What if you think there are signs that you are next on the boss's list?
Stanley Bing: Well, I wish I could tell you this was a manageable situation, but it's really not. Dust off your resume and get out there. It's better to look for a job while you have one. I will say, however, that you should NOT make it easy for them by precipitating an incident, getting mad or defensive, or taking things personally. There is always a shake-up during a change at the top of a function. You may be stuck in it through no fault of your own. Do the best work you possibly can. Show up to all meetings. Be on time for things and don't leave at odd hours. Use your lunch hour to look for a new place. And wait. Be patient. Who knows? I've seen people so close to the edge they were hanging on by one finger come back and become important players again. Careers have ups and downs. Don't be discouraged or hasty. Wait and see what happens while you're working on Plan B.
Food budget: My household goes through the same thing. Beans have turned out to be great. I make bean soup and then freeze up portions to take for lunch with crackers or bread. Much cheaper and you can make two weeks worth of lunch in a Sunday. Also, figure out when your grocer marks the meat down that is almost at it's date. Get there that day, and then freeze immediately so you can have it when you want it.
I also try to cook dishes that will last at least two nights.
Thanks for doing these chats. I love them. I have a question about my 401K. I have $20K that I left in my 401K from a former employer. It's still doing pretty well but I always hear that you should move it into an IRA. What are the advantages in rolling that into an IRA?
Michelle Singletary: Oh my don't have time to fully answer this. But look if you are happy with the returns in the old plan, no need to change.
When you do get unhappy, you certainly can roll it over into an IRA that you manage. That's the biggest advantage of a rollover IRA you are not limited to the funds in the old plan.
If you do a rollover be sure the funds go directly to the financial institution and don't come to you.
Southern Maryland: Thank you for taking my off-topic question!! We have future private school tuition for the next few years of $40K. Would it be better to take some equity out of our home to pay for the tuition and at least write off the interest since we owe federal taxes every year. Yes, Michelle, we are saving for college. Thank you!!!
Michelle Singletary: I understand the desire to send your kids to private school but I wouldn't use borrowed money in the way of equty from your home.
What if at some point you need to sell and the value of your home has dropped -- which is happening all over the country right now?
If you can't afford to pay for the school with your salary (and save for college) you can't afford to have the kids in private school.
And never make this kind of decision based on the tax break. The break ain't big enough to counter the debt you will be taking on.
Washington, D.C.: I once worked for a volatile character, who was not liked by anyone in the office. I don't really remember what he did that day, but I was furious. I must have had a terrible look on my face when a young associate of the firm came by my desk. He asked me what was wrong, and I simply pointed to the character's office. He said, "Janet, do you remember the Mickey Mouse Show?" I'm old enough to remember it well. He then said, "Well, Janet, just picture him with the little beanie with the big mouse ears with his name written across the front." I laughed so hard at the picture in my mind that the anger disappeared.
Stanley Bing: Keep that young associate close, my friend. He's worth his weight in antacid.
New York, NY: Please HELP! I picked what I thought was a practical profession (law) and spent gobs of money on a degree. I am now working for drones that find this stuff fascinating (that's great for them), but I hate it and don't particular care for the other lawyers either (speaking of crazy bosses I've had some that scream at you for fun). After a few years (one year here), it's clear that being a lawyer is not good for my mental or physical health. From a monetary standpoint, would you think I'm totally foolish to throw away this salary and flush my educational costs down the toilet to find something that doesn't kill me. I have some savings and paid off my student loans.
Stanley Bing: Congratulations. You are now part of the 67% of all lawyers who want to leave the profession because they hate it. that's my unofficial number, by the way. It may be higher... like 90%. there are two answers to your question. The first is YES. YES, get out of the Law. YES, get out of the thing you hate to do and start doing what you LIKE to do. You are young! You have life ahead of you! Sing! Dance! Go into show business! Carve desks! Tour the world as a traveling mummer! Whatever! Life is too darn short to spend it laboring away at something you don't like to do. Really. And you know what? There IS a right thing for you out there, and you will never find it if you're pushing a tort across the table.
That said, there are a LOT of ways that people make good money doing Law. It sounds like you're in the wrong part of your business. Suppose you could be sweeping beautiful actors off their feet as a movie agent or personal attorney? Suppose you could be golfing in Jamaica with internal clients as a corporate lawyer who refers all the hard stuff to the out-of-house counsel? Look at your profession, the one you learned how to do -- and what it cost you not in money but in time and concentration! I'm amazed at all the stupid things lawyers know. It takes a heap of brainpower! Media! Digital start ups! Sports! All those areas need lawyers. Or maybe you want to take bad guys off the street? Whatever? isn't there a way you can use what you worked for to make the world a better place, have fun and make a ton of dough? good luck!
We've been owners for 8 months now and all I can see is that it's great to paint it the colors I want; otherwise, we've had to cut back on eating out, taking vacations, etc: aha. You haven't filed taxes as a homeowner yet. Just wait. you'll see what everyone is raving about.
Michelle Singletary: Oh please, I've been a homeowner since I was about 22 years old. The tax break ain't that great. It's nice but not great.
Homeownership is costly and often the money you spend on the home doesn't begin to be offset by the tax break.
It's when you sell and get that equity that it's GREAT!
postnuptial: My Mom owns a business, and she will soon be giving it to me. Her lawyer suggested that my husband sign a postnuptial agreement. That states in the event of a separation/divorce he will have no rights to the business or its assets. The lawyer also stated that in the event of a separation, that my mothers income might also be affected. How would you feel about an agreement?
Michelle Singletary: If my husband asked me to sign such a thing, I would put my hands on my hips, roll my eyes and neck and cook him neck bones for dinner.
But if your husband AGREES and has no reservations than fine. Me I think we BOTH should share in this wonderful blessing. Should we get a divorce then he would be entitled to what we got together as a couple -- even if it were a business my mom gave to me.
Alexandria, Va.: No question -- just two thank-yous...
First, I think your Penny Pincher of the Year award is a great opportunity to reward conservation efforts, because far too many of us spend far too much (both money and resources) by not thinking wisely. I shudder some mornings when it's 60 degrees outside and I hear my neighbors' air conditioning units buzzing away. It's frustrating to think how much money people could save -- and how they could help our country, and our planet -- by reducing wasteful use of oil and other natural resources.
Secondly, while I don't always agree with you that all debt is evil, I do think that's a message that people need to hear. Lord knows how much money the credit card companies, retailers, etc. are paying to get us to spend money -- we need a few people telling us not to. So even if I don't agree with you 100 percent of the time, thanks for being the voice of fiscal sanity among all the spendthrift marketing schemes out there.
Michelle Singletary: You are so welcome, even tho I think you should should agree with me 100 percent of the time (smile).
With regards to your response to the question about the micro-manager, this is an employee with 30+ years of job experience and never a complaint from any previous manager. There does not appear to be any basis, performance or otherwise, to justify such behavior of the manager upon the employee. So, I disagree with your assertion that it is the employee. The manager chooses to communicate principally by email and despite efforts by the employee to schedule a one-on-one with the manager to have a dialogue to resolve whatever it is causing friction, the manager always has an excuse of being unavailable.
Any advice you could offer to help resolve this difficult, emotionally draining, and morale destroying behavior would be most appreciated.
Stanley Bing: Actually, I didn't say it was the employee. I just wondered. Here is my serious answer. This employee is working for an abusive boss. The boss is trying to drive the employee crazy so she will leave without making the boss fire her, because the boss has NO grounds and so is simply trying to torture the person to death. The employee with 30 years of experience should not rise to the bait. She should be very calm, very strategic. Do her job. Continue to make friends and keep the ones she has close. Not lose heart. Not lose her temper. Emails that are abusive and critical should be logged and kept in a file. You can bet that this loser boss is not making any friends elsewhere either. At some point, the employee's good record, put together with the abusive emails, can be used to make a case with Human Resources, if that department exists, that the boss is the one at fault.
If there is a senior officer, by the way, over this boss, or an HR department with a friendly ear, the employee should not be afraid to go there -- NOT TO COMPLAIN -- but simply to make the other person aware that there is an issue. The employee should say, "Hey, I've been here for a long time, I've never had a problem before, how do you think I should handle it?" That doesn't hurt either, although the ear should not be a worm who will turn and report the conversation to the boss.
Finally, they can't hurt you if you don't let them. They can't make you nuts if you refuse to get emotional about it. Cool. Sane. Humane. the opposite of the treatment you are receiving. And hang in there. Crazy Bosses destroy themselves over time. You may outlive this person yet.
Chicago, Ill.: Michelle, please help! I'm 23, have a good-paying job, no debt and minimal bills, so I'm accumulating some savings. I contribute 10 percent to my company's 401K with a 5 percent match, but I don't have any other investments. I have a savings account with about 5-6 months worth of living expenses. The problem is that I've got about $15,000 in my checking account, where it's earning no interest. I don't want to put it in something very long-term, because I'd like to have money available to potentially buy a house in a few years. I need something low-maintenance. Should I use a financial planner? Open an online high-interest savings account? Something else? How much interest should I be looking to get? Thanks!
Michelle Singletary: You should calm down!
If you will need that money in a few years leave it alone. The most I would recommend is for you to look for a very high yielding savings or money market account. Try ING. Look on bankrate.com
When you have a short-term goal and need money you can't expect to make big money on that money unless you want to gamble.
You don't sound like a gambler.
Upper Marslboro, Md.: I am a good worker but have way too much to do. (Trust me on this!) When I am given new projects, I explain that, if I take them on, others will have to be put aside. In short, I need help prioritizing and my boss is no help whatsoever. And when things don't get done despite my 60 hour workweeks, guess whose rear is on the line? I finally listed everything I have to do and carry this around at all times. It has helped a little, but much. Do you have any other suggestions? Quitting is unfortunately not an option, though bossicide is becoming more appealing.
Stanley Bing: I think you should take the list into your boss and lay it in front of him in a very friendly way and say, "Larry, I was wondering. Here are all the things I have to do right now. Which is the most important?" Maybe that will help.
I also don't like your comment about 60 hour work weeks. That's not right. In at 8. Out at 6. Anything more is sheer exploitation.
Workers have a right to regular hours and a management that doesn't ruin their lives. I don't think quitting is an option for anybody. But nobody ever got fired for working a 50 hour week. Start standing up for yourself! You're obviously essential to your department! Make them treat you like it!
I don't have a crazy boss. I have a crazy workplace. I swear everyone here is either power hungry or clueless and sometimes both. Some days it's really hard to get anything done, especially if I need something from someone. The rules change everyday and it's very frustrating. I want to leave, but I donn't know how.
Stanley Bing: Don't leave. Stick around. These nutbags will kill each other and you just may be the last one standing. I may be a total dreamer, but I think in an environment where everybody is nuts and one person is sane and hard-working, the latter individual will eventually come to be recognized as essential in some way. Just relax and when people go "WHY WASN'T THAT DONE?" you can say, "because everybody around here is so interested in political nonsense that things just DON'T get done, do they?" I'm sure everybody around there knows the place is a snake pit. Calling attention to it, and refusing to take part, may just be your brand around there.
Laurel:"It's when you sell and get that equity that it's GREAT! "
Even before you sell, you get the same benefit when your mortgage is exactly the same as it was the day you signed, while the rent on your old apartment has gone up 50 percent.
Michelle Singletary: That is one benefit as well -- that the mortgage MAY stay the same. But have you been reading the newspaper. People have been refinancing and taking out home equity loans so that their payments haven't stayed the same.
But my larger point is that if you are renting you are not a financial failure if you are not in the position to buy a home yet.
Harrisburg, Pa.: If an estimated one fifth of the population suffers from a mental health ailment, presumably some people with mental health issues have made their way into management. Has there been any study as to what percentage of managers suffer from mental health ailments, or what would be your estimate from what you have observed?
Stanley Bing: I think virtually ALL managers suffer from mental health ailments. The ones who don't have an ulcer.
Maryland: What do you do when a supervisor is vulgar and curses a lot in front of you? And tells you what vindictive things he has done to staff members.
Stanley Bing: I would say, "Don't curse, Fred. It's against my religion." LIMITS, ladies and gentlemen. Bosses, like babies, need LIMITS. If you don't set them, they will exploit you. And if you set them correctly -- gently, firmly, thoughtfully, reasonably -- you will prosper, even under the most insane of bosses. Believe me. 25 years into the business world and a crazy boss myself? I should know, huh?
Michelle Singletary: Well, it's time to go. I loved this chat today. Good questions, great answers from Stanley Bing.
Mostly I love that Bing's overall message was set limits. Like the person with the cussing boss. Me, I wouldn't stand for it and never have. And folks I worked in the old newsroom where cussing was normal. There was one rewrite man (the reporter who takes information from other reporters in the field) who cussed at me for asking him a question on deadline. I was 17 and new to the business. I cried. Then I read him the riot act. I said, "My grandmother, Big Mama, said anyone who cusses at you had no respect for you. Please don't do it again."
And he didn't. I have never allowed ANYONE to swear at me. Not my husband, co-workers and certainly not a boss.
So folks speak up for yourselves. And if things don't change, and it becomes too horrible to stand, as Bing says dust off your resume and get the heck out of dodge.
Anyway, Bing as agreed to answer some of the leftover questions. I'll write a column with his answers. Thanks again for joining me today.
Keep saving and get out of debt!
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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Personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary hosted a discussion with author Stanley Bing about his new book "Crazy Bosses"
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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.
In her 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: Hello to everyone joining me today to talk about life and apartments and apartment life and everything in between. Are you preparing for a move during this--the busiest moving time of the year? Are you apartment hunting so that you can in fact move? Or are you still being kept up all night by your crazy, orchestral-instrument-playing neighbors? Whatever your problems, bring 'em on.
Arlington, Va.: Hi, Sara. I'm sure you get "how do I break my lease?" questions all the time, but I'm submitting a little early in hopes that you can get to mine. I'm about five months into a two year lease (signed renewal in March 2007, have lived there since March 2005). One of the terms of the new lease is a 60-day notice policy. Due to family issues, I will likely be moving out of the area in early 2008. If I were to find someone to move in would that technically be considered breaking my lease? Would they be able take over my terms (including rent at a rate well below what the apartments are currently renting for) or would they have sign a new lease? I'm not looking for a sublet, just want to be able to get out without harm to my credit. Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer!
Sara Gebhardt: Well, the good news is that you have plenty of time to get this situation sorted out with your landlord. Usually, if you can help alleviate your landlord's worry, time, etc. by finding a replacement tenant, you can convince that landlord to absolve you of the lease-breaking penalties laid out in the lease. As for a new tenant being able to take over your terms of the lease, that is questionable. You would have to get your landlord's permission. Your landlord may want to up the rent. Likely, he/she is giving you a better deal because you've agreed to stay for 2 years. In any case, you can work it all out with your landlord as long as you agree to cooperate and help make your early departure a smoothe transition for the landlord.
Washington, D.C.: I'm paying 20 percent more than the rental price advertised on my building's website and the last time I complained about this, they simply bumped up the price on the site but now, it's back down. Do I have recourse?
Sara Gebhardt: No. Your landlord locked you in at a certain rent price, which likely coincided with the market at the time you signed your lease. Just like the price of milk, rent prices fluctuate, and you cannot exactly return your apartment and trade it in for the sale price. You can move, though, if you see the deals now are much better than what you rent your place for (though, of course, you'd have to factor in the cost of moving and the effort of breaking possible renter's inertia).
Parking question: Thank you for taking my question. In my lease it states that I am paying for two garage parking spaces. Now, because I park two cars in one of my spaces my landlord wants to charge me per car. The additional car fits well within my oversized spot and does not impede any vehicles from getting in or out of their spaces. I have been parking two vehicles this way for several years now. I'm not sure why suddenly I am being asked to pay more. Can my landlord do this?
Sara Gebhardt: I am not sure I understand the predicament. You have two spaces but only use one? If that's the case, you should park one car in each. Or, if you have more cars, you'll have to discuss the issue with your landlord. It may well be possible that the agreement/rules are that only one space is allowed per car.
We're planning on moving sometime in the next two months and are on a month by month lease.
Our contract stipulates that we must give 30 days notice.
However, I'm wondering what happens if we decide to move in the middle of the month. Is it common to simply pro-rate for those days or will the building try to charge us for the entire month?
Sara Gebhardt: Yes, it is common that your landlord will pro-rate your rent. Not everyone can plan their entire lives around the first of the month.
Philly, Penn.: This might sound like an odd question, but I need an objective response.
I moved in with my aunt for a few months after a bad apartment situation turned worse.
I have been looking at apartments for at 3 months and have probably looked at 20-30 apartments in the city.
I feel like I have done a lot of diligence looking around, but my aunt seems to think that I haven't seen enough. She keeps referring me to real estate agents to find an apartment, and I keep looking within craigslist. I don't have the 'budget' for the kind of apartment a real estate agent could show. what do you think? Am I not tapping a pool of apartments that maybe a real estate agent could show, because I am scared off by the potential 'prices'?
This search seems completely never ending to me!
Sara Gebhardt: You've come to the right place for an objective response. It's very possible that your aunt and you are experiencing a generational divide. Many people who've not lived in apartments for a long time remember back in the day when they hired an agent to help them find an apartment. In some cities, this is still common practice, regardless of the advent of craigslist and other useful online tools for apartment-searching. I think seeing 20-30 places is plenty to get an idea of what you want and what is out there in your price range. That said, I'm a big advocate of lots of research, and if only to ease your mind and respect the woman who took you in during a crisis, it would not hurt to call an agent and simply ask about the prices of apartments he or she generally shows people. If it's too high, then keep on doing what you're doing. If not, go out and see more places until you're ready to sign a lease. Good luck!
Washington, DC: Sara, do you know of any general templates that D.C. renters may use to provide their 30-day termination of tenancy notice? I'm at a loss for what information should be included in the letter. Thanks for any advice you may offer.
Sara Gebhardt: I do not know of specific templates for this process. But here's one: "I, [name] hereby give my notice of terminating my tenancy, effective [date]. Please let me know that you have received this notice." If you wanted, you could also inquire about move-out procedures or write pleasantries if you've enjoyed your experience, or give a reason why you're moving out. The real information is that you've officially declared your intention to move out on a certain date.
Baltimore, Md.: Hey, Sara. A few months ago, our beta fish passed away due to a small mistake of filling his tank with hot water. My loving fiance did the honors of flushing him down the toilet and saying our final goodbyes. Recently, our neighbor downstairs has complained of leaking and water damage. We've had a plumber come twice but so far, no one can find anything. Is it possible these things are related? Do you think our late fish, may he rest in peace, is somehow the cause of all this?
Sara Gebhardt: I'm no plumber, nor beta fish expert, but I am just going to take a wild guess and conclude that your beloved fish was too busy resting in peace to cause any water leakage. If I were a pet psychic, though, maybe I'd have a better assessment.
Arlington, Va.: After my lease ends, how long do landlords have to return my security deposit legally?
Sara Gebhardt: In Virginia, your landlord has 45 days from the time of your exit of the premises to return your security deposit. In general, landlords have between 30 to 45 days to get the deposit (or what remains of it after they assess damages) back to tenants.
Baltimore, Md.: Hi, Sara. A few months ago I moved out of my first apartment with a roommate. There was a miscommunication between us. I was under the impression she would allow me to temporarily store items a few items while between apartments on long term employment assignment with the Army until I could arrange for a more permenenant solution was found. She does not recall this conversation. I moved out leaving what I believed we agreed.
I came back to collect my things only to learn she removed some (not all) of the things i left. She claims she sent me a letter that I never received. She gave away my motorcycle riding gear which I require, so I've repurchased it to the tune of $1100. Is this the type of situation that is best handled by small claims court?
Confused on the next course of action.
Sara Gebhardt: Yes, this is the kind of case that a small claims court would hear. Otherwise, you really won't be able to recover anything, since you have no written document/contract stating that your thing would be safely stored in the apartment. And you both disagree on your verbal agreement, which makes this a lose-lose for you if you do not pursue the small claims court route. You might still lose, but it is worth a try if you can't convince your roommate to help you replace whatever she got rid of without your permission.
Safety issues on the ground level: I'm about to move into a ground level apartment in D.C. It's in a very nice, new condo building that has a 24-hour security guard on duty.
The glass doors to the patio are protected by bars. However, the windows are not secured this way.
How nervous should I be about break-ins and other safety issues? Do you or any of the chatters have recommendations for alarms or other security devices I can use to make me rest a bit easier?
Sara Gebhardt: Well, you should not be nervous, or it will make life at home anxiety-ridden. My best advice is to ask around -- at the hardware store - to find out how you can install extra security to the windows, in conversation with new neighbors to discuss security around the building, and with your new landlord to express concern in general. All may have advice...and maybe others out there do as well. Let us know!
Loudoun County, Va.: I own a condo in eastern Loudoun County, and am considering moving out and renting it instead. I've never done anything like this before. Do you know of a good place to start looking for information on the basics of being a landlord?
Sara Gebhardt: There are good books out there, one being "Every Landlord's Legal Guide," which is the twin of "Every Tenant's Legal Guide"-- both published by Nolo Press. You'll get basic information as well as forms (like sample leases, sample walk-through checklists). You should also contact your local housing office--the county or jurisdiction in which you're located may have the same sort of information, which would be specific to your property. Web searching will also turn up a lot of advice, some of which is good. Just be organized and prepared, and always be committed to your tenants and local houing laws.
Re: The aunt: She wants you to leave. Period. It's time to suck it up and take the best apartment you can afford even if it's not very pretty. You've overstayed your welcome and your aunt is letting you know.
Sara Gebhardt: Hmm. I didn't read it that way. The aunt wants this person to do more research and see more places--which means she is not exactly pushing her nephew/niece out the door but encouraging this person to take more time.
Washington, D.C.: A move-out notice should also include a forwarding address for the return of the deposit (with interest) and, if appropriate, a request to schedule a walk-through for review of apartment condition.
Sara Gebhardt: Ah, yes, the old forwarding address--how could I forget?
Washington, D.C.: I'm searching for a new place and find many rental applications ask for references from the past two landlords. I have a good relationship with my current landlady but not with my previous landlord. (We had a dispute over whether I would return my security deposit to cover damage that he "discovered" months after my move out walk-through.) How should I deal with this? There are landlords from further in the past who could give me references, but the applications ask for the most recent two.
Sara Gebhardt: You could deal with it by giving the two best references you've got. Plenty of people don't even have more than one landlord to give as a reference (and plenty of people misread simple instructions), so you can plead ignorance and make a mistake on your application. The other route is for you to be honest and see what happens.
I just moved (July 1), into a house broken into 5 apartments. We are, by lease, supposed to share the duties of lawn mowing; however, landlord has not given me combination to lock on shed to get out lawnmower and other tenets seem to not really care about taking their turn to mow, nor has the "head" tenet, as my landord calls her, given me the combination, though I talked with her about getting it. She doesn't feel like she's the head tenet and is pretty much never around and the house is starting to look like an abandoned house even though 5 adults live there.
What am I responsible for lawn-mowing wise and is it the landlords responsibility to keep information flowing to tenets or this other woman's (even though he's not onsite)?
This is my first situation like this and I'm not particularly liking it. Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Sara Gebhardt: I just want to say one thing.... You don't read my column? I answered this (or a very similar question) in the paper, probably ran last Saturday. Hopefully someone can link to it.
Re. The Aunt comment: I read it the same way -- she wants the person out...
Sara Gebhardt: Well, is it possible you are "projecting" your own experiences? Who's to know, unless we get an update from the Philadelphia person.
Silver Spring, Md.: What's up with this heat? I don't have any central air in my place. I have a weak little window unit in my bedroom. Is there any way I can handle the weather a little better? Just thinking about going home after work is making me sweat.
Sara Gebhardt: You could always just avoid your apartment until dusk. Go to an air conditioned place--a movie theater, library, shopping mall. At home, you should try out some fans, make sure your blinds/shades/drapes are closed so that the sun doesn't come in stronger than it has to, and close off the area where you have your window unit. You could also purchase a new window unit that works better--many are actually quite powerful these days. Make sure you drink lots of ice water too.
Washington, D.C.: What's my recourse if my building consistently does not give adequate notice of entering the apartment for non-emergency service? I live in a building managed by a property management company (Borger, if you want the name), not some individual(s) who may not know the rules. But they will have scheduled work (like lead paint checks) and will put the notice under the door midday (when most tenant are at work) that they will be in the next day between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. These notcies will often be dated days earlier, but not distributed until less than 24 hours before they will enter the apartment. I think this is illegal and inexcusible but am not sure what I can do.
Sara Gebhardt: First, talk to your property manager, and also that person's superior in the property management office. It may be simply that the person distributing these notices is not very competent. Or, the company in general is doing things haphazardly. Figure out which problem it is by reporting your concern to different employees. Since you are supposed to get notified at least 24 hours in advance, you do have a legitimate issue. If it continues after your complaint, then you can make a complaint with the District's housing office.
re: heat: I spent a couple of very hot summers with no AC, and I would recommend getting a rotating fan that circulates the blowing air. Although it doesn't cool the place, it does make the heat bearable.
Sara Gebhardt: Thanks for the tip.
RE: Alexandria, Va.: Just looked at the question you answered and it was in fact mine! Thank you!!
Sara Gebhardt: Ah, more reason to follow my writing more closely! Glad I could help, and keep me updated on the lawncare situation. Sorry it's still going on since last month.
I feel like I have done a lot of diligence looking around, but my aunt seems to think that I haven't seen enough. : Well you haven't seen ENOUGH til you find THE ONE and move out.
Sara Gebhardt: True, true. The excerpt in bold is swaying me ...
washingtonpost.com: Apartment Life (Post, July 21)
Sara Gebhardt: Here's the link to the column that answered the lawn care question:
Re: Aunt: I read it the same way you did, Sara. Neice had been looking on craigslist, Aunt wanted her to try a realtor. She'd already seen 20 to 30 places and Aunt wanted her to see MORE. You're right. It's a generational thing.
Sara Gebhardt: Thanks for the comment.
aunt vs. philly: It was unclear if Philly was paying any rent to the aunt. Is he a freeloader or paying rent and helping with chores?
Also, craiglist is NOT the only place to search for apartments. If he's looking to share housing he should try university housing lists. Also, don't be afraid to ask friends for ideas on where to find a place on your budget. But as Sara said, this is a popular move time so there are numerous openings available if you look for them.
Sara Gebhardt: Yes, there are a lot of places to look other than craigslist. I had hoped the questioner was just using that as one example of the many web sites/listing boards/print ads he or she is looking at. Who knows. I do love how everyone assumes the niece or nephew is a freeloader who is doing nothing but sitting around not trying to move out. You never know--the aunt may really like the company and not want her new charge to leave.
Sara Gebhardt: Okay, folks. Time's up. Thanks for all of your participation. If you want to give me updates or ask me other questions before next month's chat, feel free to email me at aptlife@gmail.com. If I didn't get to your question today, it might appear in a future column. Until September, good luck in all your rental adventures!
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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Karl Rove's Immunity
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The presidential aide who acts with such impunity now has the ultimate protection: absolute immunity from congressional oversight, at least in the judgment of White House Counsel Fred Fielding.
White House political mastermind Karl Rove had been subpoenaed to testify this morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of the investigation into last year's still-unexplained firings of nine U.S. attorneys.
No one actually expected Rove to show up. But Fielding's assertion of executive privilege yesterday to block his testimony was nevertheless surprising in its breadth.
From Fielding's letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy: "Based upon the advice of the Department of Justice, the President . . . has requested that I advise and inform you that Mr. Rove, as an immediate presidential advisor, is immune from compelled congressional testimony about matters that arose during his tenure and that relate to his official duties in that capacity. Accordingly, Mr. Rove is not required to appear in response to the Judiciary Committee subpoena to testify about such matters, and he has been directed not to appear."
In support of his position, Fielding attached a letter from principal deputy attorney general Steven G. Bradbury, who bases his argument for Rove's immunity on a Nixon-era memo by then-assistant attorney general William H. Rehnquist. Rehnquist wrote in 1971: "The President and his immediate advisers -- that is, those who customarily meet with the President on a regular or frequent basis -- should be deemed absolutely immune from testimonial compulsion by a congressional committee. They not only may not be examined with respect to their official duties, but they may not even be compelled to appear before a congressional committee."
The Clinton Justice Department cited the same Rehnquist memo in 1999 when then-White House counsel Beth Nolan was subpoenaed by a House committee investigating President Clinton's grant of clemency to 16 members of a Puerto Rican terrorist group.
But as Nolan herself testified on the Hill this spring: "Recognizing the absence of judicial precedent for this position, however, the Attorney General appropriately also considered the balance of executive and legislative interests in the particular matter to conclude that my testimony was protected from congressional compulsion under the particular circumstances of that request. I subsequently testified before that same committee with respect to other pardons, after the President waived any privileges he might have asserted with respect to such testimony, just as he had done on prior occasions."
Nolan explained: "We have little case law illuminating the contours of executive privilege, but what we do have makes one thing absolutely clear: the President's constitutional authority to assert executive privilege is not absolute, but is instead to be balanced against the legitimate needs of the coordinate branches of government in undertaking their constitutionally assigned responsibilities. The seminal Supreme Court case on executive privilege is, of course, United States v. Nixon, [a 1974 decision] in which the Court held that a privilege is a qualified one that may be outweighed by countervailing needs."
Leahy responded to Fielding's letter with the following statement: "Why is the White House working so hard to hide Karl Rove's involvement? Karl Rove, who is now refusing to comply with Senate subpoenas, spoke publicly in speeches about these firings when the scandal first broke, but is suddenly unable to talk it about when he is under oath? Mr. Rove has given reasons for the firings that have now been shown to be inaccurate after-the-fact fabrications. Yet, he now refuses to tell this Committee the truth about his role in targeting well-respected U.S. Attorneys for firing and in seeking to cover up his role and that of his staff in the scandal.
"It is a shame that this White House continues to act as if it is above the law. That is wrong. The subpoenas authorized by this Committee in connection with its investigation into the mass firings of U.S. Attorneys and the corrosion of federal law enforcement by White House political influence deserve respect and compliance."
Here is some coverage from Michael Abramowitz and Dan Eggen of The Washington Post and Greg Gordon of McClatchy Newspapers.
James Risen writes in the New York Times: "Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales offered a narrowly drawn defense of his recent Congressional testimony on Wednesday, saying he had been truthful in denying that there had been serious disagreements within the Bush administration about the National Security Agency's program of wiretapping without warrants."
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The presidential aide who acts with such impunity now has the ultimate protection: absolute immunity from congressional oversight, at least in the judgment of White House Counsel Fred Fielding.
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Obama's Warning to Pakistan Drives Democratic Debate
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His Democratic rivals essentially agree with message to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. (Reuters)
It was just one line in a very long speech, but Sen. Barack Obama's warning to Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf continues to reverberate. Does it prove he's tough and smart, as his advisers claim, or naive and irresponsible as Sen. Hillary Clinton put it a week ago?
For the second consecutive week, the Illinois Democrat's foreign policy pronouncements have become front-and-center in the Democratic presidential race. A week ago he was in an argument with Clinton over his willingness to meet with leaders of hostile nations. Now much of the rest of the Democratic field has jumped him for signaling his willingness to launch cross-border military activity into a sovereign nation and ally.
In both cases, the differences between Obama and his rivals may be smaller than they sound. Most of the others in the Democratic field both favor tougher diplomatic pressure on Musharraf to prevent terrorists from using Pakistan as a safe haven and staging ground. Most also believe, as Obama said, that if there is actionable intelligence showing the location of Osama bin Laden or another prominent terrorist leader, the United States would take action to kill or capture them.
Obama's alleged sin, according to the criticism he received after his Wednesday speech on terrorism, was being as explicit as he was that he was prepared to put U.S. forces inside even without Musharraf's explicit consent. That could be through the use of cruise missiles, a lethal drone like the Predator or, as his aides made clear, U.S. forces ordered across the border.
As Sen. Chris Dodd put it, "As commander in chief, I would take the steps necessary to defend the American people, beginning with hunting down Osama bin Laden and stopping terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons. But I will not declare my intentions for specific military action to the media in the context of a political campaign."
The reality is that many of his rivals agree with his policy, if not his willingness to state it publicly. "The way to deal with it is not to announce it, but to do it," Sen. Joeph Biden said yesterday at the National Press Club. "The last thing you want to do is telegraph to the folks in Pakistan that we are about to violate their sovereignty."
About the same time, however, Biden's staff put out a release calling Obama a "Johnny-come-lately" on the topic of terrorism, the thrust of which was that Obama was suggesting a series of steps that Biden had proposed much earlier. Nothing in it directly criticized Obama's hawkish threat.
John Edwards's team put out a statement from the candidate that emphasized "maximum diplomatic and economic pressure" on Pakistan. In an on-camera reaction later, Edwards seemed closer to echoing what Obama had said.
Clinton, in an interview with American Urban Radio News Networks, sounded equally hawkish about going after terrorists in Pakistan or elsewhere, if more circumspect. "She will take whatever actions are necessary to kill or capture bin Laden but wouldn't telegraph how we would do so," campaign spokesman Phil Singer said. Robert Gibbs, Obama's communications director, said the candidate and campaign advisers have no second thoughts about the speech and the uproar it set off. "Everyone feels very comfortable," he said. "This isn't something we thought about three days ago. It's been in the works for weeks. Lines weren't added to make up for what we said on other things. This is a policy he believes we should be implementing to fight terror."
In the CNN/YouTube debate, Clinton's answer to the question of meeting with foreign leaders without preconditions sounded more sophisticated and nuanced than Obama's -- even if they are not far apart on the need for a more open diplomatic approach to rogue nations than practiced by the Bush administration. In his terrorism speech, Obama chose provocative language to display his determination to wage a war on Islamic terrorists.
Obama's terrorism speech was a broad outline of his thinking about one of the preeminent issues of the campaign. What he has attempted to highlight is the degree to which his presidency could instantly change worldwide perceptions about the United States, by virtue of the color of his skin, the experiences he absorbed by living abroad as a child and his willingness to break from some of the conventions of the past.
He continues to walk a fine line between sounding fresh and sometimes appearing green, between being the candidate who can offer an appealing break from the past and one whose inexperience may give people pause. But he is showing no lack of willingness to put his ideas and his arguments on display, nor a determination to defend them against any and all his rivals.
Posted at 12:35 PM ET on Aug 2, 2007 | Category: Dan Balz's Take Share This: Technorati | Tag in Del.icio.us | Digg This Previous: On Judith Giuliani And Vanity Fair | Next: Coming Soon: An Online Debate
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The fact is that the Bush policy on going after Al Qaeda in Pakistan has failed. He has done as much in getting Al Qaeda in that nation as George Washington did, but Washington had an excuse. Al Qaeda didn't exist yet. Obama should be applauded for going after our nation's enemies.
Posted by: jamht72 | August 7, 2007 1:50 PM
One thing that bothers me is that the Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are playing so much politics. They both are trying to prove themselves smarter and better than the others not by doing what they feel is right but what they feel possible voters maybe think is right. It is, in my opinion, hurting them. They are playing into the Conservatives' hands and its wrong. Edwards is much more honest and straight-forward on the issues. Liberals shouldn't support the use of brute force and building of military because liberals use logic and using military force to fight terrorism is simply not logical. It is a war that needs to be fought with education and by other means. Edwards will be a much better candidate. Period.
Posted by: ntb29 | August 6, 2007 8:21 PM
Justwodering you dont get it do you. You say you are not afraid by the cave dwellers. It was the same thing back during the vietman war where instead of cave dwellers were people living in mud and thatched houses. Its not the medivel ages. Wake up. Here battles are not decided by who wins in the field warfare is far more complex. By simply wiping out your enemies doesnt mean you have won .Their legacy lives on. Those sympathetic to them(in this case about 1.3billon) will completely turn against you when you violate the soverinngity of loved muslim nation. And especially if that nation is a nuclear powere and has in the past demonstrated the capability of producing deadly terrorists at an exponentiol rate. Remeber what happend to the soviet union in Afghanistan because of their easteren neighbours To defeat an enemy you must defeat its ideaology first than himself
Posted by: EqanAsif | August 4, 2007 8:28 PM
"Well, yeah, considering that people living in caves planned and carried out the biggest mass murder in U.S. history on 9/11. I still can't believe, almost 6 years later, these people are still running around free."
My point was, which you apparently failed to grasp,that if people in the most powerful country in the worlds are so afraid of cave dwellers who have little of no resources but a great deal of evil intent, may be it is not a good idea to start a fight with someone who actually have some resources.
Posted by: justwondering | August 3, 2007 8:11 PM
All this controversy convinces me that America, as a whole, is mentally challenged. The mentally challenged in the White House and his idiotic exploits have taught no one about changing course and acting as a country with some morality and leadership. The days of acting as cowboys is over and to avoid dialogue ,even with the despots, is not a sign of maturity. All that I hear is...Bomb, bomb, bomb. What the hell does anyone think will the reaction be from the so called enemy. Grow up, for gods sake and talk some sense.
Posted by: callaspadeaspade | August 3, 2007 1:55 PM
I am overall an admirer of Obama, but it's disappointing to see him trying to appeal to the jingoistic instincts and naivety of certain segments in America. Yes, we all want to avenge 9.11., but at what cost? Pakistan is not a piece of meat on our cutting board; if we invade it, they WILL manage some ways to respond. Pakistan may not have helped us enough in capturing OBL now, but we can be hurt so much more if we turn their populace from an indifferent one into a hateful one. Do we really want to exchange OBL's body, "live or dead", with a raged mass that consists of 160 million Muslims with a few nuclear bombs and an assortment of missiles piled in their basement? Where is the world sympathy going to go when we invade, even under the noble banner of fighting terrorism? America is a young nation, and in many aspects, it can be just as "immature and naïve" as Obama--this is why we had Vietnam and now Iraq. How much longer it will take for us to learn the limitations of our power and instead take a broader perspective now and then?
Posted by: liyou_account | August 3, 2007 1:03 PM
"At the risk of being crude, are these people from the same country where everyone seems to living in mortal fear that a handful of people living in caves are planning to destroy their way of life."
Well, yeah, considering that people living in caves planned and carried out the biggest mass murder in U.S. history on 9/11. I still can't believe, almost 6 years later, these people are still running around free.
Posted by: dougcriss | August 3, 2007 11:57 AM
"The liberal nutjobs and socialist (democrats)on this blog need to pull their collective heads out of their butts. Pakistan is a proven nuclear power...they have demonstrated they have nuclear capability. Just what do you think would happen if a leader not friendly to the United States gained power there and we attacked uninvited? You idiots live in la la land."
So now the American military - the greatest fighting unit in the history of mankind - is supposed to afraid of ... Pakistan? Oh God, if that's true, we really are lost.
Posted by: dougcriss | August 3, 2007 11:53 AM
Judging by the number of posts in favour of bombing/invading Pakistan, most people on this board seem to be happy and in fact enthusiastic about the prospect. Several are quite cavalier about it by saying that there's nothing Pakistan could do other than complain about it.
At the risk of being crude, are these people from the same country where everyone seems to living in mortal fear that a handful of people living in caves are planning to destroy their way of life.
Posted by: justwondering | August 3, 2007 10:30 AM
Senator Obama is right in at least one thing in how to deal with Islamic terror ... that is to shift the limelight to Afghanistan-Pakistan. He is wrong to commit to operational tactics on how to do this.
Hot pursuit of Islamic insurgents into Pakistan-held Kashmir was something India's hard-line right-wing nationalists proposed when they first came to power in the late nineties. But it fizzled out in the face of the many hurdles, both military and political, and nobody talks about it anymore.
Senator Obama runs the same risk if he commits publicly to such tactics.
It seems to me he is not so much talking about what he would do were he to become President but more about how he can close the gap between him and Senator Clinton before the Primaries.
But by sounding muscular, he is fast becoming the Democratic Party's John McCain, pandering to right-wingers for support. He is bound to fail.
Posted by: sar1turbo | August 2, 2007 10:16 PM
The liberal nutjobs and socialist (democrats)on this blog need to pull their collective heads out of their butts. Pakistan is a proven nuclear power...they have demonstrated they have nuclear capability. Just what do you think would happen if a leader not friendly to the United States gained power there and we attacked uninvited? You idiots live in la la land.
Posted by: Disgusted | August 2, 2007 9:51 PM
Pakistan is a nuclear power with intercontinental missles. Chris Dod said it best "invading a nuclear power, who is an ally" is the height of stupidity.
Pakistan is not a new friend of the USA. Pakistan was a founding member of SEATO and CENTO (Asian NATOs), and a cold war ally that fought on the side of the US against the USSR. Pakistan also supported the USA in Korea and Vietnam. However Pakistan is the most mistreated "friend" in the world. It is un-American to treat friends they way the US has treated Pakistan. The USA and the West walked away from the Afghan mess and left more than 30,000 mercenary fighters that it had imported from the Arab world for Pakistan to deal with. On top of that sanctions were imposed on Pakistan right after the Afghan war, and Pakistanis felt like used "Kleenex". The world owes Pakistan a big debt for the destruction of the USSR. The Wazirisitan deal was approved by President Bush as not being anti-American. In the past few years more than 1000 Pakistani soldiers have lost their lives fighting the Taliban and the Al-Qaeda. Several hundred Al-Qaeda have been sent to the USA for trial including KSM (Khalid Sheikh Muhammad), who President Bush mentioned as the mastermind of the 911.
The Taliban was a construct of the CIA and was armed by the CIA, ISI and the Saudis as a counter to a resurgent Russian-backed communist party and an antidote to the civil war in Afghanistan. Pakistan supported the Taliban in conjunction with the CIA who were arming it right up till 2000. The Taliban were visiting Governor Bush's ranch in Texas. I need to point out the fact that Pakistani pleas for sanity in Afghanistan were ignored in 2001. Those who want to understand the irked Pakistani must know that the in 2001 the US installed a non-Pashtun, anti-Pakistan government in Kabul. The must also know that NATO allows the puppet Karzai government to continue to bark at Pakistan. The Pakistanis also know that despite being clod war allies for 50 years, Pakistan was threatened with annihilation in 2001. They also remember that $450 million paid for F-16s was never returned. Neither were the planes ever delivered. The delivery of Soya beans does not make up for paid-for but undelivered F-16s. Pakistanis also remember that the world and Afghanistan abandoned 2 million refugees in Pakistan. The Pakistanis also note that the world does not support the liberation of Kashmir To put salt on open wounds, the US signed a Nuclear deal with arch-rival-India, not the major Non-NATO ally (Pakistan). Many Pakistanis wonder why $30 Billion were offered to Turkey to support war in Iraq, while Pakistan only received 1 billion to Pakistan for fighting Al-Qaeda and the Talibaan. You need to look at the situation with sanity and calm. Selective amnesia is the favorite tactic those who have an agenda. President Ayub Khan in 1966 said is best in his best selling book Pakistanis need "Friends no Masters". Pakistanis desire want and cherish American friendship however Pakistanis are not the "little brown brothers" who can do the bidding of anyone. Pakistan is a 150 million strong nuclear state and a crucial pivot on the war on terror. President Musharraf said it quite bluntly, "no one can do more" and the West will go down on their knees and fail if Pakistan without the help of the ISI and the Pakistan army. Those who deal with Pakistan need to learn some manners and some appreciation of the sacrifice of 600 Pakistani soldiers who died fighting the war on terror. Pakistanis are sick and tired of lectures on "do more".Pakistan and Pakistanis cannot do more. If anyone can find others who can do more, please use them!
Actually the USA should do more in helping Pakistan and Pakistanis building a modern and moderate Muslim nation that is friendly to the world.
2 million Muslim kids died destroying the USSR. Today, Pakistan is suffering because of the failed policies of Britain and the USA. The blowback faced by many is because of the short sighted policies of London and Washington.
When the US planted an anti-Pakistan government in Kabul, Mr. Karzai (the mayor of Kabul) threatened Pakistan to cover his incompetence and inept narco-warlord government.
All military analysts agree that America cannot fight in Afghanistan without Pakistan. Pakistan helped the US as a friend, not as a paymaster. No amount of money is enough for lost Pakistani lives. It is insensitive to place a Dollar value on the heads of 700 Pakistani soldiers who lost their lives fighting the terrorists. It is crass to place a monetary value on the hundreds of Pakistani civilians who died because Pakistan has been supporting the American war in Afghanistan. Neither the government, nor the people nor the president of Pakistan are indentured servants of anyone. Pakistan was helping the US as a friend and an ally.
Selective amnesia fails to mention that for the past 60 years, Pakistan has been supporting American policies, and was the founding member of SEATO and CENTO. Pakistan was a cold war ally fighting the USSR and the defeat of the "Evil Empire" in Pakistan led to the implosion of the USSR. 2 million Pakistanis, Afghans and other died in defeating the USSR in the 90s. Back then Pakistan paid more than $450 for F-16s. It is a matter of historical record that Pakistan never got ht money back and did not get the planes either. Then one wonders why there is anti-Americanism in the world!
For helping the US in Afghanistan, an anti-Pakistan government was installed in Kabul that proliferated drugs and failed to take control of the country!! It is articles like this that perpetuates a feeling of un-appreciation among Pakistanis, and reinforces the image of ingrate Americans. This ungratefulness, and the "do more" mantra creates anti-Americanism in South Asia. Because of its persistently, invective, biased and bad reporting, the paper is fast becoming irrelevant as far is news is concerned.
For all of President Musharraf's faults, Pakistan is forging ahead with a 7% growth rate and record foreign reserves. Pakistan is the fourth largest state in the world, and a nuclear state advancing at a phenomenal rate of economic growth. She has motorways that can only be the envy of South Asia, and is building bullet trains and huge new cities in Baluchistan and Sindh. Pakistan is attracting huge investments in automobile and technology. Just in the past few weeks Dubai based companies are investing $26 Billion Dollars in two islands. Pakistan's FTA with China will be a boon to Pakistani and Chinese industrialists who are setting up 6 Chinese industrial zones in Pakistan to build and then export Chinese goods from Pakistani soil. Powers outside Pakistan want to destroy this friendship.
Pakistan will move ahead and is moving ahead.
Posted by: moinansari | August 2, 2007 9:44 PM
Barack Husein Osama is not naive. He is a puppet simply repeating the lines given to him. Thank you for showing us your true colors. Now that we know you people will not elect him.
Posted by: moinansari | August 2, 2007 9:38 PM
We must hunt Bin Laden down and kill him. Anyone who is protecting him is harboring a criminal. Pakistan needs to be told in no uncertain terms--either they take care of him or we will do it for them.
Posted by: cakewalk | August 2, 2007 9:31 PM
We must hunt Bin Laden down and kill him. Anyone who is protecting him is harboring a criminal. Pakistan needs to be told in no uncertain terms--either they take care of him or we will do it for them.
Posted by: cakewalk | August 2, 2007 9:31 PM
Here's the honest truth....despite the Nixon years and the promise "never again"...our leaders are liars.
And the first one to tell it like it should be told gets caned (yes caned) by all sides!
Nothing new here, liars will always previal till they are held accountable!
Posted by: ita8111 | August 2, 2007 9:12 PM
Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and now Pakistan and of course Palestine. What is common among all these nations. Then we ponder! why do they hate us?. The issue of Al-Quida is not a miltary issue but of CIAs failure.
I thought Presidency is a highly diplomatic position, but we run it in the western movie style. So, we will invade a country that has more than half the population of US and is nuclear. This country is located right by China another nuclear country which has political interest in Pakistan. So, if we get credible inteligence that Osama was seen in Russia, we will invade Russia. We spend billions of our tax dollars on CIA and FBI, how can we not capture a thug like Osama, when we can grab Saddam from a cave. Afterall these Talibans were our buddies in 80s when soviets were there in Afghanistan. All these miltary adventure talks are like killing a fly with the largest canon. We can drop cluster bombs and kill everyone in Pakistan. Would this stop the extremism. There is an easier way of handling this issue. 1. Support democracy in Pakistan 2. Buy those tribal leaders, they are not that expensive 3. Resolve the issue of Kashmir according to Kashmiris wishes. The goodwill it will bring will be enormous 4. Support people of Pakistan not military dictatorships
5. Resolve the issue of Palestine
Posted by: syed_fayyaz_hassan | August 2, 2007 9:07 PM
I think the issue is worth look at. Obama at least has some solutions, rather than George W. or the rest of Democratic candidates for that matter. Hilary will just be more of the status quo- too timid for me.
You have to admire Obama for being a man of his principles and not being afraid of saying what he really thinks. It's so lacking in the political arena.
Another country, however, should really be getting this much, and more attenion- Saudi Arabia. Most of the 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, yet good ol W. is there hanging out with their leader at his ranch. They have been pulling the wool over our eyes for years. Seriously, how can we continue this lie that they are an ally?????
Posted by: felixia | August 2, 2007 8:53 PM
Would somebody please tell Congress to stay the HELL out of our Nation's Foreign Policy while WE have TROOPS positioned in harm's way!
40 Years ago the stupid SOB would have been thrown in Jail and / or possibly SHOT!
I've said it too many times for it to come as a surprise to ANYONE: He is a CONGRESSIONAL LAWYER!
Billary is a Congressional Lawyer!
Edward's is JUST a Lawyer!
NO LAWYER IS SKILLED FOR THE EXECTIVE SEAT!
I just wish THEY WOULD STOP PROVING IT!!!!!
Hey Idiots in Congress-STFU and just pass some decent Legislation if you are even remotely capable of doing YOUR Jobs!
Like say Ninny Peloser, introducing HR:1940-Birthright Citizenship Act!-So that maybe we DON'T have to SPEND MILLIONS more providing Medical Care to Illegal's Kids, they never could afford to even pay for the Pediatrician in the FIRST place!
Nancy-YOU have set Women back 50 Years!-I'll die before I ever see another Woman Speaker!-Thanks to YOU!
Posted by: rat-the | August 2, 2007 8:48 PM
So let me get this straight. Bush says we won't wait for a "permission slip" from others to wage war in Iraq, but Obama is supposed to get permission from Pakistan to go after the people who killed 3,000 of our citizens? Screw Pakistan. If they stand in our way as we hunt down Bin Laden, then maybe they're not our allies after all.
Posted by: dougcriss | August 2, 2007 8:37 PM
The US can't chew what it's got in its mouth already and now there is talk of it invading yet another country? Not just any country. No sir! a country that is twice as big as Iraq, a thousand times more mountainous than Iraq, has six times the population of Iraq and just to spice up the challenge, a nuclear-armed country with the 6th largest army in the world. Does he really believe that he could quarantine the unintended (but easily predictable) consequences of such an invasion? After Iraq?! If I understand this plan correctly, it is to invade and control an area that seen the best that Genghis Khan, the British Empire and Soviet Russia could throw at but could never control. Perhaps he should have a little chat with, oh, try the CIA about the problems they have had operating in that area - they have been there for over 40 years. The US does not have enough money, time or resolve to go in there. Wars in this area of the world never stop; even intra-family disputes can last ten generations. Another little thing, it's a sovereign nation but hey, why would a US president not be allowed to invade and destroy any sovereign nation they disliked?
Posted by: d.home | August 2, 2007 7:48 PM
Good. They are debating substance.
Posted by: KC11 | August 2, 2007 7:47 PM
every body was a piece of barack.
Posted by: pm_bonsu | August 2, 2007 7:37 PM
At least Senator Obama has managed to provoke President Pervez Musharraf to stomp, snort, bellow and holler a little bit like he is actually alive. That's more than anyone else has been able to accomplish.
Posted by: Vunderlutz | August 2, 2007 7:37 PM
two things very quickly: I will never trust the safety & security of my family to any copperhead democrats, but you folks can it is your choice. 2nd, i thought Mr Balz's insight into next year's election was very insightful. I want to see who in this country would trust edwards, clinton or obama with our national security. they can pretend to be tough all they want. But the fact still remains, they are only tough when it comes to hurling ad hominen attacks on The man who spends most of his time trying to ensure that these ingrates & their families are not eviscerated by friendly jihadis who they want to free from guantanamo. what a country eh?
Posted by: tiecorp | August 2, 2007 7:23 PM
Putting a Wahtabi in the position of commander in chief is equivalent to putting a fox to safeguard the hen houseAnyone but Obama Hyssein!
Posted by: wordsmith11320 | August 2, 2007 7:22 PM
All I have to say is we haven't been attacked since 9/11, maybe Bush got lucky but for some weird reason I'm kind of glad it was him handling it instead of Gore.
Posted by: liatlinde | August 2, 2007 7:14 PM
liatlinde it is just you, and rush and O'Really and Hannity. You know, the people who do your thinking for you. BTW, Iraq never attacked us.
Posted by: acindc007 | August 2, 2007 6:47 PM
SO let me get this straight, Osama is hiding in Pakistan, Mushie will not go get him and Bush goes into Iraq instead, so when Obama says what many Americans have long beleived, the Dems and Pubs call him a warmonger? Okay, next time your wife is raped, make sure you use diplomatic means to get him out of your neighbors house. Face it, you folks are nothing but a bunch of partisan clowns! Stop putting your parties over the country!
Posted by: acindc007 | August 2, 2007 6:45 PM
Why is it so controversial for a candidate for President to advocate military action against Al Queda which killed 3,000 Americans on 9/11? The first rule of warfare is to defeat your enemy. The U.S cannot stand by while Al Queda rebuilds in Pakistan. The purpose of Obama's speech is to give Pakistan a warning that they will no longer be treated with kid gloves. For all the people who are criticizing his speech just think of their reaction if there is another terrorist attack on U.S soil.
Posted by: steven08817 | August 2, 2007 6:34 PM
We already have CIA un-manned armed drones flying around Pakistan and are doing our best not to hurt anyone's feelings because we're already so hated by the populace over Palestinians & Iraq & don't want to give any control we may have with Musharraf whos running on political fumes. I agree with Obama - so what about feelings & this tenious relationship. Send all troops tonight from Iraq into Pakistan - hunt down our real enemies & show the Taliban a good example of whos next. Kennedy was inexperienced with foreign policy too - we're only talking about this today because he was President & did the right thing by standing up to Russia without going for the nuke button during the Cuban missile crisis. I'm still undecided, but Obama takes a strike away from prior misteps in my book with this one.
Posted by: garyjhale | August 2, 2007 6:28 PM
The difference between Iraq and Obama's talk of potentially going into Pakistan is huge. If there is a country right now that is harboring the people who attacked us on 9/11, and the other is a country that never harbored them. 90% (if not higher) would love America to go in and get Bin Laden if Pakistan won't. 6 years is roo long. Also, Obama never went to a madrasses. Stop throwing out false information. Its a sign of ignorance or potential-bigotry
Posted by: mcmahon10 | August 2, 2007 6:11 PM
Don't fixate on Musharraf. He will join his extended family (his brother and his son)in the US if things get too hot.
The problem is the Pakistani military establishment (especially those in the mid and lower levels with strong roots in Pakistan and don't have the option of jumping ship like Musharraf). This military establishment (especially the ISI) is what calls the shots in Pakistan.
The Pakistani military establishment's current short term policy seems to be do as little (of what America is asking of it) as it can get away with as possible. Their long term goal is to wait out the current American pressure while sticking to what they have perfected over decades which is to train and export Islamic terrorists. These terrorists who are under limited control of the Pakistani establishment are then used for purposes of low intensity conflict with their neighbors (India and Afghanistan) and as a cash cow to extract military and economic benefits from the west (in return for reining in the said terrorists).
So there is a perverse benefit to the Pakistani establishment to perpetuate the status quo. The only way to break this status quo, IMHO, is for the aggrieved parties (US, Europe, India, Afghanistan) to band together and drain the swamp that is Pakistan. There would be a high cost to be paid especially by India. But the end result, Pakistan being absorbed into a secular, democratic Indian Union would be worth the effort. America will gain by democratizing and westernizing a large chunk of humanity (in its mold) and gaining access to a large market.
Posted by: peddagunnu | August 2, 2007 6:01 PM
Is it just me. When a Republican talks about invading a country, people cry murderers but when a Democrat talks about invading another country, people call it peacekeeping.
Posted by: liatlinde | August 2, 2007 5:55 PM
priceisright - while I agree that Hillary, and not the other candidates, are pouncing on Obama's words like raw meat, I have to say she's right. The first diplomatic contact between two countries should never be between the leaders directly. First you send subordinates who test the waters, feel things out. If they make mistakes they can always be dismissed as the mistakes of underlings and corrected. Only at the later stages do the people at the top meet. Even with Sadat and Begin there were lower level contacts before Sadat flew to Tel Aviv in '77.
I hate to use the C-word, but Carter was proof that purity of intention, like Obama's, is not enough. You need to have savvy, experience and the willingness even to get a little blood on your hands so they won't have a lot on them later. How many lives in the Middle East have been lost because Carter just had to piss off the Iranians by letting the Shah into the US for his operation? A Hillary might have been able to salvage some relationship by kissing off the Shah and providing some stability - no hostages, no jihad, less support for Hezbollah. Obama's already a good man, but he needs to learn more if he wants to be a good president. If he can, then he'll win my vote back. Till then, I'm shifting to Hillary.
Posted by: kargovroom | August 2, 2007 5:48 PM
I think that Sen. Obama is doing exactly what he needs to do right now to win the primary. He's putting forth proposals that are making news. That YouTube debate blew open the door to the primary elections so that they're finally rumbling. I think that this tragedy in Minn (God bless them all) has shifted the focus he'd otherwise have w/this speech. And that's a good thing. Becuase the "naive" and "irresponsible" attacks Biden's pressing forward so that Clinton doesn't have to attack will be fact checked. And when people hear about this they'll hear something they agree w/in the most part IMO.
He's got a lot of ground to cover to get through Feb. and he's got to do a lot more retail polotics but I can't think of a false note in this campaign so far. The Obama camp seems to be not only learning and adapting but getting better and gearing up for a real fight this fall over the issues that matter.
I like them both and it's getting really interesting now.
Posted by: Rhoda | August 2, 2007 5:41 PM
It wasn't ok for Bush to enter Iraq based on intelligence of wmd, which the UN and everyone else believed were there, but it is ok to invade our ally, and to talk about it in the press before we do it? Naive and stupid.
Posted by: tdrent | August 2, 2007 5:36 PM
It wasn't ok for Bush to enter Iraq based on intelligence of wmd, which the UN and everyone else believed were there, but it is ok to invade our ally, and to talk about it in the press before we do it? Naive and stupid.
Posted by: tdrent | August 2, 2007 5:35 PM
"Obama has not learned from the failures of American militarism in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his supporters havent either." What Obama has learned is that Bin Laden isn't in Afghanistan or Iraq. Bush has been "pushing" Musharraf to combat the terrorists, Musharraf has been adverting any action by blaming the tribal leaders, such a cry baby. Again, Obama is being open about reality - if they found evidence that Bin Laden or any other officials were there, they would try to kill them.
Posted by: ndkintzel | August 2, 2007 5:30 PM
I appreciate knowing where Obama stands on this issue, unlike Chris Dodd who seems comfortable avoiding questions.
["As commander in chief, I would take the steps necessary to defend the American people, beginning with hunting down Osama bin Laden and stopping terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons. But I will not declare my intentions for specific military action to the media in the context of a political campaign"] (Senator Chris Dodd).
God forbid a presidential candidate should tell us where he actually stands, the American people certainly aren't used to that, but maybe it's time we started demanding answers to these questions before we put these people in our White House.
Of course all the other candidates or their campaign managers are defending their nonanswers to this hard question by saying they're not going to telegraph what they would do, playing this off as if they were being asked a question on a tactical matter, instead of a statement of deeper principle. No surprise that Obama's inadvertent openness has got the other candidates running for cover.
I submit that the use of a nuclear weapon, any nuclear weapon, cannot be confined to the realm of internal tactical matters, it's far too grave a matter for that.
Posted by: cbr900rr98y | August 2, 2007 5:29 PM
Obama is inexperienced and should go back and start as a state Sen. He is in US Sen because his opponent dropped out
Posted by: aryansa | August 2, 2007 5:27 PM
So Senator Barak Hussein Obama, former attendee of a Madrassa school, wants us to attack a nation we are currently allied with?
Keep this warmonger far away from the White House!
Posted by: NeverLeft | August 2, 2007 5:26 PM
Note to the Washington Post:
Please stop referring to General Musharraf as "President Pervez Musharraf ". While he may have bestowed that title upon himself, he is not the elected leader of a Republic.
The title of president must by definition be reserved to those who acquire it through legitimate means, and not through a military coup. Each time the Washington Post and the other journalistic entities mistakenly refer to this man as a president, it undermines your credibility, and corrupts the definition of the word.
Posted by: cbr900rr98y | August 2, 2007 5:24 PM
Hillary crowd buzz words- Naive, inexperienced, undiplomatic. Same old politics, keep repeating in order to tag the opposition even if its not true. (See: GWB, Cheney, Rumsfeld)Thats why people are looking for a fresh start, they are tired of the watching and hearing the same game.
Posted by: priceisright | August 2, 2007 5:21 PM
Naive or ignorance is not a crime nor sin, but can we really afford to elect someone who is naive and ignorant to lead us to a dangerous and unchartered future? Think of the safety of our children and grand children before you say yes or no. Think of it twice or better, three times before you decide. Then one last time, do yourself a favor. Ask your conscious: is it really worth taking such a chance and can you live with it if something should have happened to your children and grand children? May God bless our nation and give us wisdom in helping us make such an important decision.
Posted by: signaturepieces | August 2, 2007 5:15 PM
mbeck1- you make some good points. If I'm not mistaken, Musharraff had a meeting with Bhutto recently. I know I saw her pic recently...
Posted by: bsimon | August 2, 2007 5:14 PM
It is evident how naive , inexperienced and undiplomatic Sen. Obama is.! This is just a false try or cry on his aprt to catch up with democratic front runner(also unelctable). Can we afford a thrid front? What happend to winning in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dan.
Posted by: dmfarooq | August 2, 2007 5:12 PM
Obama has not learned from the failures of American militarism in Iraq and Afghanistan, and his supporters havent either.
Posted by: jaduboy | August 2, 2007 5:02 PM
Though there would be massive protests following American military action, I think privately that Musharraf and many Pakistanis would be happy to get rid of the terrorists in the tribal areas.
On another point about the recent Red Mosque conflict, the extremists are seeking to gain power, even though the vast majority (from what I have read) of Pakistanis do not support them. Up until the Red Mosque uprising, Musharraf was trying to hold them at bay with soft power (limited military action and appeasement). The Red Mosque incident actually gives him an opportunity to act forcefully against the extremists. However, his political fortunes have eroded significantly in the last year. If he were wise, he would invite the exiled parties (Benazir Bhutto's PPP and Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (N)) back to form an alliance against the extremists. Unfortunately, such a move is extremely unlikely because he thinks that only he can make rational decisions and run the country.
Posted by: mbeck1 | August 2, 2007 4:57 PM
Hey, Musharraf, you don't like what Sen. Obama said, then handle your business. And I'm not talking about that scrap you keep having with India over Jammu and Kashmir.
If you don't want us coming into Pakistan should the situation call for it, then break up the al-Qaeda camps or step off.
I didn't see Musharraf making this fuss when the 'Bush Doctrine' was being rolled out full force back in 2002.
Posted by: jcbcmb68 | August 2, 2007 4:54 PM
Obama, in an episode of premature exclamation, has finally lived down to his key vulnerability - lack of experience. Inexplicably abandoning his usual cerebral approach, he jingoistically appealed to widely noted Hillary's high school educated supporters. The strident but ultimately clumsy language will cost him and Hillary won't have to go punch for punch with him for much longer; Obama's approach is indefensible (publicly) and his supporters will begin to fear the drop of the other shoe...
Posted by: marquez_ram | August 2, 2007 4:50 PM
Honestly, I don't believe Sen. Obama has said anything that any Democratic or Republican candidate has not already said or written into law over the past several years. Simply repeating you didn't authorize the war is as trite as Guiliani constantly invoking 9/11. Guess what? I was against the war before it began, too. Does that mean America is ready for me to lead? Let's grow up, electorate. I have no reservations about voting for Obama in '08, though I believe Hillary has the nomination as well as the general election locked up. Obama seems to be creating some enthusiam among young and or unlikely voters, which will augment Hillary's support when she names him her running mate. It is disappointing to hear why so many people like Obama, however. None of the responses I've received of yet had anything to do with ideas or initiatives but more about how "he's a new start." Anyone who knows anything knows that not one of these candidates, save for Dennis Kucinich, will bring a "fresh start." That being said, let's stop behaving like eleven year olds and begin to demand some ideas, or some tentative proposals. P.S. Bloomberg running as a third-party candidate will result in defeat, but will hopefully set a healthy new trend in politics. We really do need more formidable third- and fourth-party campaigns to begin to emerge on the Senate, Congressional and Gubernatorial levels. Therefore, my prediction is that Bloomberg will use the enthusiasm he has generated in order to fill departing Sen. Clinton's spot on the Hill. And, as a New Yorker, I look forward to Mike stirring things up in D.C. P.P.S. I'm a little disgusted with Fred Thompson standing in front of American flags as big as my apartment while talking about terror, yet insisting he hasn't decided if he's running. Clearly, he's using this as a means to collect more money while avoiding FEC regulations and diverting your energy toward the stale "is he going to run?" question. It's cheap and he's doing it in order to dodge real accusations. If this fat loser even picks up 40% of the popular vote, I'm throwing hands!
Posted by: legan00 | August 2, 2007 4:50 PM
It is curious that so many people are so hell-bent on misrepresenting Senator Obama's words. With regards to acting on actionable intelligence to take out UBL in the event that Pakistan would not, he has articulated existing US policy which none of the other candidates - of either party - would apparently differ. Yet the defenders of current policy, expected GOP candidate policy and expected Dem candidate policy all try to characterize Obama's policy as something different. Why is that?
Posted by: bsimon | August 2, 2007 4:36 PM
The other candidates, Republican and Democrat, seem not to have noticed that we have been pouring an ocean of American money into the corrupt government of Pakistan, and we have received little or nothing in return. If the present dictatorship is unable to find and destroy Osama and his minions, then we should de-fund them and use available means to find and capture or kill the people who attacked our country. Does anyone - outside of a small band of absolute pacifists - really believe that we have no right to go after the killers in their lairs? This is not an attack on the government of Pakistan, unless one concludes that Osama has become, defacto, the government of that country. Obama is right.
Posted by: llfwilliamd | August 2, 2007 4:34 PM
Dear Reporter Balz and Washingon Post Readers:
This comment will followup my just posted comment supporting the need to capture Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda in Pakistan, rather than continue to sacrifice our US GI's and national treasure in Iraq.
No Iraq in the history of mankind has ever attacked the U.S. homeland.
By contrast, Osama Bin Laden and his 9/11 Al Qaeda co-conspirators in Pakistan:
1) attacked the U.S. homeland on 9/11/2001.
2) have been involved in/carried out 13 of the 16 major international terrorist attacks after 9/11/2001.
3) among Osama Bin Laden's post-9/11/2001 major international terrorist attacks are:
A) the London metro attacks in 2005, B) the Shoe Bomber headed for Miami trying to blow up the planefull of Americans in 2002, C) the attempts to blow up planes leaving Britain for the U.S. in 2007, D) the two different major attacks in Saudi Arabia in 2002 and 2005, E) the Stinger missile fired at the Israeli passenger jet in Kenya circa 2004, F) the attacks in Morocco in 2002, G) the attacks in Turkey circa 2003, H) possibly the Spanish railroad bombings in 2004, I) the two separate major attacks in Egypt in 2005-2006, among many others.
3) Osama Bin Laden, on published audiotape, just as he did prior to his 9/11/2001 attacks on the United States homeland, promised to attack the United States homeland soon, from his base in Pakistan.
I submit, for your consideration, that the foregoing shows that we have nothing to fear from anyone in Iraq, and we have everything to fear from Osama Bin Laden, and Al Qaeda, in Pakistan.
Posted by: holmesrip2 | August 2, 2007 4:32 PM
Any policy has risks. But Bush*s policy was to invade a different country, that had neither WMDs nor Osama bin Laden. Like, if we*re upset with Venezuela, then let*s invade Ecuador.
Obama*s policy proposal is his attempt to get our foreign and military policy back to being aimed at the REAL danger.
Posted by: cwh2 | August 2, 2007 4:27 PM
If we bombed high level Al Qaeda targets from the air, IN PAKISTANI TERRITORY, what would Musharraf be able to do? Nothing, but complain. Obama's tough rhetoric shows the world that others besides only candidates with an R in front of their name can fight and protect the country.
Posted by: BadBilly | August 2, 2007 4:26 PM
Doesn't he know that Pakistan has a "real" army and air force and nuclear weapons? What does he expect them to do when we invade their national sovereignty? "the need to take action across the border in Pakistan" means invasion, if you are Pakistani and not an egocentric American. Talk about Bush/Cheney thinking!!--unless, you believe in Nixonspeak re: Cambodia Hillary's comments are even more disappointing. She passes a chance to look like a statesman(woman) so she can prove she's just as macho as the boys.
Posted by: drjane2005 | August 2, 2007 4:20 PM
Obama is naive, inexperienced and corrupt? People are so used to desribing GWB they can't help but say the same thing over and over.
Read the text of Senator Obama's speech delivered yesterday and you'll find a sophisticated, well-defined approach to fighting the extremists. For those who don't like the tough talk towards Al qaeda, sac up!
Imagine that, a candidate with a real plan.
Posted by: BadBilly | August 2, 2007 4:19 PM
Obama, a clear-headed Democrat. You go, Obama! Otherwise, here is a definition:
Richard Carlson: a zombie has no will of its own. you see them sometimes walking around blindly with dead eyes, following orders, not knowing what they do, not caring.
Bob Hope: you mean like democrats?
Posted by: IIntgrty | August 2, 2007 4:15 PM
You guys are reckless. Pakistan is a nuclear power and has one of the largest populations in the world and you would violate their territorial integrity?
Are you proposing that it is OK for countries to launch raids in other countries without permission?
Is it OK for Russia to launch a lightning raid on London to apprehend a certain billionaire they would like to capture?
This is a very slippery slope we're standing on the top of.
Posted by: michael1977 | August 2, 2007 4:14 PM
HEY CEREBRAL1 IF YOU DON'T KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OSAMA AND OBAMA, THEN GO BACK TO YOUR MOMMA
Posted by: BadBilly | August 2, 2007 4:13 PM
What happened to President Bush's statement that all seemed to agree on in 2001, "You are either are on our side or the terrorist's side." If you harbor bin Laden and Al Qaeda in your territory than you are on their side. Too bad Bush and all the other candidates from both parties only talk tough about getting Al Qaeda but don't actually do anything. Pretending they are in Iraq is the equivilent of sticking your head in the sand.
Posted by: info4 | August 2, 2007 4:09 PM
Dear Reporter Balz and Washington Post Readers:
I agree with Senator Obama that "we are fighting the wrong war!" and our troops should be capturing the 9/11 attackers--Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda--in Pakistan, instead of creating havoc in Iraq (once we discovered there were no weapons of mass destruction to justify a self-defense war there).
Which, of all, Presidential Candidates is best on national defense and national security?
In my opinion, it is now Senator Barack Obama, who insists on the most basic war strategy everyone agrees upon--we must capture the 9/11 attackers, Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda leadership in Pakistan, before they carry out Osama Bin Laden's January, 2006, audiotape, promise, to attack the U.S. homeland again!
Posted by: holmesrip2 | August 2, 2007 4:04 PM
I thought that Obama was just a naive, inexperienced doofus whose massive corruption in Illinois has been shielded by the liberal media.
Now, we see that Obama is a naive, inexperienced AND DANGEROUS doofus whose massive corruption in Illinois has been shieled by the liberal media.
Posted by: gideonssword79 | August 2, 2007 4:04 PM
Mr. Obama is just saying these things to get attention.
Posted by: liatlinde | August 2, 2007 4:02 PM
So if all the other candidates would do the same thing, what is the fuss? They show the lack of courage of their convictions if they won't admit to the voters what they would do. I like the fact that Obama is not being coy with us. He is an honest guy compared to the others who would dodge the issue and then condemn him.
Posted by: goldie2 | August 2, 2007 3:54 PM
So if all the other candidates would do the same thing, what is the fuss? They show the lack of courage of their convictions if they won't admit to the voters what they would do. I like the fact that Obama is not being coy with us. He is an honest guy compared to the others who would dodge the issue and then condemn him.
Posted by: goldie2 | August 2, 2007 3:54 PM
Pakistan,as everyone knows has had several bouts of military dictatorships, the latestis that of Musharraf's.Just as the British colonial lpower was powerless in dealing with the tribals of the North west Frontier, their successor Pakistan finds it equally difficult if not impossible to rein in these basically lawless feudal set ups.Any attempt to clean up Waziristan of Obama bin Laden will have to be preceded by evacuating the peace loving among the tribals to safe locations and then launch a blitzkreig so that Obama and his henchmen wouldbe donewith once and for all. To aliencate the people ofPakistan before any drastic action will be politically puerile, as many muslim countries, takeit forgranted that theU.S.A isnow Shaitan aka Satan. Divakaran,not a muslim from Bangalore.
Posted by: cerebral1 | August 2, 2007 3:32 PM
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His Democratic rivals essentially agree with message to Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf. (Reuters) It...
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Senate Sends Ethics Bill to Bush
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WASHINGTON -- The Senate sent President Bush a bill Thursday to make lawmakers pay for private plane rides and disclose more about their efforts to fund pet projects and raise money from lobbyists.
Some advocates called it the biggest advance in congressional ethics in decades. But Bush received it coolly, saying it does not go far enough.
The president has "serious concerns" about the measure and has not decided whether to sign it, said White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore.
Democrats, however, hailed the 83-14 Senate vote as proof they are fulfilling their 2006 campaign promise to crack down on lobbying abuses, which sent some lawmakers and a prominent lobbyist to prison. Like the House, the Senate passed the bill by a margin that would overcome a presidential veto, assuming no lawmakers switched sides.
The bill would require lawmakers seeking targeted spending projects, or earmarks, to publicize their plans in advance. Lawmakers and political committees also would have to disclose those lobbyists who raise $15,000 or more for them within a six-month period by bundling donations from many people.
The Democratic-crafted bill would bar lawmakers from taking gifts from lobbyists or their clients. Former senators and high-ranking executive branch officials would have to wait two years before lobbying Congress; ex-House members would have to wait one year.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., called it "the most sweeping reform bill since Watergate."
But several Republicans said it fell short of requiring full disclosure of earmarks, which have soared in number _ and controversy _ in recent years. Some earmarks fund popular civic projects that boost a lawmaker's re-election prospects. Others help large contractors or other companies that hire lobbyists and donate to campaigns.
Bush feels the earmark disclosure requirements are "toothless," Lawrimore said. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., agreed during the Senate debate.
The bill "has completely gutted the earmark reform provisions we overwhelmingly passed in January," McCain said. He broke with former allies on ethics matters, including Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.
"By any measure," Feingold said in the debate, the bill "must be considered landmark legislation."
Under the bill, lawmakers seeking earmarks would have to publicize their plans 48 hours before a Senate vote. They would have to certify they have no direct financial interest in the items.
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WASHINGTON -- The Senate sent President Bush a bill Thursday to make lawmakers pay for private plane rides and disclose more about their efforts to fund pet projects and raise money from lobbyists.
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In Terrorism-Law Case, Chiquita Points to U.S.
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On April 24, 2003, a board member of Chiquita International Brands disclosed to a top official at the Justice Department that the king of the banana trade was evidently breaking the nation's anti-terrorism laws.
Roderick M. Hills, who had sought the meeting with former law firm colleague Michael Chertoff, explained that Chiquita was paying "protection money" to a Colombian paramilitary group on the U.S. government's list of terrorist organizations. Hills said he knew that such payments were illegal, according to sources and court records, but said that he needed Chertoff's advice.
Chiquita, Hills said, would have to pull out of the country if it could not continue to pay the violent right-wing group to secure its Colombian banana plantations. Chertoff, then assistant attorney general and now secretary of homeland security, affirmed that the payments were illegal but said to wait for more feedback, according to five sources familiar with the meeting.
Justice officials have acknowledged in court papers that an official at the meeting said they understood Chiquita's situation was "complicated," and three of the sources identified that official as Chertoff. They said he promised to get back to the company after conferring with national security advisers and the State Department about the larger ramifications for U.S. interests if the corporate giant pulled out overnight.
Sources close to Chiquita say that Chertoff never did get back to the company or its lawyers. Neither did Larry D. Thompson, the deputy attorney general, whom Chiquita officials sought out after Chertoff left his job for a federal judgeship in June 2003. And Chiquita kept making payments for nearly another year.
What transpired at the Justice Department meeting is now a central issue in a criminal probe. According to these sources' account, the Bush administration was pulled in competing directions, perhaps because its desire to avoid undermining a newly elected, friendly Colombian government conflicted with its frequent public assertions that supporting a terrorist group anywhere constitutes a criminal offense and a foreign policy mistake.
Chiquita's executives left the meeting convinced that the government had not clearly demanded that the payments stop. Federal prosecutors, however, are now weighing whether to charge Hills; Robert Olson, who was then Chiquita's general counsel; former Chiquita CEO Cyrus Friedheim; and other former company officials for approving the illegal payments, according to records and sources close to the probe.
The company has already pleaded guilty to making $1.7 million in payments to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), and it agreed to pay a $25 million fine. But last week, lawyers for the former Chiquita executives sent letters to the Justice Department, asserting that their clients did not intentionally break the law but believed they were waiting for an answer from the highest levels of the Bush administration.
Federal prosecutors have said in court papers that Chertoff and his deputies at Justice made clear in the April 2003 meeting that Chiquita was violating the law and that "the payments . . . could not continue." Government sources say that lawyers at Justice headquarters and the U.S. attorney's office in Washington were incensed by what they considered the flagrant continuation of these payoffs, despite the warnings.
Chiquita International's lawyer in this case, Eric H. Holder Jr., said he is concerned that company leaders who chose the difficult path of disclosing the corporation's illegal activity to prosecutors are now facing the possibility of prosecution.
"If what you want to encourage is voluntary self-disclosure, what message does this send to other companies?" asked Holder, deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration. "Here's a company that voluntarily self-discloses in a national security context, where the company gets treated pretty harshly, [and] then on top of that, you go after individuals who made a really painful decision."
Chertoff, through spokesman Russ Knocke, refused to discuss the case. "I'm declining all comment, because there is an investigation ongoing," Knocke said.
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On April 24, 2003, a board member of Chiquita International Brands disclosed to a top official at the Justice Department that the king of the banana trade was evidently breaking the nation's anti-terrorism laws.
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Lead Paint Leads to Fisher-Price Toy Recall
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Fisher-Price is recalling 83 types of toys, including the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters, because their paint contains excessive amounts of lead.
The recall involves 967,000 plastic toys for preschool-age children, made by a Chinese vendor and sold in the United States from May to August.
It was the latest in a wave of recalls that has heightened global concern about the safety of products made in China.
David Allmark, general manager of Fisher-Price, a unit of Mattel, said the problem was detected by an internal probe and reported to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Fisher-Price and the CPSC issued statements saying parents should keep suspect toys away from children and contact the company.
The recall is particularly alarming because Mattel, known for its strict quality controls, is considered a role model in the toy industry for how it operates in China.
Allmark said the recall was "fast-tracked," which allowed the company to quarantine two-thirds of the toys before the products made it to store shelves. The recall was troubling, he said, because Fisher-Price has had a long-standing relationship with the Chinese vendor, which had applied decorative paint to the toys.
"We are still concluding the investigation, how it happened," Allmark said. "But there will be a dramatic investigation on how this happened. We will learn from this."
Children's products found to have more than 0.06 percent lead accessible to users are subject to a recall.
The recall was the first for Fisher-Price and Mattel involving lead paint. It is the largest recall for Mattel since 1998, when Fisher-Price had to remove about 10 million Power Wheels from toy stores.
Owners of a recalled toy can exchange it for a voucher for another product of the same value. Pictures of some of the recalled toys are at the Web site, http://www.service.mattel.com. For more information, call the Fisher-Price recall line at 800-916-4498.
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Fisher-Price is recalling 83 types of toys, including the popular Big Bird, Elmo, Dora and Diego characters, because their paint contains excessive amounts of lead.
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At 40, Torres Is Back In the Fast Lane
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INDIANAPOLIS, Aug. 1 -- Just after 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Dara Torres unrolled her yellow yoga mat on a patch of grass near the Indiana University Natatorium and moaned. She had been awake since 6 a.m., tossing restlessly in her hotel bed. Her shoulders ached. Her sore ankles cracked when she walked. She felt nauseous, so she rubbed her hands over a midsection that had been swollen by pregnancy only 16 months earlier.
At 40, Torres felt like a tired, middle-age woman, which presented a major problem this particular morning. In a few hours, Torres was scheduled to swim the 100-meter freestyle at the USA Swimming National Championships -- a race she considered crucial in her attempt to qualify for a fifth Olympic Games. After spending more than six years out of the water, Torres would compete at nationals against an elite field consisting of swimmers less than half her age. She lay down on her yoga mat and turned on her pink iPod to listen to Led Zeppelin.
Two physical therapists, who work full time for Torres, bent over her and began the daily process of coaxing her body into swimming condition. Anne Tierney squeezed and rotated Torres's quadriceps. Steven Sierra pumped Torres's rib cage to force toxins out of her lungs.
"We're trying to take some years off of you," Tierney said.
"Yeah," Torres said. "I guess that might be good."
In her historic attempt to become the first swimmer older than 40 to compete in the Olympics, Torres has devoted herself to overcoming age. She hired a team of experts to facilitate her comeback: two physical therapists; two masseurs; a strength coach; a nanny; a sprinting coach; a head coach. She special-orders food from an organic company in Tampa.
The holistic approach yielded surreal results again Wednesday. Torres, a nine-time Olympic medal winner who first competed in the 1984 Games, won the 100-meter freestyle in 54.45 seconds, outracing favorites Dana Vollmer and Amanda Weir. Less than 15 months after launching her comeback with aspirations of making an Olympic relay team, Torres has emerged as a threat to qualify -- and possibly even medal -- in the individual freestyle sprints.
"Her comeback is just mind-boggling," said Michael Lohberg, Torres's coach in Coral Springs, Fla. "I don't think people can actually comprehend what's happening here. It hasn't happened before and it probably won't happen again. A 40-year-old who hasn't been swimming for years should never go this fast."
Torres announced her comeback to the swimming world Wednesday by dominating her first national competition in seven years. She jumped ahead immediately in the 100 free and then out-kicked the rest of the field down the stretch, finishing only .02 of a second behind her career-best time. Vollmer, 19, and Weir, 21, looked at each other quizzically at the end of the race, seemingly miffed at the 40-year-old mother who had stolen their event. Torres entered the final seeded fifth, and her finish earned a standing ovation.
"It's all a little crazy," Torres said. "This is happening so much quicker than I expected."
Torres won five medals, including two relay golds, at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. When she came home, she told friends that she would never swim again. She took jobs as a television reporter for ESPN, TNT and the Resort Sports Network. She started running and bicycling to stay in shape, forcing two knee surgeries. When the 2004 Olympics came on television, Torres hardly watched the swimming. She just didn't care, she said.
Torres became pregnant two years ago, and a doctor recommended swimming as a low-impact exercise to keep her in shape. Torres joined a local swim club near her Florida home, and her old addiction took hold. At five months pregnant, she wanted to race again. At eight months, she mentioned the 2008 Olympics. In April 2006, Torres swam and lifted weights on the same day she gave birth to her daughter, Tessa Grace.
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Dara Torres takes the first step in becoming the first swimmer over 40 to compete in the Olympics, winning Wednesday's 100-meter freestyle.
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The Affair Of an E-mail Gone Wild
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Pulitzer-Prize-winning novelist Robert Olen Butler has never sold a lot of books, but his startling e-mail about his divorce is getting the kind of buzz writers dream about, though perhaps not for the reason its author intended.
Butler writes literary novels, and most them sell about 3,500 copies. He won the Pulitzer in 1993 for "A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain," a set of short stories about Vietnamese immigrants. He was married to fellow novelist Elizabeth Dewberry, whom he met at a writers' gathering and married at Tavern on the Green in New York's Central Park in front of a crowd of more or less famous literati.
Heretofore, not many people outside the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference felt they needed to know more.
But since sending out an e-mail recently to his colleagues at Florida State University about Dewberry's apparent romance with former media mogul Ted Turner, the professorial 62-year-old Butler has been the lead item on the New York Post's gossipy Page Six ("Writer Dumps Hubby for Ted") and an Internet sensation (Gawker.com, which first posted the full story Tuesday, labeled his missive "The Insanest E-mail Ever"). National Public Radio calls it the "e-mail of the week, if not the year."
When your beautiful blond spouse, 18 years your junior, leaves you for a rich guy even older than you are, a rich old guy known for his high-octane lifestyle, maybe some of this is inevitable. But then there's a college professor using a mass e-mail to blurt out excruciatingly personal details of his beloved's emotional, psychological and sexual intimacies to "clarify the issues for any of your fellow grad students who ask" and note that "you can feel free to use any part or all of this email" to accomplish that task.
And yet we still fear that we have not prepared you for the paragraphs to come.
Butler begins the details of his missive: "Put down your cup of coffee or you might spill it. Elizabeth is leaving me for Ted Turner."
This is clear, if a little dramatic, and if it had ended here, as a means of conveying sad but relevant news to close friends, then all would be fine.
He then tells readers that, as Dewberry has spoken about publicly, she had been sexually abused by her grandfather and that the abuse was "tacitly condoned by her radically Evangelical Christian parents." He says he was able to help her for a few years: "She says I saved her life." Still, she had issues, mainly that she was never able to "step out of the shadow" of his Pulitzer, even though "everyone has heard me proclaim my sincere high regard for her as an artist."
Then, he goes on to say, Dewberry "nearly died from an intestinal blockage in Argentina while on a trip with Ted" in March. This uncomfortable experience led her to leave him for said media mogul, he writes, perhaps because "it is very common for a woman to be drawn to men who remind them of their childhood abusers. Ted is such a man, though fortunately, he is far from being abusive. From all that I can tell, he is kind to her, loyal, considerate, and devoted to his family, and perhaps, therefore, he can redeem some things for her."
(The thrice-divorced Turner has long been reported to have a vital and varied love life.)
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Michael Young is the Opinion Editor and a columnist for Lebanonâs The Daily Star newspaper. He is also a contributing editor and contributor at Reason magazine, where he writes bi-weely articles.
I'm not sure learning and escaping are so contradictory. Some might object to one of my suggestions, Simon Sebag Montefiore's remarkable "Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar," as a summer tome, but you'll learn a lot and, somehow, it's morbidly quite entertaining.
Lamis Andoni is a Middle East consultant for Al Jazeera, the Qatar-based news station. She has been covering the Middle East for 20 years. She has reported for the Christian Science Monitor, the Financial Times and the main newspapers in Jordan. She was a professor at the Graduate School in UC Berkeley.
"The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East" is a great piece of literary non-fiction about a Palestinian and an Israeli whose two families take refuge in the same house. Readers can learn a lot from these human stories behind the conflict, as well as from the female Arab novelists who risk so much to tell theirs.
Ignacio Gil Vázquez is the managing editor of Spainâs second largest circulation newspaper, El Mundo. He previously served as foreign correspondent in France and as Culture section editor. He has covered wide-ranging events throughout his career, including the Basque conflict, Catalan politics, Francois Mitterrandâs final years as president of France, his successor Jacques Chiracâs election, and the death of Princess Diana.
"In Europe" is perfect for summer reflection. A fresh, first hand chronicle takes you on a trip through the Old Continent's last hundred years: from the optimistic cosmopolitan Paris of 1900 to a snowy Sarajevo recovering from the century's last civil war in 1999. Then read "Los Girasoles Ciegos" to escape the much less exciting present.
is a leading Indian journalist and author. He's the founder and editor-in-chief of
, a daily multi-edition Indian newspaper with a global perspective and editor-in-chief of
, a news daily based in Hyderabad. He has written books including
"After Tamerlane" by John Darwin is a good two-in-one -- read it to learn, and also escape -- because the thriving detail is great fun, because it subverts official wisdom about the British and other empires with great panache, and...
James Fallows is National Correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly. In addition to working for the Atlantic, he has spent two years as chief White House speechwriter for Jimmy Carter, two years as the editor of US News & World Report, and six months as a program designer at Microsoft.
My summer reading recommendations: To Learn: "Rumsfeld" by Andrew Cockburn; "To Change China" by Jonathan Spence....
Former Washington-based columnist for The Hong Kong Standard, The New York Sun, and Insight on the News, an online weekly published by The Washington Times. Covered economic and political relations between the United States and East Asia, with an emphasis on China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Former chairman of the Hong Kong Journalists' Association. Currently a business executive at a Chinese-language newspaper in Hong Kong.
My pick to learn is "The China Fantasy: How Our Leaders Explain Away Chinese Repression," and to escape: "An Apple a Week" by Hong Kong's Renaissance man. But feel free to swap the two. You can certainly learn from Tang's writings on Hong Kong Rolexes and fung shui, and James Mann does offer a fantasy world in questioning China's future.
Dr. Njogu is C.E.O of Twaweza Communications. He was previously Associate Professor of African languages and literatures at Kenyatta University.
I recently read "Emergency Sex" on the workings of the United Nations around the world, from Kosovo to Liberia, Somalia and Haiti, and enjoyed it tremendously. There is no sex in "Emergency Sex" per se. But the book tells of the intensity with which UN staff work in conflict situations around the world. This one's definitely for learning.
Miklós Vámos is a Hungarian novelist, screenwriter and talk show host. He is one of the most read and respected writers in his native Hungary. He has taught at Yale University on a Fulbright fellowship, served as The Nationâs East European correspondent, worked as consultant on the Oscar-winning film Mephisto, and presented Hungaryâs most-watched cultural television show. Vámos has received numerous awards for his plays, screenplays, novels and short stories, including the Hungarian Merit Award for lifetime achievement. The Book of Fathers is considered his most accomplished novel and has sold 200,000 copies in Hungary.
I am a novelist. Forgetting those "how to" books, when you say the word BOOK to me, I think fiction. And fiction doesn't teach, nor should its reader want to escape. A fiction reader should dive in and hope to stay as long as possible. With that in mind, pick novels this summer -- even if they're Harry Potter.
Daoud Kuttab is a Palestinian journalist. He was born in Jerusalem in 1955. Presently he is a visiting professor at Princeton University in the United States. Mr. Kuttab is the former director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al Quds University in Ramallah, Palestine and the founder of AmmanNet, the Arab world's first internet radio station. His personal web page is www.daoudkuttab.com
If you read the news and/or have any interest in the Middle East, Sari Nusseibeh's autobiography "Once Upon a Country" definitely fits the learning category. He provides a rare view into the life of a Muslim Jerusalemite, one who struggles to retain his humanity while living through violence and remaining loyal to his Palestinian nation.
This summer, I have decided to go back to my late adolescence and read some horror literature (what better way to deal with terrorism that to read about ghosts and demons while walking down Broadway?). But I've been disappointed, what has happened to horror fiction these days? The best stuff was still written in the 19th century.
Soli Ozel teaches at Istanbul Bilgi University's Department of International Relations and Political Science. He is a columnist for the national daily Sabah and is senior advisor to the chairman of theTurkish Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association. He is the editor of TUSIAD's magazine Private View and the editor of the Turkish edition of Foreign Policy a journal published by the Carnegie Endowment in the USA.
This summer, I am reading a delightful book both to escape and learn: Jed Rubenfeldâs "The Interpretation of Murder." It's about a murder and an attempted murder on the day Sigmund Freud first set foot in the U.S. You get a good mystery and learn about New York social life at the beginning of the 20th century. What more can one say?
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PostGlobal features David Ignatius and Fareed Zakaria and other international figures in debates on global news and politics. Stay on top of international news and join the conversation at PostGlobal.
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Foreign Investment - washingtonpost.com
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Washington Post business columnist Steven Pearlstein was online Wednesday, July 25 at 11 a.m. ET to discuss foreign governments that are using their foreign reserves to buy private companies outside of their borders.
Read today's column: As Governments Invest, Motives Blur (Post, July 25).
About Pearlstein: Steven Pearlstein writes about business and the economy for The Washington Post. His journalism career includes editing roles at The Post and Inc. magazine. He was founding publisher and editor of The Boston Observer, a monthly journal of liberal opinion. He got his start in journalism reporting for two New Hampshire newspapers -- the Concord Monitor and the Foster's Daily Democrat. Pearlstein has also worked as a television news reporter and a congressional staffer.
His column archive is online here.
Laurel: Steven, what does the issue raised in today's column say about the size of role the U.S. government should play in our own economy? There are many who believe that, at least when it comes to economics, "the best government is the least."
But their proposals won't reduce the scope of the Chinese, Russian, Mexican, Abu Dabaian or Saudi governments in our economy, only ours.
How big does our government have to be to bring our businesses to par?
Steven Pearlstein: We don't have to have the same economic or economic policy model as other countries, particularly those at a different stage in their development, of a different size, or with an economy more focused on natural resource extraction or even heavy industry. Countries have their own traditions, history, politics, values and these lead to different system. We shouldn't presume to be telling these other countries how much or little government should be involved in their economies.
That said, I think the US, largely under the influence of the Republican party and big business, have perpetrated this myth that any kind of industrial policy is bad, any involvement of government in the economy is bad (except tax breaks and more spending on basic research and education). This is pure ideology that has no basis in empirical data. Some of our forays into industrial policy have been miserable failures. Others have been successful.
But we have to understand that this is a dynamic situation, and in a competitive global economy, we need to adjust our model to the changes in other people's models, and their successes. So the idea that there is a static right answer is absurd on its face -- just as it is absurd to say that once a company has a strategy, that should be fixed no matter what competitors do.
So my point this morning was to say that we need a mechanism, beyond the current one we have to screen foreign acquisitions for national security problems, to also screen them for situations in which countries are trying to extend their models into our economy. That's where we can legitimately draw the line.
Chicago, Ill.: Steven, can I go back to Friday's column about affordable housing.
You framed the issue in local terms about how our jurisdictions should be merged to work on the issue of creating affordable housing. But I see the problem as being that just about everywhere, zoning and other housing regulations are handled at localized levels.
One of the best ways to improve the quality of one's neighborhood is to limit who can be your neighbors. So when Joe and Jane Homeowner buy a house in Anytown, they also become voters in Anytown, and use the political process to limit how much and how expensive housing can be built there. They use the political system to enforce their economic priorities.
Since existing housing is the principle source of houses for sale, it's like the Big 3 car companies got together and voted that no one else could sell cars here.
High housing prices have become a political value, as 70 percent of Americans are now homeowners (and more than that of voters). It's another tool to steal from our children.
washingtonpost.com: The (Unaffordable) House We All Live In
Steven Pearlstein: You've put it rather crisply and well, I think. For reasons having to do with aesthetics and lifestyle, as well as economic (increasing the value of their new asset), homeowners tend to be reflexively anti-growth. In the old days, that instinct was offset by the desire to have better retail and services (which comes with growth) or more jobs to chose from, or more tax revenue to pay for local services. But people have come to understand that in a metropolitan regional economy, the best selfish strategy is for all the other jurisdictions to provide the jobs and retail amenities, giving you access to them at no cost to you. The old formula is also changed because new houses generally don't provide enough tax revenue to offset the added demand for school and other services, except if is housing for seniors or young singles.
Freising, Germany: What exactly does it imply if the International Monetary Fund crafts a "best practices" policy for government-controlled investment? Would this be in any way legally binding or just serve as a guideline for governments wanting to impose their own legal safeguards on government-controlled financing?
Steven Pearlstein: The idea would be that there would be a global set of rules that would level the playing field, since everyone would abide by them. Obviously, the IMF has no enforcement mechanism. So countries would have to pass rules saying that they will only allow acquisitions by sovereign wealth funds that adopt these practices, and, say, are certified as having followed them by the IMF or some other body.
This is the Bush administration's answer to calls for any form of financial regulation -- voluntary best practice codes. They went with that with hedge funds and private equity funds. Now they are doing it with sovereign wealth funds. They are desperate to do whatever necessary to show they are "doing something" about these issues without actually imposing or toughening old fashioned regulations.
Boston, Mass.: Did you turn into a protectionist over the last two weeks? I asked you on the last discussion which country you felt was the greatest strategic threat economically to the U.S. (Russia, China, etc.) and you responded that you didn't view countries as a threat economically in those terms. Now you say these countries can't be allowed to have their monopolistic companies use these profits to buy companies in other countries. Are these countries threats to U.S. interests or the global capitalist system in your view (or both)?
Steven Pearlstein: Well, to the degree that they use sovereign wealth funds as instruments of industrial policy, that is not good for American business and competitiveness and needs to be addressed. I think that's a different question as to which country is the biggest strategic threat economically, which seems to me to be a pretty mercantilist way of looking at the world. Both Russia and China, for example, are not fully market economies, and yet they keep demanding to be treated as they were when it suits their purposes, while being allowed to act as government-led economists when that suits their purposes. In other words, they want it both ways. Up to a point, we probably can live with that. But recently they have begun to push things too far, in my opinion, as they use their enormous new wealth in ways that could hurt our longterm competitiveness.
Arlington, Va.: What happens when countries receiving investments are run by questionable governments, like what is happening with China in some African countries?
Steven Pearlstein: Not sure what you mean by that. Sorry,
Cary, N.C.: Sounds like the answer to the regional problems facing the District is the same as the answer to getting Congressional representation for the District - lop Northern Virginia and PG and Montgomery Counties off their respective states to merge with the District and create a new state. What do you think?
Steven Pearlstein: That's a nice fantasy but its not gonna happen. But there is no reason the major jurisdictions, under the prodding of the governors, can't come up with rational REGIONAL growth plan that provides for growth where it most makes sense while using other mechanisms to insure that the benefits and cost of growth are shared regionally.
Washington, D.C.: I not sure this is a question of discussion in your forum, but I'll let you decide if you want to answer it.
I went to Best Buy (U.S. Retailer) and noticed on the back of Panasonic (Japanese manufacturer) had the Plasma and LCD TVs assembled in Mexico.
Do you feel that other countries figured out a way to utilize the NAFTA agreement to have them shipped here in the U.S. with less tariffs/taxes?
Steven Pearlstein: This is a very old story, I have to say, Asian companies using Mexico as a final assembly platform to sell into the U.S. market on a trade favorable basis. Its not done as much any more, since a lot of the NAFTA benefits are now extended to other countries as well.
Bridgewater, Mass.: After getting shafted on Kovytka, British Petroleum is offering GazProm a deal allowing it access to its worldwide holdings, including apparently those in the US. We've seen how GP plays - do we really want them in the US? They talk openly in Russia about the company being a useful tool in international relations - this seems a lot less desirable than that Dubai port project.
Steven Pearlstein: Gazprom is a perfect example of a company that we should not allow to buy up U.S. assets. It is a government sanctioned monopoly in its home market. The Russian government has used its regulatory power to take assets from international companies and forcibly transfer it to Gazprom. Gazprom plays by Russian rules, not global rules, and there is no way to insulate anything they buy or invest in from that reality. At some point, that may change. But for now, they ought to be off limits.
Boston:"as they use their enormous new wealth in ways that could hurt our longterm competitiveness"
that was my point in asking the initial question; these countries don't need to threaten other countries militarily as they have raw material and capital reserve resources to influence economics and politics
does this turn the phrase "war is politics by another means" on its head "economics is war/politics by another means"?
Steven Pearlstein: No, because trade and commerce and economics is not necessarily a zero sum game, where if you win, I lose. Sometimes we can all win (or all lose).
Downtown DC: Should the Democrats, like the Labour Party of the 40s, have the government take over the "commanding heights" of the economy if they win control of the government in 2008?
Steven Pearlstein: No, I don't think that is necessary. Our economy and our businesses are doing pretty well in the global economy. Our investors are doing well. Our consumers are doing very well in terms of the goods and services they have available to them. It is some of our workers who could use a little help, who aren't enjoying the full benefit of global competition. But that doesn't require government taking over the commanding heights.
Los Angeles: How would you characterize the investment potential for countries like Korea or Kuwait to invest in the United States? Do you think investors in those countries are looking for equity investments or real estate driven ventures?
Steven Pearlstein: They are looking for good returns, which is understandable and not very threatening. That is why if they invest through an intermediary like Blackstone,and have no control of U.S. companies, it is a positive development. Any economy always benefits if foreign investors want to invest here long term.
The problem comes if they want to use the acquisition to benefit their home economies, or home businesses, in other ways. Reducing competition. Transferring technology. Gaining advantages of scale at the expense of our industries. Outbidding our companies for scarce resources. That sort of thing.
Ottawa, Canada: I really don't understand what you are trying to say. Is it that companies that are viewed as state monopolies should not be allowed to invest in the U.S.? If that's true, a large number of energy and airline companies in Europe, for example, would be frozen out of the U.S. market. Do you want to screen only some state owned companies out of the market? If so, what type of retaliation do you expect will occur to U.S. companies wishing to invest in these foreign markets?
Steven Pearlstein: I want to have the government review these acquisitions because they are made by non-market participants and decide if the investment is benign or not. Will other countries bristle. You betcha. China and Russia in particular. But I don't have much sympathy with that, considering that these are countries that in no way, shape or manner would allow our companies to make similar investments. So if they retaliate, they retaliate. It doesn't mean you don't protect your interests because somebody might get upset and retaliate.
Long Island, N.Y.: I'm not sure I agree with you that governments investing in foreign private companies is very dangerous. Private companies can certainly influence their home country's foreign policy (see United Fruit Company). So I'm not sure there is going to be a huge difference if the government is now the main player, rather then a private company instigating action in the background. I'm also curious to know what you think of the oil companies and their dealings with Venezuela, do you think the US government should have been more involved?
Steven Pearlstein: I don't have any problem with the oil companies doing business with Venezuela, and if their assets are expropriated, our government should consider taking retaliatory action on behalf of our companies. This is well established in international law. On the other hand, when Citgo is bought by the Venezuelan, state-owned oil company, that should have been reviewed. And the fact that Venezuela is a member in good standard of a notorious international price fixing cartel should exclude it from buying into a U.S. downstream company. It is just that simple. And, by the way, this would apply to any OPEC member country, including our good good friends in Kuwait and Dubai.
Steven Pearlstein: That's it for today, folks. Hope to "see" some of you next week.
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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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: Greetings, folks. It appears that it might be kind of an interesting week (if you're interested in such things) in NatsLand. If you read "Nationals Journal" this morning (and if you didn't, what in the world were you doing?), you know that my best info is that John Lannan, the 22-year-old lefty who has swiftly developed into one of the Nationals' top prospects, is likely to be called up to start Thursday's series finale in Philly.
So there's that. But there's lots of other things to discuss, too. Jason Bergmann's hamstring. The trade market. Whether Bonds's historic shot will come against the Nationals -- if it ever comes.
Cleveland Park: Why don't Kasten and Bowden seem interested in getting involved in the bidding war for Mark Timelier? It seems to me he might be a perfect fit for "The Plan." At 27, he's in his prime. He's a Gold Glove at first base and since the return of Nick Johnson seems progressively murkier and murkier, Timelier could certainly help to provide the big bat the Nats desperately need. Historically, he has also performed well playing outfield. Why don't the Nats just get The Plan rolling THIS year by getting a quality player like Timelier?
Barry Svrluga: An interesting way to get involved in the trade market discussion.
I have no information that the Nationals are in on Teixeira. What I do know is that his contract runs out after 2008. The Nationals expect to be much more competitive next season, and there are indications that they're trying to buy parts right now that will get them to that goal. But in terms of being ready to win a division title in '08, that'll have to wait.
Therefore, if they're interested in Teixeira -- who is, of course, from Severna Park, Md., I believe -- they could well wait until the 2008 free agency period. He's a Scott Boras client, so it's unlikely they'd be able to trade for him now, keep him in 2008 and sign him for some sort of loyalty thing or "hometown discount." Boras's clients don't do that kind of thing.
Chevy Chase:1. In yesterday's chat, Dave Sheinin predicted that 756 will come in the Nats-Giants series in SF in two weeks. What is your prediction?
2. Saw your comment in the Nats Journal about your lower reader totals than some of the other sports blogs. For some reason, those appear on the list of updated blogs on the front page about halfway down underneath all the headlines, but Nats Journal does not.
Barry Svrluga: 1. I kinda think Sheinin's right, and I definitely, definitely had that date targeted before Bonds hit those two bombs at Wrigley Field last week. The Nationals are there from Aug. 6-9. Bonds doesn't look like he'll hit 756 in the five games he has remaining on this homestand, and it's unlikely the Giants will have him do it on the road. So ... that leaves the Nationals series as their next one at home.
2. I've heard this, but I never have tried to get to the Journal that way. I will try to let the folks over at the Web site know. Not sure what's up with that.
D.C.: I know the team really likes Brian Schnieder, but have you heard his name mentioned in trade talks? I would think he is one of the more tradeable players on the team and Flores is already is 22. If they don't trade Schnieder, do you see Flores in AAA next year so he can play every day?
Barry Svrluga: The team really believes in Flores's potential, and they are really impressed with how he's handled himself this year. Schneider, though, is not as tradable as you'd think. He's got a back-loaded contract that will pay him $3.5 million this season and $4.9 million in both '08 and '09. I think if a contender had an injury to their starting catcher, they could make a desperation bid for him. But he's not hitting very much right now -- though that was a nice three-run double last night.
Flores: He needs to play every day somewhere next year. My bet is in the minors, but don't hold me to that.
Who is most likely to open the season at first base for the Nats next year?
c. Neither of the above
Dimitri's trade and free agent possibilities coupled with Nick's continuing and continuous health issues, make me think it might be c. What do you think? Thanks.
Barry Svrluga: This is an excellent question, and one I can't quite get my arms around. My mind says b., but then my gut tells me that I can't always rely on my mind. As much as a. has been helpful and uplifting and all that this year, I just don't see it. He told me yesterday it's a "possibility" he would come back next year, but he's clearly going to put himself on the market (as he should, considering he's earning $500,000 and appears to have undergone a transformation).
Gun to my head? I'll go with b. He'll have to be healed by then (won't he?), and he's untradable given the injuries.
Easton, Md.: Barry, do you know if Frank is completely out of the baseball loop? Is he going to Cooperstown this weekend? I was at the Cal send off to Cooperstown event last night which, unlike the 10th anniversary of 2131 a couple years ago, was very moving and well attended. One could almost say magical. They brought back several O's Hall of Famers and others sent messages on the scoreboard, but Frank was not among them. I know they didn't play together, but Frank was his manager and also he was hanging out at the ballpark when Frank was a player. Or is there bad blood between Frank and the O's? I was just curious.
Also, while I know this is a Nationals chat, I think it should be known that the O's gave a cool $1 million to the Cal Ripken Foundation. That elicited gasps from the crowd, as well as, I'm sure, from Cal. While I and most other Orioles fans would still like to run Peter Angelos out of town, he does get some brownie points for this one.
Barry Svrluga: Be careful, Easton. There's some Nationals fans who don't like even the mention of the O's in such a forum.
I spoke with Frank Robinson Monday by phone. (Caught him on the golf course, which is hardly a shocker, then called him back later.) He is, in fact, headed to Cooperstown this weekend. I'm going as well (covering Nats-Mets Friday night, then driving up Saturday morning). I'm going to speak with him more there, and may even come back with a story.
And no, he's not out of the baseball loop. He's working in the Commissioner's office.
Section 213, Row 12: Nats resigned Ronnie Belliard, it's my understanding under the current CBA that a player traded in the middle of a contract can declare free agency after a trade - during the offseason, of course - is this still the case, and does it apply here?
If so, it locks him in to the Nats and makes him less valuable in a trade, meaning that the Nats signed him to keep him. Agree or disagree?
Barry Svrluga: I do not believe that provision applies to Belliard. Any CBA experts out there? I believe -- and I could be wrong -- it applies to those who are traded twice in the middle of a contract.
The second part is easier: I do believe the Nationals signed him to keep him. "Peace of mind," is how Manny Acta described the feeling with Belliard around. He can be used as a bench player or a starter at second, and can play all four infield positions (though I wouldn't want to see him at short for an extended amount of time). Put it this way: I think he was easier to trade to a contender with just the remainder of his $750,000 contract this year than he would be with $3.5 million through 2009 on it. Contenders, for a utility guy, would likely want a short-term solution.
Arlington, Va.: How does Bob Fick remain so pale? Doesn't he spend every work day out in the sun?
Should this be grouped with the RFK outfield distances as the great Nationals conspiracies?
Barry Svrluga: Ah, Robert Fick. Every single thing about that guy is intriguing, no?
He is remarkably pale. I have seen him take batting practice without a shirt on (prior to when the ballpark gates open), and yet he doesn't seem to burn.
Now that we've got the important topics covered, we'll move on.
Middleburg, Va.: Barry who is the Nats best SS and 2nd base prospect? And how far away are they from the big leagues?
Barry Svrluga: Well, I guess you'd have to say that the best SS prospect is Esmailyn Gonzalez, the 17-year-old they signed last year from the Dominican Republic. I talked to Barry Larkin about him a couple weeks ago, and he said Gonzalez is just stunningly good in the field. Working on his footwork, "getting him to make the routine play routine," Larkin said, but he's good. It'll take some time with the bat. He's hitting .260 with an impressive .375 OBP for the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Nationals.
Frank Robinson: The Nats would have a Frank Robinson Day but I am too grumpy to go. I still hold it against the Nats for not offering me a job last season and won't even speak with Stan Kasten. True or False.
Barry Svrluga: Oh, that's true. That would be quite true.
Arlington, Va.: So Bowden is now pursuing Adam Dunn!?! Granted the new park will be more hitter friendly and he will hit fair number of HRs but his strikeout numbers are crazy. What is your take on A -- whether Dunn would be a good addition and B -- the likelihood of it happening (and who would we have to give up)?
Barry Svrluga: Let's start with B: I don't think it's likely to happen through a trade at the end of this season. Dunn is almost certainly a free agent after this year. If he's traded, his contract provides that he IS a free agent. If not, the Reds must commit to his $13 million option for next year. Seems unlikely.
I have talked with several players in the Nationals clubhouse -- a wide range -- about this, and they love the prospect of Dunn coming. Yes, you get the strikeouts. But this lineup absolutely needs someone that is a true threat to hit the ball out every single time he comes up.
Is that player necessarily going to be Dunn? No. But Jim Bowden loves him, and that will play a big role.
Warrenton, Va.: What is the condition of the RFK field, with both baseball and soccer being played there?
Barry Svrluga: Not good. In left field for baseball, the tracks where they roll out the soccer stands make for uneven footing. And a soccer pitch has the grass cut a bit lower, so the outfield grass is sometimes slippery, Nats outfielders say.
At some point, we'll turn to Goff about what United players complain about regarding their beloved pitch, which is run all over by the Nationals.
Not Lompoc, Calif.: Would you characterize today's notebook about Ryan Church as being a routine conversation you have with the manager about certain players? Did Manny come out, perhaps to send a message? Or was this something you were working on and used on a slow day?
Barry Svrluga: I went to the park thinking I'd talk to Church about his name coming up in trades and his assessment of his own season. I can't tell you how much other scouts and execs say the guy should probably be a fourth outfielder, but the Nats need him to be something else. So I chatted with him, then simply asked Acta what he thought of Church's season. The response is in the notebook.
I think that's a very good way for Acta to put it -- which is to say, it was frank. Why sugarcoat it? Why pretend that getting 70 RBI from a corner outfielder is the way this franchise is going to go about business in the future? I don't at all consider it calling out Church. I consider it an honest answer to a question about one of his players.
Manassas, Va.:"And no, he's not out of the baseball loop. He's working in the Commissioner's office."
I don't believe in organized religion, I'm a Catholic.
When we finally rid ourselves of Bud, do you think some of the joy of baseball might be rediscovered? Any big changes you see happening?
Barry Svrluga: Wow, that's a toughy (and a good line about Catholicism).
Did Selig oversee, and turn his back on, the Steroid Era? Most people would say absolutely. But is the game prospering, drawing more fans and making more money and driving up salaries and payroll? Absolutely. It's a healthy game, and that certainly wasn't the case in, say, 1994.
The joy: Is Selig sucking it out, or is it the fact that the guy that's about to break the most hallowed mark in sports is a pariah just about everywhere but San Francisco? I think Bonds has more to do with this joyless pursuit than Selig.
Minneapolis: I have to give credit where credit is due. A few weeks ago, I asked you the "Who's on second" question regarding what seemed to be a probable Belliard trade. You responded that you thought the Nats would keep him. Right now, that looks like a remarkably good call.
If you have any other hunches, we're listening...
Barry Svrluga: Hunch: John Lannan will start Thursday's game in Philly.
MLB CBA: The new CBA took away the right to demand a trade for players traded in the middle of a multi-year deal.
Barry Svrluga: This could be true, and that seems to jog something in my memory. I'm trying to answer as many questions as I can in this chat, so I'm not going to look up the CBA right now.
Section 428: We've heard how bad RFK is inside and out ... anything about the place you'll miss next year?
Barry Svrluga: From a totally selfish perspective, I'll miss the press box's location. It's low and right behind home plate and provides a much better view than a lot of the newer parks. The new Nationals stadium will have one of the highest press boxes in baseball, nearly as high as Pittsburgh.
But the new park is not about the press, it's about the players and the fans. And I think for those two groups, it'll be better in almost every single way. (Of course, you'll have to get there and park your car, which is another matter, and not a trivial one.)
I caught a bit of "Bronx is Burning" the other night. The segment where Martin pulls a new lineup out of a hat and the team finally starts hitting. Has Acta considered shuffling the lineup at all? He seems like a real "steady as she goes" kind of manager, but a new lineup might bring a little fresh air to the club.
Barry Svrluga: I haven't seen "Bronx is Burning," but am hearing good things.
Yes, your read on Acta is spot on. He doesn't like to rattle guys too much, jerking them around on a day-to-day basis. He has made lineup changes (moving Lopez to seventh, etc.), but he always tells the players beforehand and does it for a stretch of time, rather than just a day.
So don't get any crazy ideas. Of course, if the names Acta could pull out of a hat included Reggie Jackson and Thurmon Munson rather than Nook Logan and Ryan Langerhans, he might try it.
S. Rockville, Md.: Re: F.Robby
He can be as mad as he wants with Lerner/Kasten and the Nats, but the guys who really owe him are Bud Selig and the rest of the owners. He took the Nats/Expos job and ran with it. He helped them all put more cash in their pockets by putting a decent product on the field that first year. Frank's working with MLB now, and I'm sure they'll take care of him for years to come.
Barry Svrluga: There is no question that that is why Robinson is working for MLB now. He was there for Bud for five years. Bud felt he needed to be there for Frank, too.
Perhaps this is more of a Marc Fisher question, but with regards to the new stadium, who has the final say on selling naming rights? Since D.C. owns the stadium, do they get to oversee the bidding process, or do the Lerners?
And who gets the revenues from the naming rights...D.C. or the Nats?
Barry Svrluga: The Nats get to sell the naming rights and the revenue generated by them. It's a key source of cash that could be turned into payroll. The club is working on this right now, and I would expect a major local company -- Geico, Capitol One, Marriott -- would pay some big bucks.
Bethesda, Md.: Goff won't answer my questions. Will you?
Barry Svrluga: Sure. Waddya got?
Harrisburg, Pa.: Tim Donaghy says that Cole Hamels is a lock to win tonight against the Nats.
Barry Svrluga: Put your money down.
Rosslyn, Va.: Any Josh Smoker updates?
Barry Svrluga: Smoker, the left-handed high school pitcher from Georgia who the Nationals took with the 31st pick in the draft, switched advisors last week, joining Octagon. But with the trade deadline, I'm not sure the Smoker negotiations are front-burner. They have till Aug. 15 to get it done. I believe it'll happen, and I believe it'll happen for about $950,000.
Rockville, Md.: Barry -- on a recent Friday night I went with some friends to a bar for a beer and to watch the Nats game. There were two TVs in the bar -- one had on women's softball, the other soccer. No one behind or at the bar thought of putting on the Nats until we showed up. This is not the first time this has happened. In your travels, have you heard people agree with Peter Angelos's assessment -- that this is not a baseball town?
Barry Svrluga: I think Washington wants a winner, and right now, its baseball team isn't a winner. I have been out on off nights or after games, and I have occasionally heard some good old Nationals chat going on at a bar. But yes, it's not in the consciousness of the town to, at 7 p.m. at all bars, flip the TVs to MASN. I would argue that during the winning months of 2005, folks were more engaged.
Do you think Nats ownership is under the illusion that we won't notice the difference in talent level that even a mediocre team like the Phillies is fielding compared to the Nationals? I mean the lead off hitter (Rollins) has more homers and RBI than Zimmerman for crying out loud. Do they expect us to be satisfied long term with the talent level they are putting on the field?
Barry Svrluga: Uh, no, I think the ownership will notice. It notices that its attendance ranks 26th in baseball right now. That's a lot of empty orange and yellow seats.
But what I think they expect you'll also notice is an increased payroll next year which, if they make good evaluations, will mean an increased talent level. The plan, going forward, is not to roll out there the current lineup you're seeing every night. This team needs upgrades at countless positions, and Bowden/Kasten are pursuing them as we speak.
Arlington, Va.: Are you reading Harry Potter?
Barry Svrluga: I am not. My wife has read them all, but she's being patient.
Spotted last week at RFK....:....a fan wearing a #13 Fick jersey! I was floored. Can you even buy that in the store there, or do you think it was a special order? I really wanted to ask him who he was--maybe a relative of Fick's? It certainly gave us something to talk about during the game....
Barry Svrluga: Fick's a character, I tell ya. A prankster. Last week, memorabilia collector Brian Schneider had a Chase Utley jersey in his locker that he was going to have Utley sign this week. Fick, though, grabbed a Sharpie and signed a sarcastic message "from Chase" on one of the numbers, effectively ruining Schneider's jersey.
Schneider, though, thought it was hysterical. Fick knows no bounds.
Penn Quarter, D.C.: Regarding Nats' prospects, we fans just hear about the pitchers and corner outfielders. Are there any middle infielders that the organization views as future major leaguers? Might that be an area to address as the Nats trade Young, etc.? I am wondering what will happen when Guzman becomes a free agent.
Barry Svrluga: You are correct. I mentioned Esmailyn Gonzalez earlier, and they have a choice from last year's draft -- Stephen King -- who struggled at low-Class A Hagerstown (.180) and was sent to the GCL. Shortstop Ian Desmond, who looked mature and promising in spring training of 2005, is struggling at high-Class A Potomac, hitting .226, and his prospect status is fading.
They have made large upgrades in their pitching depth in the minors. Look at the numbers I reported in my minor league notebook this morning in the $.35 edition for the starters at short-season Class A Vermont. But the hitting -- outside of Chris Marrero and maybe one or two others -- has a long way to go.
The Argonaut: Baseball America had Chris Marrero No. 1 on their Prospect Hot Sheet. The kid is tearing High-A. Any chance he sniffs Harrisburg before the end of the year?
Barry Svrluga: Yes, absolutely a chance. And I predict that we see him in major league camp next spring. Not to win a job. But to get a look-see.
Arlington, Va.: How much do you see the Nats' payroll going up next season? What free agents do you see them targeting? And since you're complaining about low hit counts, how's about giving us the link to your Nats Journal so we can bookmark it now?
washingtonpost.com: Nationals Journal. It's also at the top of the discussion.
Barry Svrluga: Thank you, discussion producer Paul.
My guess -- and I have been warned not to project specific numbers, because things are always fluid -- is that we're looking at between $70-$80 million in payroll for next year. That's an increase of at least $30 million.
Stan Kasten is not a huge proponent of free agency. But one reason I'm starting to think the Nationals are pursuing players such as Dunn -- again, I don't think there's much chance of this happening -- is because they're going to have to increase payroll/talent level somehow, and now might be a good time to do it, when cell phones are burning up talking about trades.
Just a thought. Remember what Bowden said the other day: "We're building up, not tearing down."
Silver Spring, Md.:"this is not a baseball town".
Geez, not again. The only baseball town that I know about is Turrialba, Costa Rica where they actually manufacture the baseballs.
Barry Svrluga: There we go.
This is a growing process, I think. A true baseball town is one in which the vast majority or residents know if the team won or lost the night before and can name several of the players on the team. In Washington, that's not the case right now. Might be the case in the future.
Penn Quarter: Not to sound like a jerk, but good baseball towns are good baseball towns whether the home nine is winning or not. Towns that only back winners are by definition "bad baseball towns."
Barry Svrluga: That is not sounding like a jerk. That is sounding like a realist.
Bethesda, Md.: What happened to Brian Schneider? This guy could hit in 2005. He was the no. 2 catcher on the U.S. team at the World Baseball Classic. Where did he go?
Barry Svrluga: Schneider has not developed as the Nationals had hoped. They thought he would hit a bit more -- not .290, but .270. He has been praised for how he has handled the pitching staff this year, and I think that praise is genuine. But Acta wanted him to drive in 70 runs this year. He is on pace for 57.
He's a streaky player, so his current .233 average could definitely rise. He did the same last year, when he got hot over the last month to hit .256.
I would say this, too: I think these guys really miss Mitchell Page. Lenny Harris was thrown into the hitting coach role after being a minor league infield instructor. He appeared over his head from the start. Page, who left because of personal problems, was a professional tactician who could break down the swing for these guys. I think that's affected everyone -- Kearns, Schneider, Church, Zimmerman, the whole lot.
Just who we need:"... they have a choice from last year's draft -- Stephen King -- who struggled at low-Class A Hagerstown ..."
How appropriate for a team that sometimes makes me scream in horror !
Barry Svrluga: I was going to say that if he would just stop writing thrillers, he might improve his hitting, but resisted.
Dunn trade: What do think the Reds would want for Adam Dunn? Is this price increased because of the previous trade?
Barry Svrluga: The issue surrounding the previous trade (Lopez/Kearns for Majewski/Bray) makes dealing with the Reds murky. But Reds GM Wayne Krivsky told me at the winter meetings last year -- when this was all still hot -- that he wouldn't rule out dealing with the Nationals in the future.
The Reds would need to like some of the Nationals prospects in order to get this done. Not sure that's the case.
N. Bethesda, Md.: Any updates on Escobar?
Barry Svrluga: Escobar was sent from Class AAA Columbus last week down to Viera because he wasn't throwing well enough to be activated. His shoulder just isn't strong enough. The players in the clubhouse aren't even thinking about his return, because they don't have any evidence that it'll happen.
I just found out about Zimmerman's MS foundation quite by accident. I was diagnosed myself with MS on March 29 of this year. My "previous life" prior to March 29 revolved around minor league baseball, especially at the rookie level, specifically action shots and baseball cards. My life as I know/knew it was pretty much ripped out from under me because, as you know from meeting Cheryl, it is a day-to-day sometimes hour-to-hour rapidly changing disease. My first "doctor recognized symptom" was the loss of my eyesight in my left eye -- a one-eyed photographer with baseball season approaching is NOT A GOOD THING! I had had symptoms for years but did not know what was wrong with me and no doctor here n Southern WV had picked up on it! I was not diagnosed until I was 41.
I am wondering if there is anyway you could put me in touch with Cheryl. In WV I have yet to find anyone who has MS and is into baseball as much as I have been the last 15 years of my life and I hate to give it up even a little it! It is all I have left now. But I am fast having to accept my years of minor league photography as a JOB may be coming to an end. As a hobby -- I maybe can still enjoy it -- but on a "wobbly day" -- those days when you resemble a drunk just walking -- it is not a good idea to be where broken bats or missed catches can get you. I don't move as fast as I did this time last year -- much less in spring training.
I have tried to "bulldog " my way though it so far but the fatigue and frustration of it has has caught up! My thinking and remembering skills are going faster then was originally projected. I have always been able to, until this point in my life, WILL my self to get through. This time my will is not as strong as the illness.
I am just trying to find kindred BASEBALL souls who are also on this life altering path I now must follow. MS and baseball do not seem to be a mixing point.
Barry Svrluga: Interesting story, and we wish you the best. You could go to the ZiMS Foundation Web site at zimsfoundation.org, and there's probably a way to get in touch with the folks there, who could put you in touch with Keith and Cheryl Zimmerman.
re: baseball town:"But yes, it's not in the consciousness of the town to, at 7 p.m. at all bars, flip the TVs to MASN. I would argue that during the winning months of 2005, folks were more engaged."
Right - when the habit could have been formed there WAS NO CHANNEL TO CHANGE TO...
Barry Svrluga: A perfect reminder, no question.
Barry Svrluga: Folks, lots of great questions today -- both that I was able to answer and that were left behind. My apologies for not getting to all of them.
Enjoy the rest of the day and tonight's game, and then look for Lannan to start tomorrow. Could be interesting. I'll talk to you next week from back at RFK Stadium, by which time the deadline will have come and gone.
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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Goff covers the D.C. United beat for The Washington Post and writes the Soccer Insider blog for washingtonpost.com.
Steven Goff: Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends... I'm so glad you could attend...
Beckham, Beckham: Beckham, Beckham, Beckham, Beckham, Beckham, Beckham, Beckham, Beckham.
Steven Goff: Great question. I wish I knew the answer.
Alexandria, Va.: Why can't D.C. chase a well known young player like a Christian Ronaldo-type instead of leaning towards someone like Sebastian Veron?
Steven Goff: D.C. United and the other MLS teams have no chance of acquiring international superstars in the prime of their careers. Financially, they can't compete for their services. Even getting someone like Veron, who is still a quality player and would have a huge impact in the league, is a longshot.
Stafford, Va.: Based on their play and the number of issues they've had with other MLS teams and their fans, is it fair to say that the Colorado Rapids are the MLS equivalent of the Oakland Raiders?
They're not good, they're dirty, and almost everyone hates them...
Steven Goff: I wouldn't go that far. Is there really that much fan emotion out there concerning the perennial middling Colorado Rapids?
Washington, D.C.: Any idea how many people from The Post will be covering the Beckham game in two weeks?
Steven Goff: A cast of thousands! I would guess three or four.
Reston, Va.: Where do you see Christian Gomez next year? Does that projection change if DCU signs Veron?
Steven Goff: I am sure DCU would love to see Veron and Gomez in midfield together, but the reality is that Gomez's contract expires after this season and, at the moment, there are no talks taking place. They plan to re-start negotiations in the fall and a decision on his future will be made in November or December. If somehow United secures Veron, I can't imagine they would pay Designated Player $$$ to both of them.
Washington, D.C.: Any update from Argentina?
Steven Goff: 48 degrees and breezy in Buenos Aires. Payne and Kasper were scheduled to arrive back in D.C. this morning. I highly doubt Veron is with them. From all indications in the Argentine media, Veron is not ready to take the leap into MLS just yet. But you never know...
Falls Church, Va.: Where will Oguchi Onyewu end up this year? Back at Liege?
Steven Goff: Last I heard, Gooch had returned to Belgium for preseason training. Reading was apparently interested, but I don't know much more than that. One way or another, he will probably find a new club in Europe soon.
Richmond, Va.: Chelsea beats L.A. 1-0 on Saturday. Richmond beats L.A. 1-0 in the Open Cup...does this mean Richmond and Chelsea are on equal footing?
Steven Goff: Absolutely! Kickers rule. I know the MLS teams did not take the U.S. Open Cup very seriously, but it is nice to see several lower-tier clubs, including Richmond, in the quarterfinals.
Washington, D.C.: Why did Kevin Payne decline to comment for your article on the stadium, when he was quoted in two other articles (WTOP and the Examiner)?
Both other articles where much more upbeat about the prospects of the deal still working out. Do you (or David Nakamura) plan to follow up with D.C. United's response at all, or on the community event they held on Sunday?
I was very worried when I first read the article you helped David Nakamura with, but the other articles were much more reassuring. Frankly, The Post article sounded like a tool of the city's administration to put more bargaining power behind them.
Steven Goff: The Post's stadium story was breaking news last weekend and, as is often the case in such situations, a subject avoids initial comment. A few days later, after the dust had settled, United decided to step forward and address the issue (sort of).
The other articles were more upbeat because they did not have city government officials saying what was really going on behind the scenes. United tried to put a positive spin on things, as they should.
Believe what you want to believe, but things are not looking good for the stadium project...at the moment. Things could change. They usually do. When something substantial arises, I am sure the Metro staff will write about it.
Capitol Hill: Any news on Adu moving to Benfica? Thanks
Steven Goff: Benfica is very interested. So are several other clubs. Reports out of SLC last night said a potential deal with Benfica had fallen through. My sources tell me it was not that close to begin with.
Still haven't heard what you expect the line up to be when (if) everyone gets healthy. So who gets the bump?
Thanks for all of your Insider work.
Steven Goff: Good question. Perkins in goal, no doubt Vanney, Boswell in central defense McTavish or Namoff on the right? Gros or Burch on the left? Or maybe McTavish on the right and Namoff on the left. Midfield: Fred, Gomez, Olsen and then...Gros? Carroll? Simms? Moreno and Emilio up front Lots of tough decisions for Soehn, but you could see different lineups in various matches depending on injuries, form, suspensions, etc.
Hopeful Englishman: Any news about South Africa's progress in making the World Cup in three years a reality? Is England still a backup plan?
Steven Goff: At this point, I would be very surprised if FIFA pulled the World Cup out of South Africa. They want this to happen, they need this to happen, and barring monumental setbacks, I think it will be held there. Several countries are waiting in the wings, just in case...
Spotsylvania, Va.: So what cool and hip celebrities do you think will be at RFK in two weeks when His Royal Majesty visits?
Steven Goff: Great question! Well, let's see... Beckham is tight with Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise works for Dan Snyder...hmmmm... I'm sure you will see many VIPs at RFK. Sort of like an average day at the Soccer Insider.
Baltimore: You seem a little more relaxed and lively each time you appear on Washington Post Live. Is that something you look forward to doing now?
Steven Goff: Yeah, it's fun. I have stopped going to the Comcast studio in Bethesda just because of the logistics and time commitment, but hope to continue contributing via remote from the Post newsroom. Thanks for watching!
Fredericksburg, Va.: Of the four main tournaments in which MLS teams play (Champions Cup, U.S. Open Cup, Copa Sudamerica, and SuperLiga), in what order would you rank them in importance?
Steven Goff: Hmmmm..... Nothing against the Open Cup, but that would have to be last. Copa Sudamericana does not do much for me at the moment, for whatever reason. I think SuperLiga could become a huge event because of the simmering USA-MEX rivalry at various levels. To me, Champions Cup has to be first because the winner goes to the Club World Cup, right? 1. Champions Cup 2. Copa Sud (tie) SuperLiga 4. Open Cup
Washington, D.C.: So tell us about America. Are we ready for that game and are we resting anyone tonight in anticipation of that game?
Steven Goff: Moreno, Namoff, Kpene and Moose will not play tonight because of injury. The club is hopeful a couple of 'em will be available against Club America. Other than that, United can't afford to rest anyone -- their bench is thin. As for America, I won't be able to assess them until I see them play vs. Houston tonight.
Vienna, Va.: If United were to acquire Veron (hypothetical, I know), where would he play? How would this affect Gomez?
Steven Goff: Veron, a great two-way player, behind Gomez in central midfield.
Bethesda, Md.: Svrluga just wrote in his chat that the Nats players hate the RFK field? What are DCU players saying?
Steven Goff: No one is thrilled about the RFK field, but considering the unique circumstances of two teams from different sports sharing a stadium and playing parallel seasons, it works out okay. Just a few more months and the Nats will have their own place and RFK will return to soccer only.
Westport, Conn.: Any word on soccer events planned around the MLS Cup title game? Do you know what MLS has planned that week for fans? It is hard to believe it is less than four months away ...
Steven Goff: There are always plenty of fan-friendly events in the days leading up to MLS Cup. I don't believe the league has announced the schedule for Washington this fall yet.
Blacksburg, Va.: What's going on with Bryan Arguez?
Steven Goff: Arguez missed several weeks while with the u-20 national team at the World Cup in Canada. He would've been included on the travel roster to New York last weekend because of all the absences, but was left off for reasons the team will not discuss. From what I understand, it was not a big issue. And even if he had traveled, he was not going to be one of the potential three subs. He's young and still developing.
Baltimore, Md.: In watching Troy Perkins lately I keep wondering do we have goal keeping problems to go along with our defensive problems? What do you think?
Also what's the latest on Veron?
Steven Goff: Perkins remains one of the better keepers in the league. He did, however, admit to making a couple crucial mistakes against Dallas in the 3-3 tie. In the New York game, both Boswell and McTavish were beaten to headers in the box. Not exactly Perkins's fault.
Bethesda, Md.: Svrluga won't answer my questions. Will you?
Steven Goff: Svrluga is clearly a snob... ...and so am I!
Annandale, Va.: Steve, keep up the great work with Soccer Insider -- the best online source for soccer dish in the U.S.
1. If you were Kevin Payne, what type of DP would you be trying to sign right now -- what position/role screams out to you as the most important for D.C. United to upgrade?
2. Which player currently on the team has been the biggest disappointment to United management?
Steven Goff: Thanks for the kind words. I like the idea of trying to get Veron -- United could use an internationally seasoned two-way midfielder who would bring some bite to the lineup. We'll have to wait and see if this will happen, if not now, then this winter. Biggest disappointment? Carroll has not played as well as in the past, Dyachenko has yet to emerge, Gomez has been unable to replicate his MVP season.....hard to really pinpoint one player.
Fred: Any insider info on how Fred likes his new role up top after just having started to look comfortable in his wide midfield role?
I'll assume this is a temporary move by Soehn since so many forwards are out injured.
Steven Goff: Yes, it is temporary. The other day, he kinda had the freedom to roam. United played a 4-5-1 at the start, but things evolved as the match progressed.
Bethesda, Md.: How good is David Beckham? Is he the best player in MLS now? Is he over the hill? You know who would be a good catch for an MLS team, Zidane from France, he is well known, controversial and he is very good.
Steven Goff: Beckham is still very good, as we saw at Real Madrid this past spring, but hard to say at the moment how much impact he will have on the field in MLS on a struggling team in the middle of a season. At the moment, guys like Schelotto at Columbus, Toja at Dallas, Angel at New York, Donovan at L.A., Johnson at K.C., De Rosario at Houston (a few others?) are MLS's top talent.
Boston: Is there a potential downside to Becks coming to the States in having a large number of more casual fans being drawn into the hype, not being able to understand why Becks doesn't dominate games and being turned off from the game? Even the interest around the Cosmos (with much more international talent) evaporated quickly.
Steven Goff: Absolutely. That's a great point, and something I addressed a few months ago on the Soccer Insider. Freddy Adu confronted the same issue when he entered the league -- if he's not scoring goals, will the casual fan (who has been told over and over by MLS that you MUST watch this player) appreciate his skills?
Eastern Market, D.C.: Let me get this straight -- DCU gave $50,000 to rebuild Eastern Market, paid for all of the Family Fun Day stuff, and has coddled myriad politicians for years and they STILL can't get a stadium deal in D.C.? How is that possible?
Steven Goff: Unfortunately, it's a little more complex than that. I understand your point, though. It's a long process.
Soccer Insider: Two part question:
When you sign autographs, do you go with "Steven Goff" or with "Soccer Insider," or some combination thereof?
Can I have your autograph?
Steven Goff: LOL An autograph will cost ya, big time! On that note, we have reached the end. Thanks for the questions -- sorry I could not get to all of 'em. I'll host another chat in two weeks. In the meantime, keep coming back to the Soccer Insider. Five times a day. Ten times a day. Peace! SG _______________________
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Dan is also deputy editor of Niemanwatchdog.org.
Dan Froomkin: Hi everyone and welcome to another White House Watch chat. My column today is about how President Bush has become quite the publicist for al-Qaeda. After a long period during which Bush avoided even mentioning Osama bin Laden's name, Bush in the past two years repeatedly has invoked this murderous thug and his words in an effort to terrify Americans into supporting his deeply unpopular war. The culmination, it seems to me, was yesterday's speech, during which he mentioned al-Qaeda and bin Laden 118 times in 29 minutes as he argued that the horrific violence unleashed by the U.S. invasion in Iraq somehow would come to America's shores if U.S. troops were to withdraw.
Hopefully the column will be up shortly. I'll let you know. In the meantime, to your questions and comments!
Fairfax, Va.: Can you shed some light on why so many in the mainstream media can not write in explicit terms about the unending succession of Bush assertions that are intended to mislead the electorate on a whole host of issues? Most Post political reporters and pundits (Howard Kurtz in particular) shy away from reporting that what the president is saying is often a conscious fabrication, deception or a flat out lie.
It is becoming clearer every day that no matter how illogical or blatantly fallacious the something the president says or does is, the MSM will stick their collective head in the sand and over and over again find a "balanced" way to report so that they don't have to characterize the president as the liar he often is.
Who are these journalists accountable to, if anyone? Will they not report truthfully for the rest of this presidency so they can avoid having to admit to their readers that they have not told us "like it is" all along?
Dan Froomkin: It's true that MSM reporters avoid the word "lie" like the plague. They do so for a reason: to call someone a liar presumes that you know their state of mind. The MSM reporter's argument is: unless you present me with definitive evidence of a state of mind -- which generally would entail an admission from the person in question -- then all I can do is report what he said, as well as other statements and evidence that may controvert what he says.
But here's the problem. People who lie don't often admit it. What's interesting to me is that in the criminal justice system, people often are convicted of crimes -- including perjury -- when there isn't an admission as to state of mind. There is such a thing as circumstantial evidence. Juries convict based on persuasive circumstantial evidence all the time. So my question is, why the MSM isn't willing to do the same -- not necessarily all the time, or even often. But how about sometimes?
St. Paul, Minn.: Hi Dan -- thanks for your always illuminating columns and it was great to see you on MSNBC a while back. They really need to have you on more often. Here's my question: what will it take to help the public understand that the reason Congress can't get anything done (especially with the war) is because we have a president who refuses to acknowledge their role is setting policy (not to mention the will of the American people)? It's unbelievable to me that, in the battle of whose ratings are lower, Bush comes out looking good (though good -- in the low-bar world we are have become accustomed to with GWB -- is of course a relative term).
Dan Froomkin: Actually, right now the reason Congress isn't getting anything done seems to be that Democrats are still afraid to fully stand up to the president, and that Republicans are still in a position to block them, at least in the Senate, when they do. (See today's Tom Toles cartoon.)
If and when those obstacles are overcome, only then will the reason you raise truly become an issue.
Bessemer, Ala.: In spite of the many abuses Bush administration has heaped on the country such as war, torture and spying on Americans, why can't we stop him before he does more harm?
Dan Froomkin: A two-part response:
1) To pass veto-proof legislation, Congress will require the defection of a significant number of Republican elected officials. Despite some rhetorical fireworks from a small number of Republicans, there is still no sign that they will stop reflexively siding with Bush pretty much across the board. So you can blame them.
2) You (and the press corps) might want to focus more specifically on one particular question: Why can't we stop him before he attacks Iran? (Or can we?)
Anonymous: Milbank says today: "But the scandal-ridden Gonzales has the support of the only person who matters -- President Bush."
Isn't Gonzales, the human shiny penny, doing exactly what Bush wants him to do: lie, evade, create confusion, distraction and frustration and keep the senators and Congress busy and away from the president and the vice president -- kinda like fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here. Who else would do this ignoble task? Gonzales has no pride and proof Bush and Cheney have no interest in governing.
Dan Froomkin: As it happens, I've made a similar argument about Gonzales in the past. See my April 20 column, The Gonzales Clown Show. Time flies, huh?
San Francisco: Bill Kristol recently repeated the administration's claim that there hasn't been a terrorist attack since Sept. 11, 2001. This is untrue; President Bush described the anthrax attacks as "a second wave of terrorist attacks upon our country" in his Nov. 3, 2001, radio address. Why the amnesia about the anthrax attacks?
Dan Froomkin: A good point. And White House homeland security adviser Fran Townsend was forced to acknowledge this at her July 17 briefing. Here's her exchange with Agence France-Presse's Olivier Knox:
Q: Fran, you said that we've not been -- "in the six years since the Sept. 11 attacks, we've not been attacked, and I'm often asked why" -- are we any closer to finding out who carried out the anthrax attacks that followed the Sept. 11 attacks?
MS. TOWNSEND: Obviously that's an ongoing investigation. I'm sure Director Mueller would be delighted to answer. (Laughter.)
Q: But doesn't that count as a terrorist attack? I mean, that is a subsequent event, right, so it's --
MS. TOWNSEND: It does in my mind.
Madison, Wis.: Hi Dan. Thanks for taking my question. It appears that this administration is taking stonewalling to an entirely new level -- a level that threatens to defang the traditional powers of the legislative branch. I'm surprised that even the most partisan "loyal Bushies" are defending the executive power grab. How do you account for their behavior?
Alexandria, Va.: Your articles seem to just regurgitate the same diatribes day in and day out. ... You look for and point out the negatives of the administration before they open their mouths to speak. This daily report is nothing new and getting kinda dull.
Dan Froomkin: There is a certain repetitious nature to the column sometimes, I know. But I assure you that I wait until after they speak to point out what you call the negatives and what I would call the contradictions.
Also, in my defense, I will point out that repetition is considered a virtue by this White House.
Minneapolis: Isn't it supremely ironic that the attorney general is sticking around to restore the American public's confidence in the Justice Department? Isn't the AG the American public's biggest problem re: confidence in the institution? More importantly, is there any way Fredo will resign or be fired before the end of the second term?
Dan Froomkin: Sorry, but when it comes to the DOJ these days, irony is dead. At this point, it's hard to imagine what would drive Gonzales from office. The Democrats could impeach him, but I suspect they fear a media backlash. So, I guess the most likely scenario is a widely publicized and graphic example of how the department is failing to fulfill its basic duties, on account of the empty suits and empty offices at headquarters.
Beverly Hills, Calif.: Watching the presidential press conferences gives one the definite impression that the members of the press corps are derelict in their traditional duty. Why do they allow Bush to promulgate inaccuracies and lies without aggressive follow-up questions? If Bush moves on to someone else following a blatant misstatement of the truth, that new person should do the follow-up.
Dan Froomkin: Bush filibusters. And he can make it hard to ask a follow-up question.
Your point about other reporters following up on previous answers is spot-on -- but I suspect most reporters already have their question in mind, and won't abandon it easily, which is a shame.
Way back in December 2004, I wrote up my thoughts about how reporters might be able to do a better job of getting Bush to answer questions. (See Mr. President, will you answer the question?)
Farmington Hills, Mich.: Dan, I love your column and wish everybody were as passionate about accountability as you -- for both sides of the aisle.
My question is regarding political movements. In the beginning of 2006 all reporters that I read claimed the Republicans would keep the House and Senate. Through the year they started shifting, saying okay, the House might switch but the Senate was not in play. Up until election night most were skeptical of Democrat chances in spite of all the polling. I wonder if the same dynamic is happening with regard to impeachment. Is the country ready but the media not willing to jump on board and pressure Washington to take it seriously? I really hate thinking that members of editorial boards get to influence these types of decisions.
Dan Froomkin: What a cleverly constructed argument (starting with the flattery -- thanks). And you do have a point. There are political tipping points, and it's possible that one on impeachment will come suddenly.
I think your emphasis on the media is correct, too. I suspect a lot more Democrats would be in favor of impeachment if they didn't fear, as I alluded to above, a ferocious media backlash, accusing them of overreaching, etc.
If Democrats are waiting to feel a palpable sense of outrage in America's newsrooms, I think they may be in for a long wait. I don't get the sense that's how American newsrooms work anymore. (Although they should! See my NiemanWatchdog.org essay: I.F. Stone's lessons for Internet journalism.)
Juneau, Ark.: Hi Dan --
You often refer to some of your old columns when history repeats itself (or whatever). When you look back at your own writings do you wish you would have been harder or more pointed in your reviewing/reporting and if so what issues/subjects stand out to you (and your own internal ombudsman) as ones you should have drilled down more.
Dan Froomkin: What an interesting question.
When I look back at my own writings, I most often marvel at how much history is repeating itself. (Or, less charitably, how repetitious I am.)
I can't think of any particularly columns where I held back in a way that shames me (although I'm sure given time you readers and I could come up with a few great examples).
Chevy Chase, Md.: Dan --
I say this out of sheer frustration:
What is to be gained by trying to exert congressional oversight on this President? The administration lies and obstructs at all ends. Senators were literally throwing up their hands yesterday because they knew that Gonzo was lying, but they couldn't do anything about it. The public doesn't seem to care and it plays into the simple-minded and very effective talking point that Democrats are wasting the country's time.
Dan Froomkin: As I was just saying to Farmington Hills, there are political tipping points. And you never get to them if you give up too soon.
Giving up on congressional oversight would be a disaster.
Sun Prairie, Wis.: Good afternoon, Dan and thanks as always for doing these chats.
Even after all we've seen from this administration, the spectacle yesterday of the Attorney General of the United States lying through his teeth before Congress, not once but repeatedly, was a shocking thing to see. With respect, a possible perjury indictment?
Now that the White House has forbidden government lawyers to participate in contempt of Congress prosecutions, should we expect a similar directive barring federal prosecutors from handling a perjury case against the Attorney General?
Dan Froomkin: I think that would be a tougher sell. Might hasten one of those tipping points I keep talking about.
Dan Froomkin: Hooray! My column is up! Al Qaeda's Best Publicist. Read it and come right back.
Anonymous: Glen Greenwald in Salon today makes a pretty serious post today that it is not news that there are other "intelligence activities" beyond the "Terrorist Surveillance Program" which involved clearly illegal spying during 2001-2004 (and almost lead to mass resignations at Justice). Has anyone in the press done any digging on the legalities of these activities during this time frame? As Greenwald asks: "Is anyone in the Beltway interested in what they were doing during this time? "
Dan Froomkin: Glenn Greenwald is scary smart. I haven't had a chance to read his post today yet, but I certainly agree that indications of an entirely separate and probably illegal spying program should not be allowed to remain unexplored. It's well past time to shake every tree.
Los Angeles, Calif.: One question for Bush: are you just as certain about connections between the Iraqi group al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia and the terrorist network responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks as you were that Iraq possessed WMDs? Confidence was lost in the Bushies' intelligence capability with the costly and deadly Iraq WMD invasion debacle. President Kennedy showed the world photos as proof of Russian missiles in Cuba during that crisis. "Take my word" is not an option available to the Bushies after the Iraq-WMD screw-up. Taking the Bushies word costs too much in lives, injuries, money, nation infrastructure & property damage and U.S. worldwide prestige. This is not to imply that al-Qaeda is blameless, but rather a request for evidence and avoidance of speculative rhetoric that got the U.S. into massive nation building in Iraq.
Dan Froomkin: A reasonable point. Even more so when you consider how politicized the war has become, how politicized your modern crop of generals has become and the political background of the military spokesman in Iraq. (See my column from last week, Bush's Baghdad Mouthpiece.)
Washington, D.C.: Assuming Gonzales doesn't "clarify" yesterday's testimony, there's no doubt he was in contempt of Congress, and perjured himself. So how would the media (apart from Murdoch organizations, Washington Times, National Review, etc.) justify to itself a "backlash" against Democrats if impeachment proceedings were begun against him?
Dan Froomkin: Ah, it is never wise to underestimate the power of what lefty bloggers like to call High Broderism.
Washington, D.C.: Could this administration invade Iran without any type of approval from anyone? Would he/they simply say it is connected to the Iraq War and cite the (shudder) previous approval as permission? Would the military back him up? This is unbelievably frightening!
Dan Froomkin: Given all the vaguely sourced but authoritative rumors about Bush's (or, rather, Cheney's) intention to attack Iran sometime before they leave office, I think these are very important questions. I don't have the answers. But I intend to learn more.
Anonymous: An earlier poster wrote, "...Senators were literally throwing up their hands yesterday because they knew that Gonzo was lying, but they couldn't do anything about it. The public doesn't seem to care, and it plays into the simple-minded and very effective talking point that Democrats are wasting the country's time."
While I hear this often on the TV, I don't think it's true. I've never experienced as much general awareness of politics among my acquaintances as I do now. I think that's part of the Admin's problem, they make too much news. Things are not supposed to be so eventful. It's annoying.
Dan Froomkin: Interesting point. Thanks. Anyone else sense a greater awareness of politics (outside the usual places)?
Anonymous: Don't you think you could write a story today stating what Gen. Petraeus will say in his report, how Pres. Bush will react and how his opponents will respond? Is there ANY suspense?
Dan Froomkin: Well, I think there's little doubt that Bush and Petraeus will do whatever they can to kick the can a bit further down the road. But I don't know what Congress will do.
20009: I don't listen to a word this President says anymore about Iraq, al-Qaeda, the budget, anything. Is this a good use of my time, or is it dangerous not to pay very close attention to his utterances?
Dan Froomkin: Ignoring his utterances? Not a bad idea. But ignoring his actions? Very bad idea.
Ellicott City, Md.: On a lighter note, your last piece in today's column was about the White House dress code -- and now, after over six years in office, they're still blaming Clinton for the "decline" in how people dress at the WH! Of those currently working at the White House, who could possibly have been influenced by the Clinton style? Will they ever stop blaming Clinton?
Dan Froomkin: Wasn't that a hoot? And no, they never will.
Political Awareness: Yes, mine has increased in leaps and bounds since 9/11, and Bush's subsequent decisions. A friend of mine told me who he is going to vote for last night. He normally would be ambivalent up until the national election, rather than decided months out from the PRIMARY. We are becoming more engaged ... I hope.
Washington, D.C.: Has anyone asked the president or any candidates this question: How will we know when the War on Terrorism is over? Will there be a declaration? A treaty? An announcement? Or are we at war forever?
Dan Froomkin: Another great question. Bush is wont to say there won't be a surrender ceremony -- but what will there be? My guess: The "war on terror" will end on January 20, 2009. And there will be a ceremony of sorts.
Gaithersburg, Md.: Just responding to journalists and reporting of the president ... sorry if this is a repeat.
It seems to me that journalists are in the business of collecting and reporting on significant facts. When the president speaks, that's a fact. What he says may or may not be a fact. That's why, if the president says something as fact, journalists should (and often do), seek out another source to either confirm that fact, or offer some reason why the fact is not ... er ... confirmable.
That's all reporters/editors/producers should/can be expected to do ... not in any way "convict" based on "circumstantial evidence." It's not about conviction -- it's about getting at the truth, whether you like it or not.
Dan Froomkin: Thanks for your comments. I believe in a more assertive press than that. I think all of our attempted triangulation has made us less vital.
Rockford, Ill.: You asked: anyone else sense a greater awareness of politics (outside the usual places)? YES! People who usually do not have/take time to follow government and politicians are watching closely. Scarcely an occasion arises without someone voicing an opinion about the shenanigans coming from Bush's administration. Even life-long Republicans are bemoaning the disappearance of a true Republican Party. (Yes, they are late-to-the-table on that, but since Bush is also late-to-the-table on so many issues, I supposed it's okay.)
There is no "middle" any more.
Dan Froomkin: Interesting point. And to the extent that the MSM considers its proper place to be in the middle, maybe that's why it isn't making anyone very happy these days.
Bethesda: "Anyone else sense a greater awareness of politics (outside the usual places)?"
Well, when a couple of my out-of-state, very "middle America" relatives (and I say that having grown up there myself), who skim their local paper (you know, where the national and international coverage consists of a few AP stories and severely chopped wire versions of Times and Post pieces) and, while generally voting Dem, are not at all political junkies like yours truly, began a conversation last Christmas with, "So when are they going to impeach this guy already?" -- I started to wonder.
Dan Froomkin: Yes folks, we have a trend!
Anonymous: "My guess: The "war on terror" will end on January 20, 2009. And there will be a ceremony of sorts. "
I, for one, plan to hold up a Mission Accomplished banner on that day.
Dan Froomkin: Oh, the irony.
Flip-flops: I feel bad for that high school women's team (I forgot which sport) that got a lot of media attention because several members wore flip-flops to a photo op with Bush. It's like a direct slap at them. ...
Dan Froomkin: Yes! In solidarity with the Northwestern University's national championship women's lacrosse team, I say we should all wear flip-flops to the White House!
Oxford, Ohio: Regarding increased awareness of the political situation in the country:
I definitely see it -- it's very surprising to hear normally very conservative people (Republicans), who don't even usually talk about politics in mixed company, say very mean things about Bush and Co. and the war. There is a real anger out here, total frustration and helplessness.
Abbeville, Ala.: Hi, Mr. Froomkin.
I certainly sense a heightened awareness of politics, and a building sense of outrage. For myself, up until around 2003, I was living my life, not much concerned with the goings on in Washington. Now, I feel that I MUST pay attention, that the time is critical and dangerous for our democracy.
Dan Froomkin: Thank you, Alabama.
Boston, Mass.: I had to laugh at the irony of this mentoring scene from a NYT article about chats between Bush and Maliki. Do you think Bush recommended that Maliki pretend to do some town-hall forums (but screen out all the Sunnis)? I also like the phrase "make a public show" instead of recommending that he actually represents all interests in the country.
"Bush administration officials say the sessions have given Mr. Bush a forum to persuade Mr. Maliki to make more of a public show of being a leader to all Iraqis, not just his fellow Shiites."
Dan Froomkin: Interesting piece in the New York Times, wasn't it? And you can read it in so many ways.
Arlington, Va.: The war on terror is too useful for any future president to abandon. They will quietly thank Bush for it.
Dan Froomkin: A scary argument. It does invest the presidency with a lot of power, doesn't it?
Eden Prairie, Minn.: Dan: It would be very enlightening if newspapers, especially yours quoted Tony Snow verbatim, especially his serial "I don't knows." The press corps seems to be giving him a pass. Your thoughts?
Dan Froomkin: We'd kill a lot more trees doing that. Yochi J. Dreazen blogged the other day for the Wall Street Journal that Snow's honeymoon is over. I'm not sure I agree -- but I never understood the honeymoon anyway.
Dan Froomkin: Okay, thanks everyone for another great discussion. Sorry I couldn't get to more of your comments and questions. See you again here in two weeks -- and weekday afternoons on the home page!
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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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The Kohlrabi Chronicles, or What Can I Make With This?
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You think it's so easy getting those recommended daily servings of fruit and vegetables this time of year? Dodging cars as they head to Honk Your Horn 4 Corn roadside stands; extracting yet another round of crisp twenties from the ATM as you prepare to be swept away at the farmers market; swabbing those juice stains on your shirt front.
There's an embarrassment of riches, ripe and colorful and unbound by shrink-wrapped foam trays. Ich bin ein Vegetarian, eh? At least until the burgers come off the grill.
So you pick what beckons, and the stuff comes home in heaps. Or better yet, it comes in a box each week, straight from the community-supported agriculture membership you signed up for in the winter.
You keep things simple; you make what you know. As the weeks go by, however, small demons run amok. Those chef contestants on television aren't doing Zucchini Four Ways. And the ingredients outside your comfort zone: What's to be done with them? Everything does not fall into either the "slice thinly for a salad" or "saute in olive oil" categories, does it?
Well, the very folks who bring you all that farm-fresh tsoris are the ones who can help solve the problems. Local growers are used to handing out recipes, but increasingly, they're playing Answer Man. They try new varieties; some go over like gangbusters, some do not. They do a lot of explaining. So we asked a few to share their stories and strategies.
MIKE KLEIN, Good Fortune Farm in Brandywine, who is in his third season as a full-time farmer:
Stumpers: Green radicchio, daikon radishes, giant kohlrabi, two-pound zucchini.
Strategies: The radicchio is "a novel crop that none of my CSA clients had seen before," he says. "It didn't form heads. Kind of bitter, but not as much as arugula and Batavian endive. It's kind of good for salads, but not great. We're telling people to marinate it with a sweet vinaigrette, or grill it."
About kohlrabi: "I tell people to roast it, or shred it and make coleslaw. Use small ones, as you would turnips."
About radishes: "You can eat only so many radish chips," he says. "We've told people to try making daikon coleslaw, or to pickle them."
His squash harvest began rolling in early. Klein admits that some zucchini might have gotten a bit larger than he'd intended: "Some days, we didn't look under the right leaf. But I haven't saturated anybody's appetite yet, it seems."
BECKY LATANE, Blenheim Organic Gardens in Washington's Birthplace, Va., who has been selling at farmers markets for seven years and to CSA members for four years:
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You think it's so easy getting those recommended daily servings of fruit and vegetables this time of year? Dodging cars as they head to Honk Your Horn 4 Corn roadside stands; extracting yet another round of crisp twenties from the ATM as you prepare to be swept away at the farmers market; swabbin...
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Gonzales, Senators Spar on Credibility
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Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales testified yesterday that top congressional leaders from both parties agreed in March 2004 to continue a classified surveillance activity that Justice Department officials had deemed illegal, a contention immediately disputed by key Democratic lawmakers.
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (W.Va.), who were briefed on the program at the time, said there was no consensus that it should proceed. Three others who were at the meeting also said the legal underpinnings of the program were never discussed.
"He once again is making something up to protect himself," Rockefeller said of the embattled attorney general.
The dispute came as Gonzales weathered one of the most contentious and hostile congressional hearings seen during the Bush administration. Democrats and the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee accused him of repeatedly misleading them and warned that he could face perjury charges if he lied to the panel.
"I do not find your testimony credible, candidly," said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), who became visibly angry at several points during his exchanges with Gonzales. "The committee's going to review your testimony very carefully to see if your credibility has been breached to the point of being actionable."
Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) told Gonzales bluntly: "I don't trust you."
The session was a political low point for the attorney general, whose reputation has eroded over the past seven months in Congress, in public opinion polls and among many of his own employees.
Gonzales has found himself in the middle of a running controversy over his department's firing of nine U.S. attorneys, and the White House has refused to provide documents and testimony that House and Senate lawmakers have demanded. Gonzales has also been accused of making misleading statements about issues including FBI civil liberties abuses and a warrantless surveillance program run by the National Security Agency.
Specter appeared to raise the stakes for Gonzales and the administration yesterday by suggesting that a special prosecutor may be needed to file contempt charges against the White House officials who have refused to honor congressional subpoenas.
Much of yesterday's to-and-fro involved a controversial episode on the evening of March 10, 2004, when Gonzales and then-White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. visited the hospital bed of then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, who was recovering from gallbladder surgery.
Gonzales, providing his first detailed public account of the incident, testified that the visit followed an emergency meeting that afternoon with the "Gang of Eight," consisting of the bipartisan leaders of the House, the Senate and both intelligence committees. Gonzales said the congressional leaders had agreed that a classified surveillance program aimed at terrorists should continue despite objections by James B. Comey, the acting attorney general during Ashcroft's illness.
"Mr. Comey had informed us that he would not approve the continuation of a very important intelligence activity, despite the fact the department had repeatedly approved those activities over a period of over two years," Gonzales said. "The consensus in the room from the congressional leadership is that we should continue the activities, at least for now. . . . We felt it important that the attorney general knew about the views and the recommendations of the congressional leadership."
Gonzales said that he and Card "never had any intent to ask anything of him if we did not feel that he was competent," adding that Ashcroft was "lucid" and did most of the talking during the meeting. Gonzales acknowledged that, as Comey testified, Ashcroft declined to overrule Comey.
Gonzales's testimony differed from an account Comey provided to the same committee in May. Comey said that he had rushed to the hospital after learning that Gonzales was headed there, and that he believed Gonzales and Card sought "to take advantage of a very sick man." Comey did not mention any discussion in the room about the congressional leadership's views.
Pelosi, Rockefeller and former senator Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.), who were members of the Gang of Eight at the time, also sharply disputed Gonzales's description of the White House meeting. Daschle said in a statement that he could not recall the meeting and is "quite certain that at no time did we encourage the AG or anyone else to take such actions." He added: "This appears to be another attempt to rewrite history."
Rockefeller said that lawmakers were never asked to give the program their approval and that administration officials' infrequent briefings about it were short and involved "virtually no questions."
The Bush administration has repeatedly refused to describe which classified program was at issue, but officials have said privately that it is related to a warrantless counterterrorism surveillance effort by the NSA, which the president confirmed after aspects of it were leaked to the public. Gonzales has said several times that the disputed program was not precisely the same as what Bush confirmed.
Three people who were present, but who declined to be identified discussing classified activities, said the March 2004 meeting in the White House Situation Room was an operational briefing on the NSA surveillance program. The legal underpinnings of the program were never discussed, they said, but the congressional group raised no objections and agreed that the program should go forward, they said.
The issue came to a head during a heated exchange between Gonzales and Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) about a statement Gonzales made at a news conference in June, suggesting that the hospital visit did involve the NSA program that Bush confirmed. Gonzales testified that he misspoke and cited clarifying remarks that one of his aides sent to The Washington Post several days after the news conference.
At the hearing, Gonzales said he intends to stay on as attorney general to "fix the problems" that occurred on his watch, including the improper use of political considerations in hiring career employees. He declined to answer questions related to the prosecutor firings and the legal dispute between Congress and the White House, saying he was recused from discussing those issues because of an ongoing investigation by his department.
Gonzales received relatively little assistance from the handful of Republicans who showed up yesterday. The lone Republican who stayed for the duration was Specter, whose commentary was as harsh as that of Democrats. Specter's opening question was about whether the hospital visit concerned the NSA program, prompting Gonzales's first attempt to convince his listeners that it did not.
"Mr. Attorney General, do you expect us to believe that?" Specter asked incredulously.
Staff writer Walter Pincus contributed to this report.
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Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales testified yesterday that top congressional leaders from both parties agreed in March 2004 to continue a classified surveillance activity that Justice Department officials had deemed illegal, a contention immediately disputed by key Democratic lawmakers.
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With Senate and Gonzales, Familiarity Breeds Contempt
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White House officials are vying to be the first person held in "contempt of Congress" for refusing to cooperate with probes of the Bush administration.
Turns out the contempt is mutual.
After four hours of questioning Attorney General Alberto Gonzales yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee didn't even require a vote to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Congress is in contempt of Gonzales.
Consider some of the invective directed at the attorney general as he sat hunched and grim at the witness table:
"The department is dysfunctional. . . . Every week a new issue arises. . . . That is just decimating, Mr. Attorney General. . . . The list goes on and on. . . . Is your department functioning? . . . What credibility is left for you? . . . Do you expect us to believe that? . . . Your credibility has been breached to the point of being actionable."
And that was just from the top Republican on the committee, Arlen Specter (Pa.). Democrats had to scramble to keep up with the ranking member's contempt.
"I don't trust you," announced Chairman Pat Leahy (D-Vt.), who paused, while swearing in the witness, to emphasize "nothing but the truth" -- as if lecturing a child.
"You just constantly change the story, seemingly to fit your needs to wiggle out of being caught," added Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
"You, sir, are in fact the problem," submitted Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).
But the scandal-ridden Gonzales has the support of the only person who matters -- President Bush -- and that allowed him to be as contemptuous as he was contemptible. To Leahy: "I think you've misunderstood my response." To Specter: "I'm not going to answer this question." To Dick Durbin (D-Ill.): "I'm not going to get in a public discussion here."
While the attorney general and the lawmakers exchanged mutual disregards, hecklers (one in a pink negligee and a sign proposing "Give Gonzo a pink slip") interrupted the proceedings with chants of "liar" and "resign." At hearing's end, they leaped over chairs, getting close enough to Gonzales to make him flinch.
Why would Gonzales wish to stay in the job? "That's a very good question," the witness acknowledged.
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Report Suggests Laws Broken in Attorney Firings
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House Democrats, preparing for a vote today on contempt citations against President Bush's chief of staff and former counsel, produced a report yesterday that for the first time alleges specific ways that several administration officials may have broken the law during the multiple firings of U.S. attorneys.
The report says that Congress's seven-month investigation into the firings raises "serious concerns" that senior White House and Justice Department aides involved in the removal of nine U.S. attorneys last year may have obstructed justice and violated federal statutes that protect civil service employees, prohibit political retaliation against government officials and cover presidential records.
The 52-page memorandum, from House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), seeks to explain why Democrats are trying to overcome an effort by the White House to shield officials and documents from the congressional inquiry through a claim of executive privilege. The report also provides the first written account of the Democrats' interpretation of the firings and the administration's response to the controversy.
The investigation "has uncovered serious evidence of wrongdoing by the department and White House staff," Conyers says.
The memorandum says the probe has turned up evidence that some of the U.S. attorneys were improperly selected for firing because of their handling of vote fraud allegations, public corruption cases or other cases that could affect close elections. It also says that Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and senior Justice aides "appear to have made false or misleading statements to Congress, many of which sought to minimize the role of White House personnel."
In addition, the memorandum asserts repeatedly that the president's top political adviser, Karl Rove, was the first administration official to broach the idea of firing U.S. attorneys shortly after the 2004 election -- an assertion the White House has said is not true.
In one of more than 300 footnotes, the Democrats point to a Jan. 6, 2005, e-mail from an assistant White House counsel that says that Rove "stopped by to ask . . . how we planned to proceed regarding U.S. attorneys, whether we were going to allow them to stay, request resignations from all and accept only some of them, or selectively replace them, etc."
The memorandum says that lawmakers need access to White House information to determine whether laws were broken and to rewrite laws regarding U.S. attorneys.
Yesterday evening, White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto responded to the Democrats' contentions by saying: "Repeating unsubstantiated assertions over and over again won't make them come true. After months of hearings and thousands of pages of documents, the committee appears to have now shown what little they have to show for it."
Conyers released the memorandum to Judiciary Committee members, who are set to vote on two contempt-of-Congress resolutions. One is against White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten, who is the custodian of the e-mails and other documents related to the firings that lawmakers have been seeking. The other is against former White House counsel Harriet E. Miers, who was subpoenaed to testify before the panel two weeks ago but did not appear.
Last week, White House officials vowed that if the full House holds the two officials in contempt, they would block lawmakers' ability to bring the charges before a federal judge by preventing any U.S. attorney from pursuing such a case. The administration cited a 1984 Justice Department legal opinion, never adjudicated in the courts, that said that a federal prosecutor cannot be compelled to bring a case seeking to override a president's executive privilege claim.
In the memorandum, the Democrats provide the first legal justification for countering the White House's view, saying that the 1984 legal opinion "does not apply here." For one thing, the Democrats contend, Bush has not invoked the privilege properly because he has not furnished a signed statement or "privilege logs" specifying the documents being withheld. In addition, the memo says, "there is not the slightest indication" the 1984 opinion would apply to a former executive branch official, such as Miers.
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Overhaul Urged in Care for Soldiers
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A presidential commission examining the care given to wounded U.S. service members yesterday recommended "fundamental changes" aimed at simplifying the military's convoluted health-care bureaucracy and overhauling the veterans disability system for the first time in more than half a century.
The commission, led by former senator Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.) and former Health and Human Services secretary Donna E. Shalala, met with President Bush at the White House yesterday morning to brief him on their findings and to press him for quick action. "We left there feeling the ball's in their court now," Dole said.
The panel issued six broad recommendations intended to transform a troubled system for military health care and veterans' assistance that has left some injured soldiers languishing for years and resulted in inequitable and inconsistent disability benefits.
The proposals include creating "recovery coordinators" who would help each seriously injured service member navigate the complexities of care, rehabilitation and disability; giving the Department of Veterans Affairs sole responsibility for determining payments for wounded veterans; and taking aggressive steps to prevent and treat post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury.
Yesterday afternoon, Bush announced that he had instructed Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson "to look at every one of these recommendations, to take them seriously and to implement them."
In their final commission meeting yesterday, members unanimously approved the "landmark" measures, as Shalala described them. "We . . . knew Band-Aids were not going to cut it," she said.
The 29-page report is titled "Serve, Support, Simplify." Its six overall recommendations are broken down into 35 specific "action steps," only six of which would require congressional legislation, Shalala said. Most of the others could be directed by the White House, the Pentagon and the VA, she added.
"These are doable," Shalala said at a news conference. "I told the president that I almost brought my Nike T-shirt that says, 'Just do it.' "
Bush established the President's Commission on Care for America's Returning Wounded Warriors in March after disclosures in The Washington Post of poor living conditions at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for some wounded soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The articles also detailed the bureaucratic maze that many soldiers experienced during their long recoveries.
Yesterday's Dole-Shalala commission recommendations cap a series of boards, reports, hearings and investigations by the Army, Pentagon and VA responding to the public outrage that followed the news reports. As part of that fallout, the Senate passed legislation yesterday that would address inconsistencies in Pentagon and VA disability ratings and would provide more money for the diagnosis of traumatic brain injury and PTSD.
White House press secretary Tony Snow initially told reporters yesterday that Bush would not act immediately on the panel's advice. "He's not going to be making recommendations; he's not going to be issuing calls for actions," Snow said.
But late yesterday afternoon, after Dole and Shalala's comments and criticism from a veterans group, Bush -- appearing on the White House South Lawn after going running with two soldiers who had lost legs in combat -- announced that he will move quickly.
The Dole-Shalala commission was created to examine the overall state of military medicine and care for veterans. Over the course of four months, the nine members -- including two wounded Iraq veterans, the wife of an injured soldier, and experts on health care and veterans affairs -- held seven public hearings and visited 23 medical facilities nationwide.
Shalala said the panel opted against a "laundry list" of suggestions and instead narrowed its report to the six recommendations with a common goal of creating a "simplified path to recovery."
The proposals include establishing an interactive benefits Web site called "My eBenefits," modeled after MySpace, which would provide customized information for service members and veterans about their health care and benefits. The panel called for increased funding to support families of the wounded.
The proposal to overhaul the disability system would end the current "confusing" structure in which the military services and VA issue parallel and often conflicting disability ratings, commissioners said. They also recommended basing the VA's payments to veterans in part on their quality of life, not just on the work-related effects of their physical and mental injuries. "This is a very important change, because in the past it was just based on your disability," Dole said.
In addition, the commission called for ensuring that Walter Reed attract and retain "first-rate professionals to deliver first-rate care," even though it is slated to close in 2011. Dole, who was injured in combat in Italy during World War II, said the Pentagon must fight the impression that Walter Reed is a "dead-end" assignment for doctors and nurses by adding incentive packages that encourage them to stay.
The panel avoided making recriminations, Dole said. "We weren't going to have a whitewash or a witch hunt," he said.
Many aspects of military health care at Walter Reed and elsewhere are "first-rate," he added. "We visited with individual veterans, their families, doctors, whoever. And sure there are problems . . . but not everybody had a problem, and I think it got a little out of proportion there," he said.
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A presidential commission examining the care given to wounded U.S. service members yesterday recommended "fundamental changes" aimed at simplifying the military's convoluted health-care bureaucracy and overhauling the veterans disability system for the first time in more than half a century.
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Service Civilians and the Wounds of War
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Traveling through Sunni insurgent territory north of Baghdad, the U.S. military convoy was nearing a base when a roadside bomb ripped into the lead Humvee, leaving its gunner, Mike Helms, bleeding and swaying from a strap in the open back.
Helms, 31, a civilian counterintelligence expert with the Army's 902nd Military Intelligence Group, had been sent to Iraq in 2004 to help fill a critical intelligence gap in the area known as the Sunni Triangle. While in Iraq, he lived with soldiers and ate military rations, took fire from mortar rounds and small arms, and clocked hundreds of miles manning a machine gun on the back of a Humvee.
Nevertheless, his status as an Army civilian would leave him stranded in the aftermath of the June 16, 2004, attack, when the bomb hit his Humvee so hard it blew his M-60 off its turret.
In the months that followed, Helms recalled, he was denied vital care for his wounds -- ranging from shrapnel in his left arm to traumatic brain injury. Forced to rely on federal workers' compensation and turned away from regular care at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and other military hospitals, Helms has faced years of frustration grappling with bureaucracies unprepared to help a government civilian wounded in combat.
"I did not have an 'accident' while working. I was subjected to an offensive attack by an enemy of the U.S. government who attempted to kill me," said Helms, now a counterintelligence agent at the 902nd's Fort Knox, Ky., field office. "Why am I under workers' comp if workers' comp does not recognize a combat injury?"
As the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan strain the U.S. military, the Pentagon is sending civilian workers such as Helms into war zones to provide critical support to the troops, raising questions about their status and treatment.
Several thousand Defense Department civilian employees -- with about 3,300 of them from the Army -- are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to Pentagon data. Since 2001, about 7,500 DOD civilians have worked in those combat zones or in anti-terrorism capacities elsewhere, including seven who died there and 118 who were injured.
"We must use government civilians . . . to fill out the force or we could not do our job right now," said Gary J. Motsek, assistant deputy undersecretary of defense for program support. He called the civilians "unheralded patriots."
Army officials have acknowledged serious gaps in Helms's treatment and have pledged to fix them, but he says that despite repeated assurances over three years, he has not obtained the specialized care he needs. U.S. troops receive coordinated care from military doctors accustomed to battlefield injuries, but Helms's treatment has come from a hodgepodge of mainly civilian providers -- a mix of Blue Cross and workers' compensation, plus free drugs from the military that he obtains through a back-door deal with his local Army hospital.
DOD civilians such as Helms perform vital missions in Iraq. They maintain and repair equipment, provide technical expertise on new weapons systems, conduct investigations, oversee contracts and serve in logistics, engineering, medical and intelligence jobs. They work long hours and share the same -- often austere -- living conditions as U.S. troops. At the time he was injured, Helms was doing intelligence work and training novice troops in weapons and tactics.
An Army jobs Web site currently seeks civilian employees "with sharp military intelligence skills to work side by side with our troops" in Iraq, Afghanistan, Djibouti and elsewhere. "You are expected to perform military intelligence tasks as close as possible to what would be expected of military," one job description reads, while working "a 12 hour day, seven days a week."
In the back of an armored Stryker vehicle, Army civilian Benjamin Needles recently ventured into the volatile town of Baqubah on his job as a senior intelligence analyst for U.S. commanders, covering "a spectrum of issues from counterterrorism to governance," he said. If wounded, Needles added, he would expect to be treated "like any other soldier" -- an expectation not fulfilled in Helms's case.
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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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Report Cites Rebels' Wide Use of Mines In Colombia
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BOGOTA, Colombia, July 25 -- Colombia's largest rebel group, already accused of executing 11 civilian hostages last month, faced a new allegation Wednesday: A report by Human Rights Watch said the group has dramatically escalated its use of land mines, to the point that more people are killed or maimed by the devices here than in any other country in world.
The report, nearly a year in the making, said the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which has been fighting the state since 1964, has sown antipersonnel mines throughout the country to slow an increasingly offensive-minded army. The impact of FARC mines, as well as those laid by a smaller rebel group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN, has been devastating: The devices killed or hurt 1,113 people last year, nearly a third of them civilians, according to government tallies based on reported incidents.
Human Rights Watch, which issued the report in Washington, said Colombia bucks a worldwide trend; governments and rebel groups elsewhere have shifted away from using mines.
"The only place these weapons are constant, where they use them and where they justify them as weapons of the people -- for being cheap and easy to make -- is Colombia," José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director of Human Rights Watch, said by phone from Washington. "Because of the guerrillas, these weapons are causing more and more deaths to civilians in Colombia. It's incredible that the FARC and ELN continue acting with such scorn for fundamental values."
The report is sure to further tarnish the FARC, which remains a potent force but has little public support. Last month, the rebels revealed that 11 regional politicians whom the group had kidnapped in 2002 were killed in a FARC camp. The government characterized the slayings as coldblooded murder; the rebels alleged the politicians were killed in a shootout when "an unidentified military group" attacked the camp. Either way, the killings led to worldwide condemnation of the FARC's practice of kidnapping civilians, both for ransom and for political leverage to win the release of jailed rebels.
In Colombia's long, tortuous conflict, the army had for years planted land mines. But in 1997, the government signed an international treaty banning mines, which now includes more than 150 other countries. International humanitarian law prohibits the use of antipersonnel mines because of their indiscriminate nature.
Officials say they have completed the process of removing the military's mines from fields and trails, though there are mines around 34 military bases, said Ãlvaro Jiménez, who directs the Colombian chapter of the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines.
The rebels have defended their use of the devices. Francisco Galán, a spokesman for the ELN, told Human Rights Watch that international humanitarian law did not apply to the group. Still, the ELN has told the government it is prepared to declare a six-month cease-fire leading to peace talks -- a proposal that, if accepted, could include a de-mining process. Human Rights Watch says the ELN needs to permanently cease using mines; otherwise, an official said, the group is in essence using civilians as bargaining chips.
The FARC asserts it does not target civilians. Raúl Reyes, a spokesman for the group, recently told Colombia Journal, an online report, that "the minefields are used against the public forces, never against the civilian population, never." He acknowledged that civilians sometimes suffer but said that "the norm is that one must try and ensure that there are no civilian casualties."
The latest government statistics show that last year 320 civilians stepped on mines, 66 of them children. Fifty-seven civilians died. In 1996, 11 civilians were killed and 30 were injured. Some incidents likely have gone unreported, according to specialists.
Jiménez, of the anti-mining group, said mines have led whole farming communities to abandon towns laden with the devices.
"The mines move to the rhythm of the confrontation, and mines are used in an indiscriminate manner," said Jiménez, himself a former guerrilla from the M-19 rebel movement that demobilized in the early 1990s. "The armed actors argue that they use them as defensive weapons and directed at the enemy, which is the armed forces. But the reality is we've found that mines have a terrible effect on civilians in all the regions."
The use of mines has become particularly troubling to the military. Nearly 60 percent of the casualties the army suffers are due to the devices. In 1999, the army attributed 26 casualties to land mines; last year alone, there were 793 such casualties, with 169 fatalities.
"This is a terrible problem for us because we lose more soldiers to these land mines than to the bullets of the guerrillas," Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said in an interview. "The types of mines are very primitive. They're not sophisticated mines. And that makes them more difficult to detect."
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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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Sidelined XM Satellite CEO Panero To Step Down
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Six years ago, Hugh Panero sat in a replica of Capt. James T. Kirk's command seat on the Starship Enterprise from "Star Trek" and pushed the button that launched XM Satellite Radio's service.
Now, that chair is soon to be empty. Panero, XM's chief executive and co-founder, said yesterday that he planned to leave the District company next month. Nate Davis, who is president and chief operating officer at XM, is to assume the role of interim chief executive.
Panero's duties have diminished in the year since he recruited Davis, then a director. When plans to merge XM and Sirius Satellite Radio of New York emerged in February, Panero became the odd man out. If the merger is approved by regulators, the combined company would be run by Sirius chief executive Mel Karmazin. XM Chairman Gary M. Parsons would continue in his role.
Panero negotiated the first deal that put XM radios put into new Cadillac models. But the company's board grew displeased with his performance when XM missed earnings guidance for several consecutive quarters. Since then, Panero has been largely sidelined.
In a memo to employees, Panero, 51, recalled starting the company in a basement on 23rd Street NW n the District, with six employees, an FCC satellite radio license and a Power Point presentation explaining "how we were going to change radio." He said he would remain satellite radio's "biggest fan."
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Six years ago, Hugh Panero sat in a replica of Capt. James T. Kirk's command seat on the Starship Enterprise from "Star Trek" and pushed the button that launched XM Satellite Radio's service.
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Amazon.com 2Q Profit More Than Triples
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Wall Street may also have been cheering a slowdown in spending on technology after several years of heavy investment.
Before the announcement, shares of Amazon sank $2.49, or 3.5 percent, to close at $69.25. They skyrocketed $14.70, or 21 percent, to $83.95 in after-hours electronic trading.
The surge came on a day when Wall Street pulled back sharply as investors dealt with disappointing earnings reports and rising concerns about the mortgage market. The Dow Jones industrials fell more than 200 points.
Amazon's quarterly earnings climbed to $78 million, or 19 cents per share, from $22 million, or 5 cents per share during the same period last year. Sales jumped 35 percent to $2.88 billion from $2.14 billion in the year-ago quarter.
Both measures topped Wall Street's expectations. Analysts had forecast a profit of 16 cents per share on $2.81 billion in sales, according to a Thomson Financial survey.
"As you start on the revenue line and work your way down the income statement, I think it was just all-around strong," said Dan Geiman, an analyst at McAdams Wright Ragen. "They're in a sweet spot in terms of adding selection, adding convenience and lowering those prices, and I think it's starting to pay off for them."
In a conference call with investors, Chief Financial Officer Tom Szkutak said North America sales experienced the "highest growth rate in more than 6 years."
Revenue in the U.S. and Canada increased 38 percent to $1.6 billion. Electronics and general merchandise sales jumped the most _ 66 percent to $606 million. The category also includes toys, clothing, jewelry and sporting goods, but Szkutak would not say what types of items drove sales in the quarter. Instead, the executive pointed to the company's broad selection and the appeal of its $79-per-year unlimited shipping membership, Amazon Prime, to explain quarterly growth.
Analysts have long complained that free and cheap shipping promotions cut into Amazon's earnings. The retailer said its number of Amazon Prime members rose, but did not disclose a total. Shipping set Amazon back a net $75 million in the quarter.
Worldwide, revenue from electronics and general merchandise improved 55 percent to $970 million, while sales of books, music and other media-category products grew 27 percent to $1.83 billion. The retailer said a weaker dollar helped improve sales slightly.
Wall Street has kept tabs on the blistering rise in Amazon's technology spending in recent years, in part because the company gave few specific details about where the money was going. While spending on technology and content still rose 10 percent to $201 million, it slowed significantly from a year ago.
Jeff Bezos, Amazon's chief executive, declined to give analysts details Tuesday about two technology and content initiatives _ a partnership with TiVo Inc. that lets people download content from Amazon and watch it on their TVs, and a yet-to-launch digital music store.
Bezos did say he was pleased with the growing Web services business, which sells data storage and computing power to computer programmers. Twenty-five thousand programmers signed up in the quarter.
Steve Weinstein, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, said it's hard to tell whether Amazon's technology spending finally paid off in the quarter.
"They didn't really call those initiatives out as major drivers for the business," he said.
Amazon upped its revenue forecast for the full fiscal year to $13.80 billion to $14.30 billion, up from its earlier outlook for $13.4 billion to $14 billion.
For the current third quarter, Amazon said it expects revenue from $3 billion to $3.18 billion.
Wall Street is currently looking for full-year sales of $13.84 billion and third-quarter revenue to reach $3 billion.
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SEATTLE -- Investors went on an Amazon.com Inc. shopping spree Tuesday after the Web retailer said its second-quarter profit more than tripled, thanks to strong sales of books, music and electronics worldwide.
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Tournament Offers United Summer Fun
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On the surface, D.C. United's participation in the inaugural SuperLiga tournament appears to be a terrible distraction during an increasingly troubling stretch of its MLS season.
But for the players and coaches, the perception is quite different. To them, it is a welcome break from the league's summer grind and a chance to play meaningful international matches. It's an opportunity to represent U.S. soccer against clubs from the region's stronghold, Mexico.
And it is a chance to earn some extra cash.
"I'm always for these international tournaments," midfielder Ben Olsen said yesterday. "It comes at a good time for us because we are all in a little bit of a summer lull. In MLS, sometimes it can be tough to maintain that fire and stay focused."
United will begin play in the eight-team tournament tonight against Monarcas Morelia at RFK Stadium. D.C. will host Club America of Mexico City on Sunday evening and then play at reigning MLS champion Houston next Wednesday in the Group B finale.
If United finishes first or second, it will have to squeeze an Aug. 14 or 15 semifinal onto its busy calendar. The final is scheduled for Aug. 29 at a site to be determined. Group A comprises the Los Angeles Galaxy and FC Dallas from MLS, and Chivas Guadalajara and Pachuca from Mexico.
From a competitive standpoint, the tournament was established to cultivate rivalries between U.S. and Mexican clubs. From a business standpoint, MLS sees an opportunity to further expand its brand name in Mexico as well as Mexican-American communities, where fans have maintained loyal ties to their hometown clubs and have largely shunned MLS.
The event was created by MLS's marketing arm, Soccer United Marketing (SUM), in cooperation with the Mexican soccer federation. Every match will be shown live on Mexico's two biggest networks, Televisa and TV Azteca, and on Spanish-language Telefutura in the United States.
SUM will reward the tournament champion $1 million. If an MLS team wins, $150,000 of the prize money will be earmarked for the players to divide. The league also will award $100,000 to the players on an MLS team that loses in the final, and $50,000 to the players on any MLS team that loses in the semifinals.
This year's MLS participants were selected by tournament organizers, but starting next summer, the top four finishers in the previous regular season will earn bids.
"Any time you get to gauge yourself against good teams from different countries, it is important," United Coach Tom Soehn said. "It's never easy because it's in the midst of a season, but this is the time we have."
Historically, MLS teams have fared poorly against their Mexican counterparts, but the timing of SuperLiga should work to MLS's advantage. Many of those previous meetings took place in winter or spring months, when MLS teams are either in training camp or early in regular season and the Mexicans are in midseason form. This time, the situation is reversed.
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D.C. United will take a break from the MLS grind to play Mexican club team Monarcas Morelia in the inaugural SuperLiga tournament Wednesday at RFK Stadium.
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First Indian Women President Sworn In
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NEW DELHI -- India's first female president was sworn in Wednesday, vowing to eliminate the practice of aborting female fetuses and to empower women, who are often treated as second-class citizens.
A white-clad, mounted honor guard escorted Pratibha Patil's limousine to Parliament, where she took the oath of office. The ceremony was followed by a 21-gun salute announcing the inauguration of India's 13th president.
Despite being touted as an important step for gender equality, Patil's election to the largely ceremonial post has elicited only a lukewarm response from many women who say it has given them little more than a symbol _ not a leader who represents them.
The 72-year-old Patil had been largely silent on her goals, particularly after drawing criticism for calling on Indian women _ Muslims and Hindus alike _ to abandon wearing head scarves.
Although head scarves are more often seen in rural areas, some women in cities also wear them. Patil wore one, as she often does, for her inaugural address to Parliament.
"Empowerment of women is particularly important to me as I believe this leads to the empowerment of the nation," Patil told lawmakers, calling for universal education in India.
She promised to fight for the vast mass of underprivileged in this country of about 1.1 billion people as it strives to transform itself into a modern, economic giant.
"We must banish malnutrition, social evils, infant mortality and female feticide," Patil said.
Last year, an international team of researchers estimated up to 10 million female fetuses had been aborted in the past 10 in years in India. The result is a gender ratio increasingly skewed in favor of men _ the 2001 census found 927 women for every 1,000 men, down from 945 women per 1,000 men in 1991.
Daughters are often seen as a burden because tradition requires that a bride's family pay the groom's family a large dowry of cash and gifts. Women's education is often neglected, and many do not get adequate medical treatment.
While the presidency is a largely ceremonial post, Patil can lend the prestige of her office to causes she supports.
But many women were skeptical about Patil.
"She was chosen for her loyalty and has moved from one post to another because of that same loyalty," said Madhu Kishwar, editor of Manushi, a feminist and human rights magazine.
"I have always believed that it's not everything to just have sari-wearing creatures in politics. It's more important that politics stands for and enables honest, upright people to survive. But sycophancy is the only token that works," Kishwar said, referring to Patil's known devotion to India's powerful Nehru-Gandhi family.
Patil was picked for the presidency by Sonia Gandhi, head of the governing Congress Party.
While India has had several women in positions of power _ most notably Gandhi and her mother-in-law, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi _ women still face discrimination.
Associated Press writer Muneeza Naqvi contributed to this report from New Delhi.
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NEW DELHI -- India's first female president was sworn in Wednesday, vowing to eliminate the practice of aborting female fetuses and to empower women, who are often treated as second-class citizens.
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Local Property Dispute Grows Into International Issue for Kazakhstan
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SELEKSIA, Kazakhstan -- The house where Maya Salakhutdinova lived is now a shell of ruined walls with broken cinder blocks and splintered wood spilling in a heap onto a narrow lane. Last month, her house and 11 others in this village, a secluded enclave about an hour from Almaty, Kazakhstan's commercial capital, were bulldozed by court order.
All the destroyed homes belonged to members of a Hare Krishna community, which has a temple in a converted farmhouse here, as well as 116 acres of farmland. A bulldozing in November leveled 14 Hare Krishna homes.
"I was shocked," said Salakhutdinova, 43, a Kazakh who joined the Hare Krishna movement 12 years ago. "The day before, I got a notice that I had to leave, but with no date or time. I wasn't prepared."
What began as a property dispute between the Hare Krishna community and the local authorities has ballooned into an international controversy that threatens Kazakhstan's ambition to chair the 56-country Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2009.
One of the fundamental principles of the organization, founded during the Cold War to foster East-West dialogue, is religious freedom. The standoff with the Hare Krishna movement threatens the image of a harmonious, multidenominational country that this Central Asian nation has been cultivating to press its goal at the organization's headquarters in Vienna.
A week before last month's action, the head of the Religious Affairs Committee at the Kazakh Justice Ministry told an OSCE gathering in Romania that his country had the "most liberal" religious laws in the "entire post-Soviet area."
But a statement by the OSCE's Advisory Council on Freedom of Religion or Belief after the first houses were demolished said, "It appears that state-sponsored action has been focused upon members of the Hare Krishna community in a manner that suggests they have been targeted on the basis of their religious affiliation."
Privately, some Western diplomats say they are mystified why Kazakhstan would tarnish its reputation just as it is seeking support from OSCE member states for the prestige of chairing the organization. The energy-rich country, which is dominated by President Nursultan Nazarbayev, was already having difficulty convincing some OSCE members of its democratic credentials. In May, in a further blow to the country's standing, Kazakhstan issued an arrest warrant for its ambassador to the OSCE and Austria, Nazarbayev's former son-in-law, who was accused of kidnapping and assault.
Officials in the capital, Astana, say this is a legal matter that has nothing to do with religious persecution. By their account, the Hare Krishna devotees acquired the property illegally. The land, they say, was not legally registered and the homes were purchased from people who did not hold proper title. The Kazakh courts have ruled that the property belongs to the local administration.
"We understand that this is a small but very important issue, and if we had not understood that, we wouldn't have been running around trying to solve this," said Yeraly Tugzhanov, head of the Religious Affairs Committee.
"The most dangerous thing here -- and we should not let it happen -- is an attempt to turn this issue into a political one. If now every believer in Kazakhstan tries to solve his or her personal problems or property problems through religious organizations, by attaching a religious meaning to it, this will be ridiculous, it will be absurd."
Human rights advocates say the demolitions may be motivated both by religious bias and by hidden economic interests. Property values in the region have soared since the 1990s, and the area has become a choice location for Almaty residents seeking to buy country homes. The U.S. State Department noted in a report this year that a special commission convened to resolve the situation was still deliberating when the homes were destroyed in November.
"Many people in that village could be in the same situation as the Hare Krishna because their property deeds are not perfect, but they are not targeted. The target is the Hare Krishna," said Ninel Fokina, head of the Almaty Helsinki Committee, a human rights group. "Someone gave an order to get that community out."
Kazakhstan's ombudsman, Bolat Baikadamov, said the destruction of homes is commonplace across the Almaty region because of the illegal privatization of land and houses. "Hundreds or maybe even thousands of houses were demolished," he said.
Local officials, who Baikadamov said could provide lists of homes destroyed within the locality, declined to comment. In Seleksia, there appeared to be only one demolished house that was not currently owned by a Hare Krishna, and that house had recently been sold by a member of the religious community.
Fokina and the Hare Krishna community dispute that there has been any major leveling of homes outside Seleksia. "There is an unofficial policy to push out a non-mainstream, religious group," said Maxim Varfolomeev, a spokesman for the Hare Krishna community in Seleksia.
The group numbers about 30 in the village, down from about 100 because people who lost homes were forced to leave. "This is religious discrimination," Varfolomeev said.
On a recent morning, more than a dozen devotees chanted mantras in what had been the living room of the farmhouse. Kazakh officials said the early morning prayers disturb non-Krishna neighbors, but the service was not audible outside the farmhouse. Officials also said the Krishna devotees wash their cows in a nearby pond where local children swim, an accusation denied by members of the Krishna community.
"We have very good relations with our neighbors," Varfolomeev said.
In interviews in the village, no one expressed any objections to the presence of the Krishna community. "They're very quiet people," Chakin Tolubev said. "To be honest, the problem is that [the authorities] just want to get rid of them."
Tugzhanov, the Religious Affairs head, objects to such accusations. He said the central government has offered the Krishna community several sites where they could relocate. "All religious groups and organizations in Kazakhstan are equal before the law and that is why we continue to work with them," he said. "We have offered a number of alternatives, but they keep saying no."
He also said 16 Krishna homes in Seleksia have been legalized and will not be touched. "If it had not been for this, you could say that we are persecuting them for their religion," he said. "But this is a question of the law and everyone being equal before the law."
Varfolomeev, the Hare Krishna spokesman, said none of the proposed relocation sites compares to the pastoral setting where the community is currently located, and so people insist on staying.
The community, he said, now fears that the authorities will destroy the temple. That is a step that the government appears reluctant to take. It would likely sink whatever remaining chance Kazakhstan has of chairing the OSCE.
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SELEKSIA, Kazakhstan -- The house where Maya Salakhutdinova lived is now a shell of ruined walls with broken cinder blocks and splintered wood spilling in a heap onto a narrow lane. Last month, her house and 11 others in this village, a secluded enclave about an hour from Almaty, Kazakhstan's com...
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Al-Qaeda in Iraq Is Part Of Network, Bush Says
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CHARLESTON, S.C., July 24 -- President Bush argued anew Tuesday that the Sunni insurgent group known as al-Qaeda in Iraq is an integral part of the larger al-Qaeda terrorist network, as he attempted to rebut critics who say the war in Iraq has distracted the United States from a broader struggle against Islamic extremism.
With public support for the war steadily declining, Bush told an audience of military personnel at an Air Force base here that many foreigners, including top lieutenants to Osama bin Laden, lead the Iraqi group. Some of them, he added, trained with the organization at its terrorist camps in Afghanistan or otherwise have deep ties with the network.
"Some will tell you al-Qaeda in Iraq isn't really al-Qaeda -- and not really a threat to America," Bush said. "Well, that's like watching a man walk into a bank with a mask and a gun, and saying he's probably just there to cash a check. We are fighting bin Laden's al-Qaeda in Iraq."
Critics of the Bush administration's policy in Iraq -- including former intelligence officials, lawmakers and regional experts -- have said that al-Qaeda in Iraq grew up in response to the U.S. occupation and that loyalists of the group represent just a small percentage of the insurgent forces battling U.S. and Iraqi forces. Moreover, al-Qaeda as a whole represents an ideology for extremists as much as it does a functioning organization, some intelligence analysts have said.
But Bush called the Iraqi organization an "alliance of killers" and repeated earlier assertions that a military withdrawal would allow Iraq to be used as a base from which to strike the U.S. homeland.
"Those who justify withdrawing our troops from Iraq by denying the threat of al-Qaeda in Iraq and its ties to Osama bin Laden ignore the clear consequences of such a retreat," Bush said. "If we were to follow their advice, it would be dangerous for the world -- and disastrous for America."
Bush made his remarks as his administration is pressing for more time to see whether the recent increase of troops in Iraq can stabilize the country, even as the public and lawmakers grow increasingly weary of the war and Bush's handling of it. A Washington Post-ABC News poll released this week found that most Americans view Bush as too rigid in his support of the war.
U.S. intelligence officials, in a declassified report on al-Qaeda released last week, described al-Qaeda in Iraq as an "affiliate" of the larger terrorist network, which has reestablished a haven in Pakistan.
But the report did not say that the Iraqi group had taken orders from the network; instead, it said that the larger network "will probably seek to leverage the contacts and capabilities" of the Iraqi group and use its association with the group to "energize the broader Sunni extremist community" for fundraising and recruiting.
That conclusion prompted Democrats and others to say that al-Qaeda is not running the war, but is instead benefiting from it, and thus that the conflict has increased the terrorist threat rather than diminished it.
"The masterminds who want to harm this country are in Pakistan while our troops are in Iraq. It doesn't get much simpler than that," said Rand Beers, a former National Security Council aide who is president of the National Security Network, an advocacy group.
Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) similarly said Bush's handling of the war has intensified the terrorist threat. "The National Intelligence Estimate contradicted what the president said today and made it clear that al-Qaeda is stronger because of our massive military presence in Iraq," he said Tuesday.
Although aides said that Bush had declassified sensitive information to make his case, most of the details he used have long been in the public domain. He said that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian who formed al-Qaeda in Iraq, pledged allegiance to bin Laden in 2004. After U.S. forces killed Zarqawi in June 2006, he was replaced by an Egyptian known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, who Bush said has "deep and long-standing ties" to al-Qaeda's senior leadership.
Bush said bin Laden sent "a terrorist leader named Abd al-Hadi al-Iraqi" to help Masri, but he was captured and sent to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The arrest and Guantanamo Bay transfer was announced in April, after intelligence sources said Hadi had been captured in Turkey by the Turkish military. At the time, the Pentagon identified Hadi as a former member of the Iraqi military and a trusted bin Laden lieutenant who was expert in guerrilla operations.
In May, a known al-Qaeda official said in an Arab television interview that Hadi had been sent to Iraq by bin Laden more than a year earlier, when Zarqawi was still alive. At the time, intercepted communications between bin Laden deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri and Zarqawi indicated al-Qaeda unhappiness with the Iraqi organization and its inability to control Zarqawi.
Bush also added that another terrorist leader recently captured in Iraq, whom he identified only as Mashhadani, had told U.S. interrogators that the Iraqi organization there went to "extraordinary lengths to promote the fiction" that it was not run by foreigners tied to the central al-Qaeda network. Khalid al-Mashhadani's capture was announced in a news conference last week by U.S. forces in Baghdad.
Staff writers Walter Pincus and Karen DeYoung contributed to this report from Washington.
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CHARLESTON, S.C., July 24 -- President Bush argued anew Tuesday that the Sunni insurgent group known as al-Qaeda in Iraq is an integral part of the larger al-Qaeda terrorist network, as he attempted to rebut critics who say the war in Iraq has distracted the United States from a broader struggle...
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Case Against Islamic Charity Opens
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Federal prosecutors opened their case yesterday against what was once the nation's largest Islamic charity, arguing in a Dallas courtroom that the organization funneled at least $12 million to Palestinian militants.
The Texas-based Holy Land Foundation was shut down by President Bush three months after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. It is accused of knowing that the money it sent to charities in the Middle East benefited Hamas, the militant Palestinian group officially designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. Administration officials say the trial is an important battle in the fight to cut off funding to terrorists.
But the case is also drawing intense scrutiny in the American Muslim community because of a listing of 300 individuals and groups named in the indictment as unindicted co-conspirators, including established organizations such as the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
Parvez Ahmed, chairman of CAIR's national board, called the unusual list a "broad smear" and added, "We're being accused of something, but what we're being accused of, I don't know."
Prosecutors told jurors yesterday that the foundation and five organizers -- all but one are U.S. citizens -- sent at least $12 million to "zakat" committees controlled by Hamas. Zakat is a required form of the charitable giving that is one of the pillars of Islam.
The indictment charges that the foundation in part directed the money to take care of the families of suicide bombers, an action to "effectively reward past, and encourage future, suicide bombings and terrorist activities."
Assistant U.S. Attorney James Jacks said the 14-year investigation of the group revealed defendants phoning one another to describe Hamas suicide bombing attacks as "beautiful operations." He said the foundation and defendants shared Hamas's goal of the destruction of Israel. One of the men participated in a skit at a fundraiser that purported to show a Palestinian killing an Israeli, he said.
The organization's leaders lied about their real purpose "because to tell the truth would reveal what they were all about -- the destruction of the state of Israel and replacing it with a Palestinian Islamic state," Jacks said, the Associated Press reported.
But defense attorney Nancy Hollander said the foundation and the men on trial did nothing more than contribute money to charities, none of which are marked as terrorist organizations by the U.S. government.
"Holy Land had nothing to do with politics," said Hollander, the AP reported. "Its focus was on children in need." Hollander represents Shukri Abu Baker, who is on trial along with Mohammed El-Mezain, Mufid Abdulqader, Ghassan Elashi and Abdulraham Odeh.
Prosecutors have told the court it will take at least three months to present the complicated case. It relies on a mountain of documents, years of intercepted phone conversations, information from Israeli intelligence agencies and disputed transcripts that contain conversations translated from Arabic to Hebrew to English.
Judge A. Joe Fish has said he will allow two Israeli agents to testify in a closed courtroom with their identities concealed.
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Federal prosecutors opened their case yesterday against what was once the nation's largest Islamic charity, arguing in a Dallas courtroom that the organization funneled at least $12 million to Palestinian militants.
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Yes, New Drugs Save Lives
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A typical baby born in this country in 1900 was expected to live to about age 45. Today, life expectancy at birth is about 78 and climbing. Americans are living longer and healthier lives than ever before. But we have never been more concerned about the risks and costs associated with new prescription drugs and medical devices.
Rising health-care costs and safety problems with FDA-approved products such as the painkiller Vioxx, drug-coated stents and implanted defibrillators have led some to worry that recent medical innovations may be doing us more harm than good.
The debate over the relative speed (and caution) with which new medical products should be approved has crystallized in Congress as it crafts legislation reauthorizing the Prescription Drug User Fee Act. Since 1992 the act has been a critical funding source for the Food and Drug Administration. Lawmakers should be careful to balance safety and cost concerns, and additional regulatory burdens for product developers, with benefits to patients -- specifically, the measurable impact that new medical innovations have on Americans' longevity and quality of life.
How have medical innovations affected American health? In a study the Manhattan Institute is releasing today -- "Why Has Life Expectancy Increased More in Some States Than in Others?" -- I explain that incremental medical innovations, particularly the use of newer drugs, have played a major role in increasing American longevity in recent years.
I began by looking at the interstate variation in life expectancy. Most Americans would probably be surprised to discover that, on average, residents of Hawaii (81.3 years) and Minnesota (80.3 years) lived six or seven years longer than residents of Mississippi and Louisiana (74.2 years).
And while U.S. life expectancy increased by 2.33 years from 1991 to 2004, some jurisdictions -- the District of Columbia (5.7 years), New York (4.3 years), California (3.4 years) and New Jersey (3.3 years) -- led the way, while others, such as Oklahoma (0.3 years), Tennessee (0.8 years) and Utah (0.9 years), trailed the national average by significant margins. (Between 1991 and 2004, life expectancy in Maryland and Virginia increased by 2.5 and 2.6 years, respectively.)
To find out why this longevity "increase gap" exists, I examined several factors that researchers generally agree affect life expectancy, including medical innovation, obesity rates, smoking and HIV-AIDS infection rates. While each of these factors had an impact on longevity, the most important factor was medical innovation. In particular, I found that longevity increased the most in those states where access to newer drugs -- measured by their mean "vintage," or FDA approval year -- in Medicaid and Medicare programs has increased the most.
According to my econometric model, about two-thirds (63 percent) of the potential increase in longevity during this period -- the increase that would have occurred if obesity, income and other factors had not changed -- can be attributed to the use of newer drugs. In fact, for every year increase in average drug vintage there was an almost two-month gain in life expectancy.
Increasing access to newer drugs was not associated with above-average annual spending on health care; and the use of newer medicines seems to have increased labor productivity (output per employee) by about 1 percent per year, perhaps because of reduced absenteeism from chronic ailments. Overall, my findings contradicted the common assumption that advances in medical technology automatically result in increased health-care expenditures.
Congressional debate over the Prescription Drug User Fee Act is a microcosm of the national debate over the appropriate balance between safety and rapid access to new and sometimes very expensive medical innovations. While this debate is complex, my research indicates that the best way to achieve sustained improvements in health, longevity and productivity is by continuing to support policies that encourage medical innovation and the new medical goods and services it produces.
The writer is a professor at the Columbia UniversityGraduate School of Businessand a research associate of theNational Bureau of Economic Research. Some of his previous research has been funded by unrestricted grants from the pharmaceutical industry.
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When exploring medical innovations, lawmakers should be careful to balance safety and cost concerns with longevity and quality of life.
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Ask Tom - washingtonpost.com
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In a city loaded with diverse restaurants, from New American chic and upscale Italian to sandwich shops and burritos on the run, finding the best places to eat can be a real puzzle. Where's the best restaurant for a first date or an anniversary? Father's Day? What's the best burger joint? Who has the best service?
Ask Tom. Tom Sietsema, The Washington Post's food critic, is on hand Wednesdays at 11 a.m. ET to answer your questions, listen to your suggestions and even entertain your complaints about Washington dining. Sietsema, a veteran food writer, has sampled the wares and worked as a critic in Washington, Seattle, San Francisco and Milwaukee, and can talk restaurants with the best of 'em. You can access his Postcards from Tom to read his recommendations for other cities, read his dining column, First Bite and the Dish or read transcripts of previous "Ask Tom" chats. Tom's Sunday magazine reviews, as well as his "Ask Tom" column, are available early on the Web.
Tom Sietsema: IT'S (FINALLY) OFFICIAL: The owners of Cashion's Eat Place (1819 Columbia Road NW) -- chef Ann Cashion and business partner John Fulchino -- are planning to sell their popular restaurant in Adams Morgan in order to focus on Johnny's Half Shell, the seafood restaurant they relocated from Dupont Circle to Capitol Hill (400 N. Capitol St. NW) last year.
According to Fulchino, the "new" Johnny's was taking up a lot of the restaurateurs' time, and neither he nor Cashion desired to be absentee owners at Cashion's Eat Place. (Following the success of Taqueria Nacionale, adjacent to Johnny's, they are also looking to open a second such taco joint in the city.)
Regulars of the 12-year-old contemporary American restaurant should be relieved to know that the next owner (the parties go into settlement this afternoon) is John Manolatos - Cashion's sous chef for the entire life span of the restaurant bearing her name.
Good morning, chatters. It's good to be back in the driver's seat after a short hiatus. (Hope you all stayed dry July 4th.) Feel free to bring on your questions, comments, gripes and concerns on this lovely Wednesday.
Heidelberg, Germany: Although I am not a local, I read your blog because I travel to DC occassionly and now that my son will be attending college in the area, will do so more often. I know tourists appreciate your lower priced suggestions, I certainly do. I have had many bad meals in DC so I check your column for suggestions before I fly. You may not be cheap eats but it does help to know were affordable restaurants are in various neighborhoods. Thanks
Tom Sietsema: Vielen Danke fur Ihre Briefe! Und wo haben Sie gegessen hier?
Washington, D.C.: Hey Tom! Love the chats! Based on your recommendation, I celebrated my birthday last week at Central (delicious by the way!). About half way through our meal, in walks Mr. Michel Richard himself and was seated at the table next to us. Do chefs often dine at their own restaurants? We gave a little smile but kept quiet--do they like to be recognized? (In case you're wondering he ordered the 72 hour short ribs!). Thanks so much
Tom Sietsema: Most chefs don't have the time (or the inclination, I'd guess) to eat in their own dining rooms. They're probably cooking, after all! But I think its testament to his high standards that Mr. Richard, who has abundant support staff, checks in on his troops now and then.
(You did the right thing by smiling your hello, by the way, although I'm sure a little flattery on your exit would have been OK, had you in fact wanted to praise something.)
Washington, D.C.: Had a horrible dinning experience at Restaurant Eve last Tues evening. We had a 7:00 reservation and two items on the menu were unavailable. The Maitre De did not come over to apologize for the inconvenience. If this is supposed to be the "IT" restaurant, not sure what all the fuss is about. Very snooty place!!!
Tom Sietsema: Were you in the tasting room or the bistro? And who was snooty? Not having a few items on a menu does not quite fit this diner's definition of "horrible."
I'm posting this as a plea more than anything else: Feel free to post criticism here, but please support it with details.
If you were me...:...and you were able to book a babysitter for Saturday night and go out with a couple of friends for a casual but nice dinner, would you head to Tabaq, Indigo Landing, Straits of Malaya, or someplace else in VA or DC altogether? Non-smoking environment and slightly hip place preferred...outdoor seating a bonus. Not too picky on cuisine. I'd love any fresh ideas you might have!!!
Tom Sietsema: Places where I've dined well recently include Ardeo, which has a rooftop deck; Casa Oaxaca, which stirs a mean margarita; Matchbox, whose airy interior at least suggests you're dining outside; the spirited Vermilion in Old Town; and Cafe du Parc, which has tables and umbrellas parked along Pennsylvania Ave.
Downtown D.C. - "Hideaway" Seating: Hi, Tom--
Thank you for being our city's food critic. As a writer myself, I appreciate your engaging style.
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, my husband and I went to Brasserie Beck. Overall, it was fantastic--perfectly cooked food, great service, great drink selection, and elegant decor and restrooms.
The only down side of the experience was the design of our seating area. We were seated near the front of the restaurant in a corner very, very close to another table--so close that it was difficult for me to leave my seat without my butt nearly touching the table next to us, and I'm a small person! On one side of the tables was a large window (where the other party was sitting), which prevented us from feeling claustrophobic. But on the other side, where we were seated, was a tall (5 ft?), dark, wooden partition/wall. We couldn't see the restaurant at all. I understand that some people like privacy while dining, but I felt like we were completely cut-off. We couldn't enjoy the decor or vibe of the restaurant. I was going to ask for another table, but the restaurant was packed so I decided not to.
I was wondering what you think about seating arrangements like this. I imagine there are people who prefer these types of seats. Maybe next time I should request more "open" seating when I make a reservation. Thanks so much!
Tom Sietsema: You're right: One diner's dud table can be another's dream. Did you ask if you could be reseated after you discovered your destination's deficencies? One way to solve such problems is to have the staff try out all the tables before a restaurant opens; the (seated) diner's perspective isn't always the same as the (standing) waiter's, not by a long shot.
Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom - Where's a great sushi place located in either downtown/dupont circle/cleveland park/chinatown(I love Sushi Ko but too out of the way for some people in our group)?
Tom Sietsema: You next best bet is Kaz Sushi Bistro at 1915 I St. NW.
washingtonpost.com: Review of Kaz Sushi Bistro.
Your chats, reviews and postcards are a tremendous resource, and I need your help. I will be going to Moscow and St. Petersburg in a few weeks. Do you (or any chatters) have dining recommendations for those cities? Many thanks.
Tom Sietsema: I'm unfamiliar with the dining scene in the former Soviet Union. Can anyone help out a fellow chatter?
Columbia, Md.: Why do you, and some chefs, think that I have to let them tell me how well done I want my meat? I guess chefs think I am messing up their cooking if I have my meat medium well. Well tough, I am the one paying and if I choose not to eat raw meat that is my decision. Chefs please get over yourself. I don't care how much better you think rare meat is, I'm not going to like to eat raw mean so all your so-called excellent decisions do nothing for me. Give me my meat the way I order it please.
Tom Sietsema: We've covered this turf (pun fully intended!) in a previous chat. If you want your meat done well, I have no problem with that, but I'm just saying -- and some chefs will support me on this -- you are missing out on a truly fine piece of meat when you overcook it.
Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom. Quick question. We're wondering here at our restaurant why you refer to us the "new" Johnny's Half Shell. What's the significance of the quotation marks?
Tom Sietsema:"New" was simply used to distinguish Johnny's on the Hill from the original on P St.
What's the story with Simply Green? I think that's the name I saw on the M St. storefront window, next to Artefacto? Is it a salad place, perchance? We really need a salad place in Georgetown. Tell Chop't or Sizzling Express or Soho or someone to come down here!
Tom Sietsema: Your timing is impeccable. For the scoop on the soon-to-open Sweetgreen (not Simply Green), check out today's Dish column in the Food section.
washingtonpost.com: The Dish on Sweetgreen.
Washington, D.C.: As a server in a restaurant, I can tell you that when items are not avaliable, it is usually a quality issue or a last minute emergency, which a restaurant cannot plan for. I think guests would rather have a item pulled for that night then to be horribly disappointed at the quality of the dish.
Washington, D.C.: Is Sharon Banks still cooking in DC and if so, where?
Tom Sietsema: Sharon Banks - the chef of the late, great Fish, Wings & Tings in Adams Morgan and more recently, Ginger Reef and Ginger Cove in Penn Quarter -- is now catering in New York.
Takoma Park, Md.: Hi Tom--
Posting early, so that I might get an answer in time. Could you please recommend a restaurant in Anapolis, MD where my husband and I can celebrate his 40th birthday? Although he's a well versed 'foodie', he shys away from steak and fish entrees.
Tom Sietsema: He shies away from steak and fish? There go my first recommendations: Lewnes' Steakhouse and O'Learys seafood restaurant. Tell me more about his preferences and perhaps I can assist you.
Texan in Bethesda: With my last trip to Texas in January, I'm starting to get a real craving for authentic Tex-Mex. Where can I get the best enchiladas? I'm talking about the ones drenched in sauce (preferrably green) and cheese! Thank you!
Tom Sietsema: Good enchiladas, anyone? I can't say I've had any role models in the area in the past year.
The poster from the last chat complaining about the insanely high price of some shots that were ordered made me realize that this actually happens frequently to me! Never to that extreme but I after ordering a drink I find that they charge mroe than what was on the menu. The response? 'Well, we gave you the better quality alcohol' But Tom, I never asked for it! What's the point of having the price on the menu if they are going to charge you extra? Most times they eventually charge me the original price.
Tom Sietsema: You mean bar tenders are upgrading your drink without your consent? That's just wrong. Yet another reason to go over your tab closely (which is not always easy after a couple of rounds ...)
Falls Church, Va.: Id like to start off by saying that I faithfully read your column whenever I get a chance, and enjoyed them very much. I have used them as a guide in my exploration in this vast gastromomic wonderland. In your critique of all of the restaurants that you have reviewed, I am curious to know what factors you consider when rating a restaurant.
For example, if the food and service are both exemplary, but the environment has the charm of Doctors waiting room,do you give that establishment a less stellar review due to the decor or vibe of the restaurant. And when you review a upscale restaurant, do you rate that establishment the same way you would rate a burger or pizza joint?
In general, I tend to give more weight to the food quality (50 percent) than to service and atmosphere (25 percent each) in arriving at star ratings. But there are always exceptions. Corduroy, for instance, is far from the most beautiful space in town, but chef Tom Power's cooking helps to forgive that fact.
I try, where possible, to compare apples with apples. So when I reviewed Comet Ping Pong, to use a recent example, I was factoring in the presence of places including Two Amys, Sette Osteria, Pizzeria Paradiso, etc.
Washington, D.C.: But doesn't the word itself, new, accomplish that, without quotation marks? It's the punctuation we're wondering about.
Tom Sietsema: LOL. You must be a copy editor!
Wooster, OH: Re: the steak doneness conundrun
It's funny how the price of an item dictates how it should be cooked. Compare eggs to steak. People like their eggs cooked all different ways and no one bats an eye. But when it comes to steak, people cringe, cry, or treat the request with disdain. Personally, I think an egg cooked over hard is gross, but lots of people like it that way. For the record, I like my steaks mooing and my eggs nearly chirping.
Tom Sietsema: You raise a most interesting point! And you just made me laugh out loud with your vivid descriptions of doneness.
Capital Hill: Any chance Taqueria Nacionale will expand its hours for those of us who cant get that far from work during the week?Or maybe open on weekends?
Tom Sietsema: Whaddaya say, Ann and Johnny?
NW Washington, D.C.: So we finally went to Comet Ping Pong in upper northwest -- what's the fuss about? Yeah the decor is neat and ping pong tables are great. But the pizza is terrible. My wife said it tastes like matza pizza, which is something Jews have over Passover (no leavened bread). People actually like this cracker pizza? Give me 2 Amys, or give me death. Or Sette or even Pizzeria Paradiso.
Tom Sietsema: Reaction to my review of Comet was quite passionate. Diners either love, love, love or hate, hate, hate the place. An anonymous voice mail sent over the weekend even accused me of sleeping with "James or Carole or maybe even both of them." I have to say, in all my visits to the pizzeria, I never once experienced a pie that resembled matzoh.
washingtonpost.com: Review of Comet Ping Pong.
Greetings from Alexandria, Va.: Tom - I know it's way down the list of important considerations/activities for restaurant folks - but I'd just like to say that I really love to see an up-to-date menu on a restaurant website. The folks at Tempo in Alexandria do a great job updating their weekly specials online - which has been a particular help to me in getting carryout from them for my Mom, who has been confined to bed for about six weeks. The food is also pretty darn good - and they do a careful job packing it for carryout.
I also like to check out restaurant websites in advance of going there, when possible, to get some ideas in mind on what I'd like to order (of course, I also check out your reviews, when applicable).
Anyways - I know it's not nearly as important as most other factors in the restaurant experience, but I'd just like to tell any restaurant folks out there that there are definitely some people who appreciate a solid, helpful restaurant website! Thanks!
Tom Sietsema: Actually, yours is not a minor consideration. Lots of readers tell me they appreciate finding up-to-date menus on restaurant web sites.
My feeling is, every restaurant with an online presence should have an employee or two whose job it is to make sure ALL the information -- hours, dishes, prices, specials -- is fresh and correct.
Washington, D.C.: Enchiladas? La Lomita Dos is what you're looking for- wonderfully drenched, great flavor all around.
Tom Sietsema: Where is it, please?
St. Petersburg and Moscow:: In St. Petersburg, you must check out Restaurant 1913 for very solid Russian cuisine and live music. Make sure to do a couple shots of the local Russian Standard vodka. For outstanding Georgian food served in a mom and pop hole in the wall, go to Chat, its on a side street behind the Sheraton Hotel (turn right as you exit the rear).
Moscow is a moving target. Again, Pushkin Cafe if you want solid Russian food served in a posh 18th Century setting. Scandinavia (off or Tverskaya) servers very good Scandinavian food in a very hip setting, plus they'll have their beer garden open this time of year - nothing better for people watching.
Tom Sietsema: The tips sounds promising. Thank you.
Maryland: Posting this after my lunch shift on Saturday while the incident is still fresh. I just wondered how your readers would react to this scenario - a party of 6, two order burgers Medium, the server explains that medium is going to be pink and wonders if that will be okay with the child who ordered one (the other was the Dad). Everyone is fine, but when they are served, Dad sends his back as too rare. The cook takes the burger from the bun, zaps it briefly to cook it more to medium well (it came out perfectly medium, pink as promised) and sends it right back out so the family can eat together. The manager goes to the table to make sure the burger is done right this time and the Dad is sitting there with his arms crossed and the burger untouched in front of him. He is totally P-Od that the kitchen Microwaved his burger, and while the manager doesn't know that this is true, she is apologetic and takes it away and off the check. But why is the man so upset that the burger had been zapped? He remained angry for the rest of the meal and they left the server a 10% tip, as though it were her fault. Was it so wrong to use the Micro to cook his beef a little more? It was as though he would rather have had the chance to complain that it was taking to long to cook it more and we robbed him of this opportunity... Anyway, thanks for letting me vent!
Tom Sietsema: My question is: Why didn't the kitchen simply throw the burger back on the grill, which wouldn't have taken much more time to cook than in a micowave? (Meanwhile, "Dad" sounds like a real pill, to use my mother's expression.)
Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom, I reserved at Black Salt two weeks ahead and asked for my favorite table. Although they couldn't guarantee it, the request was noted and that was confirmed by the restaurant the day before our dinner date. When I arrived at 6:15, a party of four, which had not requested the table, was seated there. The "host" noted my unhappiness, said he was sorry, and I didn't see him again until I was leaving the restaurant. I was surprised that he wasn't more attentive to us after we sat down.
Tom Sietsema: If you reserved two weeks in advance, at which time you put in a special request, and you reconfirmed the wish a day ahead of your visit, I see no reason why the restaurant couldn't accommodate you. I'd be miffed as well.
Clifton, Va.: First most restaurants reserve their not so great strip steaks, filets and ribeyes for folks who want their steak cooked well done since they will never know the difference.
Tom Sietsema: Ah, yes. I forgot to raise that oh so important point!
Crofton, Md.: When you have a reservation, how long should you be expected to wait? We had a reservation at Kali's Court in the Fells Point section of Baltimore. It was for 7 p.m. on the night of our anniversary. We arrived 5 minutes ahead of that time. They told us to wait at the bar. We checked in again at 7:15 and 7:30. Finally, We left at 7:45 after being told by the Euro Maitre'd that "People are Dining". The bizarre part is that while we were there people kept arriving, but no one was seated, and there were two empty tables.
Tom Sietsema: The standard grace period for restaurants and diners is 15-20 minutes. After that, the restaurant needs to make amends and the diner loses his right to a seat, unless he has called ahead and offers a good excuse. There are always exceptions, of course, but I think the 15-20 minute rule for both host and guest is fair.
"People are dining" is a lame excuse. And just who was the restaurant saving those two tables for? Late arrivals? VIPS? Regardless, you were owed a proper explanation. I hope you found a suitable place to celebrate your special date.
Washington, D.C.: Just a question. Why would you order (or expect it to be good) Sushi at the Mayflower Lobby Court?
Tom Sietsema: I ordered sushi because 1) the food menu is small, 2) it is, after all, a dish being offered, 3) a lot of people like sushi and 4) the menu roams the world for ideas.
washingtonpost.com: First Bite of the Lobby Court bar.
Shots: Not that I don't agree that those shots discussed in the previous chat were ridiculously overpriced, but I did want to just remind people that shots are expensive. If you get a rail shot, you will still be charged the base price for alcohol. For instance, a vodka tonic will cost 5 dollars -- a vodka shot will cost 5 dollars. You usually only buy one vodka tonic at a time, but people like to buy rounds of shots. Ergo, it'll cost you. Don't be surprised when you get the bill after buying six of your best friends shots and it costs 33.00 (adding tax). Also, shots with more than one type of alcohol, cost even more. Just something to remember the next time you get crazy at a bar. Oh, last thing -- it takes more time to make shots -- tip well on those, please.
Tom Sietsema: You sound like someone speaking from the trenches. Thanks for chiming in.
Washington, D.C.: Tom, what's your guilty pleasure? the one sort of junk food thing you secretly love? I cook and eat gourmet all the time but chili cheese dogs (especially from Ben's) make me smile.
Tom Sietsema: Fritos! (They were Julia Child's snack of choice, too.)
Washington, D.C. and Michel Richard: With regards to Michel Richard dining at Central, I see him several nights a week dining on the patio at Citronelle. I generally walk or drive by around 9:00 pm, and he may be seen sharing a bottle of wine with several friends.
Tom Sietsema: Hey, I want that job!
For Columbia, Md.: I totally agree with you! I happen to like my cakes really dry. I get so mad when pastry chefs don't prepare my cakes so that they're crumbly and burned on the bottom. Who are they to tell me a cake should be moist? And when I order pasta, why isn't it done extra soft? I like it when my pasta loses its shape and becomes mush, because it reminds me of comfort food. I don't get why they insist on cooking pasta so it still holds its form. And don't even get me started on why my vegetables aren't boiled like I like...
Tom Sietsema: Now I'm REALLY laughing ...
Richmond, Va.: the point about doneness isn't who is right or wrong, but how wrong it is when a chef or waiter treats a diner very badly when they ask for more doneness than is the fad. I had a chef come out and try to shame me cuz I wanted my tuna cooked through, I never went back. Accept my reasonable requests and hard-earned money gracefully or find someone else who'll agree to be treated like doo-doo at $100 a pop. AT those prices, treat me respectfully or not at all.
Tom Sietsema: Fair point. It's probably best for a chef not to dress down a diner at the table.
La Lomita Dos: La Lomita Dos is on Pennsylvania Avenue, easily walkable from Union Station.
308 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, Washington DC, DC 20003
"New":"New" with quotation marks implies that it's not actually a "new" restaurant, but the old restaurant in a new spot. I would have done the same Tom!
Tom Sietsema: Whew. Let's put this issue to rest now.
Re: Good enchiladas, anyone?: I suffer the same need for a decent enchilada or at least Mexican food in the area. I'm a huge New Mexican food fan, and the closest I've found to good green chilie is Anita's in Vienna. Not the best, but still the best I've found.
Now if anybody can tell me where I can find a good STACKED enchilada, I'm talking Santa Fe Shed style, please let me know. My birthday is next week and I would love to trade one of my dinners at Maestro's or Citronelle for a killer enchilada.
Tom Sietsema: Anita's. I still need to get there ...
Arlington, Va.: In your review of Casa Oaxaca, you seemed to like the place but only gave it 2 stars. Upfront, I like the place and Guajillo. But I'm just askin'
Tom Sietsema: Two stars is "good," and what's wrong with being good? If you look back at my review, I did include a few criticisms.
washingtonpost.com: Review of Casa Oaxaca.
Washington, D.C.: Have you ever reviewed Good Guys in Georgetown? Their 1/2 pound char grilled prime ground sirloin beef burgers put Five Guys to shame. I swear that Good Guys is a better place for regular guys than Five Guys.
Tom Sietsema: I have yet to formally review the strip club in Georgetown, but appreciate your tip!
This isn't exactly a dining question, but your readers are knowledgeable about all things food related. Does anyone have a local source for frozen -sour- cherries? I cannot find fresh sour cherries at my farmer's market, and I'm craving a cherry pie. Thanks.
I just wanted to let you and your readers know of a tough exprience myself and a couple of friends had at Poste one evening recently for happy hour. The hostesses at the door were pleasant enough, assuring us we would have pleasant service for drinks and light food at the tables and chairs scattered in Poste's delightful courtyard. Unfortunately, that is where the positive experience ended. The service was terrible. First of all, several servers we had couldn't decide when happy hour actually started and whether we could actually get any service at all or whether we had to go up to the markshift outdoor bar with the long lines to get our drinks. It took us almost one and a half hours to get our orders of truffle fries, and often water didn't appear when we asked for it as a break from our alcoholic drinks. To top it off, a friend of mine got a whoppingly large (and incorrect) credit card bill after the fact that appeared on her credit card statement, which she is still trying to sort out with the restaurant manager and her credit card company. All of this is really too bad, since the location itself is really beautiful.
Tom Sietsema: The patio IS a lovely spot for drinks (if you can get 'em).
Your complaint sounds like fodder for a staff meeting at Poste. At a minimum, servers should know when happy hour starts (and ends); who is responsible for which tables; and how to dispatch fries and water in a timely fashion.
Thanks for giving me yet another opportunity to remind chatters to examine their bills before paying; I find one to three errors a week, on average.
Washington, D.C.: I went to Belga Cafe a couple of weeks ago and when they asked us what kind of water we wanted the waitress offered sparkling or still. I quickly said still thinking that was tap water. Of course it isnt as we found out when we paid $6 for a bottle of still. Needless to say we stayed until we finished that water. I know we should have talked to the manager but we were late for something. My question is do a lot of restaurants operate like this where they don't even offer tap water? To be honest the fact that she didnt offer tap affected her tip.
Tom Sietsema: Diners really need to be offered all three choices of water. In Toronto, Canada, last week, I was pleased to be asked, at different restaurants, "Still, sparking or ice water?"
Re: sushi joints: One of our favorite sushi places is Sushi Taro -- I actually like it better than Kaz. Why doesn't Sushi Taro get more respect from reviewers? It's always packed at lunch with guys from the Japanese embassy, so they must be doing something right!
Tom Sietsema: Who says the place doesn't get any respect from reviewers? I think it's one of too few examples of fine food on its stretch of 17th St. NW
washingtonpost.com: Review of Sushi Taro.
Washington, D.C.: I'm planning on catching up with a friend on Sunday for brunch, a meal I don't typically eat out. Any suggestions for a place that isn't too noisy?
Tom Sietsema: Cashion's Eat Place, the garden at Tabard Inn and the Bombay Club all qualify for a muted brunch.
Washington, D.C.: Quick Tom, help! What's the deal with the Iron Gate? I'd never noticed it before until recently. Is the food any good. It seems quite romantic, would this be a good place to take my husband for his birthday?
Tom Sietsema: Iron Gate has been around FOREVER. Like a lot of people, I'd rather sit there than eat there. It's a romantic space with merely adequate food. A shame.
Smarty Pants:"I have to say, in all my visits to the pizzeria, I never once experienced a pie that resembled matzoh."
You just wanted to show off that you know how to spell matzoh and your poor posted didn't.
Columbus, OH: Im writing one last thing and REALLY hoping you post it. When I worked in DC I had so many managers SCREAM at me and the rest of the staff that the world of restaurants are moving toward paychecks (rather than giving all your tips at the end of the night). Well mean managers in DC, its simply not true. Not in Florida, not in Ohio and not anywhere that Ive asked my fellow restaurant employees in other states. So STOP screaming at us just because you want to rip us off!
Tom Sietsema: Uh, care to expand on your post there?
doneness of food: oh come on. lighten up. WHAT is the big deal is someone wants a steak well done? for all the chef knows, the person has an immunity disorder and isn't taking any chances (pesonal experience on that one). And guess what, no EVERYONE has that refined palette the chef might have. Sometimes they just want a steak the way they want it. I go the other way - I get well annoyed in states where I'm not legally ALLOWED to have a rare hamburger. But I don't blame the chef for following the law. I do blame the chef if he or she simply think he/she knows my tastes better than I do. This is a service industry after all.
Tom Sietsema: Okay, let's leave the issue at that.
Washington, D.C.: Can we add Carole Greenwood to the list of people you're obviously in the tank for, for better or for worse? I've always noted that you make special mention of your friendship with Mark Furstenburg of Breadline when reviewing anything of his. Shouldn't this same principle be extended to cover personal biases such as what you clearly have with Greenwood?
Tom Sietsema: Hard as you might find this to believe, I barely know Carole Greenwood. And if you go back and read my past reviews of her restaurants, I've certainly doled out criticism.
Even though I only get to DC a few times per year, I enjoy your column & comments.
Here is wishing Sweetgreen great success. It sounds as if it is the right thing at the right time. It is very encouraging to read of such young restauranteers. What a great example for young adults starting out in their lifes endeavors.
Tom Sietsema: Their concept is part of a mini-trend here, what with Chop't opening about the same time in Penn Quarter.
washingtonpost.com: The Dish on Chop't Creative Salad Co.
What happened to Zest?: Tom,
I happened to be driving in downtown Frederick the other day, and noticed that Zest has closed. Do you know if they have (I hope) relocated? I know the spot in Frederick that they picked just wasn't workable for a number of reasons.
Tom Sietsema: I left a message on the restaurant's (active) voice mail a few weeks ago, but have yet to get a response. And when I called Zest again this morning, the outgoing response was "we're on vacation until June 18."
That doesn't bode well, does it?
Herndon, Va.: For you tex-mexer's - Taqueria Poblano is the place to go. Arlington and Alexandria locations. Only downfall is they charge different types of salsa!
Tom Sietsema: I'll second that.
Washington, D.C.: Hi, Tom! Wondering if you've been by Hanks's Oyster Bar lately. It has been one of my favorite neighborhood restaurants since it opened, but last week, for the first time, we were disappointed. When we got our menus, we immediately noticed that prices has gone up slightly. I used to always get the $19 lobster roll, which is now listed for $22 or $23, I can't remember which. Other prices had gone up as well. We didn't mind the increase, because we still thought it was fair for the food we got, but when the food arrived, the portions were notably smaller on both my lobster roll and my sister's short ribs. At first I wondered if I was just remebering the dishes incorrectly, but then my sister commented on the change before I said a word. I'm not usually one to complain about smaller portions, but coming at the same time as a price hike? Even the food itself seemed a little different. We've always loved the mac and cheesy for it's crunchy top layer of cheese, but this time, both of our two orders of it came out mushy throughout. I honestly dislike posting negative comments about a place I've loved for so long, and even with the changes, it's still much better than most of what you can get in that area, but maybe if you post this, the owners will see that people are noticing the changes, and we don't like them!
Tom Sietsema: I've heard similar rumblings from other customers, alas.
I would like to get my friend and her fiance a gift certificate to a great restaurant in the area. I would love to send them to Citronelle, but having been there myself I know it's closer to $300 for two people. Ideally, it wouldn't be more than $200 including tax and tip. They're both adventurous eaters, so there's nowhere off limits. Any suggestions you have would be great!
Tom Sietsema: How about some other prize winners? As in Palena or Vidalia, which shared the Best Chef/Mid-Atlantic honors at the James Beard awards in New York this spring, or Komi, whose young kitchen talent was selected by Food & Wine as one of America's best new chefs this month?
sour cherries: They're not frozen, but I'm pretty sure I saw sour cherries at the Takoma Park farmers' market this weekend. You could try there. (Sunday, 10 to...2? I don't know, I go early!)
Tom Sietsema: It's lunch time, folks. Time for me to get to work.
Thanks for another entertaining hour. See you back here for more next Wednesday.
Tap Water: Our waiter at Brasserie Beck, called tap water the Mayor's water. Which my mother found hilarious.
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Bringing Harry Potter to America
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Editor Arthur Levine will be online Wednesday, June 13 at 11 a.m. to talk about his work in bringing the "Harry Potter" books to an American audience, and the tremendous success of the series.
Levine is the publisher of his own imprint, Arthur A. Levine Books, a division of Scholastic. In addition to editing the U.S. edition of the "Harry Potter" books, other books he has edited include Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass," Rafe Martin and David Shannon's "The Rough-Face Girl," Jerry Spinelli's "Crash" and two Caldecott winners, Peggy Rathmann's "Officer Buckle and Gloria," and Emily McCully's "Mirette on the High Wire."
Sarasota, Fla.: When did you, Jo and Christopher first realize the magnitude of the success of the series? What triggered the realization? What did you say to each other? What were your reactions?
Arthur Levine: I think the idea that something unusual was happening started with the auction for U.S. rights; I wound up paying a lot of money for what was then an unknown author's novel. And after the auction I called Jo and said, "Hey, I know there's a lot of excitement about this, but don't let it scare you." :)
Arlington, Va.: Why the decision to end the series? This franchise is a cash cow. Why not extend it indefinitely, even if J.K. Rowling isn't interesting in writing additional books. It worked for "007" and others.
Arthur Levine: Jo always thought of the story as having seven parts; so it isn't that anyone made a decision to END it per se. She just finished the story.
Washington, D.C.: Mr. Levine, thank you again for joining us with this discussion. Do you think in the future J.K. Rowling will continue the story, or even start a series using other associated characters? Is this the end of her work, or will there be more?
Arthur Levine: My pleasure! I really don't know whether or not Jo will revisit the world of Harry Potter. But I do know that she'll continue writing. She takes great joy in writing and I know she has lots of ideas. ...
Arlington, Va.: From the moment you get the manuscript, until the moment is published and you can talk about it, how you do keep silent? I understand it is your job, but are there times where you just want to scream, "Harry ___" or "Snape is ____"
(Fill in the blanks if you would like.)
Arthur Levine: LOL. It can be hard to bite my lip. But I have convenient amnesia. ... I just tell myself not to think about it. :) But it is hard not to go on and on about a book I love. ...
Houston: What a sad article in the NY Times today, discussing the fact that many children who were led to books by Harry Potter will abandon reading after H.P. ends. These kids need adults in their lives saying, "Hey, try this," with a Tolkien or a Pullman or just ANYTHING.
Arthur Levine: I agree with you. I think it would be great too, if we could see more books get the kind of media attention that breaks through the famous "distractions" that teenagers have.
Arlington, Va.: Why is the U.S. book 784 pages and the British book only 608 pages?
Arthur Levine: They are different trim sizes (how large the book is), they are typeset differently, and our edition has chapter-opening illustrations.
Washington, D.C.: How do you feel about the book's main character appearing naked on stage?
Arthur Levine: It's not the book's main character. It's the actor who plays that character in a movie. :)
Wheaton, Md.: As a huge fan of Harry Potter but not that fast a reader, I am concerned that the final denouement will be widely publicized before I get to that part of the book. Do you anticipate that the final resolution will be widely reported?
Arthur Levine: I really hope not. I, too, am a slow reader, so I completely empathize with you. I'd really have hated to have the ending spoiled for me.
North Carolina: Why do people feel the need to change the text of a U.K. book to suit a U.S. audience? Are Americans truly not capable enough to read something with Brit-isms? I don't mind if Harry wears trainers and a jumper while carrying a torch, instead of sneakers, a sweater and flashlight. Lorries, loos, and hosepipes aren't going to impact the charm of these books, so why "Americanize" the text?
Arthur Levine: There are virtually no differences in the texts of the last few books.
Washington, D.C.: I was so interested to read your profile today, your job sounds amazing! But one of the things I was most curious about did not get answered. J.K. Rowling made so much money from her books, and that fact is often discussed; she's richer than the Queen of England! But do editors like you also get such big monetary benefits from buying the U.S. rights to such a successful book? Could you never work again if you wanted to since you worked on such a hit book? I'm so curious!
Arthur Levine: LOL! I get asked that a lot actually. The fact is that I'm an employee of a big company and I don't get paid based on how the books I publish do. That works out well if I'm publishing a beautiful book of poetry that only a few people buy (they don't dock my pay) so I guess it's fair that I don't make a bazillion dollars if one of my books does well. :)
Alexandria, Va.: What can you tell us about the very beginning of the series' run in the U.S. -- is it true that Scholastic bought the rights for only $105,000, plus small author residuals?
Arthur Levine: That's true. But to be clear: that figure is what's called an "advance against royalties." In typical author agreements, this means that when an author "earns back" that advance, they start earning additional royalties.
Washington, D.C.: How would you advise someone who is interested in publishing (or embarking on a career much like yours) to get started?
Arthur Levine: I took a publishing course that was very helpful in getting me started; it's now called the Columbia Publishing Course and it's run by a very smart woman named Lindy Hess.
Washington, D.C.: After my eight-year-old daughter finishes Deathly Hallows, what do you recommend? She likes Edward Eager ("Half Magic," etc.), E. Nesbit (we read aloud) and C.S. Lewis. Any other fantasy authors you recommend? Strong girl characters tend to help.
Arthur Levine: Well, if she's read and appreciated the later HP books then she's a pretty sophisticated reader. She might like to try Kevin Crossley-Holland's "Arthur" trilogy, Robin McKinley's "The Hero and the Crown" and the "Earthsea" tetrology by Ursula Leguin. And, of course, Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. And when she's a little older, Kate Constable's "The Singer of all Songs."
McLean, Va.: I really just wanted to thank you -- I might never have read Harry Potter or the "Dark Materials" Trilogy (among my favorite books!) if you hadn't discovered them. They've really inspired me.
Washington, D.C.: One of the reasons I love the Harry Potter books so much is that Harry is such a great character, and easy to relate to in different ways. As a gay man, I always felt his "coming out" of the broom closet and into the wonderful wizarding world had great parallels to my personal "coming out." Certainly that would seem applicable to anyone who has either hidden, or not yet discovered, something about themselves that forever changes their life.
Arthur Levine: Absolutely. I think Rowling does a great job of talking about many kinds of prejudices in her book, and championing those who have been neglected or oppressed.
Washington, D.C.: How much did you "Americanize" the text (i.e. change spellings, idioms, and British speech patterns)?
Arthur Levine: Very little. Our rule of thumb is that we almost never change anything in a character's direct speech (characters talk the way they talk.) And we only query the author in instances where we think there will be a misunderstanding; this comes up more often when a word seems to be left out to American readers. It's very rarely the simplistic substitution of a bit of British slang for an "American" variant.
Lake Ridge, Va.: I read that Scholastic is working with Author Meg Cabot to create a series of books that will have the same kind of interest in young minds as Harry. Would you know what the series would be about, and when would we be able to see the first release?
Arthur Levine: I'm not the editor of that series, but I believe it's coming out next Spring. She's a terrific writer though -- should be good!
Alexandria, Va.: How satisfied were you once you finished the final page of Book 7? Were all your questions answered?
Arthur Levine: I found it very satisfying. :)
South Riding, Va.: It is clear that the Harry Potter series has been a huge success. What did you see in the first book when you first reviewed it, and did you ever think it could become this popular?
Arthur Levine: I saw an enormously talented writer, who had written a hugely enjoyable book, with more to come. I was confident that these books would be loved by readers. ... More than that, I felt they'd be the kind of books kids would remember later as their favorites from childhood.
I couldn't have forseen the level of sales, but I'm not surprised by how readers embraced the books.
Sarasota, Fla.: Do you ever try and influence your authors' plots?
Or do you only concentrate on style?
Arthur Levine: I think of my job as to give the author (any author) a chance to have someone read her book BEFORE it's finished. I then give her a detailed response -- what I liked, what moved me, what made me laugh, where (if any place) I was confused, or uncertain, etc. Then it's up to the author to decide what to do about that.
It's a different from the task of a teacher, who "corrects" a student's paper ... or a newspaper editor who has to fit a report into a specific space.
East Lansing, Mich.: Thanks for your time; I have really enjoyed the conversation thus far. My question pertains to becoming "the next J.K.R." I have been writing for a while but have not submitted anything to anyone, but it's mostly because I don't know how. Much like Ms. Rowling was when she began sending Harry Potter around, I believe I have a great story but do not know how to get it out there. Obviously, I would love to create a character with half the power and weight of Harry Potter, but my top priority is getting published. How do I do it? Can I send you a manuscript? Any tips for fresh, young authors?
Arthur Levine: There's a wonderful organization out there that can really help you get information, support, advice, etc. as you start and develop your career. It's called the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. www.scbwi.org
Washington, D.C.: Are you ever in touch with editors/translators of other foreign editions of the Harry Potter series? I read one book in Portuguese as language practice and was fascinated by which names were changed and how. For example, the addition of Brazilian wizards at the Quidditch World Cup, who were not present in the English-language version surprised me. Do you have any insight into how such decisions are made?
Arthur Levine: Yes, that's very interesting isn't it! I have met some of these publishers and translators at book fairs, but only in passing.
It did surprise me that in other languages the titles, character names, etc. were changed. (I wonder if anyone wrote to the Portuguese publisher and asked why they translated the book into Portuguese rather than letting their kids simply learn English ... LOL!)
Lake Ridge, Va.: Is Jo working on an 8th book? According to the media rumor mill she has plans to go beyond the 7th? What are your thoughts?
Arthur Levine: She's definitely not working on an 8th book right now.
Alexandria, Va.: When I was working as an elementary school consultant in reading and language arts in the late '60s and the '70s, there was much emphasis being given to materials for so-called "poor" readers. The term "high interest, low vocabulary" was used to describe materials designed for these readers. The one thing about the Harry Potter books that stands out in my mind is the sheer numbers of young readers who have read all of the books cover to cover. Was attention paid to the so-called "vocabulary level" of Rowling's books?
Arthur Levine: I've heard the same thing and it makes me very happy. We didn't pay any attention at all to the "vocabulary level," and I'm so glad it wasn't an obstacle to reluctant readers.
Washington, D.C.:"There are virtually no differences in the texts of the last few books."
So does this mean you used to edit out the British-isms and no longer do? I thought I noticed more of them as the series progressed.
Arthur Levine: I always raised questions to the author when I was concerned about misinterpretation. As readers have become more familiar with the world of Harry Potter through the books and movies there are fewer times when this concern comes up.
Rockville, Md.: Do you have a favorite character or scene from the Harry Potter series?
Arthur Levine: I have a great fondness for these characters so it's really hard to chose one above all. Of the teachers, I wish I could have McGonagall ... if I'd gone to Hogwarts I probably would have been great friends with Hermione, and Luna ... but there are warm things I could say about lots of others. ...
Cry?: It has been reported that Rowling "howled" as she wrote this book -- did you cry?
Arthur Levine: I certainly did.
Silver Spring, Md.: After working in video for about 10 years, I'm thinking of changing careers and going into publishing. Is it a difficult field to break into?
Arthur Levine: I think that it's a field you can break into, if you really want to.
Lake Ridge, Va.: I have noticed that "The Golden Compass" is hitting the silver screen, and even being added to the line ups on most video game systems; are you hoping this story line picks up some of Harry's fall-out? Could you create a bridge to other authors after J.K.'s current run?
Arthur Levine: I definitely hope readers will take their enthusiasm for the experience of reading a great series like Harry Potter and try out other authors.
Arlington, Va.: Is continuity sometimes difficult in series, especially ones this complicated? There has long been in a rumor that J.K. Rowling has been known to check some fact on HP Lexicon just to make sure things are right.
Arthur Levine: There is a TREMENDOUS amount of detail in these books! It's quite amazing that she can keep it all straight. We help as much as we can.
Arlington, Va.: Are there any plans to offer a boxed set of deluxe editions of all seven books?
Personally, I pay more attention to the contents than to the covers, but GrandPre's deluxe illustrations for books six and seven look marvelous.
Arthur Levine: Thank you. Mary's art IS gorgeous. I don't know if we'll do a boxed set of all the deluxe editions, but they are beautiful.
Arthur Levine: Thanks for visiting with me everyone. Please feel free to visit my Web site www.arthuralevinebooks.com and have fun July 21st!
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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Editor Arthur Levine talks about his work in bringing the "Harry Potter" books to an American audience, and the tremendous success of the series.
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Jobs Live
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Find more career-related news and advice in our Jobs section.
Derrick Dortch: Good Morning, Good Morning! It is a beautiful day today. There are a great number of questions today so I am going to get started with no delay. If you have any questions related to government jobs, security clearances, military transitions, or anything related to how to succeed in your career, work and life then do not hesitate to submit your question. I will do my best to provide you an answer.
Thank you for stopping by and ENJOY THE SHOW!!!
Indiana: Recently I accepted a position with the CIA (after waiting close to a year and half for the top secret clearance) and now that my time frame is around the corner to relocate to the Northern Virginia area, I'm concerned about quite a few issues:
1. The salary which is a GS-10/Step 9 is the highest offer, and it's a $9,000 cut in pay for me.
2. I finally flew out to the area to search for housing and I was shocked to say the least for the small homes that were priced above $315,000 or small townhouses with less that 1300 sq. ft. for over $300,000.
My concern is that now I'm wondering if this is a viable option for me since the housing prices are so high and the salary is not negotiable.
I was also looking at the my salary progression/potential and trying to determine if taking this opportunity would only be a temporary setback for me. I know that the top secret clearance provides some value as well as the experience, but I'm beginning to think that this may be unaffordable for me. I worked with a realtor that showed me properties in Reston, Herndon, Chantilly, Fairfax, Sterling and Centreville.
Also I only hear about the value of a clearance with IT professionals, but I have no idea if there is any real value with an accounting/finance professional.
Just a title background about me, I have 12+ years in accounting/finance, a background in healthcare industry, a BS and an MBA in finance, and I'm studying for the CPA exam now. In addition, I own a house and would have to sell/rent my house to take this opportunity.
The agency will pay for the relocation, but not assist with housing.
This is a difficult decision to relocate under these circumstances. Can you provide any insight?
Thank you for your question. I know this is difficult decision but let me give you my take. Working for the CIA is probably one of the best moves you can make in terms of long term career success. I know that this will be a set back financially but trust me within a year or two you will be at a higher salary than you are receiving now. Many times promotions to higher step levels happen pretty rapidly once you are in the government, especially at the GS 9 - 12 levels. Since I am sure you are an excellent performer when it comes to your work you I estimate that you will have a significant higher salary within three (3) years of being at the agency.
Second, the CIA is one of the most coveted and interesting places to work in the world. The experience that you will have working for the United States premier intelligence agency will be one that you will never be able to compare to anything else and if you decide to leave the agency it will make you incredibly marketable to any employer whether it be a government contractor, private sector company, NGO or non-profit organization.
Third, the clearance you are receiving also makes you incredibly marketable long term. You may decide to stay at the agency or you may decide to leave after so many years but having a Top Secret Clearance from the CIA increases your long term marketability and earning potential.
I know the housing market here is tough and I would suggest you rent for the first year and get to know the area before just jumping into buying a house. This way you can find out what areas offer you the best bang for your buck. The prices are much higher than the Midwest but there are ways to make it work.
I hope this answers your questions. If you have anymore then please contact me at dtd@diversagroup.com.
Take care and no matter what decision you make I wish you much success.
Washington, D.C.: Should I fill out the optional sections on federal applications for the applicant's race?
I have been told by several family friends who are current and former government employees, including one SESer, that my race and gender are a handicap to getting a federal job, but I would love a career in public service.
I am a white male professional who is too liberal for the democratic party, yet I consider myself a pragmatist so I am concerned that, regardless of the law, my race and gender will be held against me. What should I do?
Frankly, I will be surprised if you answer this question, but I hope that you will.
Honestly it really will not matter if you fill out the optional sections or not. If you do not feel comfortable in filling them out then do not. With you being a white male I don't feel nor have I seen that as being a handicap to getting a federal job. Focus on finding and targeting the right agencies and the right federal jobs that match your skills, experience, education and qualifications. From there develop a targeted federal resume and KSAs (if necessary) that truly sell you and how the power of your experience and how you would be a great asset to the government. Then begin applying but also begin networking.
These things are the most important in the federal job search. The real handicap that most people face is not do a targeted job search and not having targeted self marketing materials that sell them to the agency and hiring manager.
Since those sections are optional then the choice is yours but doing the above is definitely mandatory to succeed.
I hope this answers your question. Take care and I wish you much success.
Derrick Dortch: I hope this helps.
McLean, Va.: What is the best resource for finding higher level government or civilian military positions?
Are there opportunities available that are not entry-level?
What about in the field of technology and Internet security? Are those areas of expertise applicable in government positions?
Derrick Dortch: Hello, McLean, Va.
The best places to find higher level government or civilian military positions is USAJOBS or AVUECENTRAL.
On USAJOBS you can do a search for Senior Executive Service (SES) and GS 13 - 15 or their pay band equivalent positions.
You may also want to look at the PLUM BOOK. The Plum Book is published by the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on Government Reform alternately after each Presidential election, the Plum Book lists over 7,000 Federal civil service leadership and support positions in the legislative and executive branches of the Federal Government that may be subject to noncompetitive appointment, nationwide. Data covers positions such as agency heads and their immediate subordinates, policy executives and advisors, and aides who report to these officials. The duties of many such positions may involve advocacy of Administration policies and programs and the incumbents usually have a close and confidential working relationship with the agency or other key officials.
The major categories of positions listed in United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions include:
* Executive Schedule and salary-equivalent positions paid at the rates established for levels I through V of the Executive Schedule;
* Senior Executive Service "General" positions and Senior Foreign Service positions;
* Schedule C positions excepted from the competitive service by the President, or by the Director, Office of Personnel Management, and other positions at the GS-14 and above level excepted from the competitive civil service by law, because of the confidential or policy-determining nature of the position duties.
You can access the Plum Book at:
I hope this answers your question. If you need more assistance please contact me at dtd@diversagroup.com.
Springfield, Va.: I recently graduated from college and desperately seeking a job with the government, preferably the State Department, the FTC, or Commerce Department. I am on usajobs.com constantly and I find it so cumbersome, plus after reading the qualifications desired I never feel as if I am qualified, except maybe as an administrative official. Could you offer some advice to those of us who have just graduated? Also, what is the best time to look? Should I look now or wait until after August? Thank you!
Derrick Dortch: Hello, Springfield, Va.
Thank you for your question. You are one of many government job seekers who recently graduated from college who are in the same position as you. I am not sure what your major is but there are definitely government jobs out there for you. Begin focusing on jobs at the GS-7 to 9 level. Those are usually the ones that are targeted for college graduates.
The process is very cumbersome but you can successfully get the government job you are looking for. Depending on what you are trying to get into you may have to think about going to graduate school. While in a program you can focus on doing relevant research and writing papers focused on what the agencies are looking for. You can also look into getting a federal internship and then look into getting a Presidential Management Fellowship.
I would also suggest that you also work on getting jobs in the private or non-profit sector that will prepare you for the jobs you want in the government.
While doing this make sure you develop a targeted federal resume and KSA that really sell you and tell your success stories. Your success stories may be everything from research and projects you did in school to things you have done at work.
Next, make sure you network. Join associations focused on international affairs or areas of interest. Find networking events where you will be able to meet employees from the State Department and other areas of interest. Build relationships with them and also talk to them about your passion to work in government and your interest in their organization. If you build a good relationship with them and impress them with your passion for public service as well as what you can bring to their agency then they make work diligently to help you get in the door. Remember, its what you know but it is also sometimes who you know or who you can get to know and impress.
Lastly, you are going to have to be persistent and patient at the same time. Do not give up. You will get there.
I hope this is helpful. Take care and if you need more assistance please contact me at dtd@diversagroup.com.
Stating the obvious: Shouldn't Indiana have considered all of these options BEFORE accepting the CIA job? Any good job-hunter will do his/her research on the area where the job will be. That being said, getting relocation paid, considering the current government budget deficit, is pretty good. Most govt. jobs except the high-profile ones don't offer that perk.
Derrick Dortch: Thanks for your comments.
Washington, D.C.: Exactly how long does it take for the entire job search process from listing the vacancy announcement to hiring someone in the federal government. I know all agencies are different but are there some better than others. Also, What is OPM doing to solve these long lag times.
I have seen the full spectrum. I have seen people called and hired within 45 to 90 days of a job announcement being seen, the application package being submitted, and interviews being held. I will say that is rare but it has happened within the government.
For most positions I tell people to automatically expect a 45-day to three month process from the time they submit their application package to the time they are called for the interview. Depending on the agency this may be longer. I have also seen some agencies take several months to even a year to call someone to interview. Many factor play into this including, the number of positions available, funding, the political climate, etc.
It is my rule to tell people that you should always expect the government hiring process to take some time. Because of this I always recommend that a person conducts a private sector or non-profit job search at the same time you are doing a government job search if you are looking for a job.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has developed a 45-Day hiring model for agencies but many have not fully implemented it. We can only hope that as time progresses more and more will being using this model and make 45-day Hiring the norm in the federal government.
You can read more about OPM's 45-day hiring model here:
I hope this helps. Take care.
Clifton, Va.: RE: Indiana ... I would stay in Indiana or consider working for a DOD contractor since your chances of ever buying a home in the D.C. within 90 minute commute with good schools are slim to none unless your spouse has seven zeroes to left of decimal point in checking and savings. My brother is a CPA and auditor for one of the big three accounting firms and my sis and I are DOD and DHS employees. He makes an average of $40,000 more than both of us.
Derrick Dortch: Thank you for your recommendations to Indiana.
Alexandria, Va.: Hello, Derrick. I am looking for an international development job, hopefully with an opportunity to work on projects in Africa. I have over six years international project management experience, but, I have not been successful in finding one for the last five months. Am not a U.S. citizen (only green card holder) at this time, are you aware of government jobs that do not require citizenship, please advice.
You are definitely in the right place to do your job search. Here are some places I suggest you look:
This has a great listing of international development jobs.
Is one of the best places to find non-profit/NGO jobs. Has one of the best listing of nonprofit and NGOs on the Web.
Has a listing for 51,000 development organizations.
I would also take a look at the International Monetary Fund, The World Bank, Africare, World Relief, Catholic Relief Services, CARE and other organizations doing work in Africa.
I hope this gets you started. If you need additional help please contact me at dtd@diversagroup.com.
Washington, D.C.: Several of my colleagues and I are actually working at the GS-12/13 level and above, but our positions are classified as GS-9/11. (Your comment to the recent college graduate made me choke -- the GS-11s in my office have graduate degrees and 10-22 years work experience, plus experience speaking at national conferences, publishing papers, etc.) Asking for a desk audit would poison the waters here, blow the department's budget and prevent us from using our supervisors as job references in the future.
How can we apply for appropriate GS-13/14/15 jobs in other federal agencies and NOT be penalized by our current, low job classification status?
Derrick Dortch: Hello, Washington, D.C.
Thanks for your comments. It is difficult once you get into one agency at a GS-9 or 10 to jump up to a GS-12 position even if you are doing the work. It is especially difficult to do this if you are trying to make these moves within one agency. The reason I suggested to the college graduate to pursue graduate school is because with the federal internship programs and the Presidential Management Fellowship they can fast track themselves to a GS-10 position right out of graduate school. From there they can move up the government ranks quicker than if they came in with just their bachelors degree. Unfortunately these fast track programs have been designed to entice those in school now to consider government work but have no real effect on those who may have been in government for a while before these programs were ever developed.
The best way for you to get to the GS-13 and above level is to develop a career success strategy that will help you achieve your goal.
First you need to figure out what you need to do to get promoted. Do you need to take any special assignments, do you need to work under a new manager who has a history of mentoring and helping people succeed and get promotions. Do you need to get any additional training or attend any federal leadership institute programs? It may be these things or something else but you need to figure out what you need to do to help get you promoted.
Another thing you may want to consider is to move to another agency that you know is progressive and has a lot of opportunities. Agencies in the intelligence community and homeland security often times are in flux and they are looking for people to take on leadership roles and address some of the challenges they are facing. In these organizations that are in constant flux and change there is a possibility that is you are person stepping up the plate to face the challenge you will be noticed and promoted quickly.
I could go on and on but what you desire is possible. It is really a matter of developing a career success strategy and implementing it. You will need to get the right mentors, get the right experience, get the right knowledge and network with the right people but you can do it.
If you would like to talk about how to do this further please contact me at dtd@diversagroup.com.
I hope this help. Take care and I wish you much success.
Derrick Dortch: I mentioned networking. Make sure you find out how to effectively network within your agency but also look at what associations to join and what events to attend that will help you network with people in other agencies.
Temple Hills, Md.: Can you give me information as to what agencies work with the federal government? I am a legal secretary and would like to transfer my skills from private to federal. I have filled out the KSAs and applied forever.
Derrick Dortch: Hello, Temple Hills, Md.
Thanks for your question. I would suggest you go on USAJOBS (usajobs.gov) and AvueCentral (AvueCentral.com) and do a keyword search under legal, paralegal, legal assistant, and legal secretary. What you will find is that almost every agency from Department of Justice, to the U.S. Courts, to Department of Homeland Security, to Department of Interior and many others need legal people. All agencies usually have a General Counsel office and other offices that do legal work.
There is also a section on USAJOBS that lets you explore careers and match Federal Jobs to Private Sector Jobs. You can find that here:
Another place to take a look at is the new "Best Places to Work" guide from the Partnership for Public Service. Since you know that most agencies need legal people now the key is to find the best place to work.
You can find the guide at:
I hope this helps. Take care and I wish you much success.
Langley Hopeful: Derrick, do you have any knowledge about the CIA's process for hiring analysts? That is my husband's dream job. But he believes that networking is useless; you can only submit resumes through the central HR office (which he's done with no luck). He's in the intelligence community now, with another agency so networking is a very realistic possibility. I'm concerned that if he's only submitting through their HR office, he'll get lost in the shuffle. He says it's the only way. Any thoughts or suggestions?
Derrick Dortch: Hello, Langley Hopeful.
Yes, I do have knowledge of the process. Have your husband contact me at dtd@diversagroup.com and we will discuss his ambitions further. Take care.
Alexandria, Va.: What is the best resource for someone interested in starting their own government contracting business? And also should I focus in on some agencies I would like to work with or should I not limit my options? Thanks!
Derrick Dortch: Hello, Alexandria, Va.
I could spend a great deal of time answering your question in detail but let me give you some places to start.
First, let me suggest you think about what contracting services you want to provide to the government. What does the government need and how do you plan to provide it. A good place to see what the government needs is by going to the Federal Business Opportunity site at http://fedbizopps.gov/.
There you will find out what agencies are sending out Requests for Proposals (RFPs). These RFPs will tell you exactly what various agencies need and will tell you what they are looking for from a contractor. If you have what they are looking for with your business you can begin responding to the RFP. Or you may want to get a business started to address these needs.
Second, start doing your business planning. The SBA (Small Business Administration) is the first place I would suggest you go and then from there I would talk to any state government organization focused on providing entrepreneurs assistance. The SBA information can be found at:
Third, if you are interested in certain agencies take a look at their site. All agencies have contracting offices and officers and are willing to help small businesses. Take a look at the agencies you are interested and see if you can find contracting information on their site. If not call and ask for the contracting office.
If you need more assistance please contact me at dtd@diversagroup.com. There is so much more information you need to know and you definitely need to be well informed before starting any business venture.
Take care and I wish you much success.
Bowie, Md.: What is the best way to find out what agencies are hiring?
Derrick Dortch: Here are the best places:
I would also suggest that you think about what agencies are interest and go their career sites. Some agencies only post openings on their career sites so you need to check them. Here is an A-Z directory of government agencies.
If you are not sure what agencies to target then USAJOBS has a section that will help you. You can find it here:
I hope this helps. Take care and I wish you much success.
Maryland: Having sat on government panels that review job applicants in my area, I would emphasize the importance of KSAs. If your resume is in a stack of 100 resumes, the KSAs are the only way you are going to separate yourself. Be sure they are well written. Be sure they explain exactly why you are a highly qualified applicant to perform the duties described in the job description. Be specific.
Derrick Dortch: Maryland, thank you so much for your wise advice.
Washington, D.C.: Have the feds taken any proactive steps to shorten the hiring process? That is the main reason I don't apply for federal jobs, I don't want to get caught up in a six to nine month waiting game. Any way to speed things up?
I have seen a great deal of progress in agencies within Department of Defense (Defense Intelligence Agency), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and agencies within the Department of Homeland Security. In each of these I have seen significant improvement in terms of their hiring process and response times of getting back to candidates they are interested in interviewing or starting the testing process with. Much of this progress is because more money from the budget has been allocated to defense, intelligence and homeland security.
Other agencies have done better but on a whole they can do much better. OPM has taken the lead in developing and trying to encourage agencies to implement a 45-day hiring model. I hope and pray that many agencies will begin to use this as the standard model for all hiring.
Do not let the time prevent you from applying. The government is always in need of good workers so do not give up!
Take care and I wish you much success.
washingtonpost.com: Derrick is having technical problems and must go. That's our time for today. Thanks for joining us and tune in every first Wednesday of the month at 11 a.m. ET for more government career advice with Derrick Dortch.
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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Washington Post soccer writer Steven Goff will be online Wednesday, July 11, at 1 p.m. ET to chat about the D.C. United's MLS season and all the hottest soccer topics.
Submit your questions and comments before or during the discussion.
Goff covers the D.C. United beat for The Washington Post and writes the Soccer Insider blog for washingtonpost.com.
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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Washington Post soccer writer Steven Goff chats about the D.C. United's MLS season and all the hottest soccer topics.
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A Karl Rove Solution for Iraq? (washingtonpost.com, July 10)
Dan is also deputy editor of Niemanwatchdog.org.
Dan Froomkin: Hi everyone, and welcome to another White House Watch online discussion! My column today (which will be out very shortly) leads with President Bush's mocking comments as he inaugurated the newly-refurbished White House briefing room. But there's also an awful lot of analysis of his rambling town-meeting style talk yesterday ... and much more.
There's so much else going on today, too. Let's talk about it.
Washington: Dan: I was struck by the White House's official position (via its spokesman Tony Fratto) on former Surgeon General Richard Carmona's Congressional testimony. Carmona said that he was muzzled on various health issues by the administration. Usually when such issues arise, the White House glosses over them. Not so here. Fratto called Carmona a liar, saying: "As surgeon general, Dr. Carmona was given the authority and had the obligation to be the leading voice for the health of all Americans. It's disappointing to us if he failed to use his position to the fullest extent in advocating for policies he thought were in the best interests of the nation." In other words, "we didn't muzzle him at all, and if he didn't speak out, he didn't do his job." Pretty remarkable. Where is this going to lead?
Dan Froomkin: I read that very differently than you did. I read it as a cynical nondenial of his charges, wrapped in a nasty bit of character assassination. So, nothing personal, but I think you fell for it.
Me, I'd like to see the White House press office confronted on each of his specific charges (my fave: being told to mention Bush at least three times per page in every speech) and see what they say about each one.
Honeymoon for the Next President?: Dan: I've been pondering lately what effect Bush's credibility gap may have on the next president. Theory one is that the country collectively will be relieved to have "anybody but Bush" and will give the president the benefit of the doubt until he or she proves unworthy. Theory two is that cynicism has become so pervasive that the next president will have to perform extraordinarily well just to get back to neutral. What do you think?
Dan Froomkin: That's a really interesting question. I would suspect a bit of both. On the one hand, any president is going to have a honeymoon period of sorts. But on the other, there's the Nixon precedent -- Watergate completely and forever changed the nation's view of presidential infallibility.
Will we unquestioningly believe any future president if they cite "intelligence" as a reason for a preventive war? I don't think that will (or should) happen ever again.
More than a year ago (maybe two?) polls started showing that less than half the public considered Bush trustworthy. I'd be interested in seeing those numbers now, and comparing them to Nixon's.
Hilton Head, S.C.: Enjoy your column and your insight very much! Because Bush relies heavily on the advice of a small inner circle -- and obviously has received very bad advice through the years from this group -- why does he still have confidence in them, primarily Cheney and Rove? Why does he keep relying on these guys when they have gotten so much stuff wrong in the past six years and essentially helped wreck his presidency?
Dan Froomkin: There are two main hypotheses: 1. They make the decisions, not him. 2. Inertia.
Pasadena, Calif.: Dan, thanks as always for these chats. I found the comments you cited from Michael Ware's interview with Anderson Cooper to be particularly disturbing:
"These are American agendas, American benchmarks. These aren't the benchmarks that the factions within the Iraqi government really care about. What they care about is getting their hands on their own security forces and setting them loose as they see fit."
Do you have a feeling whether the Republican defectors are recognizing this reality, or are they rather merely responding to public discontent with the war in the face of the 2008 elections?
Dan Froomkin: CNN's Michael Ware, quoted in yesterday's column, has emerged as a real truth-teller.
I have a sneaking suspicion that history will look back on this period, almost as much as on the immediate post-invasion period, as one in which the U.S. government (and its people) completely misunderstood the circumstances in which we found ourselves. Iraqi politics is nothing like we imagine it to be.
See also this piece by Robert Dreyfuss on NiemanWatchdog.org. He notes, for instance: "Corrupt and venal Iraqi leaders, squatting in bunkers in the Green Zone, might welcome American support and American money -- but do they have any 'street cred' whatsoever?"
Rockville, Md.: Question: Why is it called "White House Watch?"
Answer: "Because it is wrong twice a day."
And this is the polite version. Sorry.
Dan Froomkin: Funny. (Sort of.) Thanks for writing.
Reston, Va.: Maybe this is completely naive on my part, but can't Congress grant Scooter Libby immunity and make him tell the truth?
Dan Froomkin: Not naive at all. Yes, they can grant him immunity. But how in the world can they force him to tell the truth?
Washington: "Executive privilege," Sara Taylor and Harriet Miers: Isn't there an obvious first amendment issue here? Neither now works for Bush. Taylor has said she's willing to testify to avoid a contempt citation, though she'd rather not. Surely Bush was not happy with "The Price of Loyalty," nor was Clinton happy with "All Too Human" eight years ago. But when those books were published, no one denied that Paul O'Neill or George Stephanopoulos had the legal right to say or write whatever they pleased about their experiences in those administrations, including conversations with the president. (National security matters excepted, of course.) Why does a request from Congress for testimony annihilate the same right for Taylor or Miers? And conversely, how does it interfere with their obligations to testify if subpoenaed? What am I missing here?
washingtonpost.com: Ex-Aide Refuses to Testify on Attorney Firings (Post, July 11)
Dan Froomkin: A good question that I'm not fully equipped to answer. But the thing you're missing may be that maybe Taylor really doesn't want to testify. I only heard a tiny part of her testimony today, but it kinda sounded like as long as the answers were self-serving, she was pretty happy to talk.
Annandale, Va.: Regarding Carmona -- I have a tough time having any sympathy for him. He stayed four years; he was the one delivering speeches. Supposedly he was in charge, and what political appointees were saying was advice (after all, he was a political appointee too). As far as the story goes, it doesn't appear that even one time he went with his convictions over political advice. Sounds like he feels guilty now.
Dan Froomkin: And that's a good point. Under the conditions he describes, resigning in protest would appear to have been the most defensible decision.
Washington: To Hilton Head: "Why does he keep relying on these guys when they have gotten so much stuff wrong in the past six years and essentially helped wreck his presidency?" There is a third option: He doesn't think it's wrong advice. Look at the speeches he's giving to his echo chamber audiences -- he clearly thinks he's right, and anyone who disagrees with him isn't sufficiently patriotic.
3. Despite the public's deep disapproval of much of what Bush's inner-circle has wrought, the loss of Congress in 2006 and the defection of members of his own party, Bush believes that history will vindicate him.
But you could also see that as a subset of option 1. They make the decisions not him.
Atlanta: Hi Dan. Saw you on "Hardball" last week -- you were great! I am wondering if you can explain why Chertoff's "gut feel" on a terrorist attack is considered news. This is a guy who had "no idea" the levees in New Orleans could breach when he had warnings and facts. But we are supposed to take his "gut feel" seriously? And more importantly, why is the news media once again, being complicit in the administration's scare tactics? Can we assume no lessons have been learned? Thanks.
Dan Froomkin: Thanks so much! That was my first TV appearances in ages. I enjoyed it.
I have a "gut feel" about this Chertoff announcement, but unlike him, I have the good sense not to tell people what it is.
Sun Prairie, Wis.: Dan, I understand the urgency to get your column filed, but you might have noted in quoting David Halberstam's Vanity Fair piece yesterday that Halberstam died last month.
washingtonpost.com: A Journalist For Whom There Were Not Enough Words (Post, April 25)
Dan Froomkin: My apologies. Halberstam's death was a terrible tragedy. The headline of that segment in yesterday's column was "Halberstam's Last Thoughts," but you're right, I should have written more of an intro.
Denver: I like when you post comments from the people who don't like you or think you are wrong (twice a day apparently). Can you dedicate a column or discussion to these types of comments one day? They make me laugh.
Dan Froomkin: I don't get enough, I'm afraid.
Lake Elmo, Minn.: I find the question regarding the next president to be very intriguing and quite important ... what will the next president, regardless of party, have to do to essentially reconfigure his or her proper role? I think Bush's tenure has trashed the presidency.
Dan Froomkin: As I note in today's column, Susan Page has a big story in USA Today about Bush's legacy.
"No new president gets a clean slate -- global politics and the economy don't run in neat four-year cycles -- but presidential scholars say the unfinished business Bush will leave for his successor is unprecedented since at least World War II.
" 'I can't think of a single modern president about to bequeath to his successor such a difficult agenda and such a damaged presidency,' says Paul Light of New York University...
"White House spokesman Tony Snow says that Bush deserves credit for passing on a healthy economy and tackling daunting problems -- from Islamic terrorism to Social Security's finances to a broken immigration system.
" 'What the president does bequeath to his successor is a much greater sense of some of the challenges of the world,' Snow says...
"Snow counters that Bush inherited serious problems from President Clinton, too, though they may not have been obvious at the time.
" 'President Clinton did not address directly the terror threat. ... He didn't take on (Osama) bin Laden directly,' Snow says. 'Problems were brewing that the White House could have addressed more forthrightly and chose not to.' "
Dan Froomkin: Today's column, Mock the Press, is now available for your reading pleasure!
Florida: It's been quite a long time since we have heard anything about Karen Hughes. Is she still spreading goodwill on behalf of GWB around the world? Or is that impossible to do these days?
washingtonpost.com: Under Secretary, Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Dan Froomkin: Yes to both, with a special focus on the Muslim world. Which reminds me: Was anyone else a bit taken aback by some of Bush's recent statements about Islam?
Here's what he had to say yesterday: "A lot of people in the Muslim world believe that the United States is at war with Islam; that the response to the attack on our country was one where we attacked somebody based upon their religion. And I, for one, obviously need to battle that image, because we're not facing religious people, we're facing people whose hearts are filled with hate, who have subverted a great religion."
They have subverted? Not they've tried to subvert?
Similarly, as I wrote in my June 28 column, here is the text of Bush's remarks at the rededication of the Islamic Center in Washington. Bush's goal was to empower moderate Muslims. But some of his words may have rubbed them the wrong way.
"We must help millions of Muslims as they rescue a proud and historic religion from murderers and beheaders who seek to soil the name of Islam," he said.
Rescue? Rather than, say, protect? Imagine if a Muslim leader came to the National Cathedral and spoke of the need to help Christians rescue their religion from fanatics. Or am I just picking nits?
Boulder, Colo.: Dan, do you think Karl Rove still thinks the Republicans can take the White House in 2008? I don't see them winning under any circumstances with so many independents against Bush.
Dan Froomkin: It's a long way until November. It certainly looks that way now, but keep in mind that Rove and his ilk succeed more by running down their opponents than they do by building up their candidates. If Rove types can persuade a good chunk of the public that the Democratic candidate is a treasonous wimp, then they win, almost no matter what.
Washington: Re: Carmona. He may have thought that things would get better, especially in the second administration. He's in a job with limited lateral shifts and is not someone who will wind up running a med school, which I believe was Satcher's destination. I think he reached a point of being stuck and decided to just see it through toward the end. He's served in the military. He's worked in a command structure. Career military people don't "resign in protest" -- they retire and take their resentments with them. This isn't much different from what happens to well-compensated people in screwed-up organizations elsewhere in government -- or, for that matter, in the private sector.
Dan Froomkin: Thanks for the intelligent analysis. And forgive the naivety, but why shouldn't military people resign in protest?
Chicago: Dan -- recently, at the Aspen Institute, Karl Rove and Colin Powell had vastly different takes on the current involvement of al-Qaeda in the attacks on civilians and US soldiers in Iraq. Although Powell's credibility was whacked by his U.N. dog-and-pony show (albeit due to vice president Cheney's cherry-picking of intelligence relied upon by Powell) I've got to think that most everyone believes him to be more credible than Rove. Your take?
Dan Froomkin: Well, it helps that Powell's position was supported by the facts (and Rove's was not). Rove would like people to believe that al-Qaeda is responsible for most of the violence in Iraq, but it just ain't true. Brent Gardner-Smith covered Rove's remarks for the Aspen Daily News. I wish I had a transcript.
Atlanta: "Or am I just picking nits?" No, you are exactly right. This is exactly why our standing in the world is so precarious. The president does not know how to be diplomatic. Honestly I can't even listen to him anymore without being offended. I have to go back later and read what he said.
Dan Froomkin: Thanks. I know he was unscripted yesterday -- so was that just a slip of the tongue, or his true feelings on display? That Islam has in fact been subverted by extremists?
Springfield, Va.: Hi Dan. This is an absolutely hilarious comment from Tony Snow in your column today. Um, Tony, are you on the front page because of Bush's agenda, because positive things are happening. I wish someone had had a retort for him:
"Ron Hutcheson of McClatchy Newspapers...said 'The truth is that the president is not making the kind of news he made in the first term or even in the start of the second term, especially now that immigration has gone down.'
"Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, disputed that assessment. 'Last time I checked,' he said, 'the White House ends up on the front page every day.' "
Dan Froomkin: It was kind of hilarious. Sometimes I just let statements like that speak for themselves. But thank you for putting that in context.
Well,that's one way to end all wars...: "And forgive the naivety, but why shouldn't military people resign in protest?"
"Okay boys, at the count of three, we are headed for Omaha Beach!" "Uh, no thanks Sarge; I resign ... buh-bye."
Dan Froomkin: I wasn't being quite that naive -- I meant senior folks in leadership positions. I have nothing but sympathy and admiration for the grunts.
Columbia, Md.: I know others have written on it today, but your thoughts on the implosion of the McCain Campaign? For someone who literally turned the other cheek, he seems to be getting very little support out of the White House or Rove.
Dan Froomkin: I am not watching the 2008 campaign as closely as perhaps I should -- but from my perspective as a confirmed Bush watcher, I suspect that McCain's implosion had a lot to do with the fact that whoever runs in 2008 as a Bush defender ain't going anywhere.
What I'm watching for, particularly in the Democratic camp of course, is who establishes him or herself as the preeminent anti-Bush. I think there is a hunger out there for precisely that.
Wilmington, N.C.: Hi Dan. Do you think that Bush and Cheney's efforts to strengthen the executive may actually backfire in the future, leading to a weakening of that branch (like after Watergate)? Also, their efforts to co-opt and bully the mainstream media likewise seems to have had the unintended consequence of increasing aggressive reporting lately -- might that also be an outcome of their actions in office?
Dan Froomkin: I think that if the Democrats control Congress and the White House in 2008, they may well establish firm limits to prevent the kind of overreach we have seen of late. (Although one could argue that those limits already exist; they just were ignored; and the Supreme Court is the real battle ground of the future.)
As for the MSM ... yes, it's doing better, but I'm still not seeing enough aggressive reporting to make me the least bit optimistic about a widespread return to watchdog journalism in the short-run, not to mention the long-run.
Napier, New Zealand: Hi Dan. A bit off-topic, but what would Bush say (do) if the Iraqis asked the U.S. to leave? Might be a good way out.
Dan Froomkin: This goes back to what I was getting at above. The people we've established as leaders are dependent on us for their power, so it seems highly unlikely that they will ask us to leave. Nice trick, huh?
Washington: Speaking as someone who worked in a communications shop in the administration (albeit nowhere near the White House) I find the "mention Bush three times" line a bit hard to believe. I worked on speeches and I can recall no such instructions ever in the couple of years I spent. I doubt you'll take that on face value, but it was my experience.
Dan Froomkin: That would be an easy thing to go check; if it was a hyperbolic claim on Carmona's part, then shame on him.
Washington: "...the thing you're missing may be that maybe Taylor really doesn't want to testify." Sorry; I should've made clear that her "willingness" to testify seems (to me, anyway) disingenuous. But my larger point remains: unlike the CIA, the president has no evident right to quash the speech of former employees.
Dan Froomkin: I would tend to agree, but my understanding is that the legal terrain is not entirely clear. (This doesn't come up very often.)
Raleigh, N.C.: Re: "Islam has been subverted by extremists," I believe that this is not the first time he has said that, so it's probably something he does believe.
Dan Froomkin: And then he wonders why "[a] lot of people in the Muslim world believe that the United States is at war with Islam."
Baltimore: Sara Taylor -- did I get it right? Did she just admit to numerous violations of the Hatch Act? She wasn't immunized in this testimony, so can Congress ask that she be indicted?
Dan Froomkin: I haven't been listening carefully enough...
But Joel Havemann reports for the Los Angeles Times that "when asked about e-mail messages on her White House computer related to the U.S. attorneys, she testified that she used two computers, one for governmental matters and one for political issues, to avoid Hatch Act sanctions against doing political work at taxpayer expense. But sometimes, she admitted, she slipped up and used her government computer for political work."
Columbus, Ohio: Regarding today's column Dan, why does the press let Bush get away with antics like that? Why would they sit there and continue to show him respect when he clearly has none for them, or for the job they do? I understand respecting the office and being a professional, but if Bush is going to act like that, why do they bother being there? I would have reasoned that it was a waste of time and walked out, rather than watch the child act up for no reason other than because he could.
Dan Froomkin: I understand why they showed up -- it was, after all, a potential news event. And I understand the impulse to laugh at his antics. But this is serious stuff. Bush's mocking relationship to the press (and its mission of holding him accountable) is not only one of the most troubling hallmarks of his presidency, it's a legitimate source of nonpartisan, journalistic anger.
So where's that anger? That, to me, remains the big mystery. Why play along?
Silicon Valley, Calif.: Everyone I know wants to see Bush and Cheney impeached ASAP. RICO seems like obvious choice, given that they have been so corrupt on such an ongoing basis. There's a lavish buffet of Impeachable offenses to choose from. When can we sit down and eat?
Dan Froomkin: The Democratic leadership clearly has decided that they would rather run against Bush in 2008 than run in defense of their impeachment of Bush. It's all politics, baby.
Jersey City, N.J.: Does it look to you like some reporters might be taking some advice from the New York Times ombudsman? I noticed this paragraph in this morning's Post article from Michael Abramowitz:
"In his speech, Bush once again conflated two organizations, al-Qaeda in Iraq and the international network led by Osama bin Laden, saying that the same group that attacked the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, is responsible for much of the violence in Iraq. While the Iraq militants are inspired by bin Laden, intelligence analysts say the Iraqi group is composed overwhelmingly of Iraqis and does not take direction from bin Laden."
washingtonpost.com: President To Critics: Wait Till September (Post, July 11)
Dan Froomkin: Wasn't that swell? Here's that (possibly historic) column by the new New York Times public editor/ombudsman, Clark Hoyt. That's ombudsmanning! And check out the McClatchy Newspapers story by Jonathan S. Landay.
Dan Froomkin: Okay -- thanks, everyone, for another great chat. See you every weekday afternoon on the home page, and here again in two weeks!
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 GOP, Growing Friction On Iraq
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Facing crumbling support for the war among their own members, Senate Republican leaders yesterday sought to block bipartisan efforts to force a change in the American military mission in Iraq.
But the GOP leadership's use of a parliamentary tactic requiring at least 60 votes to pass any war legislation only encouraged the growing number of Republican dissenters to rally and seek new ways to force President Bush's hand. They are weighing a series of proposals that would change the troops' mission from combat to counterterrorism, border protection and the training of Iraqi security forces.
"I think we should continue to ratchet up the pressure -- in addition to our words -- to let the White House know we are very sincere," said Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), who broke with the president last month.
The maneuvering in the Senate came as Bush traveled to Voinovich's home state to appeal for more time on the war, and as presidential candidates in Iowa and on the Senate floor escalated their rhetoric in a debate that once seemed headed for culmination in September but now appears to be fully engaged. House leaders announced last night that the chamber will vote tomorrow on legislation to begin withdrawing troops within 120 days, with complete withdrawal by April 1, 2008, unless the president reports to Congress why some troops must remain to fight terrorism or train Iraqi forces.
The president appealed to lawmakers yesterday to hold back on legislative responses at least until September, when Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, will deliver a crucial progress report on the military and political efforts there. And last night the White House formally declared that the president would veto virtually any of the war proposals being considered.
"I fully understand that when you watch the violence on TV every night, people are saying, 'Is it worth it, can we accomplish an objective?' " Bush told a Cleveland business group. "Yes, we can accomplish this fight and win in Iraq. And secondly, I want to tell you, we must."
On the campaign trail in Iowa, Sens Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) delivered speeches assailing Bush's war policy, while Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) tussled on the Senate floor.
Speaking at the very moment that his campaign was announcing the departure of two top aides, McCain lashed out at antiwar Democrats who are advocating an immediate troop withdrawal, comparing such a move to when the Senate voted to cut off funding for U.S. troops in Cambodia in 1970.
"I've seen this movie before from the liberal left in America, who share no responsibility for what happened in Cambodia when we said no," said McCain, whose campaign has lost support partly because of his advocacy of the war. He singled out Mike Gravel, a Vietnam War-era senator from Alaska who strongly opposed that mission and is waging a long-shot antiwar candidacy for the 2008 Democratic nomination.
Biden jumped in. "Give me a break! Quoting Gravel as the voice of the left?" he exclaimed. "This is a man who, God love him, nominated himself for vice president. I mean, come on!"
Vice President Cheney attended a closed-door Republican luncheon to appeal for party unity in what Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) called "a vigorous debate." Sen. Ted Stevens (Alaska) said he took Cheney's side, telling his colleagues: "If we leave prematurely, it would be absolute anarchy. We'd be turning over to al-Qaeda one of the largest oil-producing states in the world."
But such sentiments are increasingly in the minority in the Senate. "June and May were among the bloodiest months of any since we've been there, and what has the Maliki government done? Virtually nothing," Collins said after the lunch, referring to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
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Obama Echoes Clinton on Iraq War, to a Different End
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Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has long said she will not apologize for her vote to authorize the war in Iraq because there are no "do-overs" in life.
Now she and her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, agree on that truism.
"When I opposed this war before it began in 2002, I was about to run for the United States Senate, and I knew it wasn't the politically popular position," Obama said during a town hall meeting in Des Moines on Tuesday.
"But I believed then and still do that being a leader means that you'd better do what's right and leave the politics aside, because there are no do-overs on an issue as important as war," Obama said.
Obama spoke at the Des Moines Area Community College, a few blocks from where Clinton delivered her own speech on Iraq. The two Democrats have been in a cat-and-mouse chase for more than a week, with both campaigning in Iowa over the Fourth of July holiday and rolling out their plans on Iraq for the Senate to consider this week.
Clinton, in her address at the Temple for Performing Arts, repeated her commitment to ending the U.S. involvement in the war if she is elected president. "It is time to begin ending this war -- not next year, not next month -- but today," she said.
"We have heard for years now that as the Iraqis stand up, our troops will stand down. Every year, we hear about how next year they may start coming home. Now we are hearing a new version of that yet again from the president as he has more troops in Iraq than ever and the Iraqi government is more fractured and ineffective than ever," Clinton said.
With support for the war continuing to crumble across the political spectrum, Senate Democrats, and in particular the four running for president, are making a renewed push to take control of war policy away from President Bush in the form of amendments attached to the Defense Department's spending authorization bill up for debate this week. Clinton would repeal the congressional authorization for the war. Obama would increase oversight of military contractors and provide more funding for mental health services for veterans.
Sen. Richard J. Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who is supporting Obama, noted his colleague's advantage in being a consistent war critic, as Durbin has himself been, having opposed the war from its start. He drew an implicit contrast with both Clinton (D-N.Y.) and former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), who supported the 2002 resolution on the use of force.
Durbin singled out Edwards for helping to fuel antiwar expectations for congressional action. Edwards has chastised his fellow Democratic candidates who are serving in the Senate for not pushing hard enough to end the war.
"I recall when John voted for this war. So it's understandable that he feels badly about that decision and wants to see something done to undo the harm that has happened," Durbin said during an appearance on washingtonpost.com's "Post Talk." "But it has to be done in a sensible way."
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Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has long said she will not apologize for her vote to authorize the war in Iraq because there are no "do-overs" in life.
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Quick End to War 'Not Realistic,' Durbin Cautions
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Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin said today that despite growing Republican discontent with the Iraq war, convincing GOP members to support withdrawal legislation remains a daunting challenge that so far has netted few results.
Durbin said recent speeches by senior Senate Republicans signaling a sharp break with Bush's Iraq war strategy might not necessarily translate into votes for Democratic measures setting target dates for withdrawing U.S. troops. Durbin also conceded that the Democrats, with a bare majority in the Senate, won't be able to placate liberal Democratic calls for a specific end date, including a funding cut off.
"Obviously there are folks who want the war to end today, and all the troops to be home tomorrow. And even though I think that is a worthy goal, it is not a realistic goal," said Durbin. A major redeployment of troops will have to be done gradually and in a responsible manner, he noted. "We also understand that just leaving cold turkey, with everything gone, could have the whole region descend into chaos," Durbin said.
The Illinois Democrat, who holds the Senate's No. 2 leadership post, made the remarks during an interview on PostTalk, a regular washingtonpost.com interview program with newsmakers.
Durbin, an early booster of Sen. Barack Obama's presidential campaign, singled out former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) for helping to fuel unrealistic anti-war expectations for congressional action. Edwards has chastized his fellow Democratic candidates who are currently serving in the Senate, for not pushing hard enough to end the war.
"I recall when John voted for this war. So it's understandable that he feels badly about that decision and wants to see something done to undo the harm that has happened," said Durbin. "But it has to be done in a sensible way."
Asked to characterize the mood of Republican Senators on the war, Durbin recalled the dramatic speech two weeks ago by Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) The senior GOP member of the Foreign Relations Committee walked unannounced onto the Senate one evening, to call for an immediate change of course.
"I thought, Dick Lugar's position and mine are not different," said Durbin. Lugar's remarks were followed by similar declarations from Sens. George Voinovich (Ohio) and Pete V. Domenici (N.M.). "I can tell they've really lost patience with this administration and it policy in Iraq," Durbin said.
But as the Senate launches two weeks of debate over the war, Durbin said, it remains unclear whether Republican doubts will convert into votes for withdrawal measures. So far, Lugar, Voinovich and Domenici are resisting efforts to set specific dates for removing troops, as are most other GOP skeptics. "How will we see that when it comes to this debate now? That's the real question," Durbin said.
On the Democratic side, Durbin acknowledged a different source of tension: the difficulties of explaining to his party's liberal base why American troops are not yet out of Iraq. He said many Democratic voters assumed that in the months following the 2006 election, the new Democratic Congress would legislate a troop withdrawal -- despite the fact that Democrats control the Senate by a mere one-vote margin.
In reality, said Durbin, Senate Democrats are the minority party on Iraq, because one of their members, Sen. Tim Johnson of South Dakota, has been absent for months while he recovers from a stroke, and Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, an independent who is a member of the Democratic caucus, is a strong war supporter.
"It's so hard, and I didn't really appreciate that when we won the majority last November," said Durbin. "People thought, okay you won the majority on Tuesday, I guess by Wednesday the war's over. I only wish we had that power."
An early agitator for a presidential candidacy by his homestate colleague Obama, Durbin pronounced himself pleased with the progress the freshman senator has made in the first months of the campaign.
"He's done things that no one's ever expected. To have 250,000 contributors at this moment? No one's even close. It's an indication of grass roots support that any presidential candidate would die for," said Durbin.
Durbin compared Obama to President John F. Kennedy, as a person capable of inspiring a new generation of Democratic leadership. "I think Barack Obama represents something historic," said Durbin.
He noted Obama's advantage in being a consistent war critic, as Durbin himself has been, having opposed the war in Iraq from its start. He drew an implicit contrast with both Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Edwards, both of whom supported the 2002 use of force resolution.
Obama, in Iowa this morning, also sought to differentiate himself from the other first tier candidates on the war. "I believed then and still do that being a leader means that you'd better do what's right and leave the politics aside, because there are no do-overs on an issue as important as war," he said.
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Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin said today that despite growing Republican discontent with the Iraq war, convincing GOP members to support withdrawal legislation remains a daunting challenge that so far has netted few results.
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Top Aides Leave McCain Camp
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In the mid-1990s, years before Sen. John McCain officially launched his first bid to become president, it was John Weaver who convinced the senator that he had all the ingredients to win the GOP nomination and the Oval Office.
Weaver -- a lanky, fidgety Republican strategist with a deceptively low-key Southern drawl -- would go on to become one of McCain's closest advisers during the 2000 race, an architect of the "Straight Talk Express." Weaver was also, literally, the senator's right-hand man: On the road, he would join McCain, whose range of arm motion was limited by his wounds in Vietnam, in his hotel room to help him comb his hair.
On Tuesday, McCain parted ways with his longtime aide and engineered a dramatic shake-up of his presidential campaign team as he sought to reverse a months-long downward spiral that has left him short of cash and struggling for support.
The stunning developments unfolded quickly yesterday morning after Weaver and campaign manager Terry Nelson, a key member of President Bush's 2004 reelection team, issued terse statements announcing their departures from the McCain camp.
Their exits came after several tense meetings before and after a recent trip to Iraq in which McCain expressed dissatisfaction to his high command over what he regarded as mismanagement of operations and excessive spending in the face of weaker-than-projected fundraising.
McCain quickly installed Rick Davis, the campaign's chief executive, as the new manager and vowed to press forward despite months of disappointing news. Davis long had sparred with Nelson, Weaver and Mark Salter, one of McCain's closest confidants, over operations. Salter will continue in his role as an unpaid senior adviser.
On Tuesday, Davis put out a brief statement on the new structure. "This campaign has always been about John McCain and his vision for reducing federal spending, defending traditional values, and winning the war against Islamic extremists," Davis said. "Today we are moving forward with John's optimistic vision for our country's future." Weaver did not return a call seeking comment.
The upheaval came as McCain was heading for the Senate floor to restate his support for Bush's troop increase in Iraq and days before he will take his pro-"surge" message to New Hampshire voters.
McCain's new difficulties further stirred an already volatile Republican nomination battle. No candidate has managed to break from the pack, and many GOP activists are still looking for what they regard as a reliable conservative and strong standard-bearer for what is shaping up as a challenging general election. But among the leading candidates, no one faces more difficulties than McCain.
Six months ago, the Arizona senator and former Vietnam prisoner of war was regarded as the front-runner for his party's nomination. He was soon eclipsed in the polls by former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and now is challenged by former senator Fred D. Thompson of Tennessee, still an unannounced candidate. In Iowa and New Hampshire, McCain has worked to build credible organizations but has been overtaken in the polls by former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
Two other senior officials -- political director Rob Jesmer and deputy campaign manager Reed Galen -- followed Nelson and Weaver out the door, as did several lower-level aides. A staff that once numbered about 120 is now down to about 50, and more departures among senior staff members are possible, according to Republicans with knowledge of the internal changes.
Davis immediately sought to calm a shaken campaign staff and also reached out to reassure donors and fundraisers. Campaign sources said they expected veteran GOP strategist Charlie Black and former senator Phil Gramm of Texas to play larger roles in campaign strategy.
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In the mid-1990s, years before Sen. John McCain officially launched his first bid to become president, it was John Weaver who convinced the senator that he had all the ingredients to win the GOP nomination and the Oval Office.
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McCain Loses Longtime Ally in Campaign Shakeup
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In the mid-1990s, years before Sen. John McCain officially launched his first bid to become president, John Weaver whispered the magic words in the senator's ear: That he had all the ingredients to win the nomination and the Oval Office.
Weaver -- a lanky, fidgety Republican strategist with a deceptively low-key Southern drawl -- would go on to become one of McCain's closest advisers during the 2000 race, an architect of the "Straight Talk Express."
Like so many of McCain's aides, Weaver also grew into became a personal friend.
Yet, even by the standards of the legendary McCain inner circle, Weaver occupied a special place. He traveled with McCain everywhere. Weaver was, quite literally, the senator's right-hand man: on the road, Weaver would join McCain, whose range of arm motions was limited by his wounds in Vietnam, in his hotel room to help him comb his hair.
"They've had a very close personal relationship," said Howard Opinsky, another longtime McCain insider. "It was born out of all the time they spent together, and the respect they had for one another. John's loyalty to McCain has been unsurpassed."
On Tuesday, the bond broke, at least in public. In a stunning turn of events, Weaver quit the McCain campaign, citing differences in direction.
Other McCain associates said that disputes over money -- in particular, tens of millions spent so far this year on a campaign that has only spiraled downward -- caused the fracture between the candidate and one of his closest aides.
The split -- much more than a run-of-the-mill campaign shakeup -- ended a decade-long alliance between two figures who shared a passionate, sometimes emotional, approach to politics. Republican advisers said Weaver's departure was as unthinkable as Karl Rove leaving George W. Bush, or James Carville being shooed out of the Bill Clinton campaign.
It was Weaver, after all, who after helping persuade McCain to run, guided the Straight Talk express. While strategist Mike Murphy engineered the overall political and communications strategy, and author and top Senate aide Mark Salter channeled McCain's original outlook into best-selling books, it was Weaver who put the game plan into action on the ground each day. He conducted a daily 6 a.m. campaign conference call and took attendance, with no exceptions: if any one individual joined the call late, it would move up a half hour, to 5:30 a.m., the following day.
When McCain won the New Hampshire Republican primary in 2000, Weaver received much of the credit. When McCain went on to lose in South Carolina -- after what was widely painted as a negative whisper campaign directed by top Bush aides -- Weaver took it as a personal affront. During a campaign train swing later that year, in which McCain and Bush were supposedly reconciling, Weaver mischievously snatched up a peanut butter and jelly sandwich that been prepared for the Texas governor.
Later, disgusted by the Bush administration, Weaver signed on congressional Democrats as clients. But almost as rapidly, and as convincingly, he orchestrated a rapprochement between McCain and his former nemesis, President Bush. By the time the 2008 campaign got underway, Weaver had established himself as the premier strategist. In the meantime, he weathered a divorce and a serious bout with cancer, in both cases counting McCain among the friends who offered him support.
On Tuesday, the new campaign manager, Rick Davis, put out a somewhat terse statement on the new structure. "This campaign has always been about John McCain and his vision for reducing federal spending, defending traditional values, and winning the war against Islamic extremists," Davis said. "Today we are moving forward with John's optimistic vision for our country's future." Weaver did not return a call for comment.
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In the mid-1990s, years before Sen. John McCain officially launched his first bid to become president, John Weaver whispered the magic words in the senator's ear: That he had all the ingredients to win the nomination and the Oval Office.
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Iran Widens Investigation Of Two Jailed Americans
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The statement dashed hopes of any imminent breakthrough in the cases, after Iran announced last month that it was in the final stage of its probe and would announce whether the dual U.S.-Iranian nationals would be tried or freed within two or three days.
The two Americans are Haleh Esfandiari, a Potomac resident and director of the Middle East program at the Smithsonian's Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and Kian Tajbakhsh, a New York-based social scientist. Both have been charged with unspecified crimes against Iran's national security.
"We have received fresh evidence" about Esfandiari and Tajbakhsh, judiciary spokesman Alireza Jamshidi told reporters in Tehran. "Fresh investigations have started based on this evidence."
In Washington, the State Department and Esfandiari's husband called the new allegations unwarranted.
"It is obvious that the Ministry of Intelligence, lacking any real cause or evidence to keep my wife, Haleh, incarcerated in solitary confinement at Evin, is trying to drag things out by claiming continuing 'investigations,' " said George Mason University professor Shaul Bakhash, referring to a prison in Tehran.
In a further sign of Iran's clampdown, three Iranians who had been in the United States on a cultural exchange for documentary filmmakers had their passports confiscated upon their return to Tehran on Saturday and were instructed to report on Sunday to court, where they were told to await a further summons, according to U.S. officials. The State Department has declined to release the names of the three.
At least two other Americans are detained in Iran. California businessman Ali Shakeri was picked up on May 8, and correspondent Parnaz Azima of U.S.-funded Radio Farda has been unable to leave Iran for several months.
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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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Plea Deal Possible in Richie DUI Case
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LOS ANGELES -- Nicole Richie will have to decide Wednesday whether to accept a plea deal offered by prosecutors in her driving-under-the-influence case, according to a court spokesman.
Richie was not required to attend the court hearing because she faces a misdemeanor charge. Her attorney, Shawn Chapman Holley, was expected to appear on behalf of her client and either accept or reject the plea deal, said Allan Parachini, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Terms of the deal were not made available and the district attorney's office declined to comment. A phone call and an e-mail message left for Chapman Holley were not immediately returned.
On Tuesday, the attorney asked Superior Court Commissioner Steven K. Lubell to delay the trial because one of her witnesses would not be available until Aug. 5. The commissioner told her to submit motions on Wednesday, when Richie's trial was originally scheduled to start.
Richie, 25, was arrested early on Dec. 11 after witnesses reported seeing her SUV headed the wrong way on a freeway in Burbank. She allegedly failed a field sobriety test and authorities said she told them she had smoked marijuana and taken a prescription painkiller. No drugs were found on her or in the vehicle.
She pleaded not guilty in February to misdemeanor driving under the influence.
In addition to the single count, the case contains an allegation that Richie had a prior misdemeanor DUI conviction in June 2003.
The California Vehicle Code says that if convicted of DUI twice within 10 years, a person can be sentenced to between 90 days and a year in jail and have driving privileges suspended.
Her legal problems come amid reports that she is pregnant. Her publicist has not answered repeated telephone and e-mail messages from The Associated Press. Her case also comes on the heels of Paris Hilton's June 26 release from jail. Hilton, Richie's partying pal and co-star in TV's "The Simple Life," spent about 23 days in custody for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.
Hilton's case drew a firestorm of criticism, with some saying she received preferential treatment when she was initially given an early release to home confinement and others arguing the judge was too harsh and made Hilton an example by sending her to jail.
Some observers believe Richie could help herself by attending the trial. She also might want to avoid being late to court hearings _ like Hilton was once.
"Anything that appears humble before the court is wise," said Hollywood publicist Michael Levine. "I think there's a backlash afoot because of the Hilton trial and anything to nullify it would be a good idea."
Others believe Lubell will be unmoved by what happened in Hilton's case and will follow the law accordingly.
"I think it's going to be in the back of his mind," said defense attorney Mark Geragos, who has represented Winona Ryder and Michael Jackson. "But if it's a second DUI offense, it usually carries a mandatory amount of jail time."
Richie, the daughter of pop singer Lionel Richie, made the late-night talk-show rounds last month, saying she didn't visit Hilton while she was in jail. Richie told CBS' "Late Show" host David Letterman that she was worried about going to jail, but was "willing to face whatever consequences come my way."
AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.
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LOS ANGELES -- Nicole Richie will have to decide Wednesday whether to accept a plea deal offered by prosecutors in her driving-under-the-influence case, according to a court spokesman.
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A Hole in the Food Safety Net?
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Consumer advocates are raising concerns about whether federal restrictions meant to stop the import of tainted Chinese seafood are strong enough.
The Food and Drug Administration issued an import alert on June 28 requiring that five types of farm-raised seafood from China be tested for banned antibiotics before being allowed into the U.S. market. The restrictions require that the testing be conducted by a third party and that importers provide documentation that their seafood is safe. Certification, however, can come from a lab in any country, including China.
"We had a problem with the fact that FDA is going to allow China to be one of the certifiers, since they have done such a poor job of certifying" the safety of seafood in the past, said Tony Corbo, lobbyist for Food & Water Watch. "We're not sure they can handle this."
The alert was issued after a seven-month FDA study completed in May found restricted antibiotics in Chinese catfish, basa, shrimp, dace and eel. The study found that 25 percent of the farm-raised seafood tested contained contaminated antimicrobial agents. China is the world's largest producer of fish and the third-largest exporter of fish to the United States.
At about the same time, safety problems were being found in a variety of products from China, including tainted pet food ingredients and toothpaste manufactured with toxic chemicals.
Caroline Smith DeWaal, director of food safety at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said the import alert was far-reaching in scope and in the number of hazards the FDA is tracking. "But there is a question of whether laboratories in China are the best place to provide the certification, given the history of problems . . . that have been documented from products coming from China," she said. "FDA should be looking for additional assurances that the lab results are trustworthy."
"If they are just accepting the results and not making sure the lab is using the appropriate methods, then that is a problem," said Chris Waldrop, director of the Food Policy Institute at the Consumer Federation of America. "I don't know if FDA is accepting this on faith or if they are actually looking at the lab that is providing the information."
David Acheson, the FDA's assistant commissioner for food protection, said the agency could verify the validity of some test results. "We may choose to go check up on it," he said.
When the alert is lifted, the FDA will resume spot-testing all Chinese food imports, Acheson said. But, he added, "for this system to work in the long term, there has to be trust built up" between the U.S. and Chinese governments.
The restrictions will weed out smaller, less responsible companies, while bigger companies will probably work to get their products tested by reputable labs as soon as possible, said John Fiorillo, an analyst with IntraFish, which follows the seafood industry. "This will be an important step toward professionalizing the Chinese fish-farming industry. I don't think anyone will be dumb enough to say, 'Eh, we don't have a problem; let's keep doing what we're doing,' " he said.
But some industry observers also note that Chinese importers could still send goods to another country to avoid the restrictions. "We are working with Customs and Border Protection to make sure there will be sufficient measures to avoid circumventing the rules," said Deborah Long, spokeswoman for the Southern Shrimp Alliance.
Analysts say that the FDA alert is unlikely to have an immediate effect on seafood prices and that large grocery stores and chains will shift to suppliers from other countries.
H&N Foods International, an importer in Los Angeles, began replacing its products from China, which made up about 5 percent of its business, at least two months ago, said Christine Ngo, the company's executive vice president. The "antibiotic issue had been stirring for the last year and a half," she said.
Supervalu, which owns more than a dozen grocery chains, including Albertsons and Shaw's, said it imports less than 4 percent of its seafood from China. Wal-Mart, which imports catfish from China, relies on its manufacturers for quality assurance testing. "We basically trust our manufacturers to adhere to all FDA standards," said Deisha Galberth, a company spokeswoman.
Stop & Shop, a New England supermarket chain that sells shrimp and basa, a type of catfish, from China, said it would shift to other suppliers. Whole Foods, which imports 2 percent of its seafood from China, said it sells a small amount of frozen shrimp from China. "We're not concerned about the less than 2 percent. It's business as usual for us," said Ashley Hawkins, a Whole Foods spokeswoman.
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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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Firm Finds Its Niche in Obscure Trade Associations
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Pop quiz: What do birthing classes, spice sellers and crematoriums have in common -- besides bracketing the cycle of life?
Give up? They all have trade associations run by the quietest and fastest-growing company on K Street, SmithBucklin.
The Chicago-based firm (with a major Washington office) is the world's largest trade association management company. Its more than 200 trade associations and professional societies include Lamaze International, the American Spice Trade Association and the Cremation Association of North America.
These are not what you'd call high-profile entities, but that's the way SmithBucklin likes it. The company has stayed in the background, helping obscure but useful organizations, since 1949.
"People say, 'My God, there's really an industry for this?' " said Henry S. Givray, SmithBucklin's chief executive. "They don't fully grasp what we do."
What it does is operate full-time trade associations on what amounts to part-time budgets. It hires professional managers -- or develops them from within -- and assigns them to run one or two trade groups. Then it backs them up with teams of experts in accounting, training, marketing, event planning, human resources and, here in Washington, government affairs.
Voila, instant trade association! And the associations' members are none the wiser. Independent associations, however, are not always pleased with the competition. "Stand-alone association execs can sometimes get a little nervous about what we do," Givray said.
But clearly it's working well. SmithBucklin has grown at a compounded annual rate of 11 percent over the past five years and has 750 employees. Its industry (yes, it is an industry) comprises 676 companies, up more than 40 percent from 10 years ago.
Washington is, of course, a major hub for associations. Of the nation's 86,000 trade associations and professional societies, 3,500 are located in the D.C. area, more than in any other locale.
So SmithBucklin has a large and growing office here. In May, it hired Russell Snyder, 45, as senior vice president for its 160-person Washington office. Snyder, who last worked at SmithBucklin's largest competitor, Kellen Co., is a third-generation association executive.
Snyder's grandfather Calvin Snyder worked for the predecessor of the National Association of Realtors. His father, Dick Snyder, was the top executive of the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association. Dick Snyder was also responsible for roping his son into supervising associations for a living.
Russ Snyder has had responsibility over a weird and eclectic collection of groups: the National Candle Association, the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association and the Greeting Card Association, among others. He now helps oversee three floors of a building on M Street NW that house 25 associations and a six-person lobbying shop. The associations include a few that you might have even heard of: the Pet Food Institute and the Regional Airline Association, for example.
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Pop quiz: What do birthing classes, spice sellers and crematoriums have in common -- besides bracketing the cycle of life?
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N.Va. School Names Pass Up Celebrity, Controversy
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The Washington area suburbs of Virginia, befitting a state that supplied four of the first five U.S. presidents, has public high schools named after all of them, plus a nice sprinkling of famous Virginia generals.
Washington-Lee High School is in Arlington County. Jefferson, Madison, Lee, Marshall and J.E.B. Stuart high schools are in Fairfax County. Fredericksburg's only high school is named after James Monroe, and Prince William County has Stonewall Jackson High.
But over the past decade, even though 12 Northern Virginia high schools have opened to handle one of the fastest-growing populations in the country, not one of them has been named after a person, much less a president or a general. Instead, the various school-naming committees have embraced scenic, geographic or patriotic titles: Battlefield, Colonial Forge, Dominion, Forest Park, Heritage, Mountain View, Riverbend, South County, Stone Bridge, Westfield and two schools named Freedom.
Part of the problem, according to a recent study and some Northern Virginia school officials, is that presidents, particularly the more recent ones, and other well-known people tend to be controversial, whereas few Americans have bad things to say about rivers, lakes, forests or freedom.
Maryland is still naming high schools after people, but it appears to be out of sync with Virginia and much of the rest of the country. According to a new Manhattan Institute for Policy Research study, impersonal school-naming practices are a national trend. Three researchers found that 45 percent of public schools built in New Jersey before 1948 were named after people, compared with 27 percent of schools built after 1988. Similar patterns were found in Minnesota, Arizona, Florida, Massachusetts, Ohio and Wisconsin.
"Of almost 3,000 public schools in Florida," researchers Jay P. Greene, Brian Kisida and Jonathan Butcher said, "five honor George Washington, compared to 11 named after manatees. . . . In the last two decades, a public school built in Arizona was almost fifty times more likely to be named after such things as a mesa or a cactus than after a president."
"Today, a majority of all public school districts nationwide do not have a single school named after a president," the researchers said in their report released this week, "What's in a Name? The Decline in the Civic Mission of School Names."
A citizen committee in Prince William considered naming the district's eighth high school after former U.S. first lady Barbara Bush, the late Virginia governor Mills E. Godwin or the late Potomac News weekly columnist Norman H. Tennant but settled instead on Forest Park High School. Listed as reasons for that choice on the committee's discussion summary sheet were: "Next to the park. Not offending anyone. Not controversial."
The reluctance to attach people's names to high schools does not appear to be as strong for middle schools or elementary schools, which usually draw from a smaller population base. Alexandria's newest elementary school, Samuel W. Tucker, is named after a well-known civil rights lawyer who organized one of the first sit-in protests, in 1939. Stafford County has several new elementary schools named after people and one middle school, Dixon-Smith, named after former longtime principal Donald Dixon and former longtime principal and county board member Lyle Ray Smith.
The District has opened no high school recently, although it did reopen McKinley Tech, first named in 1902 when presidential names were still popular.
Maryland appears to be bucking the national trend, even with high schools. Prince George's County has named its two newest high schools, Charles H. Flowers and Dr. Henry A. Wise Jr., after community activists who were Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American combat pilots.
Patricia O'Neill, a member of the Montgomery County school board, said she enjoyed seeing two local figures, former Peace Corps director Sargent Shriver and civil rights activist Roscoe Nix, attend ceremonies putting their names on new elementary schools. "I think it sets a tone for students," she said.
The authors of the Manhattan Institute report agree. "School names can shape values by providing educators with a teaching opportunity," they wrote. "Teachers at Lincoln Elementary, for example, can reference the school name to spark discussions of the evils of slavery and the benefits of preserving our union."
Loudoun County, with four new high schools following the no-people trend, named John W. Tolbert Jr. Elementary School after the first African American member of the Leesburg Town Council and Frances Hazel Reid Elementary School after a longtime reporter for the Loudoun Times-Mirror.
Joe Carlin, a Loudoun businessman, said he would have preferred to name a new elementary school after its geographic area to make it easier to find, but the committee he served on had no trouble agreeing to name the school Steuart W. Weller, after a community leader who died recently.
Carlin said he thought the fear of controversy over a famous name might explain the national trend away from honoring presidents, but Robert DuPree, chairman of the Loudoun County School Board, said he was less sure. "I don't get the sense that we have been afraid of controversy" in the recent naming of county high schools, including Woodgrove High School, which is scheduled to open next year.
Because both Loudoun and Prince William counties have opened new high schools named Freedom, Washington Post sports writers and editors have had to label one "Freedom-South Riding" and the other "Freedom-Woodbridge" to avoid confusion.
DuPree said he did not think that would be a problem because they were 30 miles apart. But he admitted that similar names can cause trouble. Eager to watch his daughter perform at a big track meet this spring, he arrived on time at Osbourn High School in Manassas to find no one there. It was, he learned, a common mistake, caused by his misreading Google. The meet was at Osbourn Park High School, not far away.
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Vatican Reaffirms Catholic Primary
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VATICAN CITY, July 10 -- The Vatican said Tuesday that Christian denominations outside the Roman Catholic Church were not full churches of Jesus Christ. Some Protestant leaders responded that this would hurt interdenominational dialogue.
A 16-page document prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which Pope Benedict XVI headed when he was a cardinal, described Christian Orthodox churches as true churches, but suffering from a "wound" because they do not recognize the primacy of the pope.
The document said the "wound is still more profound" in the Protestant denominations. "Despite the fact that this teaching has created no little distress . . . it is nevertheless difficult to see how the title of 'Church' could possibly be attributed to them," it said.
In five questions and answers issued with the document, the Vatican stated that "these separated churches and Communities, though we believe they suffer from defects, are deprived neither of significance nor importance in the mystery of salvation.
"In fact the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as instruments of salvation, whose value derives from that fullness of grace and of truth which has been entrusted to the Catholic Church."
The document, which restates the controversial document "Dominus Iesus" issued in 2000, said the Church wanted to stress these points because some Catholic theologians continued to misunderstand them.
The document is Benedict's second strong reaffirmation of Catholic tradition in four days, following a decree on Saturday restoring the Tridentine Mass, or old Latin Mass, alongside the modern liturgy.
The Rev. Augustine Di Noia, undersecretary for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said the document did not alter the Vatican's commitment to ecumenical dialogue but was aimed at asserting Catholic identity in those talks.
"As you know," he told Vatican Radio, "it is fundamental to any kind of dialogue that the participants are clear about their own identity. That is, dialogue cannot be an occasion to accommodate or soften what you actually understand yourself to be."
Bishop Wolfgang Huber, head of the Evangelical Church in Germany, a Protestant umbrella group, said the new Vatican document effectively downgraded Protestant churches and would make ecumenical relations more difficult. He said the new pronouncement repeated the "offensive statements" of the 2000 document.
Bishop C. Christopher Epting, in charge of ecumenical and interfaith relations for the U.S. Episcopal Church, said: "For us as Anglicans I don't believe it's any different. It's what they've said before. We've been in this dialogue for 40 years, but we continue to stay at the table and disagree with that position."
A statement from the French Protestant Federation said that while the document was an internal pronouncement of the Catholic Church, it would have "external repercussions."
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VATICAN CITY, July 10 -- The Vatican said Tuesday that Christian denominations outside the Roman Catholic Church were not full churches of Jesus Christ. Some Protestant leaders responded that this would hurt interdenominational dialogue.
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'Hoods With the Goods in Miami
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Ah, Miami: City of glitz and glamour, home of swaying palms and swiveling hips, the promised land of celebrity sightings and Celebrity cruises. At least that's the image of Miami in the popular imagination, and much of it is true.
There's also the other Miami, the one I like to explore. Away from the bright lights and hyperventilating crowds, in places where the casual tourist doesn't venture, is a dynamic mix of art, food and creativity. You won't need designer clothes or a VIP pass to navigate these up-and-coming neighborhoods. You will, however, need a car. Though some areas of Miami and Miami Beach are suitable for walking, these districts are spread over large areas that are hard to navigate by foot.
Six miles west of South Beach's trendy clubs and salty breezes, and a few blocks south of the well-groomed Design District, the neighborhood of Wynwood is a gritty hodgepodge of two-story warehouses, small apartment buildings and 1920s bungalow-style homes. The area has recently been christened the Wynwood Art District (referred to on its Web site as WAD, which may be appropriate, as a pile of greenbacks can be prerequisite to making a purchase).
Wynwood's lack of gentility hasn't kept well-heeled galleries, dealers, collectors and artists from flocking to its spacious warehouses, with new art venues multiplying faster than crack vials on broken sidewalks. At last count there were 68 venues spread over an approximate 60-block area (though half are clustered within 15 blocks), with "for rent" or "sale" signs on seemingly every other building boasting exhibition-space opportunities.
There's a festive atmosphere the second Saturday night of each month, when the community sponsors a gallery walk from 7 to 10 p.m. Otherwise, there's not a lot of foot traffic day or night, except for an occasional wandering homeless person -- although it's getting busier on Saturdays as word spreads about the burgeoning art scene.
A good place to begin your visit is the Margulies Collection at the Warehouse (591 NW 27th St., 305-576-1051, http://www.margulieswarehouse.com), a not-for-profit, 45,000-square-foot exhibition facility filled with photographs, sculpture and installation art drawn from the collection of Miami collector Martin Z. Margulies. It's currently closed for renovations but reopens in October. Look for vintage and contemporary photography and works by internationally recognized sculptors, as well as contemporary videos and installations.
From the Margulies Collection, drive east to NW Second Avenue and turn south. There are a number of galleries along this strip and on the streets east and west through NW 22nd Street.
"I think I live in Miami Noir," says Brook Dorsch, the first commercial gallery owner to move to the area. He's only half-joking. In 2000, he relocated Dorsch Gallery (151 NW 24th St., 305-576-1278, http://www.dorschgallery.com) from a 500-square-foot space downtown to a 7,000-square-foot warehouse on NW 24th Street, east of NW Second Avenue. "It was a little rough-and-tumble back then, but I could afford it," said Dorsch. "The neighborhood isn't as scary as it was. It's a destination now. Wynwood has become a critical mass. You see people on Saturdays with a map in hand looking for galleries. You didn't see that 10 years ago." Dorsch represents artists from South Florida whose work includes painting, sculpture, sound art and new media.
One pioneering art establishment opened its doors long before Dorsch arrived. The Bakehouse Art Complex (561 NW 32nd St., 305-576-2828, http://www.bakehouseartcomplex.org), a not-for-profit organization offering 70 cheap studio spaces, a gallery and classrooms for educational outreach programs, was founded in 1986.
"We found this old bakery that had been on the market for seven years. We had to renovate and retrofit it," said Helene Pancoast, one of the five founders. Today the Bakehouse is a flourishing enterprise, with paintings, sculpture, pottery, jewelry, photography and just about anything that artists can think of to use to make art, including eggshells and gummy bears. On a recent Sunday, the parking lot was full and cars lined both sides of the street as art lovers streamed inside for an anniversary exhibition.
Small restaurants and cafes are sprinkled across the district. Tikal (525 NW 29th St., 305-576-3756) is a great place to sample a banana or papaya batido (fruit and milk smoothie) and a churrasco steak. After spending hours perusing the Margulies collection, I ordered a cortadito (sweet espresso with a shot of hot milk) and relaxed on the outside patio, a decorative metal structure with wood ceiling and overhead fans. Across the street, under a searing sun and an azure sky, fanciful paintings of handbags adorned the north facade of the Mr. Pocketbook warehouse.
In the evenings, the bar scene at Circa 28 (2826 N. Miami Ave., 305-722-1858, http://www.circa28.com) brings together an eclectic mix of artists, collectors, architects, musicians and assorted hangers-on. The first floor is a casual lounge, while the funkier upstairs is a combination live-band venue, dance floor and gallery.
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