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http://blog.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/2007/07/farm_report_green_bean_conundr.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007071019id_/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/2007/07/farm_report_green_bean_conundr.html	Farm Report: Green Bean Conundrum	2007071019	Steamy. Feels like the Deep South. The skeeters have finally roused themselves after being mysteriously low key for months. My crops are coming in nicely. But I must confess that I am not entirely pleased. First, there is the fact that my crops are, fundamentally, beneath contempt. My farm looks far too much like a small patch of vegetables in a suburban backyard. There is no grandeur to this agricultural endeavor. There is no sense of participation in the 10,000-year-old experiment of wresting from the earth our daily bread. We scan the yard in vain for any sign of a tractor. There's not even a riding lawn mower. The mower is electric: It emits an unsatisfying hum. How can one take oneself seriously as a man of the soil when one's only piece of farm machinery sounds like an electric razor? I've seen coffee grinders with more machismo than my mower. My tomatoes look reasonable, though it does not promise to be a spectacular harvest. I'm already anticipating that friends will show up to pilfer all the best tomatoes. Pilferers, one and all: They just take and take and take and take and take. We desperately need a chain link fence and a bad dog. We need to start thinking defense around here. The biggest problem of all -- the thing that haunts me, and keeps me from sleeping peacefully at my desk -- is the loneliness of the bean patch. Green beans are a great crop, because they're the only thing that grows faster than weeds. You drop the beans in the dirt and within 60 days you've got food for the table. Boil 'em with a ham hock, or steam 'em with butter and lemon juice: Yum. But the fact is, we've ceased to be a society in which the bean harvest is viewed as a cause for celebration. People don't crave green beans. Let's blurt it out: Beans are boring. The tomatoes hog the glory; the beans are shunned, derided, mocked and fundamentally ignored, like my blog. What I need to grow is something people really want to eat, like lobster. I need to learn how to grow sea scallops, or dill pickles, or cheese fondue, or chocolate mousse. Someone needs to invent some vegetables that aren't so ... you know ... vegetal. It must be said: We're all atwitter about Vitter! "This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible," Vitter, 46, said [the 'of course' keeping it from being a completely absurd statement, though it still is classic Washington-speak] in a statement, which his spokesman, Joel DiGrado, confirmed to the Associated Press. "Several years ago, I asked for and received [can we see the sworn affidavit on that??] forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling," Vitter continued. "Out of respect for my family [and because I'm horribly embarrassed by this], I will keep my discussion of the matter there -- with God and them [and the campaign contributors who are now fleeing as though I have leprosy]. But I certainly [of course, to be sure, in point of fact, as it were] offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way [actually I know what way I let them down but let's keep it bland and general]." And yeah, I checked the Palfrey website. Server down. Crashed. "Maher said Abdulla once showed a Muslim roommate a video of a beheading, warning him the same thing could happen to him if he were not more committed to his faith." Journalism 101: Been thinking more about the great story yesterday by my friend David Finkel, who is embedded with the U.S. Army in Baghdad. Beyond the obvious -- that this is intrepid reporting at its best -- the story is instructive for anyone who might want to be a journalist. First, the writer perceives that there is a story in what is otherwise a non-story: No one dies during the narration. Though the exploits are death-defying they are also so routine that they would normally receive no coverage. It's just some soldiers going 4 miles to a memorial service. The best journalists don't wait for "news" to break: They go around with open eyes, and tell us what they see. Finkel has always been that way, which is why, when I teach writing classes, I make sure the students read his work. The story abides by the "show, don't tell" rule. No editorializing is necessary: The facts speak for themselves. And the chronological structure drives the tale forward and forces the reader to keep reading to find out what's going to happen next. Sure, that's basic storytelling, but often in the news biz we feel a need to cram every key fact, conclusion and implication into the first 5 inches of copy. The lede is clear, understated, and perfect... BAGHDAD, July 8 -- Everything in the Army is supposed to have a task and a purpose, and this simple mission was no different. The task was to get 27 soldiers from Point A to Point B, from their neighborhood combat outpost to an Army base four miles away. The purpose was to attend a memorial service for one of their fellow soldiers, who had died eight days earlier while attempting to make the very same trip. ... as is the kicker. Some of the soldiers cried. Some didn't. Some prayed. Some hugged. Some went outside into the late-day heat and had a smoke. "This sucks," one of them said. But they were all alive. Their mission had been a success. Which meant that soon they would be on their next one: getting from Point B back to Point A. By \| July 10, 2007; 7:54 AM ET Previous: The Boy On The Bus: Annotations \| Next: McCain's Face-Plant Add Achenblog to Your Site Posted by: dr \| July 10, 2007 8:51 AM Posted by: ebtnut \| July 10, 2007 8:54 AM Re: Beans. Why can't we ever find any wax (aka yellow) string beans around here? I much prefer them to the usual Achenbeans (no disrespect, Joel). I can occasionally find them at the Whole Foods on Rockville Pike, but have never seen them at the one in Silver Spring, nor ever seen them at Giant. The good news--our hibiscus are now blooming. The big deep red one just opened up a bloom the size of a dinner plate. Posted by: ebtnut \| July 10, 2007 8:58 AM ebtnut, occasionally you can find yellow beans at Wegman's. And occasionally they even look fresh. Posted by: Raysmom \| July 10, 2007 9:06 AM Green beans, along with tomatoes and hot peppers, form the sacred trinity of my home garden. Tomatoes because they come in such a great variety and are so naturally gregarious. Peppers because they really do grow like weeds. The beans are the problem. Green beans are a hassle because they need to be harvested in a timely manner. You can't just ignore the things like you can with 'maters. I mean, never once has my wife complained that I let the tomatoes get too large. The same cannot be said for the green beans. Further, the criterion for proper bean harvesting is frighteningly imprecise. You can't just go out to the garden with a pair of calipers and a jeweler's scale. (Trust me. I've considered it.) You have to evaluate the state of the crop on a gestalt level and pick 'em when they "looks right." For someone, like me, who lacks anything resembling subjective judgment, this can become a horticultural nightmare. Malformed and over-ripened beans have been known to haunt me in my dreams. Even worse is the inevitable commentary regarding my gardening prowess when presented with substandard produce. That kind of emasculating talk can really hurt a guy. Yet, on those rare occasions when I get the beans in on time, the results are well worth it. Fresh green beans cooked in browned butter are a delight not to be missed. Posted by: RD Padouk \| July 10, 2007 9:10 AM A GARDEN column....I shall be on topic without even trying. Is your hibiscus the "Lord Baltimore" ebtnut....and does your name stand for EBT Nut...perhaps something like Edgar Beauregard Tinfoil, the Nut? I have been trying to pronounce this in my brain but the two t-sounds are hard. By the way, I believe that Scotty Nuke (S'Nuke) is pronounced SNUKE as in fluke or rebuke or Dubuque, Iowa. Of to teach, in my garden of students... FOUR DAYS AND COUNTING. Posted by: College Parkian \| July 10, 2007 9:12 AM RD, re. the bean harvest: Consider watching "Green Acres" a bit and then NOT doing what Oliver does. Posted by: Error Flynn \| July 10, 2007 9:13 AM I feel better now, ebtnut. Ah beans. I love green beans. mrdr has been known to crave green beans. Green beans are what killed my urge to garden at my current property. I went to pick 'em, and they were mouldy. If you really want tractor for your yard, Joel, you just have to get one that fits. Even the ladies of the house won't mind one of these. I think you can get something from here that will fit a yard of any size. You'll need some of the cows and horses too, maybe even the bales for a truly authentic experience. Posted by: dr \| July 10, 2007 9:14 AM Atwitter about Vitter: Looks bad for Giuliani--Kerik, South Carolina volunteer campaign manager Ravenel selling cocaine, now Sen. Vitter of Louisiana. If there's one person to whom Vitter should confess his transgressions, it's (as Joel pointed out) the long-gone Father Damien of Molokai. Apparently, he's a repeat offender--New Orleans also figures. Von Drehle on the subject of Kerik and Ravenel: Tried to link to an article on the home page about no verdict for two suspects in the British bomb plots, but all I get is an article "On Faith" about the Vatican. Bah. On to Texas matters: Bush tourist boom goes bust in Crawford, from the Houston Chron. Shuttered storefronts and eroding retail sales figures show tourism and the Bush memorabilia business are slumping in this once-sleepy farm-and-ranch town of 732 residents. A for-sale sign is the only thing in the smudged window of the turn-of-the-century, two-story brick building that once housed the Crawford Country Style store. "The numbers just weren't working," said Norma Nelson Crow, who closed the shop at the beginning of the year. Traffic and sales of shirts, caps, refrigerator magnets and other presidential curios began slowing in 2005, she said. By the summer of 2006, Crow said, her hopes for a turnaround in the business faded. "It was my baby and I loved that little store, but I had to face the facts," she said. Retail sales figures kept by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts document the slide. In 2004, gross retail sales in Crawford totaled $2.6 million. They fell to $2 million in 2006, down by more than 20 percent. Pants are down, links are down, sales are down. Posted by: Loomis \| July 10, 2007 9:19 AM Gee whiz, that site even has tiny potatoes on page 4 for the small scale farmer. Posted by: dr \| July 10, 2007 9:26 AM When I was a kid in Hampton, we had a vegetable garden, but we also had a split rail fence (as dictated by the home owners association) that was lined with chicken wire inside. We would plant green beans along the fence and just let them wrap through the chicken wire. While they were in season, one of my chores was to go pick to green beans for dinner. My current townhouse HOA prevents gardens, presumably to deter feeding of the already copious quantities of lagomorphs in the area. Posted by: yellojkt \| July 10, 2007 9:28 AM yellojkt - a HOA that forbids gardens? That's downright un-American. As well as un-Canadian and contrary to the implicit rights granted homeowners in all civilized countries around the globe. That's commie pinko talk. Somewhere dear Jim Crocket is rolling in his grave and Adrian Higgins is feeling a cold chill. It be wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. If my HOA were to try and pull that kinda mulch someone would end up with a enormous pile of rabbit droppings on his front porch. I mean, without a garden I gotta do something with the stuff. Posted by: RD Padouk \| July 10, 2007 9:37 AM Yello does that mean there are no plants in your neighbourhood or just that vegetable gardens aren't allowed? My kids and I were laughing about the bunny grazing on the weeds in our yard this morning, reconstruction of that grass in on my list but a ways down the list at the moment. I don't normally grow vegetables, and really could only grow a patio tomato now, anyone know of a good, perhaps dwarf tomato. Posted by: dmd \| July 10, 2007 9:38 AM Slyness, I just back-boodled and learned of your brother's passing. My sincerest condolences. Posted by: Raysmom \| July 10, 2007 9:38 AM Joel, I for one do NOT "shun, deride, mock and fundamentally ignore" green beans (unlike, say, the way I shun, deride, mock, etc., the Achenblog, for instance and to name just one lowly example). No, I hold the green bean in great esteem. In fact, I have a recipe for green beans which I may have posted before, but which I shall post here again, for any newbies who might have missed it and who need to be brought to their knees with green bean lust: Curmudgeon's killer skillet green beans Serves 6 Prep time: 1 hour (faster if someone trims the beans for you) 1 pound fresh green beans, ends trimmed 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 pats of butter, canola faux-butter or margarine 8 ounces sliced mushrooms (creminis or chopped portobellos preferred) 2 cloves garlic, chopped or minced 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/3 cup brandy or cognac 1/3 cup white zinfindel or similar blush wine 1/3 cup chicken broth/stock Crunchy topping (recipe below) Crunchy topping It's best to make up the crunchy topping before the rest of the dish, and hold aside. 3-4 strips bacon (not turkey bacon; thick-sliced is best) 4-5 large shallots 2 tablespoons capers (include the vinegar they come in) 2 tablespoons olive oil Peel and dice the shallots into smallest possible dice (but don't chop in an electric chopper--that's too small). In a large skillet or electric buffet pan/skillet, heat the olive oil and add the shallots and capers (including the caper vinegar). Stir frequently and cook until very well down; the shallots will be dark brown. Remove from pan and set aside in a small bowl. In the same pan, cook the bacon until well done, so it is entirely crispy. Put bacon on paper towel to drain; when dry and cool, crumble as small as possible into the bowl of shallots and capers; stir to mix, and hold aside. Blanche green beans in boiling salted water until tender, about 3 or 4 minutes. Drain, shock with cold water, drain. Set aside. In the same skillet or pan used for the shallots and bacon, wipe out the pan with paper towel to remove bacon fat, but don't wash the pan. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and two pats of butter over medium heat. Saute mushrooms until browned, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste (3-5 turns with a grinder). Cook until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Add brandy/cognac, wine and chicken broth, bring to a boil. Simmer to blend flavors and reduce sauce by half, about 10 minutes. Add green beans to mushroom sauce and toss thoroughly to coat. Sprinkle crunchy topping on beans; heat until beans are hot, about 2-3 minutes. Serve beans from pan or serve in large dish or bowl. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, or allow guests to season. ------------------- We have a pretty large twisted hibiscus that we keep out on our deck during warm weather and inside during the winter. My wife, who is otherwise fairly sane [notwithstanding she married me, and has remained thus for nearly a quarter of a century] refers to it as "she" and talks to her. And she rewarded us, too, with a gient bloom just the other day. She and my wife had a nice chat, and my wife seems to think she (the hibiscus) will bloom again pretty soon. I don't talk to the hibiscus myself. It's not that I'm snobby, or have anything against hibiscii or hibiscusae or whatever the plural is (hybiscum? hibusci?), it's just that we don't have a lot in common. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 9:38 AM I'm so upset that I forgot to write "an enormous" instead on "a enormous." I take my right to raise food seriously. Posted by: RD Padouk \| July 10, 2007 9:41 AM I was checking my blog statistics this morning and noticed a jump in searches for Brandy Britton, a deceased hooker I blogged about who had a professional relationship with the DC Madam. When I read the news story about Vitter, it came into focus. Since My blog is two Bacon points from the Vitter story (Vitter-DC Madam-Brandy) I was catching some residual ripples in the prurient Google-searching. The schadenfreude factor whenever a Republican gets caught in a sex scandal is so satisfying. Posted by: yellojkt \| July 10, 2007 9:44 AM I must insist that you IMMEDIATELY cease and desist from any further calumnies against the green bean. Calling this simple yet noble legume "boring" is an affront of the grossest kind, a vertophobe's insult. (Etc., etc., etc....) Hungerdunger, Hungerdunger, Hungerdunger, Hungerdunger & Hungerdunger. PS: I like mine (a) in copious quantities and (b) steamed for a minute or two. Posted by: byoolin \| July 10, 2007 9:48 AM I must say that last week at the farmer's market I lingered over the green beans for some time, and then bought the summer squash. Quick note: Blog reads 'Rommmate' on the final posting. Posted by: hoosier \| July 10, 2007 9:51 AM Mudge, that recipe looks dee-lish. Posted by: byoolin \| July 10, 2007 9:52 AM yello, I share RD's umbrage at your HOA's gardening stance. The nerve! Technically, our vegetable garden is in violation because it is not behind the house. But because of the positioning of our neighbors' houses, it's not visible from the street, which apparently has kept the Enforcers at bay all these years. But sad to say, there will be no beans this year. Raysdad planted them three different times, but some combination of dryness, old seed, and benign neglect resulted in none germinating. So it's just 'maters, peppers, and herbs this year. If only we could have a garden like the one I grew up with. Fertile, easily-cultivated soil (not this blech Virginia red clay) and a patch the size of my current back yard. We had corn, potatoes, cucumbers, four kinds of squash, green and yellow beans, lettuce, carrots, Swiss Chard (okay, not so fond memories of that!), and tons of tomatoes. After I left home, it took me a while to acclimate to grocery store produce and its lack of flavor. Did I hear rustlings of BPH planning? CP, if the code orange situation resolves itself, perhaps we can connect with that quart of frozen 'barb. Posted by: Raysmom \| July 10, 2007 9:53 AM Potted tomatoes would be fine. We are allowed ornamental shrubberies that don't grow taller than waist high. Anything bigger or any new trees require HOA approval. Also decks must be made of natural wood. So far I haven't seen anybody break precedent and put in the composite stuff. Until then, my wife and I will eschew the deck addition. mudge, With an ingredient list that includes cognac, zinfindel, shallots, and bacon, I'm tempted to just omit the green beans. Posted by: yellojkt \| July 10, 2007 9:54 AM Slyness, my deepest sympathies on your brother's passing. Posted by: dr \| July 10, 2007 9:55 AM Slyness - I am so sorry about your brother's passing. I hope that happy memories and the fact that you were able to be with him at the end brings you comfort. Posted by: Kim \| July 10, 2007 9:58 AM Slyness-so sorry about your brother. Thinking of you and your family. Posted by: frostbitten \| July 10, 2007 9:58 AM I'm trying to catch up on the Boodle. Slyness, I'm so sorry to hear about your brother. My best to your family. Posted by: bc \| July 10, 2007 10:04 AM Slyness, I am sorry about your brother. Posted by: Ivansmom \| July 10, 2007 10:04 AM yello - I've long felt that the schadenfreude factor that I feel when I read about Vitter, Schwarzenegger, Livingston, Gingrich, etc. was a failing in me. I'm so happy that I'm not alone and your post makes me think that perhaps I'm being hard on myself. Mudge - Yummy. I can see that my lemon juice, freshly ground pepper green bean method needs to be updated! Posted by: Kim \| July 10, 2007 10:11 AM I'd seen that Vitter bit earlier, and y'know, maybe it's the heat, but I don't think anyone's going to care much about it in the long run. Vitter's positioned himself nicely to avoid a lot of scrutiny on this, saying it's between himself, his wife, his marriage counsellor/pastor, and God. He's apologized and asked for forgiveness and privacy. He's also lucky that both parties have bigger fish to fry at the moment. Posted by: bc \| July 10, 2007 10:23 AM I thought of the boodle last night as we spent a lovely evening with a delightful 19 year old [Censored country of origin] college student here in the US visiting friends. She is incredible outgoing and friendly and very funny and we spent a good amount of time laughing about American idioms and expressions she's been hearing--and collecting--in her three weeks here. We had fun exchanging expressions and explaining things to each other, like the excessive use of "like" and "ya know." Do you realize how many times we say "actually?" She told us about her English exam where she had to answer questions about a passage about a ship. She thought the word was "sheep" and wrote of all sorts of allegories about the man who struggled to travel by sheep across the ocean. We watched The Simpsons, which she loves, and she was surprised to hear the unfamiliar American voices coming from her beloved characters. Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 10:27 AM My tiny cultivated section of food plants in an otherwise unruly garden includes lots of thriving herbs, a couple of pepper plants, tomatoes, and an eggplant. I had one small but tasty green pepper and two yellow peppers are growing. The tomato plants appear healthy but uninterested in producing tomatoes; perhaps they know I'll just eat them. The cantaloupe were done in by the rain. Next year I'll try green beans too, and perhaps zucchini, for the thrill of having a vegetable grow. Green beans are something I can always get everyone around here to eat. The Boy will eat them raw if they are fresh picked. Posted by: Ivansmom \| July 10, 2007 10:44 AM TBG, did she tell you how they handled the Frnch-dubbed version of the episode in which Bart was forced into slave labor for a couple of low-end vintners in Frnce? while the Albanian exchange student who took Bart's place at home was actually a spy. I wonder if maybe the Frnch-speaking scenes were dubbed in English, or some-such thing. Posted by: StorytellerTim \| July 10, 2007 10:45 AM Traveling by sheep across the ocean? You must be referring to the ewe-boat, actually. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 10:46 AM "Traveling by sheep across the ocean", this has left a nasty tune cootie in my head. Sounds like a wonderful evening TBG. Posted by: dmd \| July 10, 2007 10:55 AM back-boodle skimming and finally giving up... Posted by: L.A. lurker \| July 10, 2007 11:02 AM Garden update: raspberries are just about to turn red. The plants themselves are over my head - about 7'. Tomatoes still a while yet. Speaking of gardening, Canadians apparently consume four times the world per person average of marijuana: Posted by: SonofCarl \| July 10, 2007 11:03 AM I read that story yesterday SoC. Dont forget that we are also the third highest per capita in cocaine usage as well. I blame all those Floridans with winter homes in Quebec... wait maybe I have that backwards. Posted by: Kerric \| July 10, 2007 11:10 AM You Canuckistanis do weed four times more than the rest of the planet? No wonder you guys in Haute Maine are always so haute. Well done! Makes me want to break out in a chorus of "O Canada!" Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 11:12 AM Mudge: Nice recipe. I might have to crank up some Mudge Greenbeans for the All Star Game. Posted by: Achenbach \| July 10, 2007 11:13 AM FYI, Weingarten chat back at noon today. Expect a bit of a lull on the Boodle for an hour or so. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 11:14 AM In 2000, Vitter was included in a Newhouse News Service story about the strain of congressional careers on families. His wife, Wendy, was asked by the Newhouse reporter: If her husband were as unfaithful as Livingston or former President Bill Clinton, would she be as forgiving as Hillary Rodham Clinton? "I'm a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary," Wendy Vitter told Newhouse News. "If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me." "I think fear is a very good motivating factor in a marriage," she added. "Don't put fear down." Posted by: Loomis \| July 10, 2007 11:14 AM Tim... we didn't discuss the episodes. We watched my friend's favorite episode, which we have kept on the Tivo: the one where Marge is in the musical version of Streetcar Named Desire, which opens with this song... Chief Wiggum: Long before the SuperDome, Where the Saints of football play, Lived a city that the damned called home, Hear their he11ish roundelay... Cast: New Orleeeans... Home of pirates, drunks, and wh0res! New Orleeeans... Tacky, overpriced, souvenir stores! If you want to go to He11, you should make that trip to the S0d0m and Gomorrah on the Mississipp'! New Orleeeans... Stinking, rotten, vomiting, vile! New Orleaaans... Putrid, brackish, maggoty, foul! New Orleeeans... Crummy, lousy, rancid, and rank! And closes with this one... Marge/Blanche (speaking): Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers... Cast: You can always depend on the kindness of strangers... To pluck up your spirits, and shield you from dangers... Marge/Blanche: Now here's a tip from Blanche you won't regret... Cast: A stranger's just a friend you haven't met... Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 11:17 AM Of course, although she was familiar with Tennessee Williams, we had to explain to our visitor that there IS no musical version of Streetcar. Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 11:19 AM No food crops in the yard, unless you count a couple of big African oregano bushes and the basil that's threatening to spread. Enough for a few gallons of pesto. For what it's worth, squashes are very big in less-affluent countries. Hardly anything produces so much food with so little effort. Here in Florida, big calabazas (basically round butternut squashes, popular around the Caribbean) are amazingly cheap. I wonder if you could find college students subsisting on them, perhaps served with plenty of oregano? Posted by: Dave of the Coonties \| July 10, 2007 11:20 AM Dave OTC... I had a cute exchange at the farmers' market on Sat morning. I asked the very friendly guy taking the money how much his different summer squashes cost. He pointed to the zucchini and the yellow squash and said they were the same price, but then he pointed to some lighter-green ones and said in his thick Latino accent, "Those are the Spanish ones--the Mexican ones. They cost a little more." I asked if they taste any different. He said "A little." I asked which ones he liked the best and he said, pointing to the light-green squash, "I like those." "They taste better?" I asked. "Well.." he shrugged and then gave a huge smile, "Because they are Mexican!" Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 11:29 AM Dave, I've seen some TV commercials for DVDs about Florida college students with big calabazas. I don't think my wife would let me order any, though. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 11:30 AM Joel, are you aware of this Post article on green beans? http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070300594.html?hpid=smartliving Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 11:34 AM Now, here's a classic example of a guy going out of his way to make trouble: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/10/AR2007071000460.html?hpid=moreheadlines Pope: Other Christians Not True Churches By NICOLE WINFIELD The Associated Press Tuesday, July 10, 2007; 8:49 AM LORENZAGO DI CADORE, Italy -- Pope Benedict XVI has reasserted the universal primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says Orthodox churches were defective and that other Christian denominations were not true churches. Benedict approved a document from his old offices at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that restates church teaching on relations with other Christians. It was the second time in a week the pope has corrected what he says are erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-65 meetings that modernized the church. Posted by: Anonymous \| July 10, 2007 11:41 AM There is also no musical version of Planet of the Apes, other than on the Simpsons. Definitely one of the top five. "Oh my God, I was wrong, it was Earth all along!" Posted by: SonofCarl \| July 10, 2007 11:43 AM And so goes the infallibility of the pope. Pretty much explains why I am lapsed. Posted by: dr \| July 10, 2007 11:54 AM Posted by: StorytellerTim \| July 10, 2007 11:55 AM Can we impeach a Pope? I agree with dr, even as a lapsed Catholic it bothers me. Posted by: dmd \| July 10, 2007 11:59 AM The Pope is the leader of the Roman Catholic church. Who, besides Roman Catholics, should pay any attention to what he says? No other churches believe he has any authority over them, so whatever he says about other churches should really mean very little, shouldn't it? I mean, look at this... Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 12:15 PM And that's just the Christian denominations! I didn't mean to leave out any others, I was just pointing out that these are churches that supposedly AGREE with the Catholic Church on the basic theology. Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 12:19 PM FYI, we here on the shores of the Anacostia think we're hearing thunder. There is a dark cloud overhead. Be advised. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 12:33 PM And so Benny is not an inclusive guy. I'm scocked. If you consider the official revival mass in Latin and that practicing heteros, practicing and abstaining gays and all women are kicked out of priesthood in seems to me that 1907 is the new 2007. Posted by: shrieking denizen \| July 10, 2007 12:34 PM SCC Nobody should be shocked by my scocked by now. Posted by: shrieking denizen \| July 10, 2007 12:36 PM Slyness my condolences for you and your family. I'm glad (feels funny typing that) you were able to be at his side. Posted by: omni \| July 10, 2007 12:37 PM The dc/metrosquare earth cam does indeed it storming down there Mudge. Posted by: omni \| July 10, 2007 12:40 PM put 'show' in that sentence somewhere. Posted by: omni \| July 10, 2007 12:41 PM TBG so true. John Paul II was a man to listen to, for all humanity. And this pope? Sigh. just plain old SIGH. Ben's personal preistly history on election proclaimed him to be of a more conservative bent. If you really want to know election scandals, methinks the goings on in the Sistine Chapel would beat them all, hands down, not just in this election, but in all papal elections. That is probably heretical and I'm ok with heretical. Posted by: dr \| July 10, 2007 12:44 PM Sun shining bright and clear sky here in Fairfax. I hope that rain comes this way, though. Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 12:46 PM Joel, Finkel's piece was very, very good. He really made me feel the tension and physical stress of their journey. I was listening to NPR yesterday and a caller trotted out the usual, "We never hear about the good things happening in Iraq" diatribe and I have to wonder what planet these people are living on. Faux News planet would be my guess. As far as the Pope is concerned, I was struck by that piece as well. Sigh. I'm not a lapsed Catholic and I am with TBG that he is the Catholic pope, not the Christian pope BUT he's not stating a new position. He made the same proclamation a couple of years ago. Sooo... what is he trying to do? Sigh. Posted by: Kim \| July 10, 2007 12:53 PM CParkian: Re: EBTNUT, here's the link that should explain--http://www.ebtrr.com/ Re: Hibiscus varieties--Not my expertise. We have a couple of varieties. The one with the big red blossom is about 5 feet tall at the moment, and appears ready to duel with the beanstalk for Jack's attention (How's that for a topic segue'?). Posted by: ebtnut \| July 10, 2007 1:00 PM The storm that hit the Capitol is moving east, but there also appear to be some storms out by Manasas and Leesburg, that are also moving East (crossing my fingers). Posted by: omni \| July 10, 2007 1:02 PM Let me start by saying I'm not a big fan of Benny. On a technical matter, the Pope is the head of the Holy See, which includes the Curia. As they have diplomatic relations with a whole mess of countries, what comes out of the Holy See kind of matters in the sense that what comes out of any foreign head-of-state matters. How it applies to Americans is a different story. On the long to-do list of the Holy See, Americans are pretty much in last place. We are not his primary target in making these statements. So it's not really important what we think of his statements, it's more an issue of how a big part of the rest of the world (especially lesser developed countries) see it. Vatican II was comprised of a lot of Curia people (among others). I think he's saying they were wrong, not John 23 (a much-beloved pope by many non-RCs). Not sure what to make out of the fact that his statement came out through the Curia, instead of his own office. Kind of like Cheney putting something out through the US Senate. I can't believe it's me making these distinctions, fine-line as they are. One last note...he's 80. Much like Dub, there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Posted by: LostInThought \| July 10, 2007 1:04 PM The most compelling storyline of the prez campaign so far: McCain going down in flames. Posted by: Achenbach \| July 10, 2007 1:05 PM Man flies 193 miles in lawn chair Posted by: Error Flynn \| July 10, 2007 1:08 PM Any minute now, Der Pope is going to re-excommunicate Galileo. Posted by: byoolin \| July 10, 2007 1:10 PM Error, his name is Couch, thank you for that laugh. Posted by: dmd \| July 10, 2007 1:15 PM Strictly speaking, the pope isn't saying anything new. That Protestant denominations are "in error" has always been the official line. Yet by highlighting such a divisive aspect of Catholic theology, the pontiff seems to have done little but irritate other Christians. I fear Benedetto is not much of a diplomat. Posted by: RD Padouk \| July 10, 2007 1:15 PM Palfrey's attorney is Montgomery Blair Sibley. His name just makes me giggle. "The Colorful Case of the Well-Named Attorney." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/03/AR2007050302233.html Posted by: frostbitten \| July 10, 2007 1:23 PM I wrote this a few weeks back and submitted it to Weingarten, but it didn't make the cut. I thought I'd share it with you... Back in the mid-nineteenth century, the Chinese were studying the effects of height on intelligence and were undertaking a study of cadavers from around the world, collecting specimens of people in varying sizes and heights. They were particularly interested in very tall people and went to great lengths to acquire cadavers of people who were taller than six feet. As there were few such people in China at the time, they often looked overseas for their specimens. Many people worldwide had signed contracts with these Chinese researchers to donate their bodies in return for financial rewards during their lives. It's not widely known that many of these people were American. So in reality, what Edwin Stanton actually said at Lincoln's death was, "Now he belongs to the Asians." Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 1:24 PM Error, a solution for your Ground Hogs, give Ground Hog hunting vacations, similar to this, Posted by: dmd \| July 10, 2007 1:37 PM It seems to me that your bean patch should be held up as a reference to the bean patch cultivated by Thoreau of Walden Pond. When looked at in that light it seems to me you have a splendid experiment in American simplicity in your noble little farm. Posted by: aroc \| July 10, 2007 1:37 PM Shhhh. We are even now in preparation to start our own little B'n'B for well-to-do groundhog enthusiasts. Like a gentleman's club, but where you actually have to hunt the little buggers. The biggest problem is getting permissions for the guys who want to use C4, but we'll see. In the meantime, my Special Groundhog master has caught three of them. Posted by: Error Flynn \| July 10, 2007 1:44 PM Scientists solve puzzle of Chile's missing lake Reuters Posted: 2007-07-03 16:52:50 SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Scientists said that a lake in southern Chile that mysteriously disappeared last month developed a crack which allowed the water to drain away. A buildup of water opened a crack in an ice wall along one side of the lake. Water flowed through the crack into a nearby fjord and from there into the sea, leaving behind a dry lake-bed littered with icebergs, scientists told Chilean state television on Tuesday. "It looks like it's slowly filling up with water again," said Andres Rivera, a glacier expert who headed a team which recently flew over the lake in a bid to solve the mystery. The lake is situated in the Magallanes region in Patagonia and is fed by melt-water from glaciers. Earlier this year it had a surface area of 4 to 5 hectares (10-12 acres) -- about the size of 10 soccer fields. Scientists noticed it had disappeared during a routine patrol of the area in May. Rivera said the incident was evidence of the effects of global warming. Copyright 2007 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL. Posted by: Mystery Solved \| July 10, 2007 2:00 PM Back down the road a ways somebody mentioned HOAs. Now, I've never belonged to an HOA, but several years ago in the midst of a personal economic recession (in the photography game we don't call it unemployment, we call it freelancing), I took a job at a Home Owners Association in Virginia. My title was something like Covenants Compliance Coordinator, but everybody knew who I was- the Fence Nazi. I worked there for a year and a half, after which I escaped back to the real world. This experience lead me to several conclusions: 1. All HOAs have too many rules, and the older the community the more rules they have. 2. Members of the rule making and enforcement committees are the most rule obsessed folks in the community, else why would they spend their personal time on this minutiae. 3. Although the rules may change from time to time and new ones may be added, the number of rules is never ever reduced. 4. I will never purchase a home in an area governed by an HOA. Rant over. You may return to your regularly scheduled beanarama. Posted by: kurosawaguy \| July 10, 2007 2:13 PM Blue Lakes grown between poles. Here in the Willamette Valley these grow to perfection...squeeky and delicious right off the vine. Posted by: sthalsey \| July 10, 2007 2:23 PM OK.. I'm starting to really get worried about Martooni. Are you out there, my friend? Cassandra warned us last week that she may be too busy and tired to boodle, but I hope she's OK and after reading this, makes contact. Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 2:24 PM Second storm cell overhead here, got some major thunder, lightning and rain. If I were a puppy I'd be hiding under the bed. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 2:25 PM We've got darkness and noise, but no rain yet at all. Should I do a dance? Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 2:29 PM Slyness, I'm sorry to hear your news. You're in my thoughts. JA, from the kit: //We desperately need a chain link fence and a bad dog. We need to start thinking defense around here.// Joel, make that a 6" tall fence and I have just the bad dog for you. He's been renamed Desperado and I can drop him off anytime you like. Kim, (from yesterday's boodle) we talk about stuff like that all the time. My friend came from a loving, supportive family and a different part of the city. They had different priorities for their money; the education of their children and tithing to their church were important to her parents. But she and I talk about race a fair amount, depending on whatever else is going on in our lives. Sometimes it's trivial stuff, sometimes not. When I did the breast cancer walk, we talked a lot about about risks by race, why nobody had come up with the cute walker pins with black women on them although many black women walk. Hallmark has that mean old lady--Maxine? She's my mom, no fooling. We talk about why Hallmark doesn't have crazy old lady merchandise for black women. Is it not-PC? Should we develop it ourselves--and would it be bad if one of the trademark owners were white? (For those of you who don't know Maxine) http://www.hallmark.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10051&storeId=10001&partNumber=DPKROBEMAXINEP_DK&rank=P1R3S&searchValue=Maxine She didn't think it was safe for me to go into her parents' neighborhood alone, so she took steps to make it safe for that specific time and place. She also says it's not safe for her to come into my neighborhood because of the good malls there and the bank account damage she'd suffer. You've gotta be able to laugh. We also talk about our 401(k)s, cars, jobs, all that stuff. Posted by: dbG \| July 10, 2007 2:34 PM TBG if you do a dance, is it possible to include my area, we have not had a significant rain in weeks. Posted by: dmd \| July 10, 2007 2:35 PM That storm passed through Bethesda leaving a lot of startled people drenched, hehe. Also knocked out some traffic lights, no hehe. Posted by: omni \| July 10, 2007 2:42 PM I may have to cook green beans tonight. Mudge's recipe sounds good but I'll have to get cognac first. Fast beans: Cut a couple pieces of bacon in small chunks and start cooking in skillet. As the fat comes out, add cut green beans and a few cloves of garlic. Toss in salt. Put on lid. Stir often. My cousin Ellen used to report for the Post from Baghdad. She got out there and talked to people. She once said that, when there was any good news (like a school open or something) the people concerned would beg not to have it reported, because they'd become immediate targets. Years ago my folks built a little place on a poky mountain road, with lots of other little places. Fast-forward twenty years, when the giant-roofed crowd moved in to tear down the little places and build their versions. They sent around a HOA-type document designed essentially to turn the poky road into a Gated Community. I had a great time pulling out the lawyer skill big guns and drafting a detailed document refuting the assertions and unmasking the likely consequences. Last we heard of it. Bottom line: if you want to live in a gated community, buy into one, but don't coopt a perfectly good neighborhood. Posted by: Ivansmom \| July 10, 2007 2:43 PM It seems it is not the HOA only that like to enforce strict garden rules, Posted by: dmd \| July 10, 2007 2:53 PM O Ivansmom, I love 'pokey.' As in I want to live in a pokey sort of place BUT not IN the pokey. Judging sorts, like your selfness, might place people in pokey pens. Posted by: College Parkian \| July 10, 2007 3:01 PM Among some communities here, "po-po" is slang for police. As in, The po-po put you in the pokey. Posted by: Ivansmom \| July 10, 2007 3:03 PM I hope the po-po don't show up at our next scheduled BPH, which looks like it will happen on Thursday, July 19. Unless, of course, there are any po-po out there in Boodle Land who want to join us for stimulating conversation, good beer and cheap cheeseburgers. McCormick & Schmick's 1652 K Street, NW Washington DC Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 3:11 PM dmd, don't ask for too much water. After 3-4 weeks of dry weather we just got about 3 in. of water in 2 days. My French filet beans (should we call them freedom filet beans now?) are just starting to produce. What a delicious little veggie. I used old seed and pretty much have a crop failure on my climbing beans. I like the meaty italian flat beans the most but they didn't germinate and I know it,s my fault, I didn't stored the seed properly. Paractical puppy training advice: visit the bathroom before the Croc-shod 05:30 walk in the dewy grass for the puppie's wee-wee time. You'll end up doing the wee-weeing too. It' O.K. on a large well treed lot but could get you in trouble on a post stamp-sized backyard. Posted by: shrieking denizen \| July 10, 2007 3:13 PM I know Shriek but we have a watering ban where I live and all the storms that have passed through lately have missed my area, we are a sea of brown grass. CP, since you were robbed of the joy of seeing your daylillies, I give you my first daylily of the year/garden/house. Posted by: dmd \| July 10, 2007 3:18 PM TBG, I will be sooo ready for a July 19 BPH. That's the day my department has an all-day "strategy and planning" session. Nothing like a day of navel-gazing to make you ready for a burger and a Yuengling. Posted by: Raysmom \| July 10, 2007 3:18 PM Do the guys here want to rename BPH? I ask only because of this statement on the Flomax website: Only your doctor can tell if your symptoms are due to BPH and not another condition such as prostate cancer. http://www.4flomax.com/?sc=FLOGOSEMWEB0506_001 All I want is a little drinky, maybe, and not to have to worry about why does it hurt when I pee. Posted by: byoolin \| July 10, 2007 3:25 PM DMD -- lovely, lovely, and so pretty! I sprinkled Irish Spring soap shavings yesterday, but we will see. BPH benevolent poodles hoping benefitting pokey hooligans beans piled high baboons packing heat Does this help, dear Byoolin? Posted by: College Parkian \| July 10, 2007 3:31 PM Front page alert. Oddly enough, we're posted on the "Post Global & On Faith" tab. I don't know if that means some WaPo editor somewhere thinks Joel's work is holy and spiritual, holy or spiritual, holey, spirited, wholey spiritual, wooly spirited, of international interest, requires an act of faith to read it, or what. Given the topic, I don't see the necessity for opening the bunker, unless we're suddenly besieged by a passle of enraged vegens demanding we remove the bacon from our recipes. Or perhaps a papal bull, De Novum Orderlarum Re Verdi Haricortiae Secularum Ex Vino Mushroomiatumnae. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 3:32 PM Papal bull indeed, Mudge. This just shows that green beans are God. Particularly when tossed with Flying Spaghetti. Posted by: Ivansmom \| July 10, 2007 3:39 PM CP - oh, great, so it could be any one of those things too? (I'm especially unnerved by the idea of Baboons Packing Heat - even more than I am by the idea of Monkeys With Typewriters.) Posted by: byoolin \| July 10, 2007 3:40 PM If anyone wants a quick and easy way to serve fresh green beans, I recommend this recipe: It is a favorite around our house. Posted by: RD Padouk \| July 10, 2007 3:43 PM Pack of five wild dogs in Brunswick, MD as of 9 a.m. this morning. Apparently they didn't consider bicyclists menu items. For which I am grateful. Posted by: Scottynuke \| July 10, 2007 3:49 PM And I also believe "Twisted Hibiscus" is available as a Boodle handle, now that they're no longer chanting "We're Not Gonna Take It"... Oh wait, we do chant that around here... Posted by: Scottynuke \| July 10, 2007 3:54 PM One of my favorite ways with green beans is to steam them, then toss them with some minced garlic sauteed in olive oil. 'Course that's the store-bought beans. The fresh garden ones need nothing more than a light spritz of butter. Dare I admit that I brought home a quart of genuine blackberries and now have a blackberry pie in the freezer? I'll sound out Raysdad to see if he would mind terribly if I shared it with my imaginary friends or if pie interruptus is grounds for divorce. Posted by: Raysmom \| July 10, 2007 3:55 PM Pie Interruptus, if it is not grounds for divorce, should be. Do not deny a man his pie, woman! Hmmm. I'm starting to ponder the peaches sitting near me. A fresh peach is quite tasty, of course, but so is a nice peach pie... Posted by: CulinaryTim \| July 10, 2007 3:58 PM Raysmom, you'll have to consult Ivansmom on that last question. IIRC, the law school textbook on that subject was mentioned a lot in "The Paper Chase": Kingsfield on Tarts. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 4:01 PM Outside temperature here dropped from 94 to 78 with that front line coming through. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 4:07 PM Ooh, Akenback, another kick in the teeth to our brave soldiers. "Which meant that soon they would be on their next one: getting from Point B back to Point A." You think our soldier are idiots? You liberals won't be happy until the IslamoDeathMongers are teaching self-demolition in our nation's middle schools. Why are you always tearing down our great and noble leaders, like Senator Vitter? He's no worse than your patron saint, Mr. Can'tKeepHisPantsOn Clinton! . And, and...NOBODY LIKES BEANS ANYWAY!!!! . . (This has been a test of the Achenbunker. Had this been a real troll emergency, Boodlers would be instructed to proceed calmly to the bunker, clutching their cutlery and paper plates. Please remember to bring a salad to pass. Thank you for your kind attention). Posted by: CowTown \| July 10, 2007 4:07 PM Mmmm, green beans. Reminds me of the not-so-distant days of youth when Lab would wait till the wariness of the humans waned, and then pounce upon the unsuspecting beans. No pod left standing. Ah, good memories. Posted by: breugel \| July 10, 2007 4:12 PM Excellenet, CowTown. Can't have too many preparedness drills here on the Boodle. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 4:12 PM Thanks for the bean recipe, RD. Yes, Raysmom, there is protocol to be followed here. Take note, CulinaryTim, as this applies to peach as well as berry pies. I believe the party of the first matrimonial part must preserve a significant portion, sometimes known as the Lion's Share, of the pie, or Tart as we say in the legal world, to be reserved for the party of the second matrimonial parts. [Footnote: If there are matrimonial parties of subsequent parts you are on your own.] Otherwise, you run the risk of suit for a Tart against the Person. This may lead to an assault charge for Pie in the Face. Posted by: Ivansmom \| July 10, 2007 4:18 PM We love fresh green beans in this house, but my kids also love canned green beans. They recognize that they are a completely different food item, but they have been known to open a can of green beans for recreational eating. And if I caramelize some onions in butter and then plop a can of green beans on top of them and stir until hot, they have a side dish they love. I know, I know... it sounds terrible. But the kids LOVE it. Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 4:18 PM On the back of my hand is a red line, a thin arc of scab. Something scratched me. But what? When? And why does there seem to be a three-day gap in my memory? And who is this "Tatiana" person who keeps leaving messages on my machine about "them," and "the package" and where to leave Sauerkraut. A shopping list from a seductively-voiced siren I can't recall ever meeting. This is all too much. Think I'll go have a little lie-down. Posted by: StorytellerTim \| July 10, 2007 4:21 PM Tim, Mudge, Ivansmom, thanks for the advice. I had a feeling the single slice of Mom's pie I brought home wouldn't do the trick. Or the fact that I got a case of poison ivy picking the berries. Posted by: Raysmom \| July 10, 2007 4:24 PM I was just editing something (yeah, I know...but I DO in fact work a little bit, sometimes...) when I came across this term: "mofa." Needless to say, it stopped me cold and give me, how shall we say, more than pause. Fortunately, in parentheses there was an explanation of what a "mofa" is. I Googled it and read through the first 120 listings, and it basically wasn't there. Anyone want to guess what a "mofa" is? (I'd bet at least three or four of you know, though I'd never heard of it before.) Anybody want to argue why I shouldn't change it? (No, it ain't street slang for...for what you were thinking.) Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 4:31 PM Cowtown, that made me LOL. Thanks, today I really needed to have that laugh. My thanks to all for good thoughts and prayers. IMHO, hospice and palliative care are the greatest medical innovations of the last quarter-century. Thanks to those services, he had a good death, at home, surrounded by those who he loved and who loved him. I'm going to have to go back to bush beans. I bought a bean tower last year but have had no success with it. Maybe next year... Posted by: Slyness \| July 10, 2007 4:34 PM Is it the Multi-Option Fuse for Artillery? Posted by: frostbitten \| July 10, 2007 4:35 PM Mudge... I Googled "mofa transportation" and found a reference to moped/mofa accidents. Then I wiki'ed "moped" and found this: mofa (Motor-Fahrad, German for motor-bicycle) Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 4:37 PM Posted by: StorytellerTim \| July 10, 2007 4:38 PM S'Tim, I thought that's what a Cadillac was...sort of a mini-living room on wheels. Posted by: LostInThought \| July 10, 2007 4:40 PM TBG's got it. Of all the ^%$# dumb things to put in a technical report that has no particular reference to Germany above any other country. I can go home and proudly tell my family I killed a mofa today. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 4:45 PM Museum of Food Anamolies? (Yes I googled it). Posted by: dmd \| July 10, 2007 4:46 PM mofa - Museum of Fine Arts, Florida State University. Where the boss has a reading room named for him. Not yet open to the public; they're waiting to unveil it after he wins his Pulitzer (sp?) Posted by: psych \| July 10, 2007 4:47 PM Glad to be of service, Slyness. My best to you. . After two years of futile efforts to raise tomatoes, beans, and lettuce, we gave up and concentrated our efforts on raising flowers and such. We do have some mint, rosemary, and basil. And chives, but they barely count since you don't really "raise" them. They just grow. Posted by: CowTown \| July 10, 2007 4:47 PM TBG, I swore I'd never feed the Boy canned vegetables. But you know what? Canned green beans are -- wait for it -- GREEN BEANS. VEGETABLES. Yes, I prefer fresh, and I hope someday he'll see the vast taste and nutritional superiority afforded thereby. However, if offering him canned beans encourages him to eat large quantities of green beans, that is vegetables, canned it is. Besides, I no longer buy out-of-season grocery store produce, unless I am desperate and must serve a special item for a dinner (which pretty much never happens). Posted by: Ivansmom \| July 10, 2007 5:00 PM Ivansmom... I was so annoyed one day when I joined my daughter in the elementary school cafeteria for lunch. The lunch included two vegetables and they wouldn't let her choose two little cups of green beans! No duplicates. They would rather have the kid take one veggie they like and one they'll throw away rather than two helpings of one they like and will eat. You know what else is good on a winter dinner table? Canned fruit! The kind with little or no sugar added. The kids love it. And the best part? It's FRUIT! Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 5:17 PM Re the four-mile trek story: It is, indeed, a great piece of writing, but it seems like a bad piece of soldiering or, at least, military leadership. In the comments that followed this article, several people brought up the question of why these soldiers undertook this trip. Couldn't they have a memorial service where they were? Was it worth the risk to their lives to go to the base where the service was to be held? I must admit that that question came to mind rather quickly when I read the article. Posted by: THS \| July 10, 2007 5:21 PM It's raining here again...and I gotta run for the bus. Glub glub... Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 10, 2007 5:22 PM Re the four-mile trek story: It is, indeed, a great piece of writing, but it seems like a bad piece of soldiering or, at least, military leadership. In the comments that followed this article, several people brought up the question of why these soldiers undertook this trip. Couldn't they have a memorial service where they were? Was it worth the risk to their lives to go to the base where the service was to be held? I must admit that that question came to mind rather quickly when I read the article. Posted by: THS \| July 10, 2007 5:24 PM Re the four-mile trek story: It is, indeed, a great piece of writing, but it seems like a bad piece of soldiering or, at least, military leadership. In the comments that followed this article, several people brought up the question of why these soldiers undertook this trip. Couldn't they have a memorial service where they were? Was it worth the risk to their lives to go to the base where the service was to be held? I must admit that that question came to mind rather quickly when I read the article. Posted by: THS \| July 10, 2007 5:27 PM Sorry about the multiple posts. There was a blip in my connection; when it came up again, it appeared that the post was still waiting to be posted. Don't have an explanation for the third one, so will just have to beg your indulgence. Posted by: THS \| July 10, 2007 5:29 PM Another work night (sigh). It keeps rumbling and grumbling outside, but no liquid refreshment as yet. Wife says she got a sprinkle down in Wheaton, probably from that freshet that hit Bethesda. Oh well, got to get things ready for tonight's gab-fest. Posted by: ebtnut \| July 10, 2007 5:40 PM I use top crop green beans and they usually go nuts, but this has been a strange year for me gardenwise and everything is growing very slowly. I mulched again today and will probably add more on the weekend. I do recall a song relating beans and them being good for your heart, but I say enough goofy stuff and yesterday someone said I act too much like a child. My response to them was wan wan!! Posted by: greenwithenvy \| July 10, 2007 5:43 PM 2-3 cups of FRESH (cooked) green beans (steamed, microwaved, whatever) Add: 1/2 c. of your best olive oil 1/4 c. apple cider vinegar 1-2 tbsp. fresh dill (dried will work O.K., too) 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (vary any of the above according to your taste--my mom blends these in her mixer before adding them to the green beans, I don't) Mix with cooled, cooked green beans. Chill in the refrigerator for several hours before serving. Source: Country Place, Tracy, Calif. Great with a cold turkey breast sandwich--and fewer calories per serving than Mudge's recipe, no added and nutritionally empty calories from alcohol, less fat and a better-for-you fat, and a whole lot less work. Posted by: Loomis \| July 10, 2007 5:46 PM I must admit my favorite recipe for green beans (an many vegetables), rinse, remove ends eat. I recently have been hooked on stringless sugar snap peas, again rinse eat - I am so boring. Posted by: dmd \| July 10, 2007 5:51 PM THS, I had the same question as well, I would understand their desire to be at a service for their fellow soldiers, but it does seem an extreme risk. I am interested in the opinion of those who served here what the general practise is? Posted by: dmd \| July 10, 2007 5:56 PM Green beans are one of my favorite vegetables. I planted some this year for the first time in a long, long time. No beans yet but the flowers are there so it won't be long. I like to grill them with just a bit of oil and vinegar but pretty much like them served any way as long as they aren't overcooked. Great recipes, I'll try them all if the bean supply lasts long enough. The pope's latest pronouncement is one of many reasons I'm a long gone Catholic. Just what we need in the world right now, more controversy over religion. I hope Cassandra is just too busy to post. I too am very concerned about Martooni. Posted by: Bad Sneakers \| July 10, 2007 6:03 PM Neither of my children will eat any kind of green beans except* canned. The fresh ones are for my wife and me. The offspring think mushy is a virtue. Posted by: RD Padouk \| July 10, 2007 6:12 PM Re: the 4 mile trek. My guess is they needed to get to the memorial service as much to show that they can move around and not have to hunker down at their base, as to actually attend the service. If the memorial service was the only reason I would dispute the operational necessity. Then again, I'm a heathen and not big on memorial services in general. Posted by: frostbitten \| July 10, 2007 6:15 PM Loomis, that sounds pretty good. Except for the missing empty calories from the alcohol, but hey, the cognac works on it's own pretty well too. Posted by: Error Flynn \| July 10, 2007 6:44 PM Is it off-topic to mention black-eyed-peas? They used to sell them by the pound, fresh picked and shelled, in bins in grocery stores around the South. I have not seen them sold like that for a while. Sigh. If you want an adventure, Joel, why not put in a crop of malting barley next year? Just replace the fescue. Kevin or I will show you what to do with your crop of barley... Sunday, amid the chores I noted it was time for Stephanopoulos. Come to find out it's been bumped. Muttering about censorship, I turned to the internet and watched the interviews. (Gravel and Paul)But not my next door neighbor. Goes on a rampage, gets on the ABC site and starts slamming Sinclair media group. ABC wipes the comment (not obscene or profane, just naming names). I thanked neighbor for raising Cain for this matter. No wonder they fear the Fairness Doctrine. Gravel has returned from space and is looking good. Posted by: Jumper \| July 10, 2007 6:54 PM I like canned and fresh and frozen green beans, but they're not my A-1 favorite-- a good thing because they failed to come up this year. Instead I look forward to an excess of sugar snap peas or something like that. And the cukes are doing well. It'll be Gazpacho out of our ears, I expect. Pope Benedict-- reaffirming traditional dogma. Don't shoot the messenger. I have observed that people of other religions (Jewish etc.) often identify all christianity by the Catholic church. It can get uncomfortable sometimes, especially when they are much better informed than many protestants are. If Pope Benedict needs to explain to 50+ countries where christianity is a minority that protestants are NOT catholic or "true churches" under his control, that's fine by me. TBG makes the good point that logically protestants already don't care. The Episcopalian/Anglican church is undergoing a major rift right now over ordaining gays; many anglicans in places such as Africa argue that being identified as a church that supports homosexuality openly puts them at deep risk for persecution in those countries; they'd rather include and help gays on the quiet rather than take the backwash from bad publicity. And that's the SAME church. Posted by: Wilbrod \| July 10, 2007 7:05 PM Me too, TBG, I am a wee bit worried about martooni. I sent him an email at the address he left for the fairy doors. I have to take issue with Joel for something in the kit. "I need to learn how to grow sea scallops, or dill pickles, or cheese fondue, or chocolate mousse." Joel, you can grow pickles. They are usually cucumbers, but you know you can also pickle green beans, those tiny baby carrots, even eggs(tell Achenbro about doing them at home, but warn him about possible windy side effects). My mother-in-law has a killer recipe that works for almost anything. Just vary the spices. I have not found a feasible way to grow scallops or lobsters inland, but when I do, you will be the first to know. Posted by: dr \| July 10, 2007 7:12 PM In case it is not clear, I consider pickled eggs to be a man cave food. Posted by: dr \| July 10, 2007 7:14 PM Hmmm. Sinclair doesn't own that station, it's Cox. How embarrassing. I'll go tell neighbor now. Posted by: Jumper \| July 10, 2007 7:15 PM "TBG makes the good point that logically protestants already don't care." Wilbrod, it's not just protestants who don't care; it's all the non-Roman Catholics. (And remember: some of us consider the Roman Catholic church to be the protestants.) Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 7:17 PM TBG - that's just because you guys on that other peninsula cried "dibs" on the word "Orthodox" Posted by: RD Padouk \| July 10, 2007 7:36 PM When Richard Carmona was nominated for Surgeon General in 2002, the only story angle I could come up with was that he'd used deadly force against someone in a law enforcement context. In light of the article below pointing out his high moral character, I now apologize to Dr. Carmona for failing to find a worthwhile storyline that day: Posted by: Scottynuke \| July 10, 2007 7:56 PM Here at the Church of What's Happenin' Now we keep a pew open for the Pope, just in case. One little bean fills immensity. Keep knockin' on Martooni's door, guys-- Posted by: MedallionOfFerret \| July 10, 2007 8:06 PM Another 30 seconds of freedom! Atwitter about Vitter is old news. He had a year-long relationship with a prostitute back in 1999 that was well covered. As Glen Greenwald says (in Salon): "So, to recap: in Louisiana, Vitter carried on a year-long affair with a prostitute in 1999. Then he ran for the House as a hard-core social conservative family values candidate, parading around his wife and kids as props and leading the public crusade in defense of traditional marriage. "Then, in Washington, he became a client of Deborah Palfrey's. Then he announced that amending the Constitution to protect traditional marriage was the most important political priority the country faces. Rush Limbaugh, Fred Thompson and Newt Gingrich supported the same amendment. "As always, it is so striking how many Defenders of Traditional Marriage have a record in their own broken lives of shattered marriages, multiple wives and serial adultery. And they never seek to protect the Sacred Institution of Traditional Marriage by banning the un-Christian and untraditional divorces they want for themselves when they are done with their wives and are ready to move on to the next, newer model. Instead, they only defend these Very Sacred Values by banning the same-sex marriages that they don't want for themselves." Posted by: Anonymous \| July 10, 2007 8:23 PM "Also appearing were Drs. C. Everett Koop, who served as surgeon general from 1981-1889, and David Satcher, who served from 1998-2001." Evidently, Everett Koop could do what the Bush Administration would most like in a Surgeon General -- he can turn back time. However, I doubt he would do it for the likes of our current Administration. Posted by: StorytellerTim \| July 10, 2007 8:23 PM Slyness, I just back-boodled and learned of your brother's passing. My deepest condolences to you and your family. Posted by: rain forest \| July 10, 2007 8:29 PM The green bean is my most favourite vegetable for some purposes. If I don't feel like braising some fennel/onion/wine/broth mixture (which I only mention because I am doing so even as we type -- that will be the bed for seared halibut tonight), or recreating the NYT "Braised Spring Vegetables" (the Minimalist, last Tuesday - fabulous!) or simply steaming some broccoli, or anything else simple or fancy, I revert to and absolutely crave good, young, tender haricots verts. Lightly steamed (but probably for more than 2 minutes, until barely al dente) and served with just a touch of unsalted butter and fresh ground pepper. Perfect with roast chicken, a lean centre-cut pork chop, in a salad cold, or as part of warm wilted salad. Or just as part of a crudite platter. Have I mentioned I love green beans? I protest Joel's characterization of green beans (or the excellent suggestion by a Boodler I cannot now recall, wax beans) as boring. Not at all. Simple, traditional fare. Nothing boring about that. The reason I prize them so highly, at this stage in my life, is that for some reason we cannot, for the life of us, find good green beans in the local grocery stores. We luck out occasionally at the farmers' markets or Asian groceries (and then we gorge) but by and large the green beans we get here are trucked in, over-cooled, from California or Florida; by the time I have a crack at them, they are over-developed, tough, shriveled, freezer-burned. We do not buy them, because we know what a tender and peach-fuzzed delight a green bean should be. The grocers who sell these horrors are shameless (though they should be shamed). I just don't understand it. This is not new technology! A good-quality green bean should be more common in summer than forced strawberries or asparagus or horrid hothouse tomatoes, all of which I can readily pick up at any time of year (if I am willing to pay the price, both monetary and environmental, which I am not). Friends with gardens in Calgary or Red Deer or Edmonton or Summerland bring me large grocery-bags full of lovely, fresh, tender green beans. They can be grown locally! But for some reason, these are not available in the local green-grocers'. When I get my garden designer here, however, I shall specifically request a fence of beans, because I'd rather gorge on good ones in season than any others all year long. Posted by: Yoki \| July 10, 2007 8:38 PM Finally got online today. Can you imagine? I'm attending an educational technology thing and I had no easy access. Yikes! But, I am having a fun time and meeting some great people. WaPo connection: I had dinner with Mr. Arkin's brother. I've wondered if the Dr. Arkin I knew in person was related to the Arkin I see around here. Today in a discussion about educational uses of blogs, he says, "My brother's blog on the Washington Post website gets a lot of attention, hundreds of comments per post..." We had a fun time at dinner. This Arkin has a good sense of humor. And he flies. Posted by: a bea c \| July 10, 2007 8:48 PM a bea c... your post sent me to Arkin's blog, where I saw this... "Prospective soldiers are voting with their feet. For the second consecutive month, the Army has missed its active-duty recruiting goal, even with its lower standards for new recruits. As long as the war in Iraq continues, the Army will have trouble meeting its current recruiting goals. Once the war is over, however, the crisis will dissipate." It reminds me... A Navy recruiter called for my son last night. When I told the nice young man that my son (who was not home) wasn't interested and was heading off to college in the fall, he said in a dejected and desparate voice, "Uh. Um... Do you.. know... anyone else... who might be interested in vocational or educational opportunities?" Do I know anyone else? Am I a Navy recruiter? Poor thing. Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 8:56 PM interesting article in Slate on global warming and quantifying doubt: http://www.slate.com/id/2159164/hpid=partnersites Posted by: egadman \| July 10, 2007 8:57 PM Slyness, I'm sorry to hear about your brother. TBG, loved your post about the (no nationality mentioned) student. Her ship/sheep story reminded me of the time when the same happened to me with the words hill/heel. I wrote sentences about a man climbing a heel. I was in the 3rd grade, and on prom night, the kid who'd sat next to me back then told the story to the entire tipsy senior class. Funny stuff. Posted by: a bea c \| July 10, 2007 9:04 PM Slyness, I apologize from the bottom of my heart, to yours, that I had not back-Boodled. Please accept my condolences on your brother's death. Posted by: Yoki \| July 10, 2007 9:14 PM Doug Marlette, 57; Cartoonist, Vocal Defender of Free Speech Doug Marlette, 57, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist, comic strip artist and outspoken defender of free speech, died July 10 in northern Mississippi when a car in which he was riding skidded off a rain-slicked road and struck a tree... Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 9:40 PM The Simpsons' Streetcar Named Desire is one of my favorites, too. At the beginning, Marge tells her family 3 times that she's going to rehearsal - when she walks out the door, they wonder where she's going, with pitiful, bewildered faces. I know how she feels! The Birds reference with the daycare center is great too. I haven't grown green beans for years. I like them, but there's the problem of picking them at just the right time. Maybe next year. My scarlet runner beans haven't come up, either. Yoki, sounds like you need some farmers markets or specialty farmers. Are there any subscription farmers where you are (you pay them a fee upfront, get produce for the season)? Posted by: mostlylurking \| July 10, 2007 9:53 PM mostlylurking, is that the CSA I keep reading about? In various food-fora? I don't have ready access to those, but I've just signed up to the local slow-food movement-group. I believe all will be revealed. Posted by: Yoki \| July 10, 2007 10:07 PM TBG, I loved Marlette when he worked for the Charlotte Observer and was sorry to see the story about his untimely passing. Death seems to be in the air this week. Again, thanks to all for your thoughts and good wishes. Now we just need to get everybody home safely. My husband, who was supposed to be here three hours ago, is on a plane in Washington, waiting to fly to Charlotte. My sister-in-law, who was supposed to be home to Greenville half an hour ago from Tuscany, flew into JFK and had her flight cancelled, so she's got a seat on a flight to Charlotte, scheduled to arrive at 12:45 a.m. I'm leaving the back door unlocked and the kitchen light on. New rule: No more flying anywhere on the East Coast on summer afternoons. Posted by: Slyness \| July 10, 2007 10:07 PM Loomis writes, "...no added and nutritionally empty calories from alcohol..." I make dishes like that, and it's my experience that the alcohol gets cooked off before serving. Anyhow, if I don't like Mudge's recipe, I figure I can either offer a better one or keep my opinion to myself. (Religion is usually the only topic that gets me to share like that.) Beans are so simple, and go well with lots of other accent flavors, that there are many ways to make a great and quick dish. Or just pick 'em young and eat raw. My six bean plants have finished for the year, but I still have 3 ziplock bags in the freezer -- wash, blanch for a couple of minutes to kill the enzymes, and freeze. As good as fresh. I recall Loomis' criticism of a Texas Department of Whatever employee playing a video game on his computer at work, which made me wonder where the boodle would be if all the public employees who use their work computers were to stop posting. This is probably one I should put away and not send, but.... Posted by: LTL-CA \| July 10, 2007 10:13 PM Martooni, you are in my prayers every day. I hope we hear from you soon. Cassandra, God's blessings upon you. Posted by: Slyness \| July 10, 2007 10:14 PM Yes, exactly, Yoki. Here's a link - http://www.worldhungeryear.org/fslc/faqs/ria_043a.asp?section=2&click=8 I haven't checked into these, but I should. I don't have a farmers market close by, at least not on the weekend when I go food shopping. We're excited about a new grocery store that has wonderful organic, local produce, and it isn't priced outrageously high. Posted by: mostlylurking \| July 10, 2007 10:15 PM I just went to back-boodle, and re-read Joel's wonderful beanish gardening kit. Umm, I just got a little uncomfortable. At the subtitle "Roomate from Hell." I would just like to make it perfectly clear that the Maher referred to therein, is not Maher Arar. Not the sacrificial Canadian, Maher Arar. Not the Canadian engineer who was extraordinarily rendered, to Syria, and tortured, and sacrificed. That the Maher to whom Joel refers is not my fellow-citizen, and brother, and hero. Posted by: Yoki \| July 10, 2007 10:17 PM LTL-CA, just laugh. I love your comment, but don't get all wound-up about it. Hahahahaha! Posted by: Yoki \| July 10, 2007 10:22 PM Thanks mostlylurking. I'm really reely hoping that the slow-food people can put me in touch with some farmer-types. Posted by: Yoki \| July 10, 2007 10:29 PM I love Martooni. I'm holding out my hand to him. Posted by: Yoki \| July 10, 2007 10:32 PM I'm still up. I'm enjoying time with My Boy before he goes off and leaves in August. Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 10:44 PM I just stumbled on a tribute to my mom that my nephew wrote three years ago on an online forum he participates in. I remember seeing it at the time and marveling at his openness, sharing and the honesty and compassion his online companions wrote in response. Now that I have my own similar community, it means even more to me how those imaginary friends came to his side when he wrote so lovingly about the grandmother he had just lost. Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 11:26 PM Hi TBG -- I am four years away from that, but will ponder this. Glad you are up with that night owl. Thinking on Slyness and Martooni. Martooni - send up a flare. We have been speaking of beans, and your Little Bean is the best of the bunch. Yoki -- lost my CSA farmer to CA. But hope to have another one next year. Beans: yellow, green, purple, all sauted quickly and dashed with balsamic vinegar and three or four grains of sea salt. Off to bed; spent evening listening to the RoadHouse Crew at Chick Hall's Surf Club. BC--THEY ARE CLOSING AFTER MORE THAN 50 years! Posted by: College Parkian \| July 10, 2007 11:32 PM When our babies were very wee (a Yoki word!), my husband would call them "our little bean" because of the way they looked when properly swaddled up tight. Posted by: TBG \| July 10, 2007 11:42 PM I wonder if that's why "Chou" (cabbage) is a synonym for "dear one" in French, TBG? I'm half-expecting the greek term to be "my little grape leaf" ;). Posted by: Wilbrod \| July 10, 2007 11:53 PM wee is a fine word, I think. When #1 was just a babe in arms, though, we called her our peanut. Our petite choux. Our wee babe. A macaronic baby. Posted by: Yoki \| July 11, 2007 12:05 AM Oh dear, Wilbrod, the names for babies make me melt: peanut sweetie bumps baby bye wiggle bunny wee one bairn tiddly wink lambkins Bunky tinker Pumpkin pie sweet potato Now I am really off to bed. Posted by: College Parkian \| July 11, 2007 12:08 AM We all know how crooked the GWB administration is, but this takes the cake Posted by: LTL-CA \| July 11, 2007 12:55 AM Sheeps Being Trained to Weed Vineyards Posted by: LTL-CA \| July 11, 2007 1:50 AM 'Morning, Boodle. I'm starting to get a little worried about two of our intrepid band. attempts sleepy Grover wave, nods off, hits head on keyboard Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 11, 2007 6:23 AM easing 'Mudge into the shop easy chair and covering him with one of CP's throws pre-amusement park visit Grover waves, while I still have the energy Posted by: Scottynuke \| July 11, 2007 7:08 AM martooni, Cassandra, don't make me come over there... We all want to hear how things are going, and we're sending good thoughts your respective ways. Posted by: Scottynuke \| July 11, 2007 7:20 AM LTL-CA, thanks for the link to the NYT. I can't get any madder at Arbusto, but it is good to know the kinds of things they have been hiding. After Martooni's comments last week, I really am very worried. Dude, send us a little note, please. Posted by: a bea c \| July 11, 2007 7:24 AM And here's an interesting article for the gearheads among us... Posted by: Scottynuke \| July 11, 2007 7:26 AM Morning all, Cassandra and Martooni I hope you both are well and can feel the heartfelt good wishes from the boodle. Yesterday I saw the article about the Pope before it was posted here, my initil reaction was anger, whatever the "reasons" behind the announcement I thought it was absolutely the wrong statement to make in this day and age. History has shown what happens when we continue to voice the importance of differences and promote "exclusion". On a personal level my other first thought was for my Uncle. He is an order Priest and has been one of my hero's my entire life. When I was young my parents would try to explain the work he did to me as best they could, his work was always about reaching out to other faiths, to look for commonality and to open dialogue. By coincidence that Uncle called last night, turns out he needed some tech support from my husband and I was reminded that in my opinion the Catholic church would be better served with him as an example than some of those they choose. Posted by: dmd \| July 11, 2007 7:35 AM dmd - that is a wonderful post. The kind of first hand personal accounts that make the boodle so worth reading. Although I am about as lapsed a Catholic as you can get, I have great admiration for people, like your Uncle, who use the Church as a vehicle for good. Which makes my frustration with the counterproductive statements of Papa Benedetto even greater. Posted by: RD Padouk \| July 11, 2007 8:02 AM I thought this article might be of interest to the boodle. I have a tangential interest in the mechanics of the process described, since archiving vast amounts of data is being added to my ever-expanding job description. (Like all NYT links you may need to register. Also, this article references a certain institute of higher learning with which some might have issues.) Posted by: RD Padouk \| July 11, 2007 8:13 AM Thanks DMD, I always appreciate evidence for my belief that the church is really rooted in people, and not captured fully in the institution. Stereotype alert! I make sense of this by invoking the Italian approach to life. Under the long Italian succession of pope we see this: rules exist. We make them. Rules are important as standards, guides, structures. However, rules are not the essence nor the Spirit. In a train station near Via Rosa, Sicily is a sign "Con Fumare." An elderly man sits at a cafe table, smoking as he drinks espresso. If you ask him, why he smokes within ten feet of a No Smoking sign, he looks bemused and tells you, but that sign is for when the station is crowded and smoking would cause difficulty. In German culture, no smoking means no smoking. Germans follow rules with an exactness that would sound like the click of patent leather shoes. The last pope embodied both law and spirit. His charisma was an invitation, not a scold. Sigh. Can we get the Italians back? My pick for quarterback -- not that the Curia called me for advice -- was Argentine Bishop Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio. I offer this about him: He rides the bus. Posted by: College Parkian \| July 11, 2007 8:28 AM I too am a green bean lover. I have two recipes: fresh off the vine washed eaten raw; anything from a store gets washed, steamed, and sits in a bowl of ice water for a minute or two (I like em cooled). Posted by: omni \| July 11, 2007 8:37 AM Pat aka Sky Report Man grows green beans. I tried growing beans but found it very hard to keep skeletonizer bugs from turning the leaves into lacey cutwork samples. Beautiful, but did interfere with photosynthesis, etc. Posted by: College Parkian \| July 11, 2007 8:47 AM CP I enthusiastically endorse increasing the authority and prestige of Italians in all aspects of life. Posted by: RD Padouk \| July 11, 2007 8:49 AM RD, you have all of my votes, to borrow a Chicago secret: vote early; vote often. May the best darn dem win. I am from a long line of Irish peeps who look longingly (covetously?) at the Italian way: food, slow and festive life, a journey not a vale of tears drinking convivially, rather than from a paper bag Posted by: College Parkian \| July 11, 2007 8:55 AM The problems occur when a person of Italian extraction marries a person of German extraction. Posted by: RD Padouk \| July 11, 2007 8:57 AM Huh,what, the Pope said something... Watched "Dogma" again last night. I've seen that movie so many times I've lost count. Still makes me laugh out loud. Posted by: omni \| July 11, 2007 8:57 AM >Rules are important as standards, guides, structures. SLAP: Aye, but they be really more like guidelines, anyway... Posted by: Error Flynn \| July 11, 2007 8:58 AM RD -- I have seen the Irish-German disconnect up close and personal. Oh my goodness, when the wife is germanish and the charming ner-do-right laddie from the olde sod, well. Hard times. I quake at the thought of being a fly on the wall in a German-Italian domestic spat. (to the literalists, can you see RD and I with our smiles and winks? We critique because we love...and besides, we resemble the peeps we poke at.) Posted by: College Parkian \| July 11, 2007 9:11 AM OK, here I sit at my desk, ready and able to do my part to move forward the Great Wheels of Government. And I'm feeling perky, too. Dammit, where's my coffee cup? wanders off in search of caffeine OK, I lied about feeling perky. And about the wheels of gummint. Screw 'em. There, I said it. That's the kinda guy I am. Scotty, that was one cool electric motorbike, all right. Thanks for the link. Joel, what with your increased political reportage, you might be interested in a pretty provocative article in the July 9/16 issue of the New Yorker, a book review by Louis Menaud of "The Myth of the Rational Voter" by a local dude, economist Bryan Caplan of G. Mason U. out yonder west of town. It's online at http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2007/07/09/070709crbo_books_menand . Hope the Outlook section is pondering a piece on it/him before Book World beats ya to it. There's also a pretty good article in the same issue (which you've probably already read) about a suspected meteorite that crashed through the roof of a house in Freehold, New Jersey, not far from your alma mater, on Jan. 2 of this year. I'm not going to give away the ending. But there's some interesting discussion about metors and meteorites, good old Chicxulub, etc. That one's not online: ya havta buy the dead tree version. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| July 11, 2007 9:15 AM ROSWELL, Ga. (AP) -- Richard Thorne grins as he waves his hand under a toilet paper dispenser in a women's restroom. The machine spits five sheets of tissue into his grasp. A year in the works, the electronic tissue dispenser is being rolled out to the masses by Kimberly-Clark Professional as it seeks to capture more of the $1 billion away-from-home toilet paper market. The company believes most people will be satisfied with five sheets -- and use 20 percent less toilet paper. ''Most people will take the amount given,'' says Thorne. Waxing philosophical, he adds, ''People generally in life will take what you give them.'' ... But Thorne admits the company won't truly achieve a ''touchless'' bathroom until it develops a toilet that does the dirty work for you. ''And that,'' he says, ''is going to be interesting.''	Blog by Joel Achenbach. Visit www.washingtonpost.com/style.	2,436	0.875	0.875	high	medium	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/07/06/DI2007070600866.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007071019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/07/06/DI2007070600866.html	Financial Futures	2007071019	She was joined by Laura Barnett Lion, founder and president of Barnett Financial in Austin, Texas, who has served on the board of the National Association of Personal Finance Professional Advisors (NAPFA) and as president and chair of its southern region. This week's column takes a look at things engaged or newlywed couples should foucs on now to financially prepare for retirement together. To read past Financial Futures columns, click here. Martha M. Hamilton: Welcome to the chat. We're lucky today to have Laura Barnett Lion, founder and president of Barnett Financial in Austin, Texas with us. And now we'll take your questions. Cincinnati: Should I include my stock options in my plan to diversify my portfolio? I will not be executing the options for 5 to 10 years. Laura Barnett Lion: Assuming that you are not "banking" on your stock options and that in fact it will be a while before you exercise, I would exclude them from your asset allocation. It's nice to have a well rounded portfolio that you are depending on being rock solid and then you can view your options as a windfall--and hopefully they will be! Atlanta, Ga.: I have already retired and moved from the D.C. area to Atlanta. I have left my 401K with my employer as I do not yet need the income. Is that smart or should I move it elsewhere? Martha M. Hamilton: I think it's fine to leave it where it is if you're satisfied with the investments you have there and don't want to add to your retirement savings. You could roll it into an IRA which would give you more flexibility. Philadelphia, Pa.: About six years ago my husband and I attend a financial/retirement course at the local community college. The teacher was a financial consultant in our area. He looked at our retirement funds and made some suggestions as to the allocation of our 401(k) funds for each of us and also suggested moving IRA funds to a different mutual fund company, i.e. American Funds. Our retirement date is approaching within the next five years and we have amassed approximately $2,000,000. I am fearful that this is not enough of a retirement fund. We currently earn about $175,000 together. I have been toying with the idea of getting a second opinion from another financial advisor. Is this advisable? I don't want to end up eating cat food in my later years of retirement. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Laura Barnett Lion: Retirement planning (especially for the near term) is a dynamic, ever changing field. I think it is critical to find an adviser that is competent, that will act in your best interest and that you trust to help walk you through the myriad of decisions you will face. I recommend spending some time interviewing several advisors to find the right one for you. It should be viewed as a long term relationship and communication will be key. A good place to start is www.napfa.org. There is a list of advisors that are fee-only and that act as fiduciaries (in your best interest). I get asked the question "how much do I need" to retire on --alot. And it always depends on how much you need to be able to spend each month. So, while $2,000,000 is a lot of money- it is all relative to your needs. You certainly want to make sure that your asset allocation shifts to a more conservative posture now that you will be drawing income from it. But remember, you will be an investor for 30-40 more years. That means that inflation is still a big threat. And that is a good reason to own a fair amount of stocks also. To sum it up, a second opinion is a great idea. But also, find someone that can get to know you really well. Their financial advice will be valuable, but establishing a long term relationshiop will allow them to act as a good sounding board when you are faced with tough decisions is immensely valuable. Ithaca, N.Y.: The Washington Post does a great job by having a quarterly "Hot or Not" for mutual funds to (I guess) guide individuals on how best to invest their funds. Boy, China sure did well in Q2 - a lot of China funds on the Washington Post's list of "Best Funds", which was conveniently ranked by trailing three month returns. There was a also great article on how mega-cap US stocks are in for a surge. Now that the Post has provided all this wonderful information ("best funds" as ranked on three month returns and some opinion pieces by analysts about how they think markets are going to go), what's the best way for a Post reader to position their portfolio for retirement? How should one take all this great information you guys print every three months and act on it to get to a safe, secure retirement? From reading this quarter's report, it sounds like I should load up on emerging markets (especially those hot hot hot China funds that top the list of "best funds"), US large caps ("Signs Pointing to Large-Caps says the headline"), and avoid bonds because Bill Gross is bearish on bonds. That must be a great strategy, right? I read it in the Post! washingtonpost.com: Post's 2Q Mutual Fund Report: Signs Pointing to Large-Caps Best Finds\| Worst Funds\| Biggest Funds Martha M. Hamilton: I wouldn't make investment decisions based on any single source of information, including The Washington Post, and I wouldn't change investments on a quarterly basis. Also, my experience is that, by the time popular publications are writing about an investment opportunity, it's usually a bit late in the game. In fairness, the Post isn't urging these investments on anyone, it's just reflecting what has happened recently and what professionals in the field are currently thinking. Laura Barnett Lion: I agree with Martha. Getting your portfolio set with a long term investment strategy will serve you well. It may be less exciting, but otherwise you will be chasing yesterday's story and yesterday's returns. Chicag, Ill.: As a Federal employee in the CSRS system, we invest money in the Thrifty Savings Plan (TSP). And under the CSRS, retirees receive benefits mainly through a pension. What is your advice for Federal retirees concerning the rollover of the TSP funds into an IRA account. Laura Barnett Lion: Having your funds in an IRA (instead of an employer plan )when you retire will give you more control over your money, more investment choices and it should make it easier for you to make withdrawals. That being said, always check with your employer to make sure that you aren't giving up any benefits by moving the money out of the plan. Springfield, Va.: My wife and I will both have CSRS Federal Pensions with a COLA, TSP savings plans which are tax deferred, plus additional savings. What is the best strategy for spending down a tax deferred account? Should you wait until the IRS forces you to start withdrawals and let the account continue to earn as long as possible? Or start withdrawals as soon as the penalty free age is met, moving the money out and paying the tax, even if you don't need the money to live. Martha M. Hamilton: One thing you might consider is, if you qualify for one, to draw some money out and start a Roth IRA that can continue to grow after you reach 70 and 1/2 and are required to take withdrawals from you tax-deferred accounts. I'd be interested in Laura's opinion. Laura Barnett Lion: Yes, Roth IRA's are wonderful tools and I also recommend making contributions (from NON-retirement funds) if you are under the IRS income limits. These accounts are not subject to IRS required minimum distributions and the balances can continue to grow tax free until withdrawal. Usually, it's the last dollar you want to spend because the tax free growth is so valuable. I would recommend that you keep your tax deferred money in the retirement account for as long as possible. That way, all of your money is growing, instead of only the amount that is left after withdrawal and after taxes. If you have enough built up in taxable accounts to allow you to wait until 70.5 to begin making required minimum distributions, then that is great. Martha M. Hamilton: Laura, I had an e-mail from a reader yesterday asking for advice for someone in their mid to late thirties or older s thinking about getting married to someone who is older (early to mid forties or fifties) who already has children and will have children once they get married. I believe she was looking for advice about financial issues she should consider, not advice on whether or not to marry. Any general thoughts? Laura Barnett Lion: There are so many complexities involved in combining family finances that it is helpful to have a team of professionals advising. An attorney (for possible prenup issues), a financial planner to make sure that the investments have synergy and perhaps a tax advisor as well. As far as the investments are concerned, it is important to make sure that there isn't too much overlap in types of securities. In other words, if the wife had all Exxon Mobil stock and the husband had all Chevron Texaco stock they would obviously need to diversify out of oil companies. I suggest they begin looking at their investment allocation together as a couple. That can be a very emotional thing to do and it can be very helpful to have an adviser there to reduce some of the emotion. New York, N.Y.: I have had 401(k)s and a money market account invested for 9 years with a broker who has basically put all the money into the same few funds, which have yielded average or less than average returns. I want to transfer my funds out of this person's brokerage and am not sure what to do with them. Would it wise to diversify the funds into something like Vanguard no-load funds while I figure out what's next? I am also concerned about being hit with high fees for taking my accounts out of the current brokerage, although most of the funds have been there for years. Any advice? Laura Barnett Lion:9 years is a long time. I would follow up by asking if there are other issues involved in your decision or if you are considering moving your account just because of performance issues. If it is performance only, and the person has treated you well, you might consider making sure that he/she understands your risk tolerance and how you are measuring his/her success at investing. Otherwise, if a move is in your future--find out if there are fees (transfer fees or back end loads) associated with transferring your investments from this advisor to another custodian like Vanguard. If you feel uncomfortable speaking about this over the phone with him/her you can write a letter or send an email requesting that information. If you have any taxable investments with this broker be sure to find out your cost basis. In other words, if you have any (non-money market and non-retirement) funds invested there, ask what the cost basis is so you will know how much tax you will owe if you decide to sell the investments. I'm a big fan of Vanguard. But, I don't think that using them as a short term holding vehicle until you've found an advisor is the best solution...unless it's just a money market account. You don't want to rack up transaction fees or taxes ( in your non retirement account) by buying and selling. I suggest either waiting to move your investments until you have found your new advisor, or transfer all to money market until you have found your new advisor. Martha M. Hamilton: Laura, I'm always emphasizing to readers that they should look for a fee-for-services adviser and stay away from those who work on commissions. But, as I understand it, there are three types of payment for fee-for-services--a percentage of assets, by the hour and annual retainer for an initial plan with annual updates. Do you have a view on the pros and cons of the three payment approaches? And what is a reasonable percentage of assets? Laura Barnett Lion: There are three methods as you described. I believe that the hourly fee is best for those that either want a second opinion and are going to do it themselves or those that can really stay on top of things and follow up with the advisor at least yearly. With the annual retainer or the percentage of asset fee you have an advisor looking out for you, responsible for proactively contacting you if something needs to be done. The fees are usually around 1% for 1 million and then decrease incrementally. Usually those fees indicate full wealth managment which includes financial planning and investment management. Investors should always ask about fees up front. They should find out exactly how the advisor gets paid. www.napfa.org has a great questionnaire regarding tough questions to ask an advisor- its a good resource if you are shopping. Maryland: I prefer the thought of a tax-free retirement to a tax-deferred now and am wondering if I should regularly be converting funds from my 401K to a Roth. I meet the income requirements but don't make enough to fully fund both. I figure I should fund my employer 401K to get the match and then transfer a few thousand every year into a Roth. A plan or no? Laura Barnett Lion: I like the idea of converting IRA's to Roths as you are able. It is painful paying the tax up front and looks like hell on your balance sheet. When you take the money to pay the taxes out of your taxable account, you can really see your total bottom line go down. But long term it is an excellent move. Some of the newer 401ks are offering a Roth 401k which is ideal. Otherwise, your plan of funding your traditional 401k to get the match and then contributing to a Roth is a sound one. I have seen recently some big disagreements among the financial experts about the percentage of your portfolio to keep in international and emerging funds. We currently have 5 percent of our total portfolio (which is 50% stocks and 50% bonds) in an ememrging market stock index and 10 percent in international stock index. Does that seem reasonable to you for people of average risk tolerance? We intend to retire within two years and keep our 50/50 stock/bond asset allocation about the same as now. Laura Barnett Lion: I don't see anything wrong with your allocation. Just remember that the emerging markets funds are very volatile. That's easy to do when it's upside volatility but make sure you can stomach the downside too...and that you are with a good money manager that knows the environment. Martha M. Hamilton: Here's another e-mailed question: I have a question about the article in this past Sunday's Washington, What to Do When Two Finances Become One. Ms. Lion talks about disability insurance. I am a federal government employee and wanted to know if I need additional disability insurance if I have it on my job? Laura Barnett Lion: Good question. Check to find out the details of your federal disability coverage. Find out what amount it covers and under which circumstances. Knowing what you have is important to determining what risks you still have left that are uninsured and that would be financially catastrophic. You can ask a disability insurance specialist to recommend an individual policy that will coordinate with your existing coverage. Unfortunately, individual policies are often fairly expensive. Martha M. Hamilton: Many thanks as usual for joining us today, and special thanks to Laura Barnett Lion for her good advice. Remember, if you have suggestions for future columns, please e-mail me at hamiltonm@washpost.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.	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.	77.439024	0.609756	0.756098	high	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/07/09/DI2007070900721.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007071019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/07/09/DI2007070900721.html	Staying Cool - washingtonpost.com	2007071019	Steve Scolnik, of CapitalWeather.com, was online Tuesday, July 10 at 2 p.m. ET to field your comments about the heat, and offer advice on how to stay safe and comfortable when the temperature soars. Steve Scolnik: Hello, everybody, and welcome to our chat about the heat. I'm Steve Scolnik, the PM Update commentator at www.capitalweather.com. As luck would have it, the humidity which increased overnight has "cooked" in the sun, and a weak low-pressure area moving through has helped set off some thunderstorms that should be cooling some of you off, at least temporarily. Some of our commenters at CapitalWeather.com have reported strong storms downtown and in the Capitol Hill area. Unfortunately, that will just increase the humidity in places where it rains and make it even more muggy until some real relief can arrive in a couple of days. If you have some favorite ways to beat the heat, please share them or ask some heat/humidity related questions. Washington, D.C.: Is there such a thing as a "humidity scale"? The humidity in the Washington area, unless it has JUST rained, does not feel like the humidity in Florida or the Caribbean or Vietnam. It's a much drier-feeling humidity. Which is why I wince when forecasters here call for "hot, humid, muggy" weather. This is not humid or muggy! It's just plain hot, with lots of haze, which is typical of the region. For hot, humid or muggy, try Miami, where mildew grows everywhere, even on sidewalks, and you sweat 24/7! Steve Scolnik: That's a good question. There are several different ways of measuring humidity, both relative and absolute. The "relative" humidity (it was 38% at National Airport at 1:00) compares the amount of moisture now in the air to the maximum amount which could be held at that temperature. A more consistent way to measure humidity is the dew point, which is the temperature at which the moisture now in the air would condense. The dew point readings the last couple of days have actually been fairly comfortable here, but they increased last night and are now mostly in the 70s, which is a lot muggier and much more typical of what you would find in the tropics. Downtown, D.C.: With these afternoon thunderstorms today, it looks to have cooled off a bit. Will it stay cooler or do you expect it to warm back up again later this afternoon/evening. Steve Scolnik: Since the storms are developing early in the PM, the sun will pop back out and push the temp back up along with more humidity where it's rained. Annandale, Va.: Could you please settle this debate: When is the hottest part of the day in the DC Metro area? Steve Scolnik: That really depends a lot on the season. In the summer, the sun has a lot longer to build up the heat, and so the max occurs at a later time. Yesterday, for example, the high at National wasn't until 4:20, which would be more like sunset time in the winter. There's also daylight savings vs. standard time, of course. Egg Harbor Township, NJ: I've always heard that the sun's rays are most intense between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., is this true? If so, how much more intense is the sun during those hours and how how much more dangerous in terms of sunburn, sun poisoning, and, long-term, skin cancer? Steve Scolnik: The intensity of the sun's rays depends a lot on the angle. That's why the winter is colder than the summer in the Northern Hemisphere--the sun is at a lower angle in the winter because of the tilt of the earth's axis of about 23 degrees. The angle, of course, also changes during the day, so it's much more intense in the middle of the day. We occasionally publish a chart of sun angle at www.capitalweather.com. I'll try to add the exact link to the transcript if I can. Washington, DC: Why is it that almost no one in my town seems to have awnings? I've read that awnings could reduce your cooling needs in the house by 25 percent -- and if you set them at the right angle, they can stay up all winter and still let in the sun to assist with heating your house, since during the winter the sun is at a lower position in the sky. If not awnings, what about some sort of blinds that operate on the outside of the window? If you go to places like southern Italy, you'll tend to see less use of air conditioning but greater use of awnings on residences. Is there a reason that they've never caught on here? Steve Scolnik: That's a great point about awnings. My family had them on our old house in Maine. I think they probably just went out of style with the popularity of AC. As the last question indicated, sun angle is a very important factor in heating. The south-facing French doors on my family room act like a sundial during the year. In the winter, the sun's rays come far into the room and help heat it, but the much higher sun angle in the summer keeps most of the heat out. Adding awnings would help balance the heat even more. For someone that relies on jogging 5-6 miles a few times a week for exercise, what is your recommendation for said activity during this heatwave? Could jogging in this kind of muggy heat actually make me LESS fit? Steve Scolnik: There is some great material about the effect of heat on sports at www.zunis.org. (That's where I got the heat index equation for the chart in yesterday's PM Update at www.capitalweather.com .) Dew Point, D.C.: In my experience, dew point seems to be the ultimate measure (compared to temperature and humidity) of how bad it is outside. For example, running when the dew point is in the 70s is not pleasant. Can you explain why high dew points make us feel lousy? Steve Scolnik: The effect of the combination of heat and humidity on the body is a little complicated, but basically the closer the dew point gets to body temperature, the more difficult it is for sweating to cool you off. Reston, Va.: Any tips for those of us who have to walk outside from one place to another during the day? Lots of water, shoes with some ventilation, etc.? Steve Scolnik: If you don't mind the dorkiness factor (and perhaps cost!), the WaPo had some interesting suggestions last August. Silver Spring, Md.: Hi there. I know that in conditions such as this the "infirm" are cautioned to stay indoors as much as possible. But what about pets? I like to walk (definitely walk, no running) my dog daily, but don't want to do more harm than good. Thanks! Steve Scolnik: Pets are affected by heat much like people are. Don't forget to let them have plenty of water, and be careful especially not to leave them in a closed car, which can heat up to about 140 degrees in the sun very quickly. Central, D.C.: Where the heck are you? We've been getting almost constant thunderstorms for the past two hours, and the temperature has dropped about 15 degrees. (Just looked out the window -- yup, thunder and heavy rain.) Steve Scolnik: These storms have been very localized, although radar shows them recently stretching from about Bethesda downriver through Alexandria. In this part of MoCo, we've only had some clouds and the rumble of thunder, but no rain. Capitol Hill: What's up with these storms? Unusual/atypical type of T-storms, right? Steve Scolnik: These storms are earlier in the afternoon and more scattered than what my Dad the civil servant used to call the "government showers" arriving in time to get the commuters wet at 4:30. sailing on the Potomac: No question, just wanted to extend my thanks for your work on capitalweather.com; what a great site! Weather info is crucial to sailors, and I make capitalweather.com one of my must-check sites before going out on the water. Steve Scolnik: Thanks for the compliment! Wind, especially speed, is one of the trickiest elements to forecast, since it tends to vary a lot during the day. Hot Hot Washington: Steve - Washington has a harried pace that does not go well with very hot weather. Don't forget to remind chatters to work on their sauntering skills. to walk about in an idle or leisurely manner ; STROLL Steve Scolnik: An excellent suggestion! I think a little more sauntering would be beneficial in any kind of weather. Falls Church, Va.: I go running every day at lunchtime on the Mall for 3 or 4 miles, and only stay in if it is a "Code Red" day. Today, before the storm, it must have been 90 degrees. I got a little light-headed toward the end, but nothing too bad. I go out mostly because my office has no windows, and the prospect of using our windowless gym for 45 minutes is not appealing. Am I an idiot for running in the heat? Steve Scolnik: Mid day is probably the worst time to run because of the intensity of the sun angle we mentioned earlier. Check out the link to www.zunis.org for much more sports information. re: "government showers": My friends and I call them the Five O'Clockalypse.... Boston: I have a window unit air con and everyone says to make sure it has a good "seal" to it but they don't say much else. Is this seal to be on the inside or outside? What materials are on offer to do so? What method is the best for those of us who are DIY challenged? I don't care what the window ends up looking like -- I just want the cool air to stay inside! Any help gratefully received. Steve Scolnik: Being DIY challenged myself, I would have to refer that question to Danny Lipford at The Weather Channel. I would think that any kind of caulking would help block the air leakage. Boston: I've horrified people when I describe sleeping with a cool damp towel to beat the heat, because they regard it as a health risk: getting pneumonia from this exposure. It works, and if the temperature dropped, I'd certainly wake up. Reassure them, please. Steve Scolnik: That sounds like the "desert method" suggested by Real Simple magazine. Check out the rest here. Washington, D.C.: So, in layman's terms, what causes these very localized downpours/thunderstorms? It's hot all over the area, but while it's raining outside my office downtown, my wife is baking in the sun three miles away. Steve Scolnik: We've got all the right ingredients: humidity, heating, and a little boost from some upper-air instability, but exactly where the storms will pop at any given time is kind of random. It's sort of like trying to predict which kernels of popcorn are going to pop first. Cola, S.C.: Unfortunately I don't tolerate the heat very well (I start to sweat before anyone and don't cool down easily -- even when just wearing a little sundress!) and I live in a very hot area. Is it possible to make my body more acclimated to the heat? I just went to an outdoor wedding and was miserable! I dread any non-casual outdoor events in the summer. Steve Scolnik: Temperatures do seem to affect people very differently. Who controls the thermostat is just as big an issue as who controls the remote in many households. (I think there was an article about this in the Style section a couple of years ago.) The Heat Index is supposed to tell what the effect of a certain temperature and humidity will be on the body, but it's just an estimate based on some theory and the average of some measurements. Steve Scolnik: Thanks everyone for an interesting discussion. To continue discussing the weather 24x7, please join us at CapitalWeather.com and submit your thoughts via the "Comments" link. 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.	CapitalWeather.com's Steve Scolnik will be online to field your comments about the heat, and offer advice on how to stay safe and comfortable when the temperature soars.	82.2	1	18	high	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR2007070902027.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007071019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR2007070902027.html	Persecuted Gays Seek Refuge in U.S.	2007071019	One night in 2003, on the wintry streets of Kosovo, a group of thugs stalked and beat Gramoz Prestreshi almost to death. Police in the war-scarred Balkan province laughed and called him names. The emergency room workers made him mop up his own blood. It was a sordid but hardly unusual episode in the hostile environment homosexuals encounter in societies of all kinds. Unlike many such victims, though, Prestreshi kept his wits about him. He had photographs taken of his injuries. He complained to the press and clipped every article. When his family disowned him, he joined a gay rights organization and slept in its office. This spring, his determination bore unexpected fruit, and Prestreshi was accepted as a legal refugee in the United States. He now lives in the District. "I am happy because I don't have to live like a prisoner anymore in a society where no one is allowed to be different," said Prestreshi, a slight, nervous man of 22, who won his asylum case with help from Whitman-Walker Clinic in the District. "But I can never forget what happened. It hurt when the police called us 'faggots.' It hurt when my parents screamed and beat me after they found out. It still hurts." Harassment and abuse of gay men and lesbians is becoming increasingly accepted as grounds for legal asylum in the United States, even at a time of conservative judicial activism, fear about HIV/AIDS transmission and increased scrutiny of asylum seekers. The government does not disclose a breakdown of reasons for granting asylum petitions, but legal advocacy groups in several major U.S. cities said they have won dozens of cases. Homosexuality, once a de facto condition for barring foreigners from entering the country, is now officially recognized by the U.S. government as a category that might subject individuals to persecution in their homeland, just as if they were political dissidents in a dictatorship or religious minority members in a theocracy. But although petitioning for asylum on the basis of sexual orientation has become far easier since 1994, when then-Attorney General Janet Reno ordered that a groundbreaking case involving a gay Cuban refugee be viewed as a legal precedent, such asylum cases are still extremely difficult to win, according to lawyers in Washington and elsewhere. One reason is that applicants face multiple burdens of proof. They must demonstrate that they were abused or harassed by authorities, not merely by angry relatives or drunken hooligans, or that the authorities failed to protect them. They must also prove that they were abused because they are homosexual -- and thus prove that they are, in fact, gay. Raul Calderon, 40, the ex-soldier from Colombia, said he was raped as a recruit of 15 but commanded by officers who constantly exhorted the troops "not to act like women." In an atmosphere of civil war militarism, he said, he felt equally threatened by the guerrillas, the armed forces and members of the right-wing squads who called themselves social cleansing committees. "To them, people like me were filth," he said. Often, Pilcher and others said, foreigners living in the United States who have possible grounds for asylum on the basis of sexual orientation are afraid to come forward or unaware that there is a one-year deadline to apply. Even in societies with freewheeling, tolerant urban cultures, homosexuals can be harassed to the point of seeking refuge abroad. Brazil, for example, has a huge population of gays and transvestites, and last month's annual gay pride festival in Sao Paolo drew 3 million people, according to Gay Life, a Baltimore newspaper. Yet J.C., a District man from Rio de Janeiro who spoke on condition he not be further identified, won his asylum petition in 2001 after proving that he had been repeatedly beaten and abused by powerful, armed street gangs in his hillside slum, known as a favela, and that the local police force had failed to protect him. Fear of AIDS is another frequent factor in public and private harassment of homosexuals abroad. A doctor from Venezuela, who treated people with HIV and AIDS there and championed their cause within his profession, was granted asylum this year after being kidnapped, beaten and sexually humiliated by a police squad.	One night in 2003, on the wintry streets of Kosovo, a group of thugs stalked and beat Gramoz Prestreshi almost to death. Police in the war-scarred Balkan province laughed and called him names. The emergency room workers made him mop up his own blood. It was a sordid but hardly unusual episode in...	13.258065	0.967742	56.16129	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR2007070901692.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007071019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR2007070901692.html	Colombia Challenges Rebels With a New Weapon	2007071019	SAN VICENTE DEL CAGUAN, Colombia -- Marxist rebels once ran a visitors center in this town in southern Colombia, the office staffed by a young, amiable female guerrilla and the walls decorated with huge posters of famed fighters. Rebels ran a court, built bridges and taxed locals, including the farmers who grew coca in such abundance that the region became ground zero for the war on drugs. Those were the days when the government had ceded this town to guerrillas for disarmament negotiations, simply making official the absence of a state presence to which residents had long been accustomed. Now, in an ambitious government program here and in 52 other towns nationwide, a multi-agency task force operated out of Bogota has built schools and roads and introduced public institutions such as courts. In essence, President Ãlvaro Uribe's administration is trying to create a functioning state, essential if the government is ever to erode the power of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the country's biggest rebel group. If expanded, the program would amount to what Colombian officials describe as a logical second phase of a U.S.-backed campaign, called Plan Colombia, that combines military offensives with aggressive aerial fumigation of coca and opium poppy crops to weaken rebels. With the U.S. Congress now in the hands of Democrats, who have promised to shift more aid from the military to social and economic programs, Colombia may be better positioned to secure funds for nation-building in regions practically devoid of any government presence. "We have to go to the more remote areas, where we have drug trafficking and illegal groups and we have poverty," said Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos. He said the idea, one that has never been applied here, is for the military to work with the government's social action agency and other institutions to provide schools, health care and infrastructure. "What we're doing now is aligning our efforts in a way that will allow the state to go and clear those areas and then hold those areas -- what the military calls 'clear and hold,' " Santos said. "And the hold aspect has to do with the presence of the state, of institutions different from the military. We go in with brigades of doctors, teachers, the justice system." Here in San Vicente, symbolic because it was once in the heart of the rebel-run zone the size of Switzerland, the old visitors center run by the FARC was razed after negotiations collapsed in 2002. Its replacement is a two-story building that houses offices offering government services and even a gymnasium for the town's 32,000 inhabitants. A block away, a new city hall is going up, joining a newly built police station and a community center. The government is nearly finished building a sprawling school and campus for 2,000 students, while three modest schools have been remodeled. "For us, this signifies a great advance," said Luis Francisco Valencia, administrator of San Vicente and the No. 2 official. "For a long time we were forgotten, and now the government is serving us quickly and trying to resolve problems." Observers such as Adam Isacson, a policy analyst who follows Colombian military issues for the Center for International Policy in Washington, said the nation-building plan "looks really well-conceived." But he also said the huge scale of replicating the campaign across Colombia will be a challenge. Even government officials, while holding up the program as a sign of hope, admit it is only a small step forward for an immense country that has 1,100 towns and hundreds more unincorporated, isolated hamlets. Colombian officials talk of spending $43 billion over the next six years as a second phase of Plan Colombia. This time, though, officials here say the vast majority will go toward economic and social programs.	SAN VICENTE DEL CAGUAN, Colombia -- Marxist rebels once ran a visitors center in this town in southern Colombia, the office staffed by a young, amiable female guerrilla and the walls decorated with huge posters of famed fighters. Rebels ran a court, built bridges and taxed locals, including the f...	13.017544	0.964912	53.070175	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR2007070901887.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007071019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR2007070901887.html	'Ecstatic' Response For Woods	2007071019	The tournament director for the inaugural AT&T National golf tournament at Congressional said yesterday that Tiger Woods left the Washington area Sunday night thrilled about the response to his signature event and that he would prefer to keep the event at Congressional "as long as they'll have us." "We were ecstatic with how it came off," said tournament director Greg McLaughlin, also the president of the Tiger Woods Foundation. "The positive comments we received from the club, the community and the players has been very gratifying. People were thanking Tiger for bringing the tournament here everywhere he went. We were awestruck, to tell you the truth." The AT&T National will return to Congressional next year. But the club will host the U.S. Amateur championship in August 2009 and the U.S. Open in June 2011. Both events are run by the U.S. Golf Association, and officials have said they would prefer not to have a regular tour event at Congressional in those years. One source connected to the tournament said that representatives of Woods's foundation have looked at potential sites inside the Beltway that would allow Woods, a budding golf course architect, to build his own course or renovate an existing facility. The source said that Woods might even be interested in taking an existing military course, either at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland or Fort Belvoir in Virginia, and do the sort of makeover that transformed Bethpage Black on Long Island, a public course in general disrepair, before the 2002 U.S. Open. Architect Rees Jones, who also did a makeover at Congressional before the 1997 Open, handled the Bethpage project. "Look, if there's land available inside the Beltway, please call me," McLaughlin said. "At this time, we're not contemplating building our own golf course designed by Tiger, but we certainly would not ever rule it out long-term if the right partnership could be put in place. We're open to any and all situations and we're keeping an open mind for all future sites." The tournament drew more than 139,000 spectators over six days to the Bethesda golf course, including 75,000 on a weekend when temperatures soared into the 90s. McLaughlin said it was too early to determine the charitable contribution to Woods's foundation, though he indicated the initial goal was to raise $1 million and "we're still hopeful and optimistic we're in that range." Woods donated his own prize money for finishing tied for sixth, $208,500, to the foundation. McLaughlin confirmed that he and Woods had several informal discussions last week with Congressional officials about the future of the tournament at the club beyond 2008. "We reiterated to the club's representatives, from the general manager to the club president to everyone on the board of directors our great satisfaction with the club," McLaughlin said. "We've said from day one we want to play it here, and we told them again we'd like to stay here as long as the club will have us. We've been very, very up front in saying from the start that this is where we want to hold it. And they've been honest with us in respect to the course's availability." Stuart Long, the president of Congressional, said yesterday the club was extremely pleased with the event and that "members who came were just ecstatic. . . . For the amount of time we had to put it all together, it did better than we ever anticipated. We didn't have a single hitch." Long said he and the club's board of directors would prefer to see how the second year of the event comes off before making any further commitments, and that ultimately the members would decide. He also said it would be impossible to hold Woods's event at Congressional in 2011 and suggested that might be the year when the tournament has to temporarily move out of town, perhaps to Baltimore, Richmond or Philadelphia. "The U.S. Open will pretty much take the whole corporate market away from them that year," Long said. "It would essentially take the money out of the market." McLaughlin did not rule out the tournament moving temporarily to TPC at Avenel, the longtime site of the old Kemper Open and Booz Allen Classic. But he also said no decision would be made at least until a $20 million renovation of the course and clubhouse is completed. That project is likely to start in August and almost certainly would not be finished in time for the 2009 tournament. There are other options, including Robert Trent Jones Golf Club in Gainesville, the host for three previous Presidents Cup competitions. McLaughlin also said he was surprised when he heard PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem mention last week that he also thought the tournament may have to leave town for a year. "We haven't made any plans at all regarding what happens after 2008," he said. "But there's no question, after the week we just had here, that Tiger wants this tournament in Washington. The challenge is, there are very limited opportunities that we know of, and we have to look at everything. "I can also tell you that Tiger had a great time. He was as busy as I've ever seen him at an event, but he embraced his role as a host in as fine a fashion as possible. He did everything I asked him to do, everything the sponsor asked him to do in terms of meeting club members, functions with AT&T, and also still trying to play and practice and win his own event. At the end of the day, Tiger was not only pleased, he was proud, as an organizer and as the host. His only regret was that he didn't win it."	Tiger Woods left the inaugural AT&T National thrilled with the response to his tournament, but finding a long-term host courseÂ for the event is pivotal.	37.133333	0.866667	2.066667	high	medium	mixed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/07/05/BL2007070500940.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2007/07/05/BL2007070500940.html	What Was Bush Thinking?	2007070719	President Bush apparently doesn't feel that the American public deserves a detailed explanation of why he chose to commute former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence. He issued a short written statement on Monday and spoke briefly about the matter on Tuesday, insisting that he felt Libby's sentence was "excessive." White House Press Secretary Tony Snow's press briefing on Tuesday was a farce. (See below.) But Bush and his aides have nevertheless said enough to generate a few broad hypotheses about what Bush was thinking -- all of which raise more questions than answers. If you take the White House's position at face value, then Bush felt that the sentence -- which followed federal sentencing guidelines for perjury and obstruction of justice -- was unjust. In that case, why isn't he doing anything about those guidelines? Another possibility is that Bush felt there were circumstances the judge did not take into consideration. What could those circumstances be? Is Bush saying that, yes, Libby lied, but he should be cut some slack because he did so for noble reasons? If so, what might those reasons be? There is, of course, a third possibility: That the commutation and all the expressions of concern are just a delaying tactic, and that Bush intends to pardon Libby at the end of his term if Libby's appeal fails. That theory was bolstered by Bush's assertion on Tuesday that he wouldn't rule out a pardon in the long run. If Bush "respects" the jury verdict today, why raise the possibility that he won't 18 months from now? Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Jim Rutenberg write in the New York Times: "Before commuting the prison sentence of I. Lewis Libby Jr., President Bush and a small circle of advisers delved deeply into the evidence in the case, debating Mr. Libby's guilt or innocence and whether he had in fact lied to investigators, people familiar with the deliberations said. . . . "Because the deliberations were so closely held, those who spoke about them agreed to do so only anonymously. But by several different accounts, Mr. Bush spent weeks thinking about the case against Mr. Libby and consulting closely with senior officials, including Joshua B. Bolten, the White House chief of staff; Fred F. Fielding, the White House counsel; and Dan Bartlett, Mr. Bush's departing counselor. "'They were digging deeply into the substance of the charges against him, and the defense for him,' one of the Republicans close to the White House said. "The second Republican said the overarching question was 'did he lie?'" Stolberg and Rutenberg's story doesn't say. But they point out: "Both critics of the administration and supporters of Mr. Libby viewed him as a fall guy in the case." In other words, Bush thinks Libby got a raw deal, because he was just doing his job.	President Bush apparently doesn't feel that the American public deserves a detailed explanation of why he chose to commute former vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's prison sentence.	15.861111	1	36	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401210.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401210.html	Sarkozy's Lesson for America	2007070719	The country is at a crossroads, a different kind of place from where we've been before. The special interests seem more reactionary and entrenched than ever, the bureaucracies much larger. We need to marshal the courage to change, and we need to understand what needs changing. Two books guide my thoughts these days. One is " Testimony: France in the Twenty-First Century," by the new French president, Nicolas Sarkozy. The second is American: " The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression," by Amity Shlaes. Together they form a map for the crossroads. Start with the will to change. Most American politicians have lost that. Or, if they have it, they are hostage to advisers who don't have the will to change. France has a reputation as a country averse to change. But President Sarkozy translated his general exhortation about the need to change and the importance of work into a simple and direct policy proposal: All overtime will be tax-free. Sarkozy had the courage to campaign on the theme that "the French will have to work harder." Imagine trying to get that past an American campaign consultant. In effect, he repudiated the French left's passion for income transfer and trumped it with a passion for pursuing happiness. The elites hated that repudiation, but it won the French election. France proves change is possible in a country whose special interests are even more entrenched than ours are. And what about the second part of the challenge -- knowing what should be done? The great lesson of the past six years is that it is impossible to solve America's problems within the failed reactionary bureaucracies and redistributionist policies of the left. Republicans were punished in 2006 for their own failure to run the system effectively. They were also punished for failing to develop a new system -- that is, to push for a Sarkozy-scale disruption of the old order. They didn't really even know what was wrong. Citizens had to choose between a left enthusiastically raising taxes to run failing bureaucracies and a right passively attempting to avoid tax increases while bureaucracies decay and policies fail around it. But there is a more powerful alternative to this. It could be very popular and economically effective. It is a return to the old liberalism that was so important in America before the New Deal. This is a liberalism we share with Britain: Whig-style free-market liberalism. The "forgotten man" was a term coined by a great conservative pro-market, pro-growth professor named William Graham Sumner. In an 1883 essay, he asserted: "As soon as A observes something which seems to him to be wrong, from which X is suffering, A talks it over with B, and A and B then propose to get a law passed to remedy the evil and help X. Their law always proposes to determine . . . what A, B, and C shall do for X." Sumner wanted to know about C, the one he called "the forgotten man." As Shlaes explains, "[t]here was nothing wrong with A and B helping X. What was wrong was the law, and the indenturing of C, his forgotten man, to the cause." Sumner wrote of the forgotten man: "He works, he votes, generally he prays -- but he always pays -- yes, above all, he pays."	France proves change is possible in a country whose special interests are even more entrenched than ours.	37	1	16.111111	high	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401211.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401211.html	The Court Returns To Brown	2007070719	For most of the 53 years since the Supreme Court's school desegregation decision, the court, in collaboration with people who fancy themselves "progressive," has been instructing Americans to unlearn the lesson of those decisions -- the lesson that race must not be a source of government-conferred advantage or disadvantage. Last week the court began rectifying its abandonment of that premise in the name of "diversity." The court ruled 5 to 4 that Seattle, which never had school segregation, and Louisville, which did but seven years ago completed judicially mandated remedial measures, must stop using race in assigning children to schools to produce particular racial ratios in enrollments. How did we get from this: "Distinctions by race are so evil, so arbitrary and invidious that a state bound to defend the equal protection of the laws must not invoke them in any public sphere" (the NAACP's brief, written by Thurgood Marshall, in the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education desegregation case), to this: local public education establishments routinely taking cognizance of race in assigning children to schools? In 1978, in the Bakke case concerning racial preferences in a medical school's admissions, Justice Lewis Powell wrote that institutions of higher education have a First Amendment right -- academic freedom -- to use race as one"plus" factor when shaping their student bodies to achieve viewpoint diversity. Thus was born the "educational benefits" exception to the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection of the laws. But that hardly justifies assigning 6-year-olds to this or that school solely because of their races. Twenty-five years after Bakke, in 2003, the court approved the University of Michigan law school's use of race in admissions, because that use supposedly involves a "highly individualized, holistic review" of applicants. The court simultaneously disallowed Michigan's undergraduate admissions plan that automatically granted preferences based solely on race -- as Seattle has done in high schools and Louisville has done in kindergarten through grade 12. Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas joined Chief Justice John Roberts's opinion for the court, in which Roberts said: "The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race." Anthony Kennedy, although agreeing that Seattle and Louisville's practices are unconstitutional, chastised Roberts for an "all-too-unyielding" opposition to race-based programs. Yet, when dissenting in the law school case, Kennedy said: "Preferment by race, when resorted to by the state, can be the most divisive of all policies, containing within it the potential to destroy confidence in the Constitution and in the idea of equality." Sandra Day O'Connor, writing the majority's opinion in that 2003 case, breezily asserted that in 25 years racial preferences would not be "necessary" to further diversity. But diversity preferences appeal to race-obsessed social engineers -- a cohort particularly prevalent among today's educators -- precisely because the diversity rationale never expires. The diversity project is forever a work in progress. Seattle's "race-conscious" policies were devised by the sort of people who proclaimed on the school district's Web site that "having a future time orientation" (planning ahead), "emphasizing individualism as opposed to a more collective ideology" and "defining one form of English as standard" constitute "cultural racism" and "institutional racism" and arise from "unsuccessful concepts such as a melting pot or colorblind mentality." Stephen Breyer, in a dissent joined by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, David Souter and John Paul Stevens, said the court should be deferential to such people when they shuffle pupils on the basis of race. Why race? Although progressive people would never stoop to racial stereotyping, they evidently believe that any black or other minority child, however young or from whatever social background, makes a predictable and distinctive -- you might say stereotypical -- contribution to "diversity." Breyer said that last week's decision abandons "the promise of Brown." Actually, that promise -- a colorblind society -- has been traduced by the "diversity" exception to the equal protection clause. That exception allows white majorities to feel noble while treating blacks and certain other minorities as seasoning -- a sort of human oregano -- to be sprinkled across a student body to make the majority's educational experience more flavorful. This repulsive practice merits Clarence Thomas's warning in his opinion concurring with last week's ruling: Beware of elites eager to constitutionalize "faddish social theories." Often, they are only theories. As Roberts said, Seattle and Louisville offered "no evidence" that the diversity they have achieved (by what he has called the "sordid business" of "divvying us up by race") is necessary to achieve the "asserted" educational benefits. Evidence is beside the point. The point for race-mongering diversity tinkerers is their professional and ideological stake in preventing America from achieving "a colorblind mentality."	The point for race-mongering diversity tinkerers is their professional and ideological stake in preventing America from achieving 'a colorblind mentality.'	38.12	0.92	15.08	high	medium	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401218.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401218.html	A Mob-Rule Moment	2007070719	Former senator Fred Thompson has begun his unannounced quest for the Republican presidential nomination by telling audiences in New Hampshire that Washington is badly out of touch with the country. As a senior campaign adviser put it to The Post's Michael Shear, Thompson believes that "the politicians have lost their connection with what people really want and what they really expect." Few if any of the other 17 men and one woman vying for the presidency would be bold enough to challenge Thompson's claim. The belief that official Washington is deaf to the people's wishes is a staple of political rhetoric for both Republicans and Democrats -- even those, including Thompson, who have operated inside the Beltway for decades. Let a reporter who is not running for anything suggest that exactly the opposite may be true: A particularly virulent strain of populism has made official Washington altogether too responsive to public opinion. From Aristotle to Edmund Burke, philosophers have written of the healthy tension that normally exists between the understanding and strategies of leaders and the sentiments and opinions of their people. In today's Washington, a badly weakened president and a dangerously compliant congressional leadership are no match for the power of public opinion -- magnified and sometimes exaggerated by modern communications and interest group pressure. The latest cave-ins involve immigration and trade policy, and both seriously threaten the national interest. The collapse of the immigration reform bill in the Senate last month means that the broken border system, which allows a continuing flood of illegal immigrants to enter the United States with no hope of attaining the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship, will continue for at least two more years. No one is talking of reviving the effort until after the 2008 election installs a new president and Congress. With all its shortcomings, the defeated legislation offered some prospect of improving at least some aspects of that broken system. But it was buried by an avalanche of phone calls to the Capitol from good citizens decrying what they had been told on many talk radio stations and by some conservative politicians: that it was an amnesty bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a man I have criticized on other occasions, stood his ground and produced 33 Democratic votes to move to close debate -- much to his credit. But Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who had promised to support the bill, which was President Bush's last hope for a major domestic victory, saw only a dozen Republicans rally to that cause -- and then bailed out himself, voting no. Predictably, McConnell blamed the defeat on public sentiment. The bill "wasn't the people's will," he told the Louisville Courier-Journal. "And they were heard." The House was no more courageous. A day after the Senate folded on immigration, the Democratic leadership of the House quietly scuttled the president's authority to negotiate trade agreements for the United States.	A particularly virulent strain of populism has made official Washington altogether too responsive to public opinion.	32.529412	1	17	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/20/DI2007062000613.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/20/DI2007062000613.html	Color of Money Book Club	2007070719	Personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary hosted an online discussion with author Lynnette Khalfani, who wrote "Zero Debt for College Grads" (Kaplan, $14.95), on Thursday, July 5 at Noon ET. In her column from June 3, Michelle writes: Some of the best advice comes from people who have gone through something and managed to overcome their troubles. That's why Khalfani's book on how parents and students can pay down student loan debt is the Color of Money Book Club selection for June. Read Michelle's past Color of Money columns. Michelle Singletary: Good afternoon all. Lots of questions so let's get started. salary: I wonder if most students understand what different salaries equate to in take home pay. For instance, if a new grad makes 45k do they know how much they will be bringing home?? What about 75k? My point is that 800 a month is a big deal even if you are talking about a single person making 75k. That will affect someone's standard of living. My husband and I have significant savings and good incomes. We worry about taking a home loan for much more than twice our income. I cant imagine adding student loans to the mix. Think before you amass debt even if it is for a great reason--education. Michelle Singletary: I couldn't resist by starting with this cautionary note. Falls Church, Va.: Hi Michelle, Will refinancing my car loan hurt my credit score?. I know that the bank will be pulling my credit reports and I have worked hard to get my credit in the low 600s from the low 500s alot of credit card mistakes (from college and post college). The rate I currently have is 12.99% the car was purchased for $16,500 (2,600 down payment) and I am currently paying $384 a month on this car I make $50,000/year after taxes.. Should I refinance now or later -- I know I should have bought a used car but I got caught up in the new car on my own thing after college. Michelle Singletary: Need a little more info. How long have you had this car loan? Because if you are half way thu I would say stick it out. And with a credit score still in the low 600s I'm not sure you will get a better refinanced rate. In addition since the car is now considered a used car the rate would additionally be higher. I just read michelle's column and as a student about to graduate from dental school I'm going to pick up your book Ms. Khalfani. Truthfully, I'm not too worried about my ability to pay back my loan, however, I am bothered that family members have undergraduate tutions that cost so much these days. I just don't know if its ever worth paying almost 200 grand for an undergraduate education at a private school. As someone in who has worked 10 years in corporations before going to d-school, I think the value has decreased in a 4 year degree. So with graduate or professional school producing the best lifestyle outcomes shouldn't we be seeking ways to pay less for a decreasing assest and cost effectively expedite our way to post-grad educations. Lynnette Khalfani: There's no question that we should all be concerned about the skyrocketing cost of a college education -- for both undergraduates and graduate students. And yes, I agree that paying 50 grand a year at some of the country's elite private schools is a steep price for a collegiate degree. But I still believe college is "worth it." If you look at the numbers, the U.S. Labor Dept. figures show that people with bachelor's degrees earn 62% more annually than do people with high school diplomas. Lynnette Khalfani: So over a lifetime, that translates into a $1,000,000 earnings gap. So the fact remains that getting a degree gives one at least the opportunity to earn a higher paying salary. Of course, it doesn't always work out that way. But in theory, at least you've got a better shot a snagging a better-paying job with a degree than without. Also, yes, we do need more cost-effective solutions: for undergraduate and graduate education. Vienna, Va.: Avoid so much debt in the first place. I strongly urge parents and students to consider community colleges. In Virginia, at NVCC, there are several guaranteed transfer agreements with four-year schools (including UVA). You will find small classes, excellent professors, and amazing diversity -- at a very low price. Yes, I am biased--I teach there and love it. Michelle Singletary: I like this advice. It's what I often tell parents and students who don't have a dime for college. Think outside the box. Many states have great community colleges, including my home state of Maryland. Washington, D.C.: Hi Michelle - An off topic question about record keeping, if I may. How long is it necessary to save the the paperwork from a house that I bought in '88 and sold in '97? Thank you. Michelle Singletary: Personally, I would keep all important paperwork related to a home purchase. I've found times when I did have to refer back to documents from previous homes. You especially want to keep any and all documents related to the payoff of the home. 20036: I graduated last year and have been making it a priority to pay down my student loans. However, I have one lingering debt from school that I can't seem to get rid of. When I went to school, my mom added me onto her credit card, for of in case of emergency. I haven't used it ever, but she has hit the 7K limit. I'm going to need to buy a new car w/i the next year or so and I have good credit, but I'm worried with that plus my 12K in student loans, I'll have a harder time securing the best financing. What should I do? Closing the card seems like it will hurt my score, but so does keeping it! Lynnette Khalfani: It sounds like you are an "authorized user" on this credit card, as opposed to a "joint" account holder. Nevertheless, if your mom added you to the account and they used your social security number, this credit card is no doubt reflected on your credit files. Therefore, you have to first get your mom to stop charging on the credit card. If it's already at $7K (and counting), that balance will never go down if she's out there running up additional debt. Explain to your mom that you have financial goals (i.e. buying a car, etc.). And let her know that having large credit card debt limits your financial options. You're also correct that closing the card could hurt your FICO credit score, because part of it is based on the length of your credit history, so I wouldn't close out the account. Is it even realistic for parents to believe they can pay for an entire college education for their children, when the costs of college increase by double digits and our paychecks don't? Lynnette Khalfani: Unfortunately, the price of college is getting increasingly out of reach for many middle-class families. That's why the typical college grad from the class of 2007 will leave school with about $20,000 in student loan debt, according to the College Board. The best strategy for parents is to save as early as possible for college -- I'm talking when little Junior is still in diapers; not while he's wearing his high school football jersey. Additionally, families should seek every possible financial alternative to pay for a higher education. I like to see people pursue five different areas of college funding before turning to the student loan market: * work study (yes, many students need to get a JOB!) * family funding (from the student, Mom & Dad, Grandparents and who ever else in the family can help out). I know that you are against taking out loans for graduate school, but I feel like you might want to temper your responses to people-- yes, I took out nearly $80k in loans to go to private graduate school; however, my state school, given their lack of scholarships, would have cost me the same for that degree, and I'm making $30k more than the highest paying job offered me right out of college. Yes, it's stressful, and no, I won't get to enjoy the increased standard of living that the higher salary should give me for a few years... but financially speaking it's still worth it for me and for many others. Michelle Singletary: Not planning to tone down my warnings about college or graduate debt one little bit. Because there are hundreds of thousands of folks out there taking on this debt because they were told it's good debt. It's not. Perhaps it's necessary to take on some debt for this -- perhaps. But for every story like this one I can show you 100 of people who borrowed heavily for graduate school and their pay increases don't even come close to handling the debt payment for decades to come. Albany, N.Y.: I just graduated from Howard Univ. in May and have about $17,000 in student loans. As I begin graduate school in the fall I will be taking out even more loans to fund my education. As a student on a tight budget, what can I do to start paying off loans now so that I can reduce my debt. Lynnette Khalfani: To startin paying off loans now, you can really watch your finances as you prepare to enter graduate school. Think about your housing costs -- maybe you can share an apartment with someone, live with parents, or just have a smaller place than you anticipated (say a studio, instead of a 1-bedroom), in order to cut down on your living expenses. I would put off some luxuries right now -- for instance, do you really need to have cable TV with 100 premium channels? Transportation can be a big expense as well. Don't buy a new car (I generally think you should never buy a new vehicle, because the car will depreciate as soon as you drive it off the lot). Since you graduated from Howard, I don't know if you'll also be attending grad school in the D.C. area, but you've got good public transportation there, so make use of it to cut down on gas, oil changes, etc. if you are now driving a car. New Jersey: I wonder if a change of mindset would help recent grads: I've noticed many bloggers (and their commenters)who write about how they are being forced to "give up" their "carefree" years as young people. Would it help them to know that this idea, that young people can expect perhaps a decade of "carefree" living, from 20-30 years of age, is largely a myth, the creation of advertisers? I'm a baby boomer, and I know that independence was synonymous with poverty. I bought into an alternative scenario where one slowly worked one's way into prosperity (I finally got a house at age 42). It's not a perfect scenario - I regret not traveling more when I was younger - but, truthfully, I didn't have the money. Now I'm starting to travel. I think the rationale was that it was easier to bear hardships when young. Pinching pennies is a near universal experience! Sure it would be nice to be independently wealthy from an early age, but reality is pinching pennies. Lynnette Khalfani: Well said. I tend to agree with you that many (not all, but many) young people think that they either: a) don't have to work while they're in school, or b) should be allowed to have more leisure/fun, or as you put it "carefree" years in their youth. I'm not quite in the baby boom generation (I turn 39 this month) ... but I can definitely identify with your sentiment that when I was younger, and certainly when I was in school, both undergrad and graduate school, I had to pinch pennies. I can recall many nights of Top Ramen noodles and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Now I find myself able to travel and afford the things that I would have LIKED to do when I was younger, but simply couldn't swing financially back then. Gaithersburg, Md.: Michelle....luv your column and chats. What are you feelings on these programs I'm hearing advertised quite a bit lately regarding getting you completely free of debt in 5-7 years? Michelle Singletary: Be careful, very careful. Some are scams. Others are just offering debt management programs or DMPs they are called. The are often run by nonprofits that help you set up a repayment plan wherein you send them one monthly payment and they then send that payment off to your various creditors. If they are legit and good they may be able to get the creditors to stop late payments, lower interest rates, etc. However, if you are not careful pay a lot for this help. You shouldn't pay more than perhap $50 to set up such a program and about $25 to $30 a month in a fee to have them do this for you. I recommend going to www.debtadvice.org New Jersey: I think that living at home has become a reality that can be dealt with as permanent, as it was in the 1930s and 1940s, when unmarried young people lived at home. The three generation home could be the new reality - young people could save money - but they have to contribute monetarily, in time, and in skills - to that household as well. That way they become stakeholders in the arrangement. Lynnette Khalfani: It's interesting that so many young people are moving back home with their parents. I have to say that I have mixed feelings about this so called "boomerang generation." On the one hand, many young people are simply ill-equipped to deal with the financial realities of living on their own. No one has taught them proper money management skills, they lack knowledge about the basics of budgeting, and in most instances recent college grads over-estimate what their starting salaries will be, and they under-estimate what their start-up costs will be (i.e. for getting a new apartment, transportation, paying for their own food, turning on utilities, getting a wardrobe to "look the part" at work, etc.). Lynnette Khalfani: So it's easy to see why today's 20-something crowd often feel the need to go back home to Mom and Dad. At the same time, I worry about enabling an entire generation of people. Every generation has had its share of financial hardships and at some point I think all of us, especially those of use who are parents, have to give our children the freedom and the wings they need to fly on their own and learn financial independence by practicing it. The truth about cars: It is so sad to read about college grads getting caught up in the car thing. Years ago, I was making 38k and bought a 23k car. Needless to say, that was a dumb move. My parents bought me a car during college, I paid it off after college and then drove it til it was actually falling apart. I thought I "deserved" a nice 23k car. STUPID. Now I could pay for that car in cash but I would never buy a car that fancy. In fact, the car we just bought cost alot less than 23k. Cars dont matter. Buy something safe and decent. Grad School : I know a youngish couple and both "only" have bachelors and I guarantee they make more than most couples twice their age and far more than couples their own age. My husband and I only have bachelors and we do just fine. These kids today act like a grad school degree is your ticket. You learn more on the job in most cases than you will in school. Obviously, you "have" to go to dental school to be a dentist. I get that but there are people cleaning up crime scenes making six figures that only went to high school. There are other ways to do what you love and get paid Michelle Singletary: I agree if the point of your comments is to carefully weigh the cost of graduate school with the debt you will accumulate. I went to grad school. I have a masters from Johns Hopkins. But I got my employer to help pay for it. But you know what, I didn't NEED that degree. It helps but most of what I know I learned on the job. Washington, D.C.: Dear Ms. Singletary, I am an 18 year old about to enter college on full paid scholarship. Except for some fees, transportation and items for my dorm, everything else will be taken care of along with a well paying job every summer I am in school and at least 4 years of work guaranteed after I graduate. My question to you is with college being pretty much taken care of and paychecks from my current job as well as savings, what is the best way to make my money work for me instead of letting it earn 1% in a savings account? Thanks for your help and by the way, I am a finance major! Lynnette Khalfani: Kudos to you for starting college on solid financial footing and for landing a good-payng job so early in the process. You should consider establishing an online savings account or perhaps an account through a credit union. You can get rates better than 1% through either of these channels. Beyond that, go ahead and start an investing program. You'll be so thankful in your 30s, 40s and beyond that you starting saving and investing early. Because when other people are lamenting about how broke they are, you'll probably find yourself with a nice five-figure savings/investment account somewhere. So take that money you're getting from your summer job and invest at least 10% of your earnings. Lots of fund companies and investment firms can get you started -- Vanguard, Fidlelity, Charles Schwab, etc. Also, if your job offers a 401(k) plan, contribute to it. You may even get a matching contribution from your employer. Ivy league nonsense: I dated an unambitious guy that went to a top ivy league school. He made less than I did and I went to a state school. School is not the whole story. It is about your goals, personality, work ethic, interests and even appearance. Michelle Singletary: Hey, how did I get so many smart chatters today. Guess the usual critics of my debt-free life are on vacation -- probably putting lots of debt on their credit cards :) Community College: Whats the use?!?! You may get a better education at a CC(who knows), but education is largley perception, and perception becomes reality. If you had 2 resumes on your desk, "A" graduated #1 from whatever community college and "B" graduated from Yale, who do you think would get the first call? Not saying its right, but thats reality. I do some recruiting for my Wall Street firm, if someone from a CC contacted me, I wouldn't waste my time (or theirs) to bring them in. Why offer someone from a CC when people from elite instituions want the same positions? Michelle Singletary: Well shame on you. First of all, the person with a CC degree would likely have a full degree from a full university. You can go to a CC and then transfer to a four-year college and university and your degree will be from that university. You don't even have to put the CC on your resume if you don't want. Second, stop being a snob. And quite frankly I look at people who go the CC route first as someone who knows how to get the most out of their dollar. Common sense and good financial management is something I might add Wall Street and corporate America could use in these days. College Costs: Parents must look at the state prepaid college systems. In Va, one can pay for one's kids' 2025 college at 2007 prices. You'd be a fool not to do it. Lynnette Khalfani: I also like the idea of locking in tuition prices. It really is a great option for many families. State sponsored college savings programs, better known as 529 Plans, are also a fabulous way to save for college. The nation's top authority on 529 Plans is Joe Hurley. He's written a book about 529 Plans and runs a website too. For more info, check it out at http://www.savingforcollege.com. Washington, D.C.: I am sick of people complaining about how my generation is lazy, doesn't want to have to work and expects to get rich quick. I am 25 years old. I worked full-time in undergrad and about to start a graduate program (full-time) without quitting my 80-hour a week (very low-salaried) job. I don't have a stitch of debt, and got my first job at 10. During my college summers I shared a 1-bedroom apartment with five people and worked three-jobs 90 hours a week. Nearly everyone I know in my generation has done the same, and some are still in debt in spite of that (college isn't cheap these days). I can't tell you how many times I've been lectured by someone twice my age about how my generation doesn't know how to manage money/we're all lazy and not willing to do entry level work/we are too spoiled and don't understand the real world. I'd bet that myself and my friends have far less debt on average than the people offering this "advice." We're all struggling to make ends meet, and more than aware of the financial issues that face our generation we don't need smug elders telling us how lazy and worthless we are. Sorry--had to get that out. Michelle Singletary: And out you did. Bowie, Md.: Ms. K, What's your opinion of recent grads buying real estate? I know Michelle bought a condo at 23, and maybe that was a good move at that particular place, time and life-point. But real estate transaction costs are expensive, and few 23yo's have predictably stable enough lives to realistically expect the kind of long-term appreciation necessary to make real estate a good investment. Lynnette Khalfani: I'm a huge fan of buying real estate as soon as you're financially prepared to do so, and once you have the proper education as well, to know the costs, benefits and responsibilities that go along with homeownership. I bought my first home at age 27, and it was one of the best financial decisions I've ever made. Since then I've owned several homes and invested in land and other types of real estate. So I don't think being young is a barrier to building wealth by using property. As a matter of fact, I'm currently serving as the keynote speaking for the Legacy of Homeownership Tour sponsored by Chase to get people to know about the variety of ways that peope can create a great financial foundation and build a wonderful financial legacy through real estate - no matter what generation you're currently in. Arlington, Va.: I have a question about marriage, student loan debts and credit scores. I know you have answered similar questions in the past, but I can't seem to find good information for my situation. I am currently engaged and not planning anything much for the wedding other than having a few family and friends for dinner (which my parents are covering). I have a lot of graduate school loan debt, and my fiance currently is in graduate school as well. We both have some credit card debt. We have a good financial plan in place to aggressively pay down our debts, and other than my fiance's last year of school, we are not accumulating any more debt, just paying down. We have no car payments and are just paying rent currently. My credit score is excellent (high 700's, and his is just fair low 600's). Getting married sooner rather than later makes a lot of financial sense, in terms of saving money on health insurance, auto insurance, and on taxes, the savings from which could all be placed into tackling the debt. The total savings from all of these things will be close to $400 per month. However, I am concerned about how getting married will affect our credit for the future. Would it better in the long run to wait until my fiance's credit score is better, or to use the benefits of marriage now to start really attacking the debt? Lynnette Khalfani: Congratulations on your engagement, and let me put your fears at rest a bit about your fiance's credit. First of all, it's a myth that when you marry your credit scores somehow "merge" together or that you essentially have identical credit files and credit scores. That simply isn't true. I've posed this question directly to the folks at Fair Isaac Corp. (the company that creates FICO credit scores), and they say it's an misconception that once you marry someone their credit files/history becomes yours. Lynnette Khalfani: The truth is: when you marry, you will become jointly liable for debts that you take on together ... For instance, if you buy a home together, if you purchase a car jointly, or if you co-sign on a credit card application together, then yes, those liabilities are both of yours to pay. Even if you later divorce, and one party agrees to pay all the debts, under the law, you're both still on the hook for what you both signed on the dotted line to re-pay. Lynnette Khalfani: You don't have to "wait" until your fiance's score improves in order to get married. But the bigger question may be if you are concerned about your fiance's overall money-management habits and skills. If that's an issue for you, then be honest and let him know that you want him to work on that. There's no shame in someone trying to boost his or her financial literacy. In the meantime, the best way he can increase his FICO score is to pay ALL his bills on time, not take on additional unnecessary debts, and to keep any revolving debts he does have at manageable levels. In other words, no maxing out the credit cards. By the way, I'm getting married too -- and soon! This Saturday, 7/7/07 is our big day! :-) Washington, D.C.: What advice would you give parents and students about these car loans targeted at students with the deferred payment plans until after graduation? Michelle Singletary: Can you tell me more about this. I have not heard of such programs. But frankly I would totally and utterly frown on someone in college taking on a car loan that was deferred until after graduation. I'm assuming the interest payments are added onto the loan making it very expensive and likely the student will be upside down on the loan. I also attend graduate school in the DC area and would like to recommend that you inquire about the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant (DC TAG) Program Private College Option since you have resided in the city for 12 months. This option offers up to $2500 for all private colleges, including black colleges. Please visit the program's website at http://www.dccap.org/financial/dc_programs.shtml. Michelle Singletary: Thanks for passing this along. Atlanta, Ga.: To echo an earlier poster: The 'carefree' existence many youngsters have/had was because their PARENTS worked hard. Most kids don't understand that their parents didn't start out that way. Boohoo if you can't go on vacation every year. I didn't truly have vacations til I was in my late twenties, and I didn't go very far. That was after waiting tables after undergrad, and deciding I'd like a better future. So I went to grad school. But although I would have liked to have a similar lifestyle after college as I had had before, I knew I'd have to work for it, and it was 'free' because my parents were paying for it up til then... Michelle Singletary: We oldtimers know what's best, don't we? Although I do agree that not all young people are money stupid. I was born with money smarts. Even as a baby when I spotted a penny on the floor I didn't put it in my money, I crawled to put it in my piggy bank. Greenbelt, Md.: Hi Lynnette. My husband and I both have Master's Degrees. He went to a very expensive private university, and aside from a small scholarship, his parents paid for all of his college expenses (about $200,000) on their own--I have no idea how they did this. He waited until he had a good job to start graduate school part time and paid for that on his own. I started at a community college, then went to a state university, and paid for it all with loans. My BA (psychology) didn't support a career-type job so I waited tables through graduate school and took out more student loans. Now, I'm pregnant with our first child, and my husband thinks that his private school education was so valuable that we can't give anything less to our kids (we're planning to have 3 or 4). He also wants us to pay for 100% of their college tuition. I agree that I don't want our kids to have the same student loan debt that I have, but I can't imagine paying $200,000 or more for each of our kids to go to college, especially when we may still be paying for my student loans at that point. Do you have any advice for college savings plans or ways to pay for college that might help us? Lynnette Khalfani: I mentioned 529 Plans to another person. This would be a great way for you and your husband to save fore college. Get more info online at www.savingforcollege.com. Not sure what state you live in, but you can also lock in tuition rates at today's prices through various college savings/payment programs. But a word about your husband's desire to pay for 100% of their college tuition. Don't worry yourself wragged over that -- especially while you're pregnant. The truth is that your kids are ultimately going to decide where they go to school. You guys may have 3 or four children, as you're planning to do, and then one or two of them may say "I want to go to a state school" or "I don't want to go to college at all." (I hope the latter won't be the case, but it's possible). But really, my point is that you should save aggressively for college, without killing yourselves financially. Let your husband know that you guys don't have to foot the entire bill in this day and age. There are scholarships, grants, the kids can work, etc. Also, you two shouldn't sacrifice your retirement savings just to pay for college. That's not a smart financial decision. Debt for graduate school: Could I weigh in? I graduated with a professional degree (DVM), and many of my classmates had $80,000+ in student loans just from that. A friend of mine was paying $900.00/month to try to pay that debt off in 10 -15 years. Be very careful. Those student loans can delay your home-buying plans, etc. Thanks so much to you, Michelle. Michelle Singletary: You are so welcome! I do some recruiting for my Wall Street firm: Hard to believe since he doesn't know that one can only get an Associate's degree from a community college, not a bachelor's Michelle Singletary: Not hard to believe. Get out of debt programs: I just wanted to say that there are some good debt counseling programs out there. If you have unmanageable credit card debt, the credit card company itself usually will direct you to a reputable debt counseling program because they want their money. My husband and I have spent the last 5 years in one such program and as of this fall we will be credit card debt free. It took some dedication, but it was worth it. And all we had to do was call our credit card companies and ask for help. The debt counseling folks helped us pick a manageable monthly payment, our interest rates were cut from 29% to 10% (still not great, but so much better). Then we set up direct withdrawal from our checking account to make the payment every month so we never miss it. five years may seem like a long time, but it's gone by very quickly for us! Michelle Singletary: Love your testimony. Rockville, Md. :"I'm going to need to buy a new car .." This may be a rare event where a lease would work. Michelle Singletary: Dave Ramsey (radio host and bestselling author of some great financial books: "A lease is a fleece." Capitol Hill: I have been accepted into a two year masters program, but few scholarships or grant opportunities are available to me. I've been encouraged by some to pursue a 5+ year Ph.D. instead because students in these programs are usually first to receive funding from the university. I'm not opposed to pursuing a Ph.D., but 5+ years is a long time. Financially do you think it makes more sense to pursue a degree that will leave me with little to no debt? Or is it a better financial idea to take out student loans, knowing that I will be back in the workforce in 2 years, making at least 65k/year? Lynnette Khalfani: I don't think you can count on any guaranteed minimum when you get out of school, and certainly not $65K. I don't know what your major would be in graduate school, or what your career field is, but I caution you against making an assumption like that. Lots of people get out of school, even with master's degrees, and can't find a job at all. Let alone a $65,000 a year job. To be honest, I would go for the 5-year Ph.D. if that's the option that would leave you debt free. The extra 3+ years will require more work, sacrifice, etc. But look at it this way, you'll get another credential under your belts (a Ph.D. and not just a MA), and someone else will be footing the bill. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Hi Michelle, No question, but a comment. I want to encourage everyone, but especially those younger readers, to go zero debt, the quicker the better. I had a culture of debt around me for a long time, and couldn't imagine living without credit cards or a car loan (gasp). Years later, I have student loan debt, but we just paid off our credit cards and, after paying off our car, my husband and I are going to drive it into the ground. It's really hard, and forget about support from people around you. I have more than one so-called friend who stopped talking to me after I couldn't attend an outrageous destination wedding or just couldn't keep up with the expensive dinners and vacations. I've found out that fiscal responsibility can make people uncomfortable. The difference is that, now, when I drive my no-frills paid-off car, instead of being embarassed that I don't have a nice car (I'm driving a 15 year old volvo) I know I'm doing what's best for me, and my family AND I can sleep at night, knowing that even if I'm not fully funding college savings accounts, etc now, I will and I have the dicipline to do so. I know this was long, but listen now! I wish someone had talked some sense into me in my 20s. And thanks for all you do Michelle. It really is a service. Michelle Singletary: Another great testimoney people. Boston, Mass.: These comments about unnecessary graduate programs make it tough for someone like me, figuring out a law degree and master's degree, which I see as vital for my ability to accomplish what I would like to. If I am in the position of going to grad school with few savings, what kind of loan do you suggest? What is available and how can I save and pay back my loans as they come? Lynnette Khalfani: Many people with law degrees today are leaving school with six-figures worth of debt. If you need a law degree for your intended profession and you desire to go on to graduate school, then go for it -- after careful consideration of the financial realities. Many schools and law firms now offer so-called LRAPs - Loan Repayment Assistance Programs, just for lawyers and others in the legal field. I describe many of them in my book, Zero Debt for College Grads. You should also know that many school-based loan programs for people like you will allow the school to repay your loan if you work in a given area (say an under-served community) for a specified period of time. Alternatively, many employers are willing to pay off your student loans if you commit to a set number of years working them them (usually at least two years). Rockville, Md. : I managed to finish my education (to a PhD) with no debit - but I also had GI Bill money helping me. Is that an alternative for those looking for an education today? Lynnette Khalfani: There are a host of military-related programs that help people pay off student loan debt. Vista, Peace Corps, enlisted personnel and even reservists can get help with their student loans repayments in exchange for their service. Michelle Singletary: Well folks, the time is up. I'm so, so sorry if we didn't get to your question. I value the time it takes to write in. Often, as many of you know, I will take the leftover questions and answer them in either my print column or in my e-letter (please subscribe). So keep an eye out for the column or e-letter for answers to some of your questions. Thanks to Lynnette and I certainly hope her wedding date is wonderful. 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.	Personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary hosts a discussion with author Lynnette Khalfani about her new book "Zero Debt for College Grads."	320.583333	1	4	high	high	mixed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/07/04/DI2007070401205.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/07/04/DI2007070401205.html	Slate: Human Guinea Pig	2007070719	Over the course of three days recently, I had 23 head-to-toe physicals from 23 second-year students at the Georgetown School of Medicine. I was the first person these would-be doctors had ever fully examined on their own. Slate writer Emily Yoffe (aka "Dear Prudence") tries things readers have too much dignity to do themselves for her "Human Guinea Pig" column. She was online Thursday, July 5 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss her adventures, which also have included entering the Mrs. America Contest, trying out the lifestyle of a senior citizen, feebly attempting to entertain kids at a birthday party, and test-driving an ultra-low calorie diet. Trial-Run Patient for Medical Students (Slate, June 26)\| Series Archive Yoffe writes for Slate about pets, manners and morals, and things normal people have too much dignity to try. Her articles also have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, O the Oprah Magazine, Texas Monthly, The Washington Post, among other publications. She is the author of the book, "What the Dog Did: Tales from a Formerly Reluctant Dog Owner." Emily Yoffe: Hi, I'm Emily Yoffe, Slate's "Human Guinea Pig." Today I'm going to be talking about my experiences as a "standardized patient" in which I volunteered to be examined by 23 Georgetown University Medical Students and lived to tell about it. Seattle, Wash.: How did you find this job? It sounds like the perfect day job for me, but I E-mailed the local medical school (University of Washington) and they didn't seem to know what I was talking about. I even mentioned being an actor, and they didn't seem to think that qualified as "relevant experience." Is there some kind of central patient casting agency? Emily Yoffe: Try this site.The association for standardized patient educators. They may be able to direct you to who at your local medical school handles standardized patients. Being an actor is very relevant. They look for actors! Fayetteville, Ark.: As one of those "fifty-ish" physicians you mention in your charming piece, we did not learn on sample patients when I was in med school. Although it would no longer be considered acceptable and likely bred some bad habits, at my top-tier U.S. medical school, we learned on living, occasionally breathing, real patients. The motto was "watch one, botch one." With minimal supervision and no hidden cameras, we simply went to the ER at the adjoining public hospital and helped the residents clear out the chart rack of sick and injured patients that were crowding the emergency department. The budding surgeons helped put in IV's in the "knife and gun club victims" seen in the trauma rooms, and nascent gynecologists learned to identify the "PID shuffle" in the poor souls who had waited to treat their STDs until they could barely stand. It was hardly a way to deliver quality health care or impart good clinical teaching, and I trust that these experiences have largely gone the way of electro-convulsive therapy, but we came out of med school knowing which end of the otoscope was up. Emily Yoffe: Thanks so much. For people who might stumble into emergency rooms today, I'm glad the system has changed. But medical students stumbling around inside innocent patients does make for good stories. I'm glad you think this new system is better. Some doctors think the way they learned is the best way. Nashville, Tenn.: What was the funniest question a med student asked? Did you ever have to "break" character? Any residual pain from the experience? Emily Yoffe: One of my favorite comments from the students was when one was testing the muscle strength of my legs and arms and after I pushed back really hard he said, impressed, "Did you do sports when you were young -- I mean NOW!" That made me feel old. When the student took my bra off, I did contemplate ending the exam, but I didn't want to get him in that much trouble, and I thought, "I've got to see how this plays out." Harrisburg, Pa.: Did any of the 23 doctors observe anything that none of the others did not, and did this seem to be a worthwhile observation? Emily Yoffe: One said I had "good mucosa" -- which is something we all want to hear. I asked the doctor in charge what was the protocol if one of the students found something alarming and she said they weren't there to diagnose anything. Chevy Chase, Md.: I am an aspiring doctor, and I would like to know what were some of the things that made you score some medical students higher than others. Emily Yoffe: They got a high score if they didn't stab me with their instruments. Most of them were nervous (a few impressively confident and skillful) and I thought it was better for them to admit their nervousness than pretend they weren't. One who was shaking kept saying to me, "Relax, relax!" even though I was very relaxed. I hope you follow your dream! Boston, Mass.: I enjoyed your piece about being a patient. Have you read any of George Plimpton's experiential books (he went to the Detroit Lions training camp in one)? Where do you draw the line in experiences you won't try? Emily Yoffe: I haven't read the books, although I remember him well. I should go look them up. If you've seen the column, I don't draw too many lines -- I was a street performer at the corner of 18th and M in downtown D.C. I am, however, a physical chicken. No washing windows on a skyscraper. Herndon, Va.: Ms. Yoffe: I admire you taking on the daunting task of submitting to 23 examinations by fledging doctors. Would I be right in assuming more of the males seemed uneasy than the females? I would think a "first" exam is tougher if the "patient" is of the opposite sex. Emily Yoffe: I wondered myself if there would be any sex difference and surprisingly, there wasn't. Some of the women were extremely uncomfortable and had no idea how to handle the gown and drape. Some of the male doctors knew exactly what to do to maintain some modesty and also do a cardiac exam. New York, N.Y.: Hi Ms. Yoffe, I just completed my first year of medical school, and thoroughly enjoyed your column. I have had a few experiences with patient-actors, and have found them to be pretty absurd -- both the patient and the student know that this is a patently false and staged experience, yet we have to go through the motions. At the same time, however, I thought it was useful. Do you feel it was a worthwhile experience for the medical students? And did any of your students succumb to the temptation, that I've felt many times, to talk to you out of character? Emily Yoffe: I hope it was worthwhile for the students! I think this is a great innovation because they get to mess up and be nervous without hurting or infuriating real patients. I did observe some of the other medical students and the standardized patients who were portraying an older person who had fallen, and the SPs seemed very convincing to me. A few of students acknowledged that they knew I was a "fake" but the exam was actually real. One student did ask me where the recording camera was. Washington, D.C.: Do you recommend joining this guinea pig program if you're an aspiring actor? Would this improve one's chances of being an extra on "ER"? Emily Yoffe: I think it's great for the aspiring actor because after talking to the other standardized patients -- almost all of whom were actors. They said this was some of the best money they earned. Aside what what I learned about medical school, it reinforced my knowledge that the actor's life is hard. As for "ER," I think you have to be on a gurney in LA for that. Baltimore, Md.: I am am a OB-GYN professor and have been in the field for more than 25 years. Just for the record, no female physician undresses or performs a pelvic or a breast exam on a female patient without a chaperone. The point of the chaperone is not really to protect the patient. We assume, or hope, at least that medical student and medical professionals are not sexual deviants or predators. The chaperone is there to protect the medical student or professional from an unwarranted accusation against which there is otherwise no defense. Emily Yoffe: Fascinating. I never thought of it from the perspective of protecting the doctor! I coordinate the standardized patient program at Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona. I laughed a lot as I read your article. You sound like you are very good with the students. It takes a special kind of person to work well with student doctors, physician assistants, pharmacologists, podiatrists, dentists.... Emily Yoffe: Thanks so much. It was really fun and it brought up my own memories of stumbling around trying to become a journalist (a stage which some readers believe I've never passed). It was fascinating to see people who end up being god-like acting like baby ducklings. Washington, D.C.: Did you get any feel for which students, if any, were completely unsuited for the profession, and would be better off in research or leaving medicine altogether? I wonder who tells these kids that. Their instructors, I hope. I was pleased to hear that the professors were watching the exams from outside the room. Emily Yoffe: I was talking to the other standardized patients and they all say there is a category of medical student they hope only goes into pathology. There were a few who just had star quality, and a few others who seemed so in over their heads. But it's so early in their careers I felt I couldn't make a judgment that any of them should abandon medicine. New York, N.Y.:"She said they weren't there to diagnose anything." What does that mean? That if something serious was found nothing would be done? Emily Yoffe: Yes! I did think, "I've just had 23 physicals, and if I find out there is something actually wrong with me, I'm going to be really annoyed." Nashville, Tenn.: I have my info session/interview on Aug. 7 at Vanderbilt Medical School. Any advice? Emily Yoffe: If you're talking about advice for being a standardized patient (as opposed to being a med student) yes, if you're a woman shave your legs (I didn't the first day and was so embarrassed every time they checked my knee reflex), and wear nice underwear! Columbia, Md.: I think that if any doctor had done what Dr. I did, I would have stopped the exam. I do have to wonder what his specialty is going to be and would hazard a guess that he will become a GYN. Emily Yoffe: You're talking about the doctor who unsnapped and peeled off my bra in order to listen to my heart. Actually he reminded me of the old joke, "What do you call the person who graduates last in the medical school class?" Brooklyn, N.Y.: When I lived in England, I saw a magazine ad looking for "grousers." This is someone who assists hunters, and their dogs, by scaring up grouse out of the thickets so they can be shot to death. You might want to look into that for a future column. Emily Yoffe: Oh, boy -- don't know if I have the stomach for that. Although I do have a beagle which is supposed to be a rabbit hunter. My beagle, thank goodness, is too incompetent to hurt a little bunny. Washington, DC: Emily, I am a recent college grad who is huge fan of your column, and have even joined the Facebook group "Emily Yoffe Keeps Me Coming Back to Slate.com"! How goes your participation on Facebook recently? Do you enjoy the new applications? Have you made any new friends? Emily Yoffe: Thanks so much. Yes, I am the world's oldest Facebook participant. I have exchanged many E-mails with my new Facebook friends. As you mentioned, Facebook keeps adding new features, and I have to ask my young Slate colleagues what they mean. Durham, Maine: How come every one of your "Human Guinea Pig" pieces seems to involve you getting disrobed? Emily Yoffe: That's not fair -- only 90 percent do! For the vast majority (singing debut, oil rig visit, vow of silence, etc, etc) I stay dressed. The disrobing ones may be the most memorable (or disturbing). Washington, D.C.: So after taking 23 physicals, you would now have to go take one from your doctor to find out if something is wrong with you? In a country as lawsuit-happy as this one, I find it hard to believe they haven't been sued for something like that. Emily Yoffe: I had to sign a waiver (what does it say about me that I don't remember reading the fine print). I'm sure I signed away my right to sue because a 2nd year student missed something nasty. Just for the record, no female physician undresses or performs a pelvic or a breast exam on a female patient without a chaperone.: That's not true. My female doc conducts breast exams without a third party witness. Guess I'm lucky she doesn't assume I'll make a false accusation; glad that lady isn't my doc. Emily Yoffe: Yes, I actually have been examined by both female and male gynecologists without a nurse in the room. Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C.: Have you ever met the guy who hosts "Dirty Jobs" on the Discovery Channel? You two would probably hit it off. That, or you'd be competing to one up each other with your stories. Emily Yoffe: I've seen the show and he's very clever. I think he'd win with that episode in which a snake sunk its fangs into his arm. One who was shaking kept saying to me, "Relax, relax!" even though I was very relaxed.: Poor kid! I just get so sympathetic reading your funny description! Emily Yoffe: I know. It really made me look at doctors differently and have more respect for what they do to get where they are. And the responsibility! In most professions, if you make a mistake you just have to apologize and fix it. If a doctor makes a mistake, a life can be ended. Washington, D.C.: If they can't tell you if something was wrong, how did you know they missed "something nasty"? I'd ask what it was, but ... nah. Emily Yoffe: I meant I'd hate to find out after all my exams that I'm not in perfect health -- especially since I was told I had good mucosa and good bowel sounds. Arlington, Va.: Thank you for the wonderful article. The "Human Guinea Pig" is my favorite series of articles. I sent this one to a friend who just started her internship at the Mayo Clinic. I hope it makes her laugh as much as I did! Emily Yoffe: Thanks so much. I have heard from several medical students who said they recognized themselves and their classmates (the nervous laughers, the deadly with instruments, the smooth operators). New York, N.Y.: I'm also a med student, and really enjoyed your piece. Though the standardized patient has become a big part of medical school (at least at my school), there are still some things we practice on each other for the first time -- most notably drawing blood. Just be glad your physical didn't include any lab work.... Emily Yoffe: I don't think I would have signed up for 23 blood samples -- I'd have to call the column "Human Porcupine." As a patient, it's clear that being able to draw blood requires a certain talent that not every medical professional has. You're right, the standardized patient is becoming standard in medical schools, as the schools address the question of how to better develop doctors' communication skills. Washington, D.C.:"My beagle, thank goodness, is too incompetent to hurt a little bunny." Careful, that's what I always said about my mildly retarded (but very sweet) cat. I was shocked speechless when he dispatched a mouse in the basement and laid its little corpse at the foot of my bed. Your next gig should be in the janitorial industries. I'm curious about what people throw away, and what sorts of things they tuck under their desks. Emily Yoffe: Good idea! I'll look into it. Northeast, Washington, D.C.: Emily -- thanks for volunteering to be a standardized patient. My wife just graduated from medical school and I'm glad she had people to practice stuff on besides me. I was surprised by the age of many of her classmates -- many were not fresh out of college, having chosen medicine as a second career. Did you notice any difference in the manners of the soon-to-be doctors in relation to their age? Emily Yoffe: You're a good husband. Hope you now get excellent and free medical care. Most of the students looked about the same age -- very early twenties. One guy seemed a little older and he was great -- very skilled and not at all nervous. I did want to ask him what he'd done before medical school, but I wasn't supposed to break into my journalist mode. Philadelphia, Pa.: My fiancee just finished her second year of med school, and I've noticed that the population of her class seems to be equally split between the half who, grading on a gentle curve, seem normal, and the half who are definitely aliens. (I recently had the experience of watching at a bar as two second years who must be from Neptune mimed out the female pelvic exam with their fingers in the air. Very gross, though bizarrely hard to stop watching.) What I've always wondered is whether the roughly normal group are actually better at doctoring than the weirdos. Among the would-be doctors who examined you, were basic social skills a good proxy for who did a good job and who did a dreadful job, or was there something else that made them successes or failures as physical examiners? Emily Yoffe: Interesting and disturbing observations about your fiancee's classmate, because all of them will have a white coat with M.D. stitched on it. But we've all had doctors whose personalities seemed, well, defective. There seemed to be a general correlation between good social skills and eye contact, and examination skills. But some really awkward ones actually did fine when it came to examining me. Bethesda, Md.: Hi. This piece is great. I graduated from med school eight years ago and at that time we only had standardized patients for the male (urology) and female (gyn) exams. It was a great way to learn how to do a proper and thorough exam. My two "patients" were a nurse anesthetist (the man) and a midwife(the woman) so there was no BS-ing either one of them. The woman gave hints about how to make the examinee more relaxed during the exam ... talking to the patient the entire time you are examining her to let her know exactly what you are doing. Even though I now work in a different part of the body, I talk to my patients about what I am seeing the whole time. As a patient, I hate that silence while a doctor is looking and then that painful pause between the end of the exam and when they tell you what's up. Enjoy your exams and thanks from those of us that you are training. Emily Yoffe: Thanks and excellent points about talking. Maybe not every patient likes it, but I really appreciate when a doctor says, "I'm feeling for your liver" etc. I'm fascinated that an M.D. has a critique about how other doctors go about their examination. The people who are trained to be genital/urinary standardized patients really do instruct the young doctors in how to perform the exam, what hurts, when to press harder etc. What an amazing job! Kingstowne, Va.: Can I receive free treatment by volunteering to be a patient? Emily Yoffe: Go with that "second thought." Clinton, N.Y.: I love you, Emily Yoffe! You always bring to light the funny, telling detail and your Dear Prudence advice is fab. Suggestion for a "Human Guinea Pig" gig: Do a cooking class, not at CIA or the like, but at a Y, or some such more modest operation. I am a nervous wreck in the kitchen, and have always wondered whether a course would make me any more competent or confident. Emily Yoffe: Thank you so much. I'm also one of those freaked out cooks. I'm so glad I don't have an open kitchen, that way my guests don't see me bleeding and crying on their food. I think going to a really serious cooking school would be a fun "Guinea Pig." New York, N.Y.: Have you ever considered backup singer for jingles? Every time I hear an add with a jingle that involves multiple singers I can't help but to imagine them in the recording studio singing these cheesy/odd lines. For example the loan ad for 8-6-6-66-Faster, "You've got the Green Light." And these are good singers. Are they professional backups, karaoke flies, American Idol rejects? I'd like you to find out. Thanks. Emily Yoffe: I did make my singing debut at Strathmore Hall for "Human Guinea Pig." My editor said listening to it was the aural equivalent of watching the Hindenberg explode. Gaithersburg, Md.: I really enjoy the "Human Guinea Pig" series. I was wondering how the "Dear Prudence" experience is different for you. Certainly the readers seem more ... um ... pointed ... in their opinions. Emily Yoffe: They are different, but I love the reader feedback from "Prudence" because people will immediately tell me if they disagree (strenuously) with my advice. I learn a lot from them. A good bedside manner is nice: But I'm much more interested in a knowledgeable doctor; I'd gladly sacrifice some social skills for a top-notch surgeon. In fact, I don't think one person can be all, so I'd rather have the doctoring skills. I have my own friends on the outside, thanks. What I need is an orthopedic surgeon, and if he's a little low on the social skills, that's okay, you'd have to have a bit of an ego to be able to cut into people and save lives. Emily Yoffe: Good point. But I know from (too many) friends who have cancer that it's very disturbing if your oncologist does not make a human connection with you. With your surgeon, during most of your relationship you're unconscious. With other doctors, you want good medicine, absolutely, but feeling your are a real person to your doctor is also important. Emily Yoffe: Thanks everyone for your fascinating questions and good "Human Guinea Pig" suggestions! 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.	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.	115.219512	0.560976	0.707317	high	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/07/DI2007060701449.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/07/DI2007060701449.html	Apartment Life Live	2007070719	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: Is anybody even here today during this holiday week? Regardless of holidays, apartment life must go on, so for those who are stopping by today, thank you and ask away about all things related to living in rental housing. Washington, D.C.: I'm sick of paying $2,200 rents and being dissatisfied, as my building just had to hire a security company to protect residents in the building. Is there any hope for some break in rental prices? Sara Gebhardt: Let's never rule out hope. Your sentiments are shared by many renters in the region. The problem, however, is that there is high enough demand for apartments here that there is probably little chance there will be significant breaks in rental prices any time soon. You do have opportunities to shop around right now though and find better services for the money you are spending. Belmont, Mass.: Wondered if rent is always due on first of the month. Does it matter? I'm moving in on the 20th of next month and can't figure how I'll remember to pay rent on such a random day each month. Sara Gebhardt: Rent is usually due on the first day of the month, although landlords are normally legally free to establish different schedules for a monthly payment date. If you find it easier to pay regularly on the first of each month, just ask your landlord to prorate your rent for the first month. I'm sure he/she would go along with this common system. Remember not to worry about such things before you inquire about them. Richmond, Va.: I recently got denied an apartment based on my credit check. I'm pretty certain my credit is good. How can I check to see if the landlord told me the truth (and didn't discriminate) as to why he didn't choose me? Sara Gebhardt: You can easily obtain a copy of your credit report, and generally for free if you've been denied an apartment because of it. Contact the major credit bureaus--Experian, Equifax, and Trans Union--and get a copy so you can see if there are any errors on it to correct. Usually, if there are errors, you can file a form to have them (the errors) investigated, and if you're right, then the bureau has to delete the info. from your file. It'll be good to know your credit report anyway before applying for other apartments and getting denied. Washington, D.C.: My roommate wants to get a cat. I don't really care for animals, but the lease allows them, and we do have the occasional mouse in our apartment. What should I do? I'm friends with my roommate, and the cat thing seems important to her. Sara Gebhardt: An occasional mouse and a friend as a roommate should not make you concede to having a pet in your apartment if you're not in love with that idea. I'd say, if you're not a pet lover, tell your roommate that you just don't want to live with a cat. There's no use trying to be someone you're not--it could put a damper on your friendship as well as your living situation. And there are other ways to get rid of the occasional mouse. Baltimore County, Md.: I've been a renter for 20 years. I never dreamed that when I moved from the city to a more suburban location that I would lose some pretty basic protections as the suburban location has NO tenant protection laws. My landlord has the right to enter my apartment at any time for any reason with no notice. My landlord refuses to fix things in a timely manner and my only recourses are housing inspectors who take weeks to set up an appointment and giving the landlord 30 days to fix things like plumbing leaks and holes in the ceiling. So, a word of advice to all: Read that lease. You cannot rely on some set of common sense, standard tenant protection laws. They don't exist. Sara Gebhardt: Just a comment worth posting for discussion, and for the simple advice of "read the lease." Thanks. South Georgia: Hey Sara! I've been waiting for this chat for almost a month. Husband and I just moved into a rental house from an apartment and have faced some issues we've never had to deal with before. The most pressing one is a bill we received from the rental company (our house is owned by a person but brokered by a company) for sending someone out to turn on our water heater. When my husband moved in the hot water had not been turned on and he called the rental company, as we would have in an apartment, and they said they'd send someone out to look at it. No mention of a fee or him trying to do it himself, etc. Then a week later we received a bill for $45. My instinct is that this is regular upkeep and not our responsibility, but it blows my mind they'd even attempt to collect from us. Am I wrong? He's going to do battle with them this afternoon. BTW, the lease has no mention of our being responsible for anything besides damage we cause and lawn maintenance. Thanks! Sara Gebhardt: Thanks for waiting for the chat for almost a month. I'll say your instincts are certainly right. Unless otherwise stated in the lease, it is unlikely that you would have to pay to have these services rendered. What you should do, depending on how it goes with the meeting between your husband and the property manager, is contact your local housing office and ask about the legal basis for the property manager's actions in this situation. It actually would be a good idea to do this anyway so that you understand the terms of your tenancy and your rights before dealing with a potentially shifty landlord/property manager for the length of your tenancy. Good luck. Arlington, Va.: Maybe I'm completely out of touch with reality, but with rental prices continuing to go up, couldn't there conceivably be a rental crash, like there was the condo crash recently? Yes, demand is high, but in the real world, people can only afford to pay so much per month and still be able to eat. Sooner or later you'd think the economics of sky-high prices would have people moving to less expensive areas, leaving you with something of a rental glut, much like the current condo glut. Am I way off base in this assessment? Sara Gebhardt: I wouldn't say you are totally off base, but I would say that in the history of the housing market in Washington, DC, where people always want to live and where vacancy rates are usually low (now they're about 3 percent, which is higher than last year's 2 percent), the demand seems to hold strong. Sure, the condo market's apparent slow down has helped renters have more options (with condo buildings reverting to apartments), but it still hasn't knocked the prices down all that much. That said, I am no economist, I just highly doubt the "crash" will be felt in Washington, where even apartments in further out areas such as Reston and Gaithersburg have relatively high rents compared to other places in the country. Can't figure how I'll remember to pay rent on such a random day each month: Sign up for auto payment with your bank: might be able to negotiate a little discount from your landlord if you agree to autopayment. Sara Gebhardt: This is a great idea. Thanks! Va.: Is there a good way to estimate your utility costs and general expenses other than rent in the VA metro area? I'm trying to figure out about how much I can afford before I move out and I can't seem to budget w/o knowing this. Help! Sara Gebhardt: Good question. Ask around to people you know living in apartments in the area. Often apartment managers can estimate the prices for utilities for you, based on actual bills their residents get. But just for a general estimate, it would be helpful to talk to friends for anecdotal evidence and maybe even the utility company. Remember that different types of housing will yield much different utility costs -- rental houses vs. apartments, heating included vs. not, etc. Chances are if your utilities are built in to the rent, though, it'll be reflected in the overall price. To Richmond, Va.: If you think you were denied an apt because of discrimination, call HOME -- Housing Opportunities Made Equal in Richmond! Sara Gebhardt: Thanks for the tip. Obviously, if there is proof or an inkling of discrimination, you should seek help with local housing organizations. Credit: The landlord should give you specific standards you did not meet -- not just tell you "your credit isn't good enough." Read up on the Fair Credit Reporting Act to see your rights regarding what happens when you get rejected based on credit issues. On the other hand, what is "good" to the prospective renter may not be "good" to the landlord. I had pretty high standards when I was a landlord. Sara Gebhardt: Thanks for the comment. Philadelphia, Pa.: Hello Sara. Recently pot smoke has begun wafting into my apartment almost every night. My apartment windows open into a courtyard type area and several other buildings also have windows opening to this area. I am not sure where the smell is coming from or even how to locate it. I would like to shout "Please do your illegal activity elsewhere!" but I don't know if that would be very effective. Fans haven't helped disperse the smell out of my small apartment and I would rather not close the windows and run the A/C (which I pay for) just because someone has to share their private activity in a semi-public space. How can I make them stop? Thanks for any ideas! Sara Gebhardt: This is not the first time someone has posed this question. Have you talked to your landlord about it? You probably want someone to intervene, especially if you think it's coming from the courtyard, and if you cannot figure out the source of the problem. I know from past experience that other people might tell you to call the police--but that is up to you. I think trying to deal with the problem through other means of handling complaints with neighbors--asking people to be more considerate and then involving the landlord--is the first step you should take. New York, N.Y.: Apologies in advance, you must get this question about 100 times a chat, but I am moving to D.C. in September. I don't know much about the rental market, but the parts I was looking at don't seem all that much cheaper than NYC (although you hopefully get more space for your buck). I hear Dupont Circle and Foggy Bottom (I think) are fun areas of the city to live in. I also have a bunch of friends who live right over in Arlington, but being from NYC, I don't have a car and don't really want to buy one. I would be looking for a single place for no more than $1,600/month. Do you think those areas in D.C. or possibly Arlington (sans car) would be feasible? Sara Gebhardt: I try not to promote different neighborhoods, since living anywhere in any type of environment is such a matter of personal choice. But I will pose this for the chatters anyway. Also, many parts of Arlington are completely do-able sans car, and chances are you will get more bang for your buck in DC. Cat in apt.: Couple of other issues to consider: If the cat causes damage (and boy, can they -- I learned that myself the hard way), BOTH of the people on the lease are 100% responsible. If the cat belongs to your roomie, you should have her sign (notarize it) a document stating she will refund to you any money you don't get back as part of a security deposit due to pet damage. Also, not all cats chase/kill mice. And if you tell a pound that you are looking for a cat because you have mice, you get put on a list and won't be allowed to adopt. At least, the Baltimore city shelter did that to me. Apparently it is cruel (to the cat or the mouse -- they didn't make that part clear) to adopt a cat for this reason. Sara Gebhardt: Advice for person whose roommate wants a cat. Thanks. M Street NW: Re: Apartment price crash. While not a huge amount, I did manage to negotiate a $55/month price decrease in my rent for my most recent renewal. This was with a major rental conglomerate, too. So, you never know until you try. Ask your landlord or leasing company. Sara Gebhardt: Ah, success! I love these stories. It's true, you have to ask for concessions if you want them. Re: Utility turn ons: You guys are off-base. When moving into a new rental, not managed by a property management company, the tenant is responsible for the charges incurred with turning on or transferring utilities (gas, water, electricity, cable, etc). It's just one more expense when moving into a new rental place... Sara Gebhardt: You may be right in a general sense, but it still depends on the lease and the law. Baltimore, Md.: My fiancee and I live in a condo and want to move to a house. We want to rent out our unit but are not sure how to find a good tenant. Do you have any advice for finding someone to rent to? Sara Gebhardt: I think telling people you work with, friends, and trusted acquaintances that you are looking for a renter is a good way to start. Other ways are putting out an ad in the paper or online and doing a thorough search -- checks for references, employment/credit information. Washington, D.C.: I wrote in several months ago asking what renters could do to change the odd notion that renters are responsible for proving they did not damage the apartment during their tenure. You chose not to post that question, but I hope you will address this important issue. It is landlords who are in a better position to know the law and it is unfair to expect renters to know if they should ask for a walk-through examination of the apartment before taking up residence. Further, some renters ask for repairs (that are then not made) or are willing to accept some damage (scratched floors for example) to try not to be a bothersome tenant. This is especially true in crazy rental markets like D.C. has been the past decade. Then they get accused of causing these damages upon move-out and are asked to prove a negative -- that they did not cause the damage. What can be done to put the responsibility for proving damages on the proper party -- the landlord (often large management companies)? Sara Gebhardt: Thanks for writing again. (I don't always get to all the questions submitted, but do answer leftovers in my columns too.) l think it is the renters who must arm themselves with knowledge to combat what you see as an unequal balance of information, and thus power between landlords and tenants. I do think that documenting all marks on an apartment from the beginning and doing a pre-move-in walk-through with your landlord is the best way to proceed. And trying not to be a bothersome tenant is not really the landlord's fault. I understand what you're saying about the rental market, but if you're going to be involved in it, you've got to figure out a way to get on equal terms with landords. The best way to do this and protect yourself and teach landlords to proceed more fairly is to educate yourself and other renters about their rights and encourage them to document--photographically and in letters to landlords, journal entries, whatever--interactions. Once renters fight back and win with this evidence, landlords might not try to take so much advantage. Furthermore, as an aside, it's proof from all the questions I get that landlords don't necessarily know the laws better than tenants. Is there a good way to estimate your utility costs and general expenses other than rent in the VA metro area?: The utility company is supposed to tell you if you request it for a specific property. Also, they can give you averages based on housing type or square footage. Sara Gebhardt: Thanks for the comment. I've been a renter for 20 years. I never dreamed that when I moved from the city to a more suburban location that I would lose some pretty basic protections as the suburban location has NO tenant protection laws.: Most tenant protection laws are state laws and would not vary when you change localities. Check with the state. Sara Gebhardt: Of course. Learning the laws is a priority. I would like to shout "Please do your illegal activity elsewhere!" but I don't know if that would be very effective. : Maybe post a note in the lobby saying you'd like to solve this without the police, hint hint? Sara Gebhardt: Sure, but I'd recommend asking the landlord to be the person to post such a notice. Do you have any advice for finding someone to rent to?: Post an ad in the student lounge of your local medical school: they're generally quiet and pay their rent on time and don't want to move for four years. Sara Gebhardt: A tip for the person looking for a tenant. Utility turn ons: We DID pay to turn on the utilities. They're charging us for turning on the hot water heater. How could we possibly have known where it was/how it needed to be turned on? We were told to get the utilities in line and that's what we did. There was no mention of the fact that the hot water heater wouldn't be on! Sara Gebhardt: I do think you are entitled to at least an explanation, if not a reimbursement. But I'm no lawyer and am not familiar with South Georgia laws or your lease. Washington, D.C.: New York: if you're paying $2,200 in NYC, and most are, don't expect to pay less here unless you want to get less. Virginia is slightly cheaper but feels even farther out than it is, difference is really income tax 5% in Virginia, double in D.C. Good luck. Some buildings, even at the upper end, the Flats and 2400 M, have lots of college kids. Sara Gebhardt: A comment for the person relocating from New York....In my opinion, chances are you will get more for your money in DC. Higher rents here seem to provide at least more square footage or amenities. Laurel, Md.: My housemate will be moving out in late September and hopes to find a room/apartment in $500 range. Do I have any hope of getting him out of my house? Sara Gebhardt: Do you have hope? Sure, there's always hope. Tell him to look for a group living situation, or a room in a family's house. Or tell him to move to North Carolina. . . . Atlanta, Ga.: My husband and I have to break our lease on a rental house due to a job relocation. We gave 60 days written notice as required by the lease. The lease also stipulates that we will lose our deposit, which we understand. We gave written notice that we intend to vacate on Sept 7th, because we already had planned travel for a wedding that will make it very inconvenient to vacate by the 31st of August. Could the landlord make us pay fot the whole month of September or are they required to pro-rate? We mailed the notice last week with rent and have been calling to discuss this but haven't been able to get in touch with our landlord. I can't find anything in the lease which gives information about this. Sara Gebhardt: You should be able to pro-rate the rent, though if you gave 60 days notice, your landlord can terminate you on the day you originally gave. Credit checks: My boyfriend and I were almost denied an apartment once, because he had some unpaid medical bills on his credit report. But the apartment manager was up front with us about it. He gave us a list of the reasons, and also gave us a lease pending payment of the bad debt. We paid the bills within the week, and moved into the apartment the next month. Maybe there was less demand for apartments at that time. Sara Gebhardt: This is the sign of a responsible landlord. If you get denied because of credit and can't figure out why -- if you don't know that you have bad marks against you in terms of credit -- ask a landlord for specific details. My roommate is moving out in August. Our lease ends in Sept. I'd like to stay put for another year. Will our lease (or RENT?!) change if I sign on as the sole tenant? Sara Gebhardt: It might. But, your landlord might raise your rent at the end of your lease term anyway. You may be able to negotiate something with your landlord, or get another roommate to replace your old one. Sara Gebhardt: Thanks everyone for your questions. I appreciate all of them, and will try to answer the remaining ones in my future columns, which appear on Saturdays in the paper and online. You can email me at aptlife@gmail.com if any rental issues/successes/anecdotes seem worthy of passing along. Type to you next month. 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.	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.	108.560976	0.634146	0.731707	high	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070400624.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070400624.html	President Defends War on July 4th	2007070719	MARTINSBURG, W.Va., July 4 -- President Bush warned Wednesday that the Iraq war "will require more patience, more courage and more sacrifice," as he appealed to a war-weary public for time and sought to link today's conflict to the storied battles that gave birth to the nation. In an Independence Day address before members of the National Guard and their families, the president again painted a dire portrait of the consequences of pulling out of Iraq, asserting as he has before that "terrorists and extremists" would try to strike inside the United States. "If we were to quit Iraq before the job is done, the terrorists we are fighting would not declare victory and lay down their arms. They would follow us here, home," Bush told a crowd of about 1,000 gathered at a West Virginia Air National Guard maintenance hangar. Bush's two-hour trip to West Virginia came as he faces growing pressure, including from some senior Republicans on Capitol Hill, to draw down U.S. forces in Iraq. Bush showed little sign of backing down Wednesday. He urged the American public to be patient, saying he will not withdraw troops "prematurely based on politics." "We must succeed for our sake. For the security of our citizens, we must support the Iraqi government and we must defeat al-Qaeda in Iraq," said Bush, who will turn 61 on Friday. The president, who was accompanied by senior adviser Karl Rove, began his remarks by comparing today's soldiers to those who fought in the Revolutionary War. The president mentioned Adam Stephen, a Revolutionary War general who founded Martinsburg, a city of 15,000 in the panhandle of West Virginia. "We give thanks for all the brave citizen-soldiers of our Continental Army who dropped pitchforks and took up muskets to fight for our freedom and liberty and independence," Bush said. He added: "You're the successors of those brave men. . . . Like those early patriots, you're fighting a new and unprecedented war." Bush singled out two West Virginia guardsmen, Brad Runkles and Derek Brown, who recently reenlisted although they were badly wounded in Iraq in 2004. "Your service is needed. We need for people to volunteer to defend America," the president said. The audience, which was crammed in a corner of a hangar draped with two-story-high American flags, included troops in uniform and the children, spouses, mothers and fathers of serving Guard members. Most said they are solidly behind the president -- who spent 20 minutes shaking hands after his remarks -- and the mission in Iraq. "I love him, and my son loves him. He gets the job done," said Donna L. Ruppenthal, of Hedgesville, W.Va., whose son is serving in Iraq. Several family members said the president's speech helped to ease their doubts about whether the war in Iraq is worth the loss of more than 3,500 soldiers. "I'm glad we came. I think it helped clear up some confusion and some misgivings about our reasons for being there," said Chris Davis, 56, who has a 26-year-old son in the Guard. "The president gave us some pride, knowing what [our son] is doing for the country." Others, however, remained unimpressed. "I've heard it all before," said Patti Scott, 72, of Richmond. "I just don't approve of the war."	MARTINSBURG, W.Va., July 4 -- President Bush warned Wednesday that the Iraq war "will require more patience, more courage and more sacrifice," as he appealed to a war-weary public for time and sought to link today's conflict to the storied battles that gave birth to the nation.	11.59322	0.983051	43.457627	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/05/AR2007070500313.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/05/AR2007070500313.html	Bin Laden's Deputy Exhorts Muslims in Iraq to Coalesce	2007070719	BAGHDAD, July 5 -- The No. 2 leader of al-Qaeda, in a lengthy video released Thursday, called on Muslims in Iraq to unite against their enemies, at a time when rifts have opened between some Sunni insurgent groups in Iraq and the U.S. military has detained individuals it says are senior members of the organization. Ayman al-Zawahiri, deputy to Osama bin Laden, spoke for more than an hour and a half about the need to press on with the fight against the "Zionist crusader project" and to coalesce around the efforts of the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq. "The first thing which our beloved brothers in Iraq must realize is the critical nature of unity, and that it is the gateway to victory and a matter which is not open to delaying or procrastination," Zawahiri said, according to a transcript of the video provided by the SITE Institute, which tracks such dispatches. In a wide-ranging video in which he primarily attacked the rulers of Saudi Arabia, Zawahiri also defended the Islamic State of Iraq, the umbrella group that he said was formed by al-Qaeda in Iraq, against critics who say it has been weakened and "lacks the necessary qualifications." He alleged that the group is getting closer to the goal of establishing an Islamic caliphate in the Middle East and urged Muslim youth to hurry to Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and the Palestinian territories to fight for their religion. The speech is perhaps most significant for its admission that Sunni militants have grown divided over the usefulness of the alternative regime that the Islamic State of Iraq claims to offer. In recent weeks, U.S. soldiers have formed partnerships with Sunni insurgents, in places such as western Baghdad and in Baqubah north of the capital, to track down al-Qaeda in Iraq members and find their weapons. Members of insurgent groups such as the 1920 Revolution Brigades and the Islamic Army have said they have grown disillusioned with al-Qaeda in Iraq's seemingly indiscriminate killing and its repressive style of Islam. These fighters, whom the U.S. military wants to fashion into a grass-roots police force in several areas, have in some cases arrested and killed suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq members. The scope of such sentiment against al-Qaeda is, however, difficult to determine, as is the long-term agenda of Sunni insurgent groups now cooperating with the Americans. Zawahiri said that "the good news is continuing, and some of the groups prefer that their uniting not be announced right now, while we will soon announce the joining up of others, with Allah's permission." The release of the Zawahiri video came at a time of continued violence in Iraq. A bomb hidden in a produce truck exploded Thursday evening in the southern Baghdad neighborhood of Abu Dsheer, killing at least nine people, including three policemen, and wounding 17 others, police said. The Associated Press reported the death toll at 17, with 28 people injured. The bomb exploded alongside a photography studio where members of a wedding party were posing for pictures. The couple, along with others in the wedding party, were injured in the blast, police said. The suicide explosion coincided with a series of mortar rounds that landed in the same area. The U.S. military said the helicopter that went down in Nineveh province Wednesday, killing one soldier and wounding another, had not been shot down. Initial reports "indicate the aircraft hit electrical wires," according to a U.S. military statement. The Islamic State of Iraq issued its own version of events, saying in a statement that the helicopter hit the wires after "God blinded" the pilot, the AP reported. The military also announced that two soldiers died and two were wounded Thursday when a powerful bomb exploded near their patrol in southern Baghdad. The bomb, known as an explosively formed projectile, fires a slug of metal that can penetrate the armor on American military vehicles. Such explosives are associated with Shiite militias in Iraq, and the U.S. military says they are manufactured in Iran. Also Thursday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told Britain's prime minister, Gordon Brown, that he hoped Iraqi security forces would assume security control in the southern city of Basra within the next three months, according to a statement from Maliki's office. Maliki spoke with Brown over the telephone and "expressed his hope that the British role will be limited to provide support while the Iraqi forces should take over the great load of the security efforts," the statement said. Special correspondent Naseer Nouri in Baghdad contributed to this report.	BAGHDAD, July 5 -- The No. 2 leader of al-Qaeda, in a lengthy video released Thursday, called on Muslims in Iraq to unite against their enemies, at a time when rifts have opened between some Sunni insurgent groups in Iraq and the U.S. military has detained individuals it says are senior members of...	14.508197	0.983607	59.016393	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/05/AR2007070500850.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/05/AR2007070500850.html	Clintons Accused Of Hypocrisy by The White House	2007070719	The White House responded angrily yesterday to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's statement that President Bush was acting "above the law" in commuting the prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, accusing her of hypocrisy because of the pardons issued by her husband on the last day of his presidency. Yesterday's tough exchange unfolded after Sen. Clinton called in to a morning radio talk show in Iowa to say again that Bush's decision on Monday to wipe away the 30-month prison sentence leveled against the former aide to Vice President Cheney was "clearly an effort to protect the White House" by a White House that holds itself "above the law." The White House quickly fired back, with Bush spokesman Tony Snow pointedly recalling the flurry of controversial clemency actions taken by Bill Clinton in the closing hours of his presidency in 2001. "I don't know what Arkansan is for chutzpah, but this is a gigantic case of it," Snow said. The charges and countercharges came as Libby paid a $250,000 fine yesterday, fulfilling a part of his sentence that the president left in place. A federal judge last month had sentenced Libby to the fine and two years on probation, in addition to the prison term, after his conviction in March for lying to FBI agents and a federal grand jury about his role in a White House leak of the identity of a covert CIA officer, Valerie Plame. Bush's action has been roundly criticized by Democrats and has prompted House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) to announce hearings into the matter. "Well, fine, knock himself out," Snow said of Conyers. "I mean, perfectly happy. And while he's at it, why doesn't he look at January 20th, 2001?" Clinton pardoned 140 people in the final day of his presidency, stirring a controversy that continues to reverberate. His actions provoked a Republican-led investigation that focused on political donations and ties between pardon recipients and Sen. Clinton's brothers. Last year, a federal bankruptcy trustee sued her brother Tony Rodham for $107,000 in loans plus interest he had received from a now-bankrupt carnival company called United Shows of America. Its owners, Edgar and Vonna Jo Gregory, sought and won a pardon in 2000 from President Clinton for a 1982 conviction involving improper loans. A 2002 report by the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee -- then led by Republicans -- concluded that Tony Rodham helped the couple win the pardons at a time when he was employed by their company and urged the Justice Department to examine whether Sen. Clinton knew about the payments he received. Rodham said then that he was a consultant for the company and that none of the money he received was related to the pardons. Sen. Clinton's other brother, lawyer Hugh Rodham, separately stirred controversy for collecting a total of $400,000 from one person who received a pardon and another who had a sentence commuted by President Clinton. Hugh Rodham ultimately returned the money. The Clintons denied knowing about the payments when the pardons were granted. House Republicans also examined a third Clinton presidential pardon for fugitive financier Marc Rich in early 2001, after Rich's wife, Denise, donated $70,000 to help Hillary Clinton's 2000 Senate election and another large sum to the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock. Libby represented Rich in his effort to secure a pardon, and in the ensuing controversy, the Clinton White House said it was done at the request of Israeli government officials and had nothing to do with the donations. During congressional hearings, the Justice Department's career pardon attorney, Roger Adams, testified that the Clinton White House bypassed the department's pardon applications process in trying to rush the Rich pardon through during Bill Clinton's final 24 hours in office. "None of the regular procedures were followed," Adams testified.	The White House responded angrily yesterday to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's statement that President Bush was acting "above the law" in commuting the prison sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, accusing her of hypocrisy because of the pardons issued by her husband on the last day of his preside...	13.267857	0.964286	52.071429	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/05/AR2007070500310.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/05/AR2007070500310.html	Report: 25 Killed in China Karaoke Blast	2007070719	Xinhua News Agency said the cause of the Wednesday night blast in Tianshifu township in Liaoning province was being investigated. Several employees and the wife of the parlor owner, who was killed, were being questioned, it said, without saying if they were suspects. Xinhua initially put the death toll at five, but said 25 bodies were found when rescuers had finished clearing away debris from the blast. China has suffered a string of blasts, fires and accidents in shopping malls, movie theaters and other public places despite repeated government promises to improve safety. Many are blamed on lax safety procedures and negligence. In 2005, a fire in an illegally run bar in the southern city of Zhongshan killed 26 people. Local officials said the bar lacked fire extinguishers and its emergency exit was too narrow. In China's worst recent nightclub disaster, a fire blamed on a welding accident tore through a disco in the central city of Luoyang in December 2000, killing 309 people. Local reports at the time said the building had failed 18 safety checks in two years.	BEIJING -- A blast ripped through a karaoke parlor and bath house in northeast China, killing 25 people and injuring 33 others, state media reported Thursday.	7.068966	0.517241	0.655172	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401329.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401329.html	Apple's iPhone Is Sleek, Smart and Simple	2007070719	The iPhone doesn't look, sound or feel like other cellphones. With its smooth, almost button-free contours, it could be the product of an advanced, alien civilization. That sleek appearance makes the iPhone an instant conversation piece. But it's the ingenious software inside this crafty but costly device -- $499 for a 4-gigabyte model, $599 for an 8-gigabyte unit-- that ought to worry competing smartphone makers. VIDEO \| iPhones Hit the Market VIDEO \| Dozens of people gathered Friday morning outside the Apple Store in Arlington, Va.'s Clarendon neighborhood in order to buy an iPhone. Hear what they have to say about the product launch -- and why they were willing to wait in line for hours. Other gadgets in this category function as extensions of business products: office e-mail servers for the BlackBerry, Microsoft's Outlook personal-information manager for Windows Mobile devices. But the iPhone's ancestry stretches back to Apple's iTunes software and iPod music player -- things people use for fun. The result is a gadget notably simpler and more entertaining than what's come before. The iPhone experience starts with using iTunes to sign up for a two-year wireless plan from AT&T, the exclusive carrier in the United States. Service starts at $59.99 a month for 450 anytime minutes, unlimited data and 200 text messages -- equal to or cheaper than deals from other carriers. I set up a review iPhone lent by Apple within minutes, though some readers have reported far longer waits for AT&T to activate iPhones. After that, iTunes copied my songs, podcasts, movies, contacts, calendars, photos, e-mail settings and Web bookmarks. Access to all these things on the iPhone comes through its 3 1/2 -inch, touch-sensitive screen. But instead of jabbing at icons with a plastic stylus, you use fingertips and intuitive gestures. For example, a flick of a finger sends you scrolling through your contacts list or your music library. You can zoom in on a photo or Web page by spreading two fingers apart, then zoom out by pinching them together. It's almost frictionless. Those gestures also help the iPhone serve up regular Web pages, not shrunken, phone-friendly editions. Its Safari browser first displays the entire page in miniature (though without Flash graphics), and you can enlarge and pan as needed. If a page is too wide to fit on the iPhone's screen, hold the iPhone horizontally instead of vertically. Its screen will automatically rotate from portrait to landscape mode. That clever feature also works in iTunes, but not in most other iPhone programs, such as the otherwise appealing e-mail software. Spending time online will, however, expose the sluggishness of AT&T's barely-faster-than-dialup Edge data service. WiFi -- which the iPhone will use when a network is available -- speeds up Web browsing considerably. Typing a Web address or an e-mail message reveals another awkwardness: text entry. Without a real keyboard, you have to tap on an onscreen substitute that offers no tactile feedback and puts punctuation and letters on separate screens. The iPhone's software fixes typos for you, and readers report success in letting it clean up their copy. But in my tests, numbers and names eluded its grasp. When used as an iPod, the iPhone works better for video than for music. Its sharp screen dwarfs any iPod's and stood up to midday sunlight, but its onscreen controls aren't as snappy to use as an iPod's click-wheel dial. As a phone, the iPhone's standout feature is "visual voice mail" -- a simple list of who left messages, which you can play or delete with taps of the screen. It also has a 2-megapixel camera, speaker phone and support for Bluetooth headsets and car kits but leaves out picture messaging, a camcorder mode and Bluetooth file transfer. Switching between iPhone programs happens almost instantly, but moving data between them is just about impossible without copy or paste commands. The review iPhone also mysteriously froze up once. The iPhone battery seems sturdier than most. It powered the test unit through just over seven hours of Web browsing over WiFi (compared with Apple's prediction of six hours) and 10 hours of talk time (two hours over Apple's estimate). But you can't replace the battery yourself when it wears out. The company suggests that will take years; after 400 recharges, an iPhone battery should retain 80 percent of its original capacity. But whenever that happens, you'd better hope that Apple's $85.95 battery-replacement service doesn't still require mailing in your iPhone. Two other restrictions built into the iPhone may have a more direct impact. Apple won't let you install other developers' software on the phone unless it runs inside the Web browser. That will seriously constrict the iPhone's utility. The iPhone also comes locked to prevent use with other wireless services. If you travel overseas, you can't duck AT&T's roaming fees -- 59 cents to $4.99 a minute -- by replacing the iPhone's removable subscriber identity module card with another carrier's card. With the iPhone, Apple has crafted an extraordinary piece of wireless art. But phones aren't art alone; they're also tools that we customize and use as we see fit. The combination of elegance and open-ended utility makes Apple's computers a pleasure to use; the iPhone needs more of the latter. Living with technology, or trying to? E-mail Rob Pegoraro atrobp@washpost.com.	The iPhone doesn't look, sound or feel like other cellphones. With its smooth, almost button-free contours, it could be the product of an advanced, alien civilization.	30.942857	1	35	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401531.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/04/AR2007070401531.html	Students Take to the Road for Social Justice	2007070719	In the basement of Maryland Del. Jeffrey D. Waldstreicher's house lies a chunk of drywall that has motivated him over the years as he has navigated the political world. Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery) gathered his treasure on a summer trip 11 years ago with Operation Understanding D.C., a group that each year takes more than 30 African American and Jewish students on a tour of the South to meet with civil rights leaders. Waldstreicher went during the summer that several black churches were burned in Alabama, and part of the trip was spent helping a congregation rebuild. He kept a memento. "That piece of drywall is often an inspiration for me," said Waldstreicher, who lives in Kensington. "It helps to prevent cynicism from creeping up, and it's easy to let that happen when working in politics." This morning, 31 students are set to embark on a 25-day journey to learn how they can continue a shared legacy of social change. The trip will take them to New York to visit historic synagogues and churches, and they will head south through North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama. They are scheduled to meet such people as Joe Levin, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, and the Rev. C.T. Vivian, an activist who challenged officials in Selma, Ala., over the right to register black voters. The trip is part of a year-long program in which students are immersed in African American and Jewish cultures through such things as lectures and potluck dinners. They also visit places of worship during Passover and Easter. "It's a rare thing where you can have a meal with matzoh ball soup and Jamaican jerk chicken side by side," said Adam Yalowitz, 18, of Montgomery County, who completed the program last year. Yalowitz has since remained active in social justice causes. He was campaign manager for Valerie Ervin, the first African American woman elected to the Montgomery County Council, and he worked with the high school group Students for Global Responsibility, which works for gay, international and immigration causes. "Once you begin to think about what's going on in the community, you can't stop thinking about it," Yalowitz said. "You want to act." It is that kind of commitment that Operation Understanding hopes to inspire in its participants, said Rachael Feldman, executive director of the program. "We are looking for students who like to be inspired and inspire others and are willing to speak out when they see injustices in their community," Feldman said. Donnell Powell of Prince George's County is part of the new class. Before it began, he knew no Jewish people and very little about their culture. "I grew up in a setting where all I was surrounded with was black people, and I went to school with black people," Powell, 17, said. "I didn't know much about Jewish people except the Holocaust." Since joining the program, he has attended a bar mitzvah and participated in a Passover Seder. "It was one of the best experiences I've had in my life," Powell said. "When I first went over there, I thought it was going to be really conservative and really drawn out, but we were, like, joking." Waldstreicher, after college and law school, returned to Operation Understanding and served for four years on the board of directors. He helped select participants for the program. "They walk in with these biases, and they walk out knowing that even though they are different in appearance, they are much more alike in values," Waldstreicher said.	In the basement of Maryland Del. Jeffrey D. Waldstreicher's house lies a chunk of drywall that has motivated him over the years as he has navigated the political world.	22.806452	1	31	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/29/AR2007062900723.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/29/AR2007062900723.html	Over the Edge - washingtonpost.com	2007070719	A bird flies beneath my feet, gliding under the clear glass floor of a horseshoe-shaped structure that juts 70 feet from the rim of the Grand Canyon. The canyon floor is more than 4,000 feet below. Maybe you've gone to the top of the Empire State Building and looked down at cars that seem like Matchbox toys. From the Grand Canyon Skywalk, you are more than three times farther from the ground below than when you stand at the top of the Empire State Building. Only five thin layers of glass stand between your feet and the abyss. A glass railing, 4 1/2 feet high, surrounds the skywalk. When the wind blows, you feel the sensation of flight. When the wind gusts, you can feel the skywalk gently sway. Honestly, though, you don't need a ticket to the $30 million skywalk, which opened to the public this spring, to see the most stunning views: the majestic rock formations formed over millenniums by earthquakes, volcanoes, wind, rain and the power of the Colorado River. From either the skywalk or the canyon rim just next to it, you see Eagle Point, so named because nature has sculpted into the rock the form of a gigantic eagle, wings spread, head held high. You can stand on firm ground or on the skywalk, and either way watch the colors of the canyon rock shift and change with the movement of the sun. Burnt orange. Sienna. Yellow. Enough shades of brown to fill an artist's palette, and an occasional splash of purple that makes the phrase "purple mountains' majesty" run through my head. The Grand Canyon, long a symbol of the grandeur of America's landscapes, is more than 200 miles long. Just over 100 miles of that is within the Hualapai Indian Reservation. The skywalk is about 120 miles east of Las Vegas. For more than 100 years, that part of the canyon was off-limits to non-Indians. Then, 19 years ago, the impoverished Hualapai decided to welcome tourists. Even so, the vast majority of visitors kept heading to the famed Grand Canyon National Park. But there are several reasons to consider the Hualapai-owned section of the canyon, either in addition to or instead of your trip to the national park. Be aware that a visit to the three tourist sites on the reservation, within a five- to 10-minute drive of one another, is not free. It costs a minimum of $49 to see the three sites: a spectacular canyon called Guano Point, where a buffet lunch is offered on picnic tables; a recently constructed "cowboy town" called Hualapai Ranch, where you can have lunch and take a horse-drawn wagon ride and, for an extra fee, ride horseback; and Eagle Point, with the skywalk, a visitors center and an Indian "village" with samples of Native American homes. Walking on the skywalk is an additional $25. For many people, the main draw to this section of the canyon is the skywalk itself -- an engineering marvel constructed of a million pounds of steel and 90 tons of tempered glass. An even more compelling reason, in my opinion: the relative lack of tourists, at least for now. The skywalk created an exponential boom in tourism to the million-acre Hualapai reservation. Still, that means on average 1,200 tourists a day -- or about 438,000 a year, if the current rush continues throughout the year, including winter, which is unlikely. Compare that number with the 4.1 million visitors annually to Grand Canyon National Park. Most visitors arrive by tour bus from Las Vegas, and after an hour or so of gawking, they eat lunch and head back to Vegas. The reservation also offers a good selection of activities, including rafting trips, pontoon boat rides, Humvee tours, horseback riding and helicopter tours of the canyon.	Travelers to the Grand Canyon have always had a killer view. Now they can take a step in a new direction -- for a price.	25.166667	0.6	0.8	medium	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/07/02/DI2007070200549.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/07/02/DI2007070200549.html	To Be Happy In Marriage, Baby Carriage Not Required	2007070419	Fewer couples consider children to be an important part of a successful marriage, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. Senior researcher Cary Funk was online Monday, July 2 at noon ET to take your questions about the study. Washington, D.C.: The comments I've read so far re: children being less of a key factor in marriages haven't noted the many couples nowadays who are getting married at even later ages (40s and up). A number of these couples are either too old to have children and/or already have adult children from previous marriages. My father remarried when I was 26. I'm a woman in my late 30s and have never married yet would very much like to be married. However, I have had some medical issues that may complicate being able to carry a child. Even so, I want the companionship and love that a long-term partnership can bring. Cary Funk: Thanks for your comment. One thing to keep in mind is that this survey and the report has A LOT of material in it. For those of you who are very interested in social research, the whole thing is available as a PDF on the web at pewresearch.org. The finding that fewer people today say that children are "very important" for a successful marriage suggests to me that people are thinking differently about the role of children in marriage. The survey found that a majority of people who have never married would like to marry someday. Bethesda, Md.: Do you think the findings have anything to do with the fact that the generation that is getting married now grew up experiencing high rates of divorce from their parents, and the parents of their friends? Cary Funk: This is an interesting question. As you note, divorce rates have increased since the 1960's and now have plateaued at what historically would be considered a higher level. We were curious about how the experiences of people who grew up in different circumstances thought about marriage and parenting. We found surprisingly few differences between respondents whose own parents were divorced and those who didn't. There is broad public consensus on attitudes about divorce. When people are asked which of these statements come closer to their own views about divorce, a 58 percent majority say that "is preferable to maintaining an unhappy marriage" while 38 percent say divorce "should be avoided except in an extreme situation". Majorities of most demographic groups said divorce was preferable to maintaining a very unhappy marriage. Similar consensus is found on a question about what is best for children. A majority (67 percent) consider the children better off if parents get divorced than if parents remain married when they are "very unhappy with each other." Arlington, Va.: How do the findings in the U.S. compare to the findings in other countries? Cary Funk: We know more about how these behaviors fit with trends around the world than attitudes and beliefs about marriage. First, the rise in nonmarital births is a phenomenon that has been occurring in a number of other countries--including Canada, Sweden, Denmark, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Second, the increase in cohabitation is present elsewhere but the patterns in the U.S. tend to be different from those in Europe. In Scandinavian countries, for example, couples living together tend to do so for a longer time period. In the U.S. the average number of years together is shorter--some of those relationships lead to marriage while others break up. Washington, D.C.: Did the survey find that people want to marry some day? Or is a long-term, committed relationship enough? Cary Funk: Absolutely. A majority of those who are single and have never married say they expect to marry someday (62 percent) and that they want to marry (56 percent). And among those who are either married or living with a partner, more than eight-in-ten consider that relationship very important to their personal happiness and fulfillment. Eastern Shore, Md.: I attend a Latin Mass Roman Catholic Church where most couples have at least five children and several many more. Is there a difference in marital happiness and children when religious beliefs were considered? Cary Funk: Good question. Catholics are more likely than Protestants to say that children are "very important" for a successful marriage but when we drill down a little deeper we find that Hispanic Catholics (and Hispanics, in general) are more likely to consider children very important for a successful marriage. The views of non-Hispanic white Catholics are similar to those of white Protestants on this question. Alexandria, Va.: I'm 39 and for most of my life, I never had strong feelings that I absolutely had to have children. I figured that when I got married, I would see how I felt about it, and how my husband felt about it, and decide accordingly. Well, I got married 3-1/2 years ago. My husband was previously married, relatively happily until his son was born, and then his marriage went down the tubes. When we met, he was adamant that he didn't want more children, and that was okay by me, since by then I was in my mid-30s and very invested in my career. I still wanted to get married, and being married has been challenging (particularly in dealing with issues with my stepson) but the rewards far outweigh the bad parts. There are many reasons to get married beyond having kids. I see my friends trying to juggle marriage, children, and career, and most find it very challenging. Of course they love their kids, but having them often puts a strain on their marriages, and just generally wears them out. I would pick my life over theirs any day. Cary Funk: One of the things this survey is telling us is that there are more people who are looking at the decision to get married or not as separate from a decision about having children. We know from government sources that more unmarried women are having children. We know from the Pew survey and others that more people are cohabiting -- at some point in their lives. The survey shows that how people think about these behaviors is changing as well. It's difficult --and probably impossible -- to disentangle which comes first but the changes in Americans' behaviors, attitudes, and moral beliefs all tend to go hand-in-hand. Reston, Va.: How much do the results of this poll reflect the fact that there is a much higher incidence today of both husband and wife having full time jobs? Cary Funk: A good question. There have been a number of long-term changes in how Americans' live their lives. More women in the work force is one of them. In terms of the characteristics people think of as important for a successful marriage, I can say that there is a lot of common ground in how people of different groups see these characteristics. For example, people who have never married or who have been married but are now either widowed or divorced see the characteristics for a successful marriage in about the same rank order. And looking just at moms who are employed vs. those who are at-home, we see the same thing. Both groups of women are about equally likely to consider children "very important" for a successful marriage. 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.	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.	35.829268	0.512195	0.609756	high	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070301106.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070301106.html	Bush Says He's Not Ruling Out Pardon for Libby	2007070419	President Bush held out the possibility yesterday that he eventually may pardon I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby as the White House sought to fend off Democratic outrage and conservative disappointment over the president's decision to commute the 30-month prison term of the vice president's former chief of staff. A day after he intervened to keep Libby out of prison, Bush refused to reject the idea of issuing a full pardon, which some conservatives have been urging him to grant. A pardon would erase the four felony convictions Libby received for lying to federal investigators about his role in a White House leak of a covert CIA officer's identity. "As to the future," the president told reporters, "I rule nothing in or nothing out." Libby's defense team, however, indicated yesterday that the White House has provided ample help for now. William H. Jeffress Jr., one of Libby's attorneys, said a request for a pardon "is not anything that is imminent. We are focusing on the appeals." Meanwhile, the federal judge who presided over one of the most high-profile Washington trials in years said yesterday that the elimination of Libby's prison term calls into question another part of Libby's sentence. When Bush announced his decision Monday evening, he emphasized that Libby still faced what the president characterized as a "harsh" sentence, and noted that he was leaving in place a $250,000 fine and two years of supervised probation. Yesterday, however, U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, a Bush appointee, filed a court order saying that federal law "does not appear to contemplate a situation in which a defendant may be placed under supervised release without first completing a term of incarceration." Walton asked prosecutors and defense lawyers to tell the court by Monday how they think the matter should be handled "in unusual circumstances such as these." As the judge tried to sort through the legal fallout, congressional Democrats began to mine the political consequences of the president's action. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (Mich.) announced a hearing for next week to explore what he called "the presidential authority to grant clemency and how such power may be abused." "Taken to its extreme," he said, "the use of such authority could completely circumvent the law enforcement process and prevent credible efforts to investigate wrongdoing in the executive branch." Libby, a 56-year-old lawyer, was Vice President Cheney's top aide and a key figure in forging the administration's foreign policy until he was indicted in 2005. He was the only person charged in a three-year federal investigation, led by Special Counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald, of whether any administration officials broke the law when they leaked to reporters the identity of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame. No one was charged with the leak itself. Plame's husband, former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, was sent by the CIA to evaluate reports that Iraq was trying to buy uranium in Africa for a nuclear weapons program. Wilson concluded that the reports were inaccurate. Shortly after the Iraq war started in 2003, he accused the White House of distorting intelligence to convince the public that the invasion was justified. Libby was one of four high-ranking administration officials found to have leaked Plame's identity to Washington journalists. Prosecutors said the leak was part of a White House campaign, in which Cheney played a direct part, to tarnish Wilson's reputation.	President Bush held out the possibility yesterday that he eventually may pardon I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby as the White House sought to fend off Democratic outrage and conservative disappointment over the president's decision to commute the 30-month prison term of the vice president's former chief of...	13.039216	0.980392	49.019608	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070300981.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070300981.html	Bush Commutes Libby Sentence, but Conviction Stands	2007070419	President Bush commuted the sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby yesterday, sparing Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff 2 1/2 years in prison after a federal appeals court had refused to let Libby remain free while he appeals his conviction for lying to federal investigators. Bush, who for months had sidestepped calls from conservatives to come to Libby's aid, broke his silence early yesterday evening, touching off an immediate uproar from Democrats who accused the White House of circumventing the rule of law to protect one of its own. The president announced his decision in a written statement that laid out the factors he had weighed. Bush said he decided to "respect" the jury's verdict that Libby was guilty of four felonies for lying about his role in the leak of a covert CIA officer's identity. But the president said Libby's "exceptional public service" and prior lack of a criminal record led him to conclude that the 30-month sentence handed down by a judge last month was "excessive." "He did not see fit to have Scooter Libby taken to jail," White House press secretary Tony Snow said this morning in a news briefing. Bush noted in his statement that he had originally promised not to intervene until Libby had exhausted his appeals. But he stepped in short of that point. "With the denial of bail being upheld and incarceration imminent," Bush said, "I believe it is now important to react to that decision." Although he eliminated Libby's prison term, Bush did not grant him a full pardon, which was sought by some conservatives and would have erased his conviction. As a consequence, Libby will still have to pay a $250,000 fine and will remain on probation for two years. The president said Libby's punishment remained "harsh," in part because his professional reputation "is forever damaged." "This is hardly a slap on the wrist," Snow said. " . . . To think of this as the bestowal of a favor is to utterly misconstrue the nature of the deliberations." Bush commuted the sentence hours after a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected Libby's request to postpone his prison term while he pursued appeals. The panel concluded that his grounds for appeal were unlikely to be strong enough to prevail in higher courts. The appellate judges' unanimous opinion upheld an identical ruling slightly more than two weeks ago by U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton, the trial judge in Libby's case. After a month-long trial that forced presidential aides and prominent journalists onto the witness stand, Libby was found guilty of two counts of perjury and one count each of lying to FBI agents and obstructing a federal investigation into whether administration officials illegally disclosed the name of CIA officer Valerie Plame. Bush has granted far fewer pardons and commutations than any of his predecessors, dating to John F. Kennedy. He commuted three previous prison terms during his 6 1/2 years in office. At a time when his popularity is as low as any president's in modern history, Bush's action also defied public opinion. Shortly after Libby was convicted in March, three national public opinion polls found that seven in 10 Americans said they would oppose a pardon of Libby. Still, the president appeared to calculate that he would antagonize his conservative base too severely if he did not provide Libby some form of reprieve, according to people close to the White House.	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.	17.230769	0.410256	0.410256	medium	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070301627.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070301627.html	KKR Files For IPO of $1.25 Billion	2007070419	Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, one of the kings of the buyout world, filed for a $1.25 billion initial public offering yesterday, following the precedent set two weeks ago by its long-standing rival, Blackstone Group. Minutes after KKR's IPO filing, Blackstone said it was acquiring Hilton Hotels, one of the most recognized brand names in American business. The deal is among the biggest buyouts in history, with Blackstone paying $18.5 billion in cash, or $47.50 a share, and assuming $7.5 billion in debt. KKR's announcement established that Blackstone's IPO was not a singular event and suggested that the top buyout firms in the country, including Carlyle Group of the District, TPG Capital of Fort Worth and Madison Dearborn Partners of Chicago, could become public companies in the near future. "I think it's a way to leverage the current bull market in private equity into creating enduring franchises," said Mark D. Ein, a Washington venture capitalist who worked at Carlyle Group. "Anyone who thought the Blackstone offering would have been a one-off situation, or that the political issues around it would have discouraged others from going public, can see now that it looks like an irreversible trend." KKR and Blackstone are the most aggressive and biggest dealmakers in a private-equity world that has grown tenfold in three years. These buyout shops completed deals worth a half trillion dollars last year and are on track to nearly double that total this year. KKR is going public despite proposals in Congress that would dramatically increase taxes paid by private-equity firms. The firm said it expects its shares to begin trading under the symbol "KKR" sometime in the fall or winter. In the past few months, KKR has accounted for five of the eight largest buyouts in the United States and, as of March 31, had about $53.4 billion under management. In its IPO filing, KKR said it decided to go public so it could continue its rapid growth. But true to the secretive nature of private equity, KKR said it would not provide any earnings guidance and warned that shareholders would have almost no control over management decisions. Unlike Blackstone, whose partners sold stock worth more than $1 billion in its offering, KKR said its owners would not sell shares in the IPO. With its record-setting $31.4 billion acquisition of RJR Nabisco in 1988, KKR held the record for the biggest leveraged buyout in history for more than a decade. The size of that takeover was so extraordinary at the time that it became the subject of a best-selling book, "Barbarians at the Gate," which detailed the corporate egos and excesses surrounding the deal. Now multibillion-dollar buyouts barely raise eyebrows on Wall Street. Blackstone is one of the few firms to rival KKR's hegemony in the private-equity world. In January, Blackstone set a new record for a single transaction by buying Equity Office Properties Trust for $39 billion. A few weeks later, KKR took back the crown by buying TXU, the largest power company in Texas, for $45 billion. Henry Kravis, one of the founders of KKR, and Stephen Schwarzman, chief executive of Blackstone, are more than just business rivals and two of the wealthiest men in the world. Both are A-list names on the New York social and philanthropic scene, giving away millions of dollars and turning up regularly in the society pages. By taking Hilton private, Blackstone is acquiring one of the most valuable brands in American business. The hospitality company dates to 1919, when Conrad Hilton bought his first hotel in Cisco, Tex. The company has grown to more than 2,800 hotels around the world, including flagships like the Waldorf-Astoria in New York, the New York Hilton and the Cavalieri Hilton in Rome. Blackstone already owns more than 100,000 hotel rooms in the United States and Europe, including La Quinta Inns and Suites. "This will make Blackstone the absolute powerhouse in the hotel industry with the strongest representation and brands across every segment of the lodging industry," said Frederic V. Malek, chairman of Thayer Capital Partners and former president of Marriott Hotels and Resorts. "Hilton is a fabulous franchise, has outstanding management and will undoubtedly be a crown jewel in the Blackstone galaxy." Blackstone began trading under the symbol "BX" on June 22 at $31 a share in what was one of the biggest and most highly anticipated IPOs of the past five years. After shooting up to about $38 a share during its first day of trading, the stock has since fallen below its IPO price, closing yesterday at $29.72 per share, up 45 cents. In the days leading up to the IPO, lawmakers proposed a slew of tax bills aimed at Blackstone and other big private-equity firms. These companies organize themselves as partnerships and pay taxes at the capital gains rate of 15 percent. Bipartisan legislation proposed in Senate last month would force private-equity firms that sell shares to the public to pay at the 35 percent corporate tax rate.	Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, one of the kings of the buyout world, filed for a $1.25 billion initial public offering yesterday, following the precedent set two weeks ago by its long-standing rival, Blackstone Group.	23.926829	1	41	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070300367.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070300367.html	Violence Erupts at Pakistani Mosque	2007070419	For over 15 hours, paramilitary forces and bandanna-clad Islamic fighters manning positions in the Red Mosque traded automatic-weapons fire. At least three female students at a religious school affiliated with the mosque were killed, as were an army ranger and a Pakistani photographer who was caught in the crossfire. At dawn Wednesday, the government was moving armored personnel carriers and special forces troops into position and warning of an all-out assault on the mosque. Power was shut down in the area, and security officials were demanding that pedestrians and vehicles stay out. Government officials said President Pervez Musharraf had signed off on the operation. "Those who surrender will be forgiven," Zafar Iqbal Warraich, the minister of state for interior, said early Wednesday. "If someone comes out with a rifle, then we will answer a bullet with a bullet." Later Wednesday morning, however, mediation was underway and it was unclear whether a raid would occur. Tuesday's battle, which followed months of provocations by mosque leaders, dramatically displayed the rising threat of Islamic militancy in Pakistan and the struggles confronting Musharraf's besieged government. Tensions between the government and radical groups are not uncommon in Pakistan, but the clash at the mosque reflected their scope -- far beyond the deeply conservative tribal areas along the border with Afghanistan and into the orderly, tree-lined streets of Islamabad. The mosque lies within walking distance of Musharraf's house, close enough for anyone home to hear the gunfire that reverberated through the city starting early Tuesday afternoon and continuing into the early morning Wednesday. As the fighting raged, the troops -- holed up in nearby buildings -- fired tear gas to disperse a crowd of thousands that had gathered to show support for the Red Mosque's leadership. It was not known exactly how many people were inside the mosque compound, but mosque leaders had said there were at least 4,000 students in the religious school, or madrassa, alone. They had also indicated that the students were willing to sacrifice their lives if the mosque, also known as the Lal Masjid, was attacked. The mosque and its clerics have served for months as Islamabad's self-appointed vice squad. Its members have abducted police officers, kidnapped women and accused them of prostitution, threatened CD store owners with attacks and issued a fatwa, or religious edict, against a female cabinet minister who publicly hugged a man who was not her husband. The government has threatened on several occasions to raid the mosque, but has pulled back each time. Musharraf, a U.S. ally on counterterrorism, has said that confronting religious extremism is among his top priorities. But critics charge that he has allowed it to flourish as he focuses instead on fending off attacks from moderate forces that want to restore civilian government to Pakistan eight years after a military-led coup brought Musharraf, the army chief of staff, to office. "These are the fruits of military rule," said Ayaz Amir, a political analyst. "The main enemy of the government has not been what they call religious extremism. Musharraf's priority has been figuring out how to stick in power, how to keep his uniform and how to keep the secular opposition out in the cold."	ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, July 4 -- A long-simmering standoff between the government and a radical mosque in the heart of the Pakistani capital exploded into a vicious street clash on Tuesday, with a dozen dead and more than 100 others injured.	13.543478	0.630435	1.065217	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070301022.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070301022.html	TB Carrier's Case Called Less Severe Than Believed	2007070419	The strain of tuberculosis infecting Andrew Speaker, the Atlanta lawyer who was the object of an international hunt by public health authorities in May, turns out not to be as dangerous as doctors originally thought. That was the conclusion announced yesterday by physicians and laboratory scientists at National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver, where Speaker is being treated. Repeated tests there have shown his infection to be "multidrug resistant" (MDR) and not "extensively drug resistant" (XDR). The revised diagnosis opens new options for treating Speaker and raises his chances of being cured. But a federal official said yesterday that it would not have changed the government's urgent response to Speaker's transatlantic travel, which triggered headlines around the world when it was disclosed. "The public health action taken in his case was sound and appropriate," said Mitchell L. Cohen of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Speaker, 31, flew to Europe in May for his wedding against the advice of Atlanta's Fulton County health department. At the time, he knew he had MDR tuberculosis but said he was told that his chances of infecting anyone else were small. When CDC tests, completed during his honeymoon, concluded that his infection was the more dangerous XDR variety, federal health officials tracked him down in Italy and told him to seek treatment and not to travel. He ignored the advice and returned to the United States. Soon after reentering the country, he was ordered into medical isolation, the first time the federal government had taken such a step since the 1960s. TB experts said yesterday that drug resistance is not an all-or-nothing characteristic; it can range from mild to severe. Furthermore, a single sample of material taken from a patient can contain multiple strains of TB, with not all showing the same resistance profile. For that reason, conflicting results between labs are not uncommon. "This is not a black eye for the CDC," said Richard E. Chaisson, an expert in drug-resistant tuberculosis at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. "It is embarrassing and difficult to explain, but that is because it is complicated. It is not a sign of incompetence or bad practice." Speaker released a statement that expressed gratitude for the news but also referred twice to the "misdiagnosis" of his case. "It had been an incredibly long and difficult month, but today is a day of relief for both myself and my family. For the international panic that was created after my misdiagnosis and the way my case was handled, I can only hope that this news helps calm the fears of those people that were on the flights with me," the statement said. Speaker, a personal-injury lawyer, remains under an order of isolation from Denver's health department. However, he has been able to leave his room and walk around the hospital grounds, said Charles L. Daley, the medical center's head of infectious diseases. Speaker's infection is resistant to three of the four first-line TB drugs -- isoniazid, rifampin and pyrazinamide. That qualifies it as MDR. However, earlier tests done by the CDC found it also resistant to two important groups of backup drugs -- fluoroquinolones and at least one of three in a group of "injectibles." That put his case in the "extensively drug resistant" category, but the recent tests showed that the TB bacteria infecting him do respond to the backup drugs. "This will allow us to change how we treat him," Daley said in a news briefing yesterday. The backup drugs have been added to his antibiotic cocktail, and the treating physicians have for the moment shelved their plan to surgically remove the infected lobe of Speaker's right lung. The recent tests involved three samples taken from his lungs: one on April 25 in Atlanta; the second in New York on May 27, after his return from Europe; and the third on June 1, after he arrived in Denver for treatment. The sample that CDC scientists determined was XDR came from the Georgia health department. It was a "subculture" of a sample taken with a fiber-optic instrument at the Atlanta hospital where Speaker's condition was first diagnosed. Such samples are tested by swirling a bacteria-laden swab across one "culture plate" containing an antibiotic and another plate with no antibiotic. If the number of bacterial colonies that grow on the antibiotic-containing plate is more than 1 percent of the number of colonies on the antibiotic-free plate, the bacteria are declared to be resistant to that drug. In the case of Speaker's sample, the CDC test found that about 25 percent as many colonies grew on the fluoroquinolone- and injectables-treated plates as on the antibiotic-free plates -- a clear case of resistance, Cohen said. The doctors said they do not know why the subsequent tests did not produce the same result, but they noted that the sample tested by the CDC may have been a variable mixture of many slightly different strains of TB bacteria that Speaker was harboring, one or two of them extensively resistant. They might have been caught by chance in the CDC's test but not in the later ones. Daley said the treatment strategy does not have to cover every rare sub-strain of bacteria a patient is carrying in order to be successful. "We target the one that grows in the laboratory in predominance," he said. Speaker's father-in-law works as a laboratory scientist in the TB section of the CDC, but he was not involved in testing the sample, Cohen said.	The strain of tuberculosis infecting Andrew Speaker, the Atlanta lawyer who was the object of an international hunt by public health authorities in May, turns out not to be as dangerous as doctors originally thought.	28.842105	1	38	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070201943.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070201943.html	Attempts Seen As Model for New Attacks On U.S. Soil	2007070419	The next terrorist assault on the United States is likely to come through relatively unsophisticated, near-simultaneous attacks -- similar to those attempted in Britain over the weekend -- designed more to provoke widespread fear and panic than to cause major losses of life, U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials believe. Such attacks require minimal expertise and training and are difficult to prevent. Although British investigators have not claimed al-Qaeda involvement in the latest incidents, officials here said they may constitute a "hybrid" phenomenon, in which al-Qaeda inspires and guides local groups from afar but establishes no visible operational or logistical links. The connection, several officials said, is made through a growing network of al-Qaeda intermediaries and affiliates who are far removed from the organization's leadership. "What is a direct link?" asked one counterterrorism official. "Is it couriers? Messengers?" U.S. officials "from very senior folks" on down, he said, are watching as the British work to reconstruct the attacks and trace their origin. In an internal memo titled "Staying on Target," CIA Director Michael V. Hayden told agency employees yesterday that "events in Great Britain since last Friday serve as a reminder -- if we ever needed one -- that this remains a dangerous world and that our work in defending America is as important as ever." The incidents in England and Scotland, counterterrorism officials said, coincide with recent U.S. intelligence indicating stepped-up movement of money and people from al-Qaeda camps in the ungoverned tribal areas of Pakistan, near the Afghan border. Several senior U.S. military officials were sharply critical yesterday of what they saw as the Pakistani government's unwillingness to move forcefully against the camps and the U.S. administration's failure to press Pakistan harder to curtail what one called a terrorist "growth industry." Al-Qaeda's "presence in the tribal areas has not been this secure since before 9/11," one senior U.S. military intelligence official wrote in an e-mail. Hayden's memo appeared designed to rally his troops in the face of the morale-deadening criticism directed at the intelligence community in recent years. Accused of incompetence for failing to warn of the September 2001 attacks and for providing faulty intelligence on Iraq, it is also charged with overzealous anti-terrorism efforts that see al-Qaeda operatives under every bed. "Even as we deal with the current threat," Hayden's memo said, "it is hard not to notice the growing debates on both sides of the Atlantic about certain aspects of the war on terrorism: Guantanamo, habeas corpus, detentions, renditions, electronic surveillance, etc. For us, though, the choices are pretty clear: We will use all of our lawful authorities to defend America and her friends. "Some say elements of the current debate reflect the thinking of a pre-9/11 world," the short memo concluded. "Don't worry about that. Keep your eye on our objective. For all of us at CIA, today's date is clear: It's always September 12th." After the events in Britain, U.S. officials have tried to strike a balance between insisting that "we do not currently have any specific threat information that is credible about a particular attack in the United States," as Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said yesterday, and asking Americans to keep a careful watch on their surroundings. Although the Department of Homeland Security did not raise the threat level, Chertoff and other officials said that security and surveillance have been increased in several ways, including the placement of more U.S. marshals on flights to Britain and other European destinations. Officials said the weekend's events had only heightened existing concerns. "It's not just what happened in England and Scotland that has us watching," another counterterrorism official said. "We have had some concerns for some time." On Jan. 22, the Holland Tunnel in New York was evacuated for several hours after a suspicious package was spotted after an accident. Hazardous-materials teams were brought in, and the package was blown up by a robot before the tunnel was reopened. In Georgetown on Saturday night, some restaurants and nightclubs were evacuated after firefighters spotted an abandoned backpack on a sidewalk. And on Sunday afternoon, police set up checkpoints on the access route into Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, stopping some cars and trucks for inspection. A senior administration official acknowledged that recent arrests of groups charged with plotting terrorist attacks in Miami and at Fort Dix, N.J., and John F. Kennedy International Airport, as well as the arrest of a man charged with planning to detonate an explosive device in an Illinois shopping mall, have "come under a great deal of criticism for not being serious." But the official saw some vindication for U.S. law enforcement in the British plots. "Remember that the FBI and the law enforcement community have done important work in nipping these cells in the bud so that we don't get to the stage of cars pouring into an airport terminal," the official said. Saying that the British incidents "certainly appeared to be al-Qaeda-inspired," the official said they were more of a "reminder" of an ongoing threat in this country than an indication that similar attacks are imminent here. Bruce Hoffman, a counterterrorism expert at Georgetown University, said he considered al-Qaeda involvement likely in the British incidents and disagreed with those who labeled the attacks amateurish. "They didn't work, but I think of all the al-Qaeda plots we've seen, their sophistication is in their simplicity. They used available materials. Where they tripped up is in the detonation of the devices. That's a trickier business." The alleged perpetrators under arrest in Britain -- two of them physicians -- pose a challenge for both British and U.S. intelligence officials. The doctors' names did not appear on any U.S. list of people with suspected terrorist ties, U.S. officials said. Al-Qaeda has made a "strategic investment" in Britain in recent years, Hoffman said, creating ties to an infrastructure of individuals and groups that are difficult to fit into an intelligence profile. By drawing from a large reservoir of potential operatives, Hoffman said, al-Qaeda is attempting to "break any attempt at profiles, and also to demonstrate the diversity of their movement." Staff writers Thomas E. Ricks and John Solomon contributed to this report.	News about the U.S. military from The Washington Post and washingtonpost.com. Full coverage of defense budgets,Army,Navy,Air Force,Marines and the Pentagon.	41.433333	0.566667	0.766667	high	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070201703.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070201703.html	Suspect's Arrest Rattles Quiet Neighborhood	2007070419	STOKE-ON-TRENT, England, July 2 -- A resident of this pottery-making town in central England recalled Mohammed Asha, a prime suspect in Britain's recent car-bombing scare, as a professional and family man who spoke with the authority of the doctor he was. Symon Plant, 34, said Monday that when the Jordanian-trained physician moved last August with his wife and young son into a three-bedroom house owned by Plant's family, Asha asked whether his wife would face abuse because she wore a burqa. Plant described Asha as a tall, thin man who spoke clear English and wore traditional Muslim clothes. His wife wore a burqa, leaving only her eyes visible, Plant said, which made her stand out in Chesterton, a neighborhood with few immigrants and Muslims. Asha told Plant he was moving from a town in Shropshire, also in the heart of England, and that his wife had been "racially abused" there when wearing her burqa. Plant said: "He asked me, 'Do you think she will have a problem here if she goes to the shops?' and I said, 'No.' " Neighbors had noticed that the family never had any visitors, Plant said, but a couple of weeks ago, a few men wearing long beards and Muslim dress came and stayed overnight. Plant said Asha had planned to leave the house this month. In Amman, Jordan, Asha's father, Jamil, denied that his 26-year-old son had any terrorist leanings, the Associated Press reported. "My son is a moderate Muslim and carried out his religious duties, but he never embraced fanaticism," he said. Residents here said Asha is a neurologist who works at the local North Staffordshire Hospital. Asha and his wife were arrested Saturday night as they drove on the M6, a major nearby highway. A group of unmarked police cars forced their car off the road. The vehicle was reportedly spotted by roadside camera technology equipped to recognize license plate numbers. The arrest shocked residents of Stoke-on-Trent. "This is not London," said Carol Higgins, 34, a grocery clerk in this quiet city, which is world-famous for its pottery. "We are known for Wedgwood china, not bombers." "We are just stunned," said Carol Nixon, a telephone engineer and neighbor, as forensic officers hauled plastic bags full of material from Asha's home into their vans. "This kind of thing just doesn't happen around here." Residents of the small cul-de-sac said the usual activities here are children kicking soccer balls and homeowners tending to the roses, lilacs and lilies in their front gardens. For the first time anyone could remember, armed police were at the Stoke railway station on Monday. Stoke-on-Trent does not have a large Muslim population, unlike the two major cities it lies between, Manchester and Birmingham. But residents said more Muslims have moved here, working in call centers, shops and hospitals. At North Staffordshire Hospital, the area's largest, a spokesman would say only that the hospital is "cooperating with the police investigation." But the suddenly famous local doctor was what patients were talking about. "I'm gobsmacked," said Derek Matthews, 60, as he left the neurology department with his daughter, who suffers from multiple sclerosis.	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.	14.478261	0.413043	0.413043	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070301545.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070301545.html	A Stark Edge in Race for '08 Cash	2007070419	Campaign contributors to the 2008 presidential candidates heavily favored Democrats in the three-month period that ended Saturday, giving three dollars to the party's leading contenders for every two dollars they gave to the top Republican candidates. Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's 258,000 contributors since January exceed the combined number of donors of former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), according to estimates provided by the campaigns. Romney announced yesterday that he has lent his campaign $6.5 million from his personal fortune to supplement the $14 million he raised from April through June. Giuliani's campaign said it raised about $15 million during the quarter. Last week, McCain announced a dramatic staff shake-up after raising only $11 million, leaving him with just $2 million in the bank. During the quarter, Obama (Ill.) raised $32.5 million, $31 million of which can be used in the primaries. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) raised $21 million for the primaries and a total of about $27 million in the same period. The fundraising results continued a striking reversal of fortunes for Democratic presidential hopefuls, who have often labored with less money than their Republican counterparts. "Clearly, that's a reflection on the war and a reflection of the past," said Alex Castellanos, Romney's media consultant. "There's a lot of pent-up disappointment in the Republican Party on issues like spending. It's not just the administration, being unable to keep its promises . . . since we're the guys in charge, we pay a price for that." The bulk of the Democratic advantage has come from Obama and Clinton. Former senator John Edwards (N.C.) raised about $9 million during the past three months, while New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson raised about $7 million. Obama, in particular, has had tremendous success raising money from small donors on the Internet. Aides said that 110,000 people have contributed to his campaign by making small donations through the Internet. Political observers said the Democratic enthusiasm is being fueled by anger over the Iraq war, while dissatisfaction among conservative Republicans with their choices has dampened the mood of traditional GOP givers. "Those folks are just raising up a storm of money," said Gary Nordlinger, a Democratic consultant. "What you are showing is that there is a heck of a lot more grass-roots enthusiasm among the Democratic base than there is among the Republican base." Giuliani aides yesterday touted their $15 million haul in the second quarter, which leaves the campaign with about the same amount in the bank. Campaign manager Mike DuHaime said in a statement that he was "thrilled" by the total. "We are well positioned to win both the primary and the general elections," he said.	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.	14.25641	0.512821	0.564103	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070300934.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/03/AR2007070300934.html	Firm Says Employee Stole, Sold Private Financial Data	2007070419	The employee, who has been fired, sold the information to an unidentified data broker. The broker then sold some of it to several direct marketing companies, but the information was not used in identity theft or other fraudulent financial activity, officials from Certegy Check Services, the subsidiary, said in a conference call. About 2.2 million records stolen from Certegy contained bank account information and 99,000 contained credit card information, company officials said. "As a result of this apparent theft, the consumers affected received marketing solicitations from the companies that bought the data," said Renz Nichols, president of Certegy, which is based in St. Petersburg, Fla. "We believe that is the extent of any damage to the public." The company said it has found no fraudulent use of the information. An investigation is underway by the Secret Service and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Certegy has asked a court in St. Petersburg to get back all the information from the employee and the marketing companies and stop its use. Certegy officials said that they had contacted the data broker and the marketing companies and that they thought Certegy would be able to get the information back and prevent its future use. The broker and the companies did not know they were buying stolen information, officials said. Certegy did not release the names of the broker or the companies. Certegy will notify all affected consumers of the theft and has contacted major credit agencies, Nichols said. The former Certegy employee's name was not released. He was identified as a senior database administrator who had worked for the company for seven years. Fidelity National is not related to Fidelity Investments, the nation's largest mutual fund company.	Fidelity National Information Services, a financial processing company, said yesterday that a worker at one of its subsidiaries stole 2.3 million consumer records containing credit card, bank account and other personal information.	9.083333	0.694444	1.027778	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070201730.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070201730.html	HD Radio Grabs the Ear of Satellite Rivals	2007070419	When Hyundai introduces its still-unnamed premium sports sedan for 2008, it will arrive with a built-in feature that most other new cars won't have: high-definition radio. Over the past few months, high-definition radio technology, which delivers clearer and crisper sound for over-the-air radio, has made inroads into the new-car market, a major battleground for audio entertainment. Hyundai, Jaguar and BMW are among the automakers that have installed the required special receivers into their cars. The retailers Best Buy and Wal-Mart in March said they would carry high-definition equipment in their stores. In May, broadcast companies launched stations in the updated format in the nation's top 100 markets. HD radio's recent announcements could be noteworthy as XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio continue to lobby the government to approve their planned merger. Executives of the country's two satellite radio companies point to HD radio, Internet radio and in-car iPod accessories as their competitors. Regulators are keenly interested in looking at the competitive landscape for radio, particularly in the car, where many satellite radio systems are installed. None of those technologies were around a decade ago when satellite radio was created, proponents of the merger have argued. With 14 million subscribers, satellite radio still has many more listeners than HD radio, although HD is gaining ground. In 2006, the number of HD radio receivers sold was about 200,000. That number is projected to reach 1.5 million this year, according to the HD Digital Radio Alliance, a consortium of broadcasters promoting the technology. And the number of stations broadcasting in the new format has more than doubled in less than a year, to more than 1,300 from about 600 at the end of last summer. HD radio, unlike its satellite counterpart, broadcasts over traditional airwaves and charges no monthly subscription fee, a feature the industry is promoting as part of its $250 million marketing and advertising campaign. The monthly fee charged by the satellite companies could put them at a disadvantage if consumers begin to choose between the two options, said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at Enderle Group. "Free tends to trump fee in almost every market," he said. "I think the argument for XM and Sirius is that if they don't merge, they'll probably go away." Sirius chief executive Mel Karmazin said that increased rivalry from newer technologies could threaten the future of satellite radio. Neither XM nor Sirius has ever made a profit. "It's not news to us that HD radio is a competitor," Karmazin said. "It may be news to regulators because they don't follow this as much as we do, but this is the market we saw when we announced our merger." Peter Ferrara, president and chief executive of the HD Digital Radio Alliance, said he thinks satellite radio is complimentary to traditional radio. He also recognizes that it would be tough to challenge satellite radio for the attention of the major carmakers, who tend to adopt new technologies only after they have reached the mainstream market. For the first time this year, subscriptions for XM and Sirius are growing, through their partnerships with automakers including Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Toyota and Honda, something Ferrara sees as more of a threat to the widespread adoption of HD radio. "If they [merge], they can control the dashboard," Ferrara said about the satellite companies. "They already have the partnerships. They could block us out."	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.	20.176471	0.411765	0.529412	medium	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070202011.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070202011.html	Ohio Inmate's Execution Not Constitutional, Lawsuit Says	2007070419	TOLEDO, July 2 -- The mother of a condemned inmate whose execution took almost 90 minutes -- an hour longer than is typical -- sued the head of Ohio's prisons Monday. Irma Clark's lawsuit said the execution of Joseph Clark in May 2006 amounted to unconstitutional cruel and unusual punishment, and she wants the state to change the way it carries out death sentences. Joining Clark and her family at a news conference Monday was Michael Manning, whose brother David was killed by Clark in November 1984. "Nobody should have to die a horrible death," Manning said. The lawsuit was filed in Cincinnati federal court on behalf of Clark's estate, which lists his mother as administrator. Prison staff had problems finding a usable vein on Clark, and a vein they used collapsed. The execution team also tried to administer the lethal drugs through the original intravenous line by mistake, according to written accounts that the execution team is required to submit. During the first injection attempt, Clark, 57, finally pushed himself up and said, "It don't work." Manning, who was inside the death chamber, said he watched in disbelief. He said he heard Clark moaning after prison staff closed the curtains. "You could tell he was in pain," Manning said. "My head was spinning." During the second attempt at finding a vein, Clark asked, "Can you just give me something by mouth to end this?" Prisons spokeswoman Andrea Dean said she did not know whether Clark's moans were caused by pain. "He didn't appear to be in any physical distress," she said. The state changed its lethal injection process after Clark's execution to ensure that veins can be found more carefully and quickly to avoid similar delays, Dean said. But this May, an execution team struggled to find veins in another inmate's arm. Christopher Newton died nearly two hours after the scheduled start of his execution. The lawsuit also named as defendants the 12 members of the execution team and the warden of the prison where the execution took place. It seeks at least $150,000 in damages.	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.	9.97619	0.404762	0.404762	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070200174.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070200174.html	Iran's Elite Force Is Said to Use Hezbollah as 'Proxy' in Iraq	2007070419	BAGHDAD, July 2 -- An American general said on Monday that Iraqi Shiite militiamen are being trained by Iranian security forces in cooperation with Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite movement, offering the most specific accusations to date of Iranian involvement in specific attacks against U.S. forces. Brig. Gen. Kevin J. Bergner, a U.S. military spokesman, asserted that Iran's elite al-Quds Force, a wing of the Revolutionary Guard, was providing armor-piercing weapons to extremist groups in Iraq, funneling them up to $3 million a month and training Iraqi militiamen at three camps near Tehran. "The Iranian Quds Force is using Lebanese Hezbollah essentially as a proxy, as a surrogate in Iraq," Bergner said. "Our intelligence reveals that senior leadership in Iran is aware of this activity." Officials at the Iranian Embassy in Baghdad could not be reached for comment on Monday, but in response to previous assertions of this kind they have denied Iran is in any way responsible for violence in Iraq. Similar denials have been issued by Hezbollah. The accusations against Iran occurred on a day when Iraqi health officials said U.S. airstrikes had caused civilian casualties in the southern city of Diwaniyah. Early Monday, about 25 mortar shells struck inside the perimeter of Camp Echo, a base for Polish troops in Diwaniyah, injuring three coalition soldiers, the U.S. military said. Two U.S. F-16 fighter jets then bombed the suspected launch sites of the mortar and rocket attack. The airstrikes killed at least 10 people and wounded 35, according to Hussein al-Jarrah, director of Diwaniyah General Hospital. In a statement about the incident, the U.S. military made no mention of civilian casualties, but said the bombing took place along a street "where insurgents persistently use urban areas from which to attack, in order to use civilians as human shields." Angered by the violence, residents staged a protest near a government building and some threw rocks. Gunfire broke out, killing one of the demonstrators, police said. Two policemen were injured. Also Monday, the U.S. military said a third American soldier had been charged in the deaths of three civilians near Iskandariyah. Sgt. Evan Vela, of Phoenix, Idaho, was charged Sunday with premeditated murder, wrongfully placing a weapon by the remains of a dead Iraqi, making a false statement and obstruction of justice. Two other soldiers from the same unit -- Staff Sgt. Michael A. Hensley of Candler, N.C., and Spec. Jorge G. Sandoval Jr. of Laredo, Tex. -- have also been charged in the case. The alleged crimes took place over the past three months, the U.S. military said. On Monday, the U.S. military also announced the deaths of five American soldiers and a Marine. One soldier was killed and two others were wounded by a bomb that exploded near their vehicle in Salahuddin province on Monday. The day before, a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol was hit by a roadside bomb and gunfire in western Baghdad, killing one soldier and injuring two Iraqi policemen. Another soldier was killed by gunmen in southern Baghdad. Two other soldiers and the Marine died in Anbar province in western Iraq. In what U.S. military officials called a "deliberate ambush," insurgents early Monday opened fire with heavy machine guns on two U.S. Kiowa light attack helicopters south of Baghdad, downing one of the aircraft. The two pilots crash-landed the damaged copter, suffering only minor injuries, and were rescued by an Apache combat helicopter called to the scene.	BAGHDAD, July 2 -- An American general said on Monday that Iraqi Shiite militiamen are being trained by Iranian security forces in cooperation with Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite movement, offering the most specific accusations to date of Iranian involvement in specific attacks against U.S. forces.	13.693878	1	49	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070201641.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070419id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/02/AR2007070201641.html	Wolfowitz Joins Think Tank as Visiting Scholar	2007070419	He was an architect of the Iraq war who was forced from the World Bank presidency amid allegations that he improperly acted to benefit his girlfriend. Now, Paul D. Wolfowitz will turn his attention to the relatively calmer waters of Washington intelligentsia, as a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. The conservative think tank announced yesterday that it has hired Wolfowitz, who stepped down from his World Bank post on Saturday, to work on issues of international economic development, Africa and public-private partnerships. The announcement was made by AEI's president, Christopher DeMuth. As the deputy defense secretary until 2005, Wolfowitz helped oversee planning for the Iraq war. He then moved to the presidency of the World Bank but faced a hostile staff, angry with his role in promoting the 2003 invasion. His stormy tenure came to an end after his role in arranging a pay raise and a new job at the State Department for his girlfriend, bank employee Shaha Riza, came to light, prompting withering staff criticism and international calls for him to resign. After careful negotiations, Wolfowitz agreed to leave, and President Bush tapped former trade representative Robert B. Zoellick to replace him. Zoellick took office Sunday. Wolfowitz has a long association with AEI, serving as an adviser before joining the Pentagon in 2001. He has a long rÃ©sumÃ© in public service and in academia, as a professor at Yale and at the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins.	Latest news on the US federal government. Information and analysis of federal legislation, government contracts and regulations. Search for government job openings, career information and federal employee benefits news.	7.805556	0.388889	0.388889	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702234.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702234.html	David S. Broder - Cheney Unbound - washingtonpost.com	2007070119	Later, when presidential candidate George W. Bush chose Dick Cheney as his running mate, I applauded the choice, thinking that Cheney would fill the role Alexander had outlined. Boy, was I wrong. The role model for Alexander was Bryce Harlow, the diminutive, modest and universally trusted White House player in the Eisenhower and Nixon years. Cheney, as described in a breathtakingly detailed series in The Post this week by reporters Barton Gellman and Jo Becker, is something else. What they discovered, in a year of work that reveals more about the inner workings of this White House than any previous reporting, is a vice president who used the broad authority given him by a complaisant chief executive to bend the decision-making process to his own ends and purposes, often overriding Cabinet officers and other executive branch officials along the way. Cheney used his years of experience, as a former White House chief of staff, as the secretary of defense and as the House Republican whip -- and all the savvy that moved him into those positions -- to amass power and use it in the Bush administration. He was more than a match for the newcomers to the White House, and he outfoxed even the veterans of past administrations when it came to the bureaucratic wars. He was not the ultimate decision-maker. Bush retained that authority, and he used it to decide on war in Iraq, the final numbers in the budget and who got to sit on the Supreme Court. But Cheney shaped all of those decisions with his recommendations to the president -- often in ways that were unknown to the other players and unseen by Congress and the public. Secrecy was one of his tools and weapons, and his lawyers -- Scooter Libby first and now David Addington -- frustrated other policymakers by their willingness to shape or reshape the law to suit Cheney's arguments. It is easy to see why former Treasury secretary Paul O'Neill, who had been recommended for the job by Cheney, complained afterward that "there is no policy process," because the decision-making was often short-circuited by the vice president's private access to the Oval Office. O'Neill was not alone in feeling that way. The secretary of state, the national security adviser and the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board also discovered to their surprise that Cheney had gone behind their backs to get his way with the president. What Gellman and Becker have described is a decision-making process in which Bush has allowed Cheney to play a bureaucratic role inside the White House that Cheney never permitted anyone to employ when he was guarding the door as Gerald Ford's chief of staff. He could exercise this power only with the compliance of the president and only because he often could bypass the procedures he had put in place in the Ford administration, procedures meant to protect the president's interests. He used his intelligence and his grasp on the levers of power -- and most of all he used secrecy -- to outflank and outwit others and thereby shape the Bush administration's agenda. It was not illegal, and it was not unconstitutional, but it could not have happened unless the president permitted it and enabled it. And ultimately the president is responsible for what has become, in very large respect, the resulting wreckage of foreign policy, national security policy, budget policy, energy policy and environmental policy under Cheney's direction and on Cheney's watch. Where I thought, mistakenly, that it would be a great advantage to Bush to have a White House partner without political succession in mind, it has turned out to be altogether too liberating an environment for a political entrepreneur of surpassing skill operating under an exceptional cloak of secrecy. Thanks to Gellman and Becker, some of that secrecy has been removed.	Years ago Lamar Alexander, the senator from Tennessee, told me of a lesson he had learned as a young man on the White House staff: It is always useful for the president to have at least one aide who has had a successful career already, who does not need the job, and who therefore can offer candid...	11.507937	0.571429	0.920635	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062701824.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062701824.html	Jim Webb and the Populist Pitch	2007070119	And then the freshman senator from Virginia begins quoting some lyrics from "Song of the South," recorded by the country rock group Alabama: "Well somebody told us Wall Street fell, But we were so poor that we couldn't tell. Cotton was short and the weeds were tall. But Mr. Roosevelt's a-gonna save us all." That kind of populist anger is part of the Democrats' past, and Webb argues that it's the party's future as well. But he worries that "the people at the top of the party don't comprehend the power of that message" and that as a result the Democrats may miss their best chance in a generation to reconnect with the American middle class. "The Democrats need to embrace the fact that the greatest issue in America today is economic fairness," he says. He argues that if the Democrats construct a "fairness agenda" that tilts toward workers and away from corporations and the rich, "they will win big." John Edwards hasn't had much luck so far with the issue, which he has made the centerpiece of his presidential campaign. But some influential Democrats, including former Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers, share the focus on fairness. Webb is a quirky, sometimes cranky ex-Marine who is just settling into his new digs in the Russell Senate Office Building, where we met for a conversation last week. He takes positions that set other Democrats' teeth on edge -- proclaiming his support for gun ownership and criticizing liberal "interest groups" that he says have come to dominate the party. Some might question whether he's really a Democrat at all, since he served in the Reagan administration. But that didn't stop the party leadership from choosing Webb to deliver a stinging Democratic response to President Bush's 2007 State of the Union address. Webb articulates what may be the wild-card issue of the 2008 campaign. There is a deep anger these days among middle-class Americans who feel abandoned by the elites in both parties. That anger surfaces on pocketbook issues that affect working people -- immigration, outsourcing of jobs, and the trade and tax boondoggles that broadcaster Lou Dobbs rages against each night on CNN. "The average American worker sits there feeling the impact of globalization and immigration. They need people sticking up for them," says Webb. Though he doesn't criticize any politicians by name, he scolds what he calls "the Rubin wing" of the party, which supports the pro-investment policies advocated by Clinton administration Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. Webb was making these arguments about the forgotten middle class long before Dobbs got the message. In 1995, Webb wrote a manifesto headlined "In Defense of Joe Six-Pack" for the Wall Street Journal. It was a defense of poor and middle-income whites, whose share of household aggregate income was declining even as rich Americans grew richer. But it was also a tirade against President Bill Clinton and other elitist liberals "who excused themselves from the dirty work of society when they were younger" and "have mandated an 'equal opportunity' bureaucracy in the military, government and even industry that closely resembles the Soviet 'political cadre' structure, whose sole function is to report 'political incorrectness.' " Whew! On the issue of fairness (if not political correctness) some influential Democrats are starting to come Webb's way. In a recent paper for Rubin's own Hamilton Project, Summers and fellow economists Jason Furman and Jason Bordoff made a powerful case for restoring the progressivity of the tax system. They found that in 2004 the top one-tenth of 1 percent in America made as much before-tax income as the bottom 28 percent combined. Actual federal tax rates on that top one-tenth have fallen sharply, from 60 percent in 1960 to 34 percent in 2004. Webb's "fairness agenda" is political dynamite, in the best and worst senses. It's a powerful rallying cry, but it could turn into protectionist demagoguery if it isn't managed carefully. But Webb has one big thing right: America is becoming a more stratified society, in which the rich receive a disproportionate share of the growth in national income. Denouncing the fairness argument as "class warfare," as Republicans like to do, may not work this time. The Democratic candidate who gets the fairness issue right could find a new way to rally the party and the country. The writer is co-host of PostGlobal, an online discussion of international issues. His e-mail address is davidignatius@washpost.com.	Sen. Jim Webb is talking about his mother's family, which lived in hardscrabble eastern Arkansas during the Great Depression and was so poor "there was nothing -- not even money." The Democrats built their party around such people, Webb is saying, while the Republicans never cared about them.	15.875	0.625	0.839286	medium	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/22/DI2007062200832.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/22/DI2007062200832.html	NBA Draft Preview	2007070119	Will it be Greg Oden or Kevin Durant? Who do the Hawks take at No. 3? And what will the Wizards do? Draftexpress.com's Jonathan Givony was online Thursday, June 28 at 11 a.m. to take your questions and give you the latest info on draft day. I would imagine the toughest hurdle in doing what you do is finding reliable sources. It would seem that most teams would peddle lots of half-truths and no-truths. Is that the case? As a result, do you mostly rely on your own analysis? Is there enough give and take between you and teams that you are fairly confident in your mock draft, or could guys you've projected at a certain spot go 10 to 15 picks earlier or later than you have projected? Jonathan Givony: You are absolutely right about that. Over the past four years, thats been one of the toughest challenges--sorting out what's real from what's being fed to you. People know that we are in this for the long-haul, though, so we've been able to narrow down our circle of who we really trust just by examining the reputation they established. Also keep in mind that there is a lot of give and take in this business. We receive a lot of info as well that not all teams might be pivy to, so we do a lot of "trading" of information these days also. I'm pretty confident in what we have on the mock right now, but I know that one trade could send to whole thing into a tailspin. The first twenty picks isn't that hard as far as finding the range players will get drafted in, but after that its a bit of a crap shoot. A guy like Aaron Brooks for example could go as high as the late first, or he could slip into the mid-second. Things get dicy around there. Cincinnati: There have been a lot of rumors with the Pacers and O'Neal, any updates? Jonathan Givony: The NJ Nets offered Indiana Nenad Krstic and Richard Jefferson for O'Neal. The Pacers are sitting on that for now, and are leaning towards saying no. There is also talk that the Lakers have rekindled trade talks, and many believe that the #19 pick (LA's) will not be made for them. Jonathan Givony: Hello everyone, welcome to the chat and thanks to the Washington Post for having me. You can get a lot more detailed information on the prospects we're discussing or the many rumors out there by hitting up DraftExpress.com. Enjoy what is sure to be a very eventful day... Deale, Md.: Would the Washington Wizards be better off trading their first-round pick for a veteran center, a position where they are below par? Jonathan Givony: I don't believe that a major contributor is going to be available there, and the Wizards don't really have that many assests to make a big time trade. They for example talked to Minnesota about KG, but didn't have enough juice to get anything done. D.C.: Where does Zabian Dowdell project in the mock draft? Jonathan Givony: He has a chance to get drafted at #28 by San Antonio, and also will get looks early in the second from Seattle and Dallas. We have him going #39 to Miami, where he would be perfect next to Dwyane Wade. We're big fans of Z and have been writing about him all year. He's a great guy. Arlington, Va.: Julian Wright seems like he would fit best in a system where he mostly would run the floor, crash the boards, take the occasional mid-range jumper and do a little ball distribution without having to drive a lot or create his own shot. What are some teams whose offenses suit him? Jonathan Givony: I was told that "if he's on the board at #16 (Washington), he won't be on the board at #17." I think the Wizards would love to have him. His stock has slipped somewhat since he's not a workout guy and people are wondering about his true position, but I agree with you about his versatile skill set and think he will end up becoming a very nice role player in the NBA. Bethesda, Md.: Do you see Wake Forest Sr. Kyle Visser getting drafted and if so, will he ever see time at the NBA level? Jonathan Givony: I think Visser has NBA potential for sure. He didn't play well enough at the pre-draft camp to really warrant moving up in this draft, but I do think he will get drafted and he could very well be Washington's guy at #47 (his camp seems to think so at least). He's got a lot of tools at his disposal, but he needs to become a better rebounder and play with more focus. Having looked at all the possibilities the Wizards may have, to me it seems like center Jason Smith (Colorado State) at 7 feet, 240 pounds with his last year stats (16.8 ppg, 10.1 rpg) would probably be the best choice don't you think? I mean with all the Haywood/Thomas drama and a lack of a big presence for so many years, how could they pass on a talented 7-foot center? Or do you think Nick Young, or someone else will be their most prized possibility? Jonathan Givony: The Wizards love Nick Young and would take him in a heartbeat if he fell there. I don't think he gets past 13 or 14 at worst, but you never know... I'm not a huge Jason Smith fan even though he does have some fantastic tools (athleticism, frame, perimeter skills galore). I think that the Wizards can get a guy who can contribute quicker to help appease Arenas. Columbia, Md.: Jonathan, I have been a long-time fan of your Draft Express site, thanks for doing the chat. Question: Can Splitter get out of his contract to finally, finally play in the NBA? I have been very interested in Splitter for the past few years and am wondering what you think of his game now. Jonathan Givony: Thank you first of all. Splitter has no buyout for this year, but he can get out of his contract after NEXT season if he pays 1 million dollars. His agent Herb Rudoy indicated to us that he's already informed his team that he'll be doing that. I am a big fan of Splitter...think he might be one of the most NBA ready guys in this draft. He's big, smart, athletic, very experienced, and is a surefire 10-12 year guy to me. He also wants to play in the NBA very badly as he told us at the Euroleague Final Four in Athens last month. If he didn't have contract issues, he'd be a top 15 pick for sure. He's a steal in the 20's. Arlington, Va.: Can Durant really be considered that much of an assassin? He disappeared in the second halves of some big games last year (poor conditioning?) and had trouble even getting the ball when covered by big, quick guards. Jonathan Givony: Durant is the most talented player in this year's draft, hands down. He had some big seconds halves this year as well, even if he did waver a bit at times due to the HUGE load that was put on his shoulders. I would be shocked if he's not considered one of the 5 best players in the NBA in three years. I think he's that good. Springfield, Va.: Would it be better for the Wizards to draft the best big man left or the best player left in the draft? Jonathan Givony: I was told that they are going into their war room and will put 17 names on the board-- the 17 best players in this draft. As the draft moves on, they will scratch them off and take the best guy that is left. That's the definitely the right approach, and I am certain that a guy who was highly regarded all year (Julian Wright, Al Thornton, Acie Law are candidates) will end up slipping, since there are always surprises. As one NBA executive drafting in the mid-first told me "there is always going to be some idiot that takes Nick Fazekas 10th or something...we're not worried. Its just a shame that Isiah is behind us." That one made me laugh. Netanya, Israel: I have been reading online version of the Washington papers and all the various Web sites dedicated to basketball for the past few months and I have never seen any of the writers make a case for Glen "Big Baby" Davis as being the next Wes Unseld -- the only championship center in Bullet/Wizards history. Draft this guy and you can move one or both centers and give Blatche and Pech a lot more playing time and still have some "mass" (with greater scoring potential) close to the boards. Jonathan Givony: Hello from Israel, one of my favorite places in the world. Big Baby doesn't have value at #16 in my mind. There are too many questions about his weight problems for that. He's more of a 21-40 guy in my mind. I am a contributor to DX and appreciate all the work you guys do. Who have you heard would be included as "filler" in the rumored Rockets pick/Ike Diogu trade? Any idea which team(s) the Rockets have arrangements to swap picks with? There is some talk that the Lakers could have a deal in place to swap the #19 pick and Brian Cook for the #26 pick and Luther Head. The filler on Houston's end could be Bobby Sura's ending contract for example, nothing major. Charlottesville, Va.: Where do you think J.R Reynolds will be playing next year? After watching him shoot the lights out of JPJ Arena, I can't imagine a team passing on him in the second round. Jonathan Givony: I'm a big J.R. Reynolds fan. We started talking about him as an NBA prospect all the way back September last year in our ACC NBA Draft prospects preview. He played very poorly at the pre-draft camp and his stock seems to be slipping. At this point I think he would be happy to be drafted anywhere in the 2nd round. He might have to go to Europe for a year and show teams what they are missing out on-- ala Charlie Bell. I think he would be an assassin there (like Drew Nicholas is) and have recommended to some GMs in Italy to take a look at him. D.C.: Atlanta can't possibly screw this up can they? Jonathan Givony: If anyone can...its them! If they take Yi like a lot of people think they might, you know its gonna be a great night. I was told this morning by Al Horford's people that he has not received any guarantees at the #3 spot. At the Abyss, Boston: How strong is the No. 5 pick for the Celts? Who do you think will be left for them to pick and who do you think they will take? How do you rate Ainge's drafting ability? Strangely enough, I think he does okay at the draft but is abysmal with free agent deals and trades. Is there hope for this once-proud franchise? Jonathan Givony: The recent indications seem to be leaning towards Yi Jianlian. I think that would be a mistake personally, but Boston has certainly done their homework on him. They might have both Conley or Noah on the board there, and to pass on both of them would be foolish in my mind. I think Ainge has a good eye for talent, but he can't seem to decide on what he wants to do with this franchise. Taking Yi is going to be the final nail in the Paul Pierce staying in Boston coffin. Love the podcasts, keep up the great work. You stated in one of your podcasts that European teams are starting to pay big money to keep their players. Are NBA general managers going to take a different approach now, i.e. they will think twice about drafting a European guy because of buyout issues. Juan Carlos Navarro is a great example...one of the best European prospects and it seems as though he will never play in the NBA. Jonathan Givony: You are right on the money. From a very selfish standpoint, I would like to see Navarro come to the NBA this summer because I think he could really help the Wizards take that next step towards competing for the Eastern Conference Finals. Unfortunately Barcelona has other thoughts...working out his buyout doesn't seem likely. College Park, Md.: How are things shaping up for DJ Strawberry? Does he have a shot at getting drafted at all? Jonathan Givony: I spoke with one of DJ's guys this morning, and he sounded VERY optomistic. Apparently he has a draft party organized and everything. They feel like he's got a great chance to get drafted. Teams that like him include Phoenix, Portland and the Lakers amongst others. He's done well in workouts and a few people I talked to see him being a great guy to have in an NBA lockerroom and practices his first year or two. Being ranked the #1 athlete in the draft has ALWAYS helped historically-- ask David Noel, Troy Bell, Kirk Snyder, Joey Graham, etc... Washington, D.C.: Biggest surprise tonight (though I guess if you can predict it, it won't be a surprise)? You've predicted that Julian Wright will drop to Washington at 16. If he doesn't, which top guy do you think might be the mostly likely to drop to 16? Personally, I'm hoping Ernie Grunfeld is wearing his catcher's mitt tonight and just picks whatever upper tier player drops to him. But do you have the sense that the Wizards have a particular guy in mind that they will pick if he's there, regardless of whether someone else drops to them? It concerns me that the Wizards haven't worked out hardly anyone projected to go in the top 15. Jonathan Givony: That's what the Wizards are planning on doing. My picks besides Wright would be: Al Thornton (people are worried about his wrist, he would be a STEAL), Acie Law (who I love), Javaris Crittenton (not a huge fan) and Thaddeus Young (ditto). I believe two of those five(including Julian Wright) will be there on the board for them to choose from. Arlington, Va.: What are the specific skills that set Oden apart from the other draft-eligible centers? Jonathan Givony: His physical tools-- size, frame, athleticism, but also his mind-- he's got a great feel for the game for a guy that size. His intangibles are off the chart. His timing is fantastic. He's just a natural unlike a lot of 7-footers who stared playing the game just because they are tall. He's obviously the real deal...you heard it here first! :) Boston: How badly does GS want Yi? Jonathan Givony: Very badly, and for the life of me, I can't figure out why. They are doing so well right now. I went to a Warriors playoff game last month and it was just amazing. They don't have any problems with their fan base or selling jerseys. The jerseys get split 30 ways anyway between all the teams. If they trade Andris Biedrins to get Yi, I think that would be a HUGE step backwards. They are going to get outrebounded by 20 boards a game. Washington, D.C.: Who do you see as possibilities for being this year's Paul Millsap? Jonathan Givony: Herbert Hill is a guy that I think people are forgetting about to a certain extent. He had a legit case for Big East player of the year. He's improved SO much over the course of his career. The problem is that he's not a workout guy and has looked very nervous everywhere he's gone, including the pre-draft camp. Not playing in the tournament hurt him, since people haven't seen him in nearly four months. He's a good player that I think will end up being a contributor in the mid-late 2nd round. Washington, D.C.: I don't like the idea of Wright to the Wizards. They don't need a guy who can "become a role player," they need a guy who can BE a role player THIS YEAR. Big Baby, Sean Williams, Bellini, these guys seem like they can contribute right away. Jonathan Givony: All those guys have major question marks about their game, even more so than Wright. Sean Williams is a terrible rebounder, has almost no offensive game, and bites on every pump fake. And I haven't even brought up his rap-sheet. Big Baby is undersized, plays WAY too much on the perimeter and has some serious weight issues. Belinelli to me is fools gold. He'll score 20 points, but he needs 20 shots to get there. I'm not a big fan of his. Julian Wright is indeed a project player, but if you look at the history of the #16 pick (http://www.draftexpress.com/drafthist.php?eyear=2006&syear=1957&spick=16), its basically a crap shoot anyway. Toronto: Hey Jonathan, do you anticipate a lot of trades/movement going on in the draft? Jonathan Givony: Honestly...no. I think there's going to be a ton of talk and at the end of the day, very little action. It always seems to play out like that on draft day and the trade deadline. But hey, I'm ready to be wrong, so lets get this show on the road already. Someone give Isiah a call! I heard he might trade the beloved Jared Jeffries... Cleveland: Will any first round picks end up for sale? Can Cleveland get into the draft? Jonathan Givony:27, 28, 29, 30...all can be had for the right price. If Danny Ferry wants, he can easily trade a future first to get in there. 3 million would help, and I heard the Cavs' owner is willing to shoulder that. They might pick up Udrih in the process. There is definitely some talk about that. Maybe they go for Fesenko? D.C.: How good will Morris Almond be? Jonathan Givony: I like Morris, as a player, but even more as a person. I think he'll end up being a really nice guy to bring off the bench and knock down shots for you. Solid pick in the 20's. UMass in Alexandria: I'm really excited for the draft. Where and when do you see Stephan Lasme drafted? Also, why hasn't he created as much buzz? He's the top shot blocker in the draft with 5.1 a game, 9.5 rebounds, 13.5 pts per game. He had four triple doubles in one season! Thank you for taking my question. Jonathan Givony: Cause he's 25 years old, has just OK hands, and no real offensive game. You have to wonder how much better he's going to get...with that said, it wouldn't shock me if Detroit or San Antonio gave him a look in the late 2nd. Los Angeles: From HW: With all the chaos going on with the Lakers, what on earth are you hearing that's going to happen? And what about that Greek guard they just made an offer to? Jonathan Givony: Who knows man. I wish I did. I hear that the Indiana talks are back on, and that the Lakers don't anticipate having the #19 pick at their disposal. The Greek guard Papaloukas is the real deal. The best player in Europe and an absolute killer with the ball in his hands on the pick and roll. He didn't have 13 assists last summer against LeBron and Team USA for nothing. They won that game for a reason. He can play, but they need to put him at the point. Putting him on the wing isn't going to work since he's not a great shooter. Bayside, N.Y.: So, what are the Knicks doing? Are they really going to reach for a guy like Chandler? Jonathan Givony: That seems to be the indication. He had a physical in New York the other day. As we detailed on our podcast last night, the web connecting him and Isiah Thomas is ridiculous. I believe they told him that he's their guy already in May. There might be some funny business going on there. Washington, D.C.: What veterans do you really see, if any, moving tomorrow? There have been a lot of names and teams being thrown with nothing solid being mentioned. Jonathan Givony: Like I said before, I think most of the trade talk is just going to end up being one big tease. Phoenix seems to do this every year. Washington, D.C.:"I'm not a big fan of his. Julian Wright is indeed a project player, but if you look at the history of the #16 pick, its basically a crap shoot anyway." But this is supposedly a VERY strong draft. To me, a lot of these guys being discussed at 16 woulda gone in the lottery most years. I don't think it's so much of a crapshoot this year. Jonathan Givony: Wright was projected as a top 5 pick all year long. There is definitely a reason for that. This draft is very strong at the top, but it definitely loses some steam after the first 8 or 9 picks or so. A LOT of guys ended up pulling out. Had Hibbert and Tomic and Rush and the rest stayed in, this draft would have been a lot better. Herndon, Va.: One other draft site has the Wizards selecting SG Marco Belinelli form Italy. I don't follow the Europeans much. Who the heck is he and isn't No. 16 too high for essentially someone to spell Agent Zero? Jonathan Givony: Belinelli would play next to Arenas on the wing. That's definitely a position of need, but I think there will be better players on the board there. Belinelli is a lights out shooter who shoots the ball way too much for my taste. He likes to make things a lot more difficult for himself than he should with incredible degree of difficulty of shots he takes. The Wizards are covered up and down internationally thanks to Tim Connelley..if you're reading this Tim, don't do it! Go for Rudy! Falls Church, Va.: Will anyone take a chance on BC's Sean Williams or will he have to play elsewhere to prove he can stay out of trouble? Jonathan Givony: I think the Nets will take him at #17. They are basically desperate since they don't have any money to help themselves out this year (owner's being tight) and they need to win right now because of Kidd and Vince's age. They will roll the dice and hope that Sean Williams can give them some Kenyon Martin action running with Kidd in transition. Jason : What do you feel about Colangelo's plan of making the Toronto Raptors the NBA version of the United Nations? So far it's worked out very well. Jonathan Givony: I like it a lot. Colangelo is one of the smartest GMs in the league. A very classy guy. Can't wait to see who they sign this summer. It wouldn't shock me if they tried to jump into this draft either to take a Rudy Fernandez for example. Silver Spring, Md.: Do you see David Andersen ever joining the Hawks? If so, when? Jonathan Givony: Not gonna happen. That boat sailed a long time ago. They never showed much interest from what Andersen's people told me. Now he makes way too much money playing for CSKA Moscow (the richest team in Europe). Annapolis, Md.: Heard Doc Walker mention a Shaq to D.C. rumor on the radio this morning. Is he nuts? Jonathan Givony: As someone that was born in Miami and still follows the Heat, I would love that. I don't think there is anyway that happens. His contract is way too big. SA-Town, Tex.: What are the chances of the Spurs bringing in Scola, the third Argentinian star? He's about to sign a 5 year contract for the equivalent of 25 million dollars. Even though he's a free agent this summer, the Spurs can't match that. Its a shame because I think he would be really good in the NBA. Arlington, Va.: Where do you see Pitt's Aaron Gray going? He is a hard-worker with a big body but can't play up-tempo. Can he stick in the NBA? Jonathan Givony: Somewhere in the 2nd round. I think he could be a decent backup and it wouldn't surprise me to see him stick around for a while. He's better than people think. If he's there at #47 I think the Wizards would be ecstatic. Napolis, Indiana: If you were Larry Bird, wouldn't you consider contacting the Bobcats for a sign and trade involving a combination of Gerald Wallace, Matt Carrol, some salary filler and some picks for Jermaine O'Neal? Seems like a fit for both teams. Jonathan Givony: Don't think that's the direction the Bobcats are heading in. Their owner won't let them do that (he's losing lots of money) and O'Neal's contract is way too big. They should be patient and keep building. D.C.: Who's the best shooting guard in this year's draft? Taking into account defense, passing, etc... Jonathan Givony: Rudy Fernandez. He's gonna be a steal for someone if he slips past 15. You don't become one of the best players in Europe at age 21 if you can't play. The guy is very good. Frederick, Md.: I think the Wizards should trade down and pick up the 21 and 30 picks to get Morris Almond, who could be like Gibson was for the Cavs this year. Then get J. Dudley or G. Davis. Is there a chance for that happening and are they going to be able to get rid of Haywood? Jonathan Givony: We speculated about that a week ago or so. I could see that happening. Would be a good trade for both teams I think. Not sure why you would want to get rid of Haywood. He's got a cheap contract and is a pretty good defender. Definitely a serviceable guy if you put him next to a better power forward. Los Angeles: From HW: At the end of the day, where does KG wind up? Jonathan Givony: My guess is LA. What are the latest trade rumors surrounding the Bobcats and their No. 8 pick? Jonathan Givony: Golden State would like to move up if Yi is still there. If they get offered Biedrins for the #8 pick, I would take that. Jonathan Givony: Thanks to the Washington Post for having me. This was a lot of fun. I am going to keep working the phones. Check out DraftExpress later in the day for an update as well as our final mock draft. Peace! 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.	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.	132.487805	0.536585	0.682927	high	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/21/DI2007062101595.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/21/DI2007062101595.html	Celebritology Live	2007070119	When stars shave their heads, couch-jump, commit a fashion faux pas and commit random acts of tomfoolery, washingtonpost.com Celebritology blogger Liz Kelly shares the buzz, offers perspective and provides crucial links to juicy alternate news sources and, of course, takes your reaction in her daily blog. Now join Liz each Thursday at 2 p.m. ET to gab about the latest celebrity pairings (and splittings), rising stars (and falling ones), "Lost," and get the scoop on the latest gossip making waves across the Web. Before she started blogging about celebrities, Liz ran washingtonpost.com's Live Online section, where she enjoyed talking to really interesting people -- including some Post reporters -- on the phone. She produces both Carolyn Hax's advice discussion and Gene Weingarten's Chatological Humor. Liz Kelly: Is everyone completely sick of Paris Hilton yet? Is she, as posited by this guy, the most recognizable person in the world? Did Larry King let her off easy? Will Lindsay Lohan star in the Paris biopic? Will I spontaneously combust? Seriously, I'm suffering from a massive case of Paris hangover and, once I'm done chatting today, will spend a blissful long weekend away from computers, TVs and any other devices capable of delivering a Hilton headline. Jen Chaney will be subbing tomorrow and I'll be back Monday to kick off the weird hump-day holiday week. Since I won't be around to moderate a Friday list, I wanted to share a couple of good music-related lists (for reading post-chat): -- The Most Irritating Songs Ever Recorded. It's a British list and therefore dominated by Brits. James Blunt's "You're Beautiful" takes top honors and aside from Hanson, Celine Dion and the "Macarena," I'm not familiar with many of the tunes. Surely we can do better. What songs irritate you? When I'm trying to annoy Mr. Liz I like to sing "Everything's Coming up Roses" in my loudest Ethel Merman voice. And for anyone poised to type in "Wildfire," save your energy. I'm not that easy of a target. -- Ridiculous Band Names. Thanks to Celebritology field agent Frank Thomason for another excellent timesuck of a list. Some surprises here. Smashing Pumpkins... c'mon. Though I have to agree with the inclusion of Russell Crowe's Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts. Let's get started... Middleton, Wis.: So MSNBC reporter has a freakout and refused to do a Paris Hilton story, joining Us Weekly who has banned Paris coverage. Maybe it's just the cynic in me, but doesn't it seem like they're trying to have their cake and eat it too? Trying to seem like they have standards but indirectly covering her anyway. Their announcements have become news stories. MSNBC even posted video of the "freakout" on their own site! Liz Kelly: For anyone who hasn't yet seen it, the video of the MSNBC reporter refusing to do the Hilton story was included in today's Morning Mix. I think each of these instances need to be considered separately. Us Weekly is making a lot of noise to let us know that they are Paris-free -- both in print and on the Web today. (Though I wonder how quickly that would change if Paris walked naked down the Sunset strip or suddenly entered a convent to brush up on her Bible skills.) As one astute reader pointed out in the blog earlier this week, this move smacks of retribution. Could this be Us's payback for Hilton's decision to give an exclusive print interview to People? Did a deal perhaps sour? Not sure. In any case, this is an interesting development in this new trend of celebrity publications seemingly going out of their way to make despised celebs look bad. There were some rumors over the past year that many tabloids took a harsh tone (and even invented some mischief) with Angelina Jolie to punish her for limiting her Shiloh birth interviews and pix to a select few outlets. In the case of MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski I think the jury is still out. Her impatience with the story seemed genuine enough. She didn't want to relegate news about Iraq to second place behind Paris Hilton. I started wondering how unscripted the performance was (or wasn't) when she produced a lighter to attempt to burn her Hilton news copy, then walked over to a shredder conveniently covered by a special camera angle. Maybe the initial annoyance was real, then the producer decided to let her ham it up. Same with them posting it to the site. Page views. This is what viral video is all about. Washington D.C.: Last week you credited the song "If It Don't Fit (Don't Force It)" to Parliament. Their version is just a cover. The earliest version I'm aware of is by Barrel House Annie and dates to 1937. washingtonpost.com: If It Don't Fit Liz Kelly: Wow. Thanks for this update. Both producer Rocci and I are grateful for the info. Out There: today's my bday. What is the celebritological significance of this (besides sharing the day with John Cusack, Mel Brooks, Kathy Bates)? Liz Kelly: You are destined to see the Spice Girls live in concert. Annapolis, Md.: "God makes everything happen for a reason" Oh, Paris. Do you apply that to everything? If so, then I suppose God made you drink and get behind the wheel. One drink, 10 drinks, does it matter? It was hard to take her seriously last night, especially with the questions Grandpa Larry was asking her. No doubt prison was an eye-opening experience, but Liz, do we really believe she's changed? Liz Kelly: Well, she did get new hair extensions. Does that count as change? Bethesda, Md.: Paris Hilton says she thinks everything happens for a reason, so what do you suppose is the reason for her neverending, always irritating presence in our lives? Liz Kelly: You tell me -- is it our continued appetite for celeb-reality? Is the media (me included) forcing Paris on us? A combination? I'm not sure. Last night I tried to tell myself that I would not be watching Paris on Larry King if it weren't "for work," but in the end I had to come clean with myself. I would have watched. Maybe not the entire hour, but I would have wanted the chance to see her speak at length. It gives us the chance to discern what manner of person she is. Unfortunately, Larry ended up talking more than she did. The only impression she left on me was of a vacuum in the fabric of the universe. She's now officially famous because she's famous. Whether it was the sex tape that got her there or her ubiquity on the Hollywood party scene or her own affinity for the paparazzi, I can't say. It's too late to turn back now. Alexandria, Va.: Worst Song Ever: Lady in Red. I want to tear my ears off everytime I hear it. Liz Kelly: Oooh, that is a right crappy song. Thanks for sharing. Reminds me. I had a roommate in college -- in fact, it's her wedding I'm attending this weekend -- who hated the song "Love Lift Us Up" from "Officer & a Gentleman." Not necessarily because of the song, but because every time she heard it something bad happened within 24 hours. Pets died. An uncle died. A car accident. I knew this when she and I were sitting in Orly airport ready to return from our month-long Eurrail trip. We were sipping lattes when "Love Lift Us Up" started playing over the PA. In France, for chrissakes. We seriously considered reskedding our flight (which was uneventful unless you count having to sit next to a drunk Pole with grabby hands). Ridiculous band names: How about The Shins (just because it's so boring) Liz Kelly: I like the Shins. It's simple. Simple is good. Woodbridge, Va.: ABC's fall lineup must really be in trouble, because they just renewed "According to Jim." Liz Kelly: Seriously, what does Jim Belushi have on studio execs to keep that pablum on the air? Anonymous: With Ann Coulter making her comment about Sen. Edwards and an assassination attempt and Paris Hilton being interviewed (I use the term lightly) by Larry King, it struck me that the two are in some ways alike. Making sure they stay in the news, even if it takes saying something stupid. Coulter is, of course, taken seriously by more people. She definitely seems to take herself seriously. Is it by chance an act (like Hilton acting dumb)? Do you think Hilton takes herself seriously? Coulter at least has the excuse of generating publicity in order to sell books and get speaking fees. Liz Kelly: Well don't think Paris doesn't benefit from the publicity, too. Remember she's paid to attend parties and I'm sure a full-hour berth on Larry King Live does wonders for her rate schedule. Does she take herself seriously? It sure looked like it to me last night. Wouldn't it be funny if Paris turned out to be some kind of mad genius totally pulling this decade's biggest social hoax on us -- seeing how far she can take a caricature of a persona? Re: payback to Paris: I thought the whole ABC leaking the news that NBC is paying a million to the Hiltons for an interview was also smelling of sour grapes. If they got the interview and only paid $30k, were they going to talking about it? IDIOTS. And apparently, Barbara Walters later said to someone "the whole interviewing Paris Hilton is beneath me" ROTFL. People have such double standards. Liz Kelly: Total sour grapes. Especially when Barbara Walters went out of her way to give a statement to the NY Post saying the Hilton interview was "beneath" her. This not even a week after Kathy and Nicky Hilton were on hand as Barbara received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Shame on you, Babs. If a tree falls in the forest?: So the highly ephemeral Reese-Jake romance is over. But was it ever real? Why issue a statement acknowledging the end of something you never admitted existed in the first place? Neither one of them strike me as deeply philosophical folk. Liz Kelly: Or was their purported romance an attempt to drum up publicity (ala Jen and Vince) for "Rendition" -- a movie the two filmed together that is slated for release in October. Chicago, Ill.: I never thought I'd need to talk about Hilton, but the part that ticked me off was noticing that her "interview" bumped a scheduled interview with Michael Moore and his film on one of the biggest problems in America, the lack of health insurance for 40 million plus Americans. Real nice job, CNN. Liz Kelly: Not to mention the tacky countdown clock that ran on CNN in the hour leading up to the interview. Reston, Va.: I didn't watch larry king live, but I caught sections of AC 300 or whatever that show is last night. Anderson Cooper kept sneering at Paris Hilton, but he devoted an entire 60 minutes to an analysis of her interview. DUH. I think she came across as a sincere person on that interview (they showed several clips). Maybe the whole thing is an act. One of the guests said to Anderson, we all liked Paris based on her interview (no one ever talked to her or heard her talking before) and it looks like you are the only who didn't. I thought it's hilarious that Anderson who is at best a gossip columnist (on TV) was sneering at Paris and still kept talking about her. Just had to vent. Liz Kelly: You are among friends. Let it all out. I didn't stay up to watch AC since I had to be up early for radio, but maybe he was told he had to cover Paris and did so grudgingly. Or maybe he was trying to retain some shred of the credibility he gained when he called the President on his Hurricane Katrina response (or lack thereof). Worst song is McArthur Park: Someone left the cake out in the rain and I'll never have that recipe again ... That song cannot expect us to take it seriously. The lyrics are just too ridiculous. I think Carrie Underwood sang it on Idol. Liz Kelly: Yech. And thanks to producer Rocci for reminding me that the song I referenced earlier is actually titled "Up Where We Belong." I just keep seeing Debra Winger. I watched some of the Hilton interview last night. After about 30 minutes of the same questions worded differently, I turned the channel. But for the part I did hear, I wonder ... Paris said that she felt the punishment she received did not fit the crime and that she knew people who had done far worse and not been treated the way she had. Does that sound like a changed person to you? Wouldn't a changed person accept the punishment as the consequences one must suffer when they get caught doing wrong? Liz Kelly: Yep. And a changed person might own up to the fact that she had used drugs in the past. As pointed out on various sites today, there is a video in existence of Paris smoking pot and some pretty interesting white powder photos surfaced last year on the Paris Exposed site. But to sit there and coyly say she'd never used drugs was a little much. Larry should have pressed her. I'm amazed that his producers didn't better prepare him. Don't have cable ...: ... so watched the Paris Hilton impersonator on the "Next Best Thing" semifinals last evening instead. Did you catch her act? She got promoted to the finals. Liz Kelly: Dang. No. I wish I had watched that instead. Reminder: The Paula Abdul reality show "Hey Paula" premieres tonight on Bravo. 10 p.m., I believe. I've got to watch at least one episode. Boston (the city, not that band): Most annoying song: Red, red wine. Makes me want to shove something sharp into my ear. Ridiculous Band Name: Hot Tuna, cuz it's kinda gross. Liz Kelly: "Red, red wine" as in UB40? It doesn't bug me. But for some reason Rod Stewart's "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" just leapt into my head and, yes, it is annoying. Worst Song, MA: I can appreciate a little Bette Middler here and there. Loved Beaches. However, From A Distance is the most annoying song EVER! Liz Kelly: Did you ever know that you're my hero? Odd band names: Squirrel Nut Zippers Liz Kelly: But they were such a great band. Do you think they would have had a longer shelf life if the name had been something better... like, you know... Led Zeppelin? Washington, D.C.: Worst Song: Play That Funky Music (White Boy). And overplayed also. Liz Kelly: Dang. Harshing on some Black Cherry. I like it. I have it on a compilation. "Dream Weaver" is on the same compilation. Now that's irritating. Herndon, Va.: PEOPLE! We created Paris! It is our fault! Stop belaboring it, accept responsibility and move on to LiLo! She's much more fun these days ... Liz Kelly: I'm actually starting to pull for LL. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she'll be extending her stay at Promises. Maybe if you stay longer than a month it actually works. Maybe fellow alumna Britney Spears should have stayed longer. Jukebox Central: To add to your worst song list: Everyone reading this is now sentenced to having that tune go round and round in their heads for the rest of the afternoon. Liz Kelly: How 'bout "Rubber Band?" The Spinners. Okay. I actually like "Rubber Band." Never mind. Cortez, Colo.: RE: Paris Hilton. I am 67 years old soon and I still can't get over that a person seen in a video by millions having sex isn't living as anonymously as possible. No possibility of me understanding the fascination she has for the public. Liz Kelly: Right you are. She lives a very public life. Sister Nicky parties almost as much, but manages to keep the paparazzi at a safe distance. Tucson, Ariz.: Oh my gosh, Mika Brzezinski is now my favorite TV journalist for refusing to talk about Paris Hilton on the air. As for the WashPost's two esteemed journalists, Tom Shales and Howard Kurtz ... well ... no comment. But FYI, Tom, in your opening sentence, there were SOME of us in the world who did NOT watch Paris on Larry King. Even more interesting was watching Michael Moore tell Jon Stewart he was bumped from Larry King for Paris. Liz Kelly: Michael couldn't have been too miffed by the bumping. He'll be Larry's guest Friday night. Central Florida: I don't know if the criteria for inclusion in the AFI list has changed since the first one, but the only reason that "The Third Man" qualified was that the stars, Welles and Cotton, were American. Everything else about the movie is British. In fact, the movie was selected by the BFI as the greatest British movie of the 20th Century. "The Third Man" (BFI) "Lawrence of Arabia" has a better claim to be on the American list, as it was produced by a Hollywood studio and won an Academy Award as Best Picture. Liz Kelly: Good points on both counts. That British list is great, by the way. A new project for my Netflix list. Worst Song: "I Honestly Love You" -- Olivia Newton-John When I first moved to Washington, one of my housemates had a very one-sided crush on a self-important lawyer. Every evening, she would play that song over and over ... and then call him. So the evening would go: play song, call lawyer, slam phone, cry, play song ... Liz Kelly: What about "Let's Get Physical?" The Bible and Stevie Ray Vaughn (sp??): We don't have cable so I did not see the interview but I heard about the Bible snippet. Paris, don't mention something if you really did not read it or know about it. I went off to college years ago and thought I knew it all. I am in the basement of our dorm doing laundry with roommate. The coolest guys ever are in there also. We are talking music and they mention Vaughn. I am all like "he is the best." They can tell I am lying since I was and they ask what group he was in (answer -- wasn't, I think) and it just went downhill from there. Liz Kelly: Imagine your embarassment if your laundry room humiliation had been broadcast on live TV. What's even more amazing is that she wasn't even able to fake an answer. Everyone knows at least one Bible passage that they can produce. I wish she had replied "Evan Almighty." I love LA!: Gets my nom for worst song and worst concept. Although, today is probably the only day in history that I ever wished I was in L.A. Prince at the Roosevelt. I would suffer through all of L.A.'s insufferable everythings to get in on that. Liz Kelly: Thanks for sharing. What about David Lee Roth's cover of "Just a Gigolo?" Now there's some real doodie. Crappy Band Name?: Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. Lucy ... 'splain! Liz Kelly: That's a new one to me. Port of Spain, Trinidad: Worst Song: Anything by Lionel Richie, but especially "I Love You." On another subject: Liz, have you ever had the urge to write a book? If so, on what subject/genre? Liz Kelly: My least favorite Lionel Richie song is "Hello" because I especially despise the video in which Lionel's courting a blind sculptress. I wish I had that bust of Lionel she did, tho. I wonder where that is. What writer doesn't want to write a book? My problem is discipline, or lack thereof. I'd like to do fiction. I actually did write one years ago, but it was a silly self-help book I wrote on contract and I won't embarass myself further by sharing its title with you. Wild Cherry, not BLACK Cherry: For Play that Funky Music ... Liz Kelly: Right you are. Wild Cherry. Black Cherry is a lipsmacker, yes? Paris bumped Michael: Oh please. I agree with a lot of Michael Moore's positions, too, but I'm also able to recognize that he is a huge publicity whore. I am sure that he completely understands getting bumped by Paris Hilton, and that at the same time, he is going to milk it as hard as he possibly can. Liz Kelly: Well, when choosing between the lesser of two publicity whores... Paris and Drug Question: Why did they discuss that? I have never done drugs -- never -- so filling out the form for my clearance was easy! But even if people have used -- it is almost not a big deal unless you are arrested. What can we do about it now? Why would she lie or why did he even ask? Liz Kelly: Well, wait a second -- Paris kept saying last night that she wants to be a role model for young women and part of being a role model is taking responsiblity for your past as well as your future. I think it was a fair question. Stevie Ray Vaughn: How embarrassing! And funny. When I was in 6th grade, I was walking home from the bus stop with my crush and he asked me if I liked Led Zeppelin. I hadn't even heard of them, but for some reason I blurted out "Ew, I hate him". Such a loser. Liz Kelly: I have had a few similar experiences. Do we all do this? Is it so awful to admit that we may not be clued in to something? Do you like Pina Coladas?: THAT is a song I cannot stand. I heard it on the radio for the first time in ages last week. I was traveling and didn't have much radio station choice. I can't remember the name of the song, but it's about a guy who unknowingly answers the personal ad placed by his girlfriend. Liz Kelly: Seriously. That whole "Margaritaville" genre is excruciating. I hate that Sirius has an entire "Margaritaville" channel. Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.: I wish Anderson Cooper would interview Paris Hilton and point out the obvious: even an heir to a fortune (as he surely is) should find a purpose in life, besides partying and drunk driving! Really, why don't she and her dumb-bunny sister spend a little of their dough on an education? Liz Kelly: Her dumb-bunny sister doesn't seem to be as vapid as Paris. Or maybe she's just better at keeping her airheadedness under wraps. Did anyone catch Paris's assertion last night that she writes movie scripts? I'd like to read one. I wonder if they are historical dramas or sci-fi capers. RE: Squirrel Nut Zippers: The band Squirrel Nut Zippers is named after a candy that was made on the East Coast I think in the 50's, made by the Necco company (the same ones of Necco Wafers fame, but not related to Nico Case). Does it make the band name any less stupid? Somehow, I think it does. Liz Kelly: Maybe. Or maybe that was a stupid candy name, bub. Just a Gigolo: Ugh, what a terrible song. I was so bummed when I got that album for my birthday in high school. Liz Kelly: Ha! Do you still have it? I remember being all bummed out when my parents would buy me MTV hits compilation albums for my birthday. Or the "Miami Vice" soundtrack featuring the keyboard stylings of Yan Hammer. Was at a flea market with my 6-year-old niece on Saturday and we saw a bin full of albums. She wanted to know if they were books and I had to explain LPs to her. She kept calling them big CDs. Alexandria, Va.: Ordinary People (you know, "we're just ordinary people" ... guy is playing the piano) forget the artist but the song just goes on and on and on and on! Liz Kelly: John Legend, sez Rocci the producer. Charm City: Most annoying song: Barbie Girl by Aqua. The end. Irritating song: That "frog in a blender" song whose name I can't remember is so obnoxious. Does anyone know the one I'm talking about? It's "something something something, frog in a blender, something something something, rendezvous then I'm through with you." Ha! My memory is so awesome after lunch! Liz Kelly: I don't know that one. Anyone out there familiar with this? Please stop!: You really wish you were a music critic rather than a celebritologist, don't you? Liz Kelly: No. We're just talking about music. Sosumi. Washington, D.C.: Would you say it is safe to proclaim Britney loonier than Tom Cruise? Or should we wait to see where John Travolta goes from here? Liz Kelly: I think they're all neck and neck at this point. Should make for an interesting summer. Crazy from the heat, these celebs. Remember Mel had his meltdown last July. Afternoon Delight: Starland Vocal Band. So Painful to listen to. Liz Kelly: No! I LOVE that song. Alexandria, Va.: I have a suggestion for a poll: should the Indiana Jones franchise continue (which it probably won't, but a girl can dream), who would best fill Harrison Ford's shoes? Usually it's hard to see other people in iconic roles, but I think I wouldn't have a problem with Eric Bana or Gerard Butler taking over the helm. Liz Kelly: As I understand it, Shia Labeouf will be starring in the next Indy movie as Indy's son. If successful, maybe there's a spinoff there? "Son of Indy?" Anyone remember the "Young Indiana Jones" series that aired on ABC in the mid-'90s starring Sean Patrick Flanery? Paris vs. Michael Moore: I'd rather see Michael Moore than Paris on Larry King, but I'd rather see Paris than Michael Moore in a sex tape. Washington, D.C.: Nickey Hilton actually graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology in N.Y., a rather respected school. Liz Kelly: There you go. Baltimore, Md.: Worst Song Ever: The 'Tong' by Cisco. I can't beleive I danced to the song. Liz Kelly: I believe that was "Thong Song." Sad Songs (Say So Much): Rod Stewart did a cover of that? Elton John's was bad enough. From my junior high days, the worst song was "Could Have Been" by Tiffany. Every over-dramatic breakup was accompanied by someone crying in the bathroom and quoting those lyrics. Ick. Liz Kelly: Thank you. I meant Elton. I'm ashamed. Rod has some offenders, too. Stunt doubles: I was thinking about the whole Dermot Mulroney-Dylan McDermott conversation when Less Than Zero came on TV. Which got me thinking: are Teri Hatcher and Jamie Gertz the same person? Liz Kelly: Man. Jamie Gertz. Now there's a blast from the past. I wonder where she is. Hey, speaking of blasts from the past, I'm interviewing Tony Danza later today. Any questions to pass on? Falls Church, Va: Re: "Larry should have pressed her. I'm amazed that his producers didn't better prepare him." Have you never watched the Larry King show before last night?? Liz Kelly: Yes, I have. But I thought they might take extra care with him since so many were watching. I was wrong. He did wear a daringly purple shirt, though. Frog in a Blender: It's Inside Out by Eve 6. My husband has it in our iTunes library. He has horrible taste in music. Liz Kelly: But good taste in wives? Paris and a Cause: She seems to desperately be searching for a cause to support. I didn't see the CNN interview, but didn't she mention breast cancer and multiple sclerosis during the phone call she made from jail? And now a role model for young girls. You can't just decide you're going to find a cause. You have to believe in something first, and then make it your cause because you care so much about it. Why doesn't she get that? Do you think charities are all hoping she doesn't pick theirs? I'm sure whatever way she decides to contribute will get boring for her after a while anyway. Liz Kelly: Yes! I made note of that. She said she wanted to use her platform to bring attention to "kids, breast cancer and MS." I'm sure all three causes are so happy to have her on board. Annoying songs: Fun fact: Both "Lady in Red" and "Red, Red Wine" were tremendously popular in El Salvador when I was there back in 2003. We heard each song at least once a day, to the point where we called the bus we rode the "UB40." That bus driver had much love for the cheesy stuff. Liz Kelly: Reminds me of the remake of "Oh Carolina" that was popular when I was Eurrailing. Made for an annoying Oktoberfest. Faithful MSNBC morning watcher: Mika certainly wasn't scripting her disdain and disgust when the Bic came out. She became exasperated and demanded a match, and Willie Geist happened to have a lighter on him. Not that this matters, I guess. I'm just glad that's how she feels, given that I can get all that crap in People magazine and don't wish to hear about it on reputable news stations. Liz Kelly: Agreed. Though you're pre-supposing that MSNBC is a reputable news station. Anonymous: Ask Tony Danza why he doesn't work with "Dawn" anymore, and if they still stay in touch. Liz Kelly: Wrong Tony, dude. Paris the Brand: I know everyone keeps claiming that Paris has very successfully marketed herself as a brand ... but how so? I'll admit she is now one of the most recognizable people in the world, but I don't know if the "brand" thing fits. I mean, have any of the lines she designed taken of? Paris the singer? Paris the actress? Paris the jewelry designer? Paris the Guess-girl? I know people pay to have her show up at parties, and she makes really good copy for the celeb-mags ... but does that make her a "brand"? Have any of the ventures she "branded" become successful? Love to hear your take on this. Liz Kelly: Well she's definitely a household name. Her clothing line is just debuting this summer, right, so we don't know yet if it will be successful. Her album was a dismal failure, but "The Simple Life" is gearing up to film a sixth season and has been a cash cow for E! So there's something to her being a marketable brand. Squirrel Nut Zippers: They're actually reuniting for a new album. So's the Verve. Speaking of Led Zep, the most annoying song (and title) in their cannon is D'yer Maker. Can't believe that song spawned a tribute band. Liz Kelly: Personally, I find "Fool in the Rain" to be semi-annoying. That's when compared to straight up blues rockers like "Dazed and Confused" and "Travellin Riverside Blues." Course, Zeppelin stole most of their blues riffs and didn't credit the original artists. Tony Danza: I wish I could think of something for you to ask him because I have such a soft spot for him. Remember how hot he was in Taxi? Actually, he's still pretty hot. Liz Kelly: He was kind of cute on taxi. I admit I had a schoolgirl crush on him. I watched him while my brothers salivated over Marilu Henner. Sadly, there were no Danny DeVito lovers in our house. For Tony Danza: Could you ask Tony Danza if he's going to do more Eugene O'Neill? Seriously. Liz Kelly: Will do. I know he got some pretty good reviews for "The Iceman Cometh." He also spent the past six months in the Broadway production of "The Producers" and will kick off the Vegas production in August. Does Larry King EVER press?: He usually interviews old folks. How many times can one person interview Carol Channing? Liz Kelly: Can you ever really get enough Carol Channing? RE: Worst Songs: The Super Bowl Shuffle, by The Chicago Bears. Party All the Time, by Eddie Murphy. Arthur's Theme, by Chris Cross Liz Kelly: These are all top contenders. Thank you. "Zeppelin stole most of their blues riffs and didn't credit the original artists. ": Word Programming Office, Undisclosed Network: Okay, let me run this run by you: I don't yet have the concept, but Ann Coulter is married to Jim Belushi and Paris Hilton plays their daughter ... Liz Kelly: We can call it "Married with Dingbat" Bethesda, Md.: Annoying song: In the Year 2525. Envision it sung by Neil Diamond and Celine Dion if you want to have eternal nightmares. Maybe you should create a list of the worst song/singer pairings we can imagine. Liz Kelly: Good plan. Perhaps for next Friday's list. Kiawah Island Beach Club:: Get this, it's a beach resort, a bar, the pool, the ocean and I work there ... AND ... every day we have to pop in the same nightmare CD with Margaritaville, Beach Boys tunes, some Bob Marley (which isn't too bad) ... but honestly the boss won't let us play anything but the same 10 songs on that nightmare CD over and over ... ahhh! But thank God I don't have to hear the "Pina Colada" song, I would throw up. Liz Kelly: I feel for you. I worked at a record store in the '80s and had to listen to Cutting Crew and Tesla every day. Nice place you have there, by the way. Mr. Liz and I once spent a week on neighboring Seabrook Island and totally loved it. Calgary, Canada: Question for Tony Danza: Why? Liz Kelly: Dude. C'mon. He's not totally devoid of talent. He took himself pretty far for a guy who will forever be typecast as a buff dude from Brooklyn. Inside out by eve 6!: The poster got the lyrics allll wrong, it's: I want to put my tender heart in a blender Watch it spin round to a beautiful oblivion Rendezvous then I'm through with you It was popular when I was in middle/high school so obviously I liked it, but maybe looking back, not the best song. Liz Kelly: Thanks for clearing that up. Pina Coladas!: Rupert Holmes, who wrote that song, is a friend, and he says that one of the things that will be awful about dying his that his obit, tombstone, etc., will all talk about the Pina Colada song, and since then he's done minor things like won a Tony Award (Mystery of Edwin Drood) and an Edgar (Best Mystery of the Year for a book whose title I can't remember). So I forgive him for Pina Colada, because he's got a sense of humor about it and has gone on to have a splendid life. Liz Kelly: Well, that's downright interesting. Thank you so much for sharing. Liz Kelly: I'm afraid that's it till next Thursday. I'll be here, though I fear many of you may be vacationing. We'll have to soldier on without you. I'll be on Post Radio 107.7 in 20 minutes talking about the Spice Girls reunion. If only there were think tanks for people like me.	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.	178.390244	0.560976	0.707317	high	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062701325.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062701325.html	Senators Subpoena The White House	2007070119	A Senate committee investigating the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program issued subpoenas yesterday ordering the White House to turn over documents related to the eavesdropping effort, escalating a legal showdown between Congress and the Bush administration. The Judiciary Committee's subpoenas were delivered to the offices of President Bush, Vice President Cheney and the national security adviser and to the Justice Department. They demanded copies of internal documents about the program's legality and agreements with telecommunications companies that participated in the program. Lawmakers said their aim is to understand and reconstruct the administration's internal debate about the program's legality, an aim White House officials have resisted. "This committee has made no fewer than nine formal requests to the Department of Justice and to the White House, seeking information and documents about the authorization of and legal justification for this program," Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, wrote in letters delivered with the subpoenas. "All requests have been rebuffed." The White House offered no word on whether it will turn over the documents by the July 18 deadline. "We're aware of the committee's action, and will respond appropriately," spokesman Tony Fratto said. "It's unfortunate that congressional Democrats continue to choose the route of confrontation." Leahy also formally asked Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales yesterday to investigate whether Brett M. Kavanaugh made false statements under oath last year, during his confirmation hearing for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Kavanaugh, who was an associate counsel at the White House when legal arguments were raised to defend the administration's response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, told the Judiciary Committee that he "was not involved and am not involved in the questions about the rules governing detention of combatants." Leahy cited details from The Washington Post's series this week on Cheney's influence in the West Wing. Included was an anecdote about Kavanaugh's discussing a pending court challenge to the detention of a U.S. citizen accused of being a combatant, and whether Kavanaugh's legal mentor, Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, would uphold the constitutionality of the detention. "I don't believe that he was truthful with us. . . . I don't think that the answers were truthful. And I'm just sending out the notice that, if answers are not truthful, we'll send it to the U.S. attorney and the attorney general and ask them what's going on," Leahy said. Kavanaugh, reached last night, declined to comment. A Court of Appeals spokesperson for Kavanaugh said in a statement that "Judge Kavanaugh's testimony was accurate." The subpoenas and Leahy's criminal referral come two weeks after other congressional panels subpoenaed two former White House aides in connection with the Justice Department's firing of nine U.S. attorneys. The subpoenas -- which are likely to be resolved in court -- are a clear sign of the Democrats' willingness to pursue protracted litigation as they conduct aggressive probes of administration policies. Bush secretly launched the eavesdropping program after the Sept. 11 attacks. According to Bush's eventual public description, the program allowed monitoring without a warrant of telephone calls, e-mails and other communication into or out of the Unitd States when one of the parties was suspected of terrorist ties.	A Senate committee investigating the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program issued subpoenas yesterday ordering the White House to turn over documents related to the eavesdropping effort, escalating a legal showdown between Congress and the Bush administration.	16.075	1	40	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702962.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702962.html	Text Messages Giving Voice to Chinese	2007070119	XIAMEN, China -- By the hundreds of thousands, the urgent text messages ricocheted around cellphones in Xiamen, warning of a catastrophe that would spoil the city's beautiful seaside environment and foul its sweet-smelling tropical breezes. By promoting the construction of a giant chemical factory among the suburban palm trees, the local government was "setting off an atomic bomb in all of Xiamen," the massive message sprays charged, predicting that the plant would cause "leukemia and deformed babies" among the 2 million-plus residents of this city on China's southern rim, just opposite Taiwan. The environmental activists behind the messages might have exaggerated the danger with their florid language, experts said. But their passionate opposition to the chemical plant generated an explosion of public anger that forced a halt in construction, pending further environmental impact studies by authorities in Beijing, and produced large demonstrations June 1 and 2, drawing national publicity. The delay marked a rare instance of public opinion in China rising from the streets and compelling a change of policy by Communist Party bureaucrats. It was a dramatic illustration of the potential of technology -- particularly cellphones and the Internet -- to challenge the rigorous censorship and political controls through which the party maintains its monopoly on power over China's 1.4 billion people. "I think this is a great precedent for China," said Zhong Xiaoyong, a Xiamen resident who, in his persona as the blogger Lian Yue, wrote extensively on efforts to stop construction of the factory. Despite efforts by local Public Security Bureau technicians to block the cellphone campaign, thousands of people heeded the alarm during the last days of May. Despite warnings from city hall and a large turnout of uniformed and plainclothes police, they marched in hot, muggy weather through the streets of Xiamen to protest the chemical factory being built on Haicang, an industrial and residential island across a narrow strait from downtown Xiamen. The demonstrations were largely peaceful, except for pushing against policemen lined up to stop the march, witnesses said. About 8,000 to 10,000 people participated the first day and half that many the second day. But something unprecedented occurred that gave the demonstrators a power even they had not envisioned: Citizen journalists carrying cellphones sent text messages about the action to bloggers in Guangzhou and other cities, who then posted real-time reports for the entire country to see. "The second police defense line has been dispersed," Wen Yunchao, one such witness, typed to a friend in Guangzhou. "There is pushing and shoving. The police wall has broken down." Chinese tuned in to the blogosphere in great numbers, viewing written accounts and cellphone photographs. Sites carrying the live reports recorded thousands of hits. Some sites were knocked out by security monitors. But by then their reports had bounced to other sites around the country, keeping one step ahead of the censors. Many of those tuned in were traditional newspaper and magazine reporters whose editors were afraid to cover the protests because of warnings from the Xiamen party Propaganda Department. "The Chinese government controls the traditional press, so the news circulated on the Internet and cellphones," Wen, also a blogger, said later. "This showed that the Chinese people can send out their own news, and the authorities have no way to stop it entirely. This had so much impact. I think virtually every media worker in China was looking at it and keeping up with it." Wen said he and his friends have since concluded that if protesters had been armed with cellphones and computers in 1989, there would have been a different outcome to the notorious Tiananmen Square protest, which ended with intervention by the People's Liberation Army and the killings of hundreds, perhaps thousands, in the streets of Beijing. Scientist Snubbed, Blogger Steps In The campaign against the Tenglong Aromatic PX (Xiamen) Co. Ltd. factory had started months earlier. Zhao Yufen, a U.S.-trained chemistry professor at Xiamen University and a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, had organized a petition in which she and 100 other signatories argued against the 300-acre, $1.4 billion factory complex.	XIAMEN, China -- By the hundreds of thousands, the urgent text messages ricocheted around cellphones in Xiamen, warning of a catastrophe that would spoil the city's beautiful seaside environment and foul its sweet-smelling tropical breezes.	18.833333	1	42	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702823.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702823.html	Immigration Stance Is Costly for McCain	2007070119	Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is not wavering on immigration. This week, he continued to stand firm with President Bush in seeking a Senate compromise on the issue in the face of intense opposition from core activists in the Republican Party. His advisers refer to such a stance as one of the signatures of his political career: principled stands on tough issues. And even they concede that, this time, it's costing him dearly. "From a political perspective, having a candidate that takes on all the tough issues is not always the most politically expedient thing to do," said David Roederer, the chairman of McCain's campaign in Iowa. Asked what he would like to see happen on immigration, Roederer laughed and said: "Wind the clock back and forget that this issue ever came up?" That sentiment is common among many of McCain's most ardent supporters, who admire his guts but worry about the political toll the debate is taking on their candidate. Once seen as the inevitable Republican presidential front-runner, McCain is sinking in the polls, particularly in the all-important early-primary states. On conservative talk radio, he is lumped together with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and derided endlessly. His stance on immigration is making life ever more difficult for his fundraisers. He is expected to again lag behind rivals in money raised when the quarter ends on Saturday. McCain's staff has sought to make a virtue of what appears to be an anchor on his political fortunes. In an e-mail to supporters on Monday, campaign manager Terry Nelson said that McCain "is running for president not to do what is easy. He is running to do the hard but necessary things to protect our country from harm and to fix the challenges that we face as a nation now, not later." The next day, McCain canceled some critical fundraising events to participate in a key vote on the bill. And he is isolated on the front lines of the country's debate over illegal immigration -- alone among Republican presidential candidates, the rest of whom oppose the overhaul of the nation's border-control laws. It is a particularly difficult predicament for a Republican candidate looking for votes in Iowa and South Carolina, two states with early presidential contests next year. In both states, anger over the bill -- and McCain's backing of it -- runs deep. "Iowa being quite conservative, very conservative, I think there are some who just want to get rid of [illegal immigrants], send them back, put up a double wall," said Nelson P. Crabb, the mayor of Clear Lake and a McCain supporter. "That's impractical. But I think the general feeling of people here in Iowa is 'Gee, they shouldn't be here.' " In three recent Mason-Dixon polls in Iowa, South Carolina and Nevada, McCain was mired in fourth place with less than 10 percent of the vote among likely Republican voters. Brad Coker, who runs Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, said McCain's position on immigration is a key to his slump. "With the grass-roots party voters, the people who participate in primaries and caucuses, they are not really thrilled with any kind of amnesty," Coker said, referring to the conservatives' favored description of the reform bill. Coker said 40 percent of GOP voters ranked immigration as their No. 1 or No. 2 issue.	Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is not wavering on immigration. This week, he continued to stand firm with President Bush in seeking a Senate compromise on the issue in the face of intense opposition from core activists in the Republican Party.	14.125	1	48	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702837.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702837.html	The Senate's Doublespeak On the Issue Of English	2007070119	Just when you thought the immigration debate couldn't get more confusing, there's this: Buried on Page 669 of the 762-page Senate immigration bill, English is declared the "national language." On Page 671, it is the "common language." Which is it? Both, according to members of the World's Greatest Deliberative Body, a majority of whom voted for each designation. And what's the difference? Who knows! Common. National. But not "official." Nooooooo. Even if Wolf Blitzer did insist on asking the presidential candidates in recent debates whether English should be the official language. (Most GOP contenders answered yes. The Democrats, not so much.) What in the name of what Al Gore used to call "plain English" -- during his failed crusade as vice president to make the government communicate clearly -- is going on here? Let us attempt to translate. Immigration reform is a touchy subject, causing senators to sweat through their suits, constituents to cuss at pollsters, bloggers to practice human sacrifice. It raises heavy questions: What is the national identity? Who is an American? That's where language comes in, as a proxy for identity. Resuscitated from near-death earlier this month, the bill faces a key test of support today and a final vote tomorrow. It incorporates an amendment by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) to make English the national language, which passed three weeks ago, 64 to 33. Another provision of the bill, an amendment by Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) to make English the common language, passed 58 to 39. Every single senator present and voting stood up for English, supporting at least one of the amendments. (Did we forget to mention that both Inhofe and Salazar are proudly proficient in Spanish, sometimes giving speeches in that nonnational, uncommon tongue?) Now those amendments have been incorporated into the bill. National, common: What's the difference? The bill doesn't say. Not to get all strict constructionist here, but let's go to the text. "Declaration of English as Language," Salazar's contribution says in a chapter heading. Yes, English definitely is a language.	Get style news headlines from The Washington Post, including entertainment news, comics, horoscopes, crossword, TV, Dear Abby. arts/theater, Sunday Source and weekend section. Washington Post columnists, movie/book reviews, Carolyn Hax, Tom Shales.	8.607843	0.333333	0.333333	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702754.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702754.html	Meeting With U.S. Campaign Aides Shows China's Interest in the Race	2007070119	One of China's top government officials reached out to the leading U.S. presidential contenders last week, holding an unpublicized meeting with several of their top foreign policy advisers during a visit to Washington for high-level talks with Bush administration officials. Among those present for the dinner with Vice Foreign Minister Dai Bingguo on June 19, according to people familiar with the encounter, were top advisers to Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), former senator John Edwards (D-N.C.), Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney (R). The meeting underscored the intense interest in the U.S. presidential campaign among foreign leaders, particularly in China, which has historically been uneasy about transitions in the White House. China is especially nervous about rising complaints from U.S. politicians over the handling of its economy, as well as criticism of its role in protecting the Sudanese government from international sanctions for its role in the atrocities in Darfur. "The Chinese are trying to figure out how to affect domestic U.S. politics," said Michael J. Green, a former adviser on Asia to President Bush. "They know that changes in U.S. government lead to different China policies that are uncomfortable for them." Dai, considered one of the major figures in the Chinese foreign policy establishment, was in Washington for the fourth meeting of what has become known as the U.S.-China Senior Dialogue, a regular channel for discussions aimed at drawing the two countries closer. Among the issues discussed in the meetings hosted by Deputy Secretary of State John D. Negroponte were nuclear activities in North Korea and Iran, global warming and Darfur, according to a statement from the State Department. Dai also met separately with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley. The meeting with the campaign advisers was arranged by John J. Hamre, a deputy defense secretary in the Clinton administration and the president of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Through a spokesman, Hamre declined to discuss the private session, and others disclosed details only on the condition of anonymity. Also leading the discussion were Carter national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and Reagan defense secretary Frank C. Carlucci. Others present for the dinner meeting at the Metropolitan Club included former CIA general counsel Jeffrey H. Smith, representing the Clinton campaign; former Navy secretary Richard J. Danzig, representing Obama; former State Department official Derek Chollet, representing Edwards; former State Department policy planning chief Mitchell B. Reiss, representing Romney; McCain's national security adviser Randy Scheunemann; and Antony J. Blinken, staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and an adviser to Biden. The campaign of former New York mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani reportedly was invited to send a participant but did not do so. The meeting appears to have taken place at the behest of the Chinese. "They have felt over the decades that they have been caught by surprise by American elections -- and that they should get involved earlier in trying to figure out where the new administration might head," said James Mann, the author of several books on U.S.-China relations. Mann said it appeared the Chinese were getting involved early in the U.S. political cycle, "trying to get out their views and to preemptively deflect criticism." By several accounts, the meeting was generally cordial, with Dai listing many areas of potential cooperation and warning the participants that they should not rock the boat on the status of Taiwan, which remains of paramount concern to Beijing. Wary about pressure from U.S. politicians for China to ease controls on the fluctuation of its currency, Dai made a case for the benefits of expanding economic ties between the two countries, the sources said. Dai also told the small group that China was interested in helping to stop the violence in Darfur but added that the 2008 Olympics in Beijing should not be held hostage to the issue. Some of the presidential contenders, including New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D), have suggested that the U.S. consider boycotting the Games if China does not do more to pressure Khartoum over the issue. In discussing Darfur, several sources said, Dai displayed something of a heavy hand, saying that in the recent French elections, the two candidates who advocated tougher action on Darfur lost. That struck some participants as strange, because the new French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has made more vigorous international action on Darfur a key part of his foreign policy agenda. Policy toward China has not emerged as a major issue in the early going of the 2008 campaign, though a number of candidates have focused on the rising impact of China's economy on the United States. Dai seemed curious about whether that would change, one participant said. He was told by several people that there would be a greater focus on China by the next president. "What came out of it was a pretty strong consensus that, no matter who was elected president, there was likely to be a much more sustained high-level engagement with China," said one person present. Political researcher Zachary A. Goldfarb contributed to this report.	One of China's top government officials reached out to the leading U.S. presidential contenders last week, holding an unpublicized meeting with several of their top foreign policy advisers during a visit to Washington for high-level talks with Bush administration officials.	22.222222	1	45	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702926.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702926.html	. . . But Teams Survive With Big Men Such as Oden	2007070119	The bet here is that Kevin Durant will be a wonderful professional basketball player, probably a perennial all-star, perhaps even the cornerstone of a team that lives in the playoffs. But if I had the first pick in tonight's draft, I'm taking Greg Oden. Wing players with beautiful jump shots inspire the imagination, are easier to market and usually sell more tickets. But teams with a great Big Man win championships. Teams featuring Shaquille O'Neal and Tim Duncan have won eight of the last nine NBA championships. They play the position of Big Man. Oden, at 7 feet and 250 pounds, also plays the position of Big Man. I'm taking Greg Oden 100 times out of 100. You don't want to mess with history on this. And please, don't tell me about Sam Bowie vs. Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft. Bowie was a very skilled and very tall man, but not a Big Man. Hakeem Olajuwon was a Big Man; he won two NBA championships. Patrick Ewing was a Big Man; he led his team to the NBA Finals twice. David Robinson was a Big Man; he led the Spurs to a championship when Duncan was a pup. Kareem was a Big Man, Bill Walton was a Big Man. Willis Reed was a Big Man, Wes Unseld was a Big Man, Moses Malone was a Big Man. Wilt was a Real Big Man. Bill Russell was the Ultimate Big Man. George Mikan was the Original Big Man. They all won. In fact, those men played on a total of 42 NBA championship teams. Hello! All of them played in multiple NBA Finals. In this context, Big is better. If you add Robert Parish and Dave Cowens to the conversation, and they qualify as Big Men to some degree, then it's 47 NBA championships. In fact, go ahead and name the teams that won without a Big Man. Oden, from everything we know going into this draft, appears to be made of some of the same stuff the aforementioned Big Men are made of. He's big, smart, strong, athletic and not just willing but excited to humiliate you with withering defense. So what's Oden's downside? Brad Daugherty? Alonzo Mourning? Dikembe Mutombo? What, you wouldn't take any of those guys for the next dozen years? Kent Benson? Christian Laettner? He's certainly not Kwame Brown, who is a big man but for certain not a Big Man. Please don't forget that Oden, in the NCAA championship game, threw around Florida's Al Horford and Joakim Noah, a pair of lottery-pick big men, like they were tomato cans to the tune of 25 points and 12 rebounds. Oden led his Ohio State team to the NCAA championship game despite an injury to the wrist of his dominant hand. We haven't even come close to seeing the best of Greg Oden. As important as the physical attributes, Oden is accountable, a feature many of the NBA's wannabe stars are lacking, which is why they'll never be all they should be. When Oden nervously fumbled his way through a workout in Portland last week with his presumed new team, he turned more than once to his future coaches and club executives and apologized for playing so poorly.	Wing players with beautiful jump shots inspire the imagination,Â but teams with a great big man win titles, and that's why Greg Oden should go No. 1.	19	0.852941	5.264706	medium	medium	mixed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702360.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702360.html	Even Among Allies, Image of U.S. Drops	2007070119	The image of the United States has "plummeted" in many parts of the world, with mounting distrust of President Bush and U.S. foreign policy expressed not only in Muslim countries but also among traditional allies, according to a survey of global attitudes released yesterday. Still, majorities in 25 of the 46 countries surveyed said they had positive views of the United States, with particularly positive sentiments coming from Africa, suggesting that anti-Americanism has grown "deeper, but not wider." Those surveyed expressed little confidence in other world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Venezuelan President Hugo ChÃ¡vez and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And China's increasing economic and military might is "triggering considerable anxiety," the survey found, though President Hu Jintao "remains largely unknown in many parts of the world." "The image of China has slipped significantly among the publics of other major nations," the study concluded. "Opinion about Russia is mixed, but . . . the Russian leader's negatives have soared to the point that they mirror the nearly worldwide lack of confidence in George W. Bush." The research was conducted this spring by the nonpartisan, nonprofit Pew Research Center and covered 46 countries and the Palestinian territories. The study assesses global attitudes concerning policy, leadership and world threats. The organization conducted its first major global survey in 2002. A majority of respondents in 30 of the 46 countries criticized the United States for what they saw as acting without taking the views of other countries into consideration. Support was strong for a U.S. troop withdrawal from Iraq, and there was "considerable" opposition among those surveyed to U.S. and NATO operations in Afghanistan. Among Americans, 56 percent said they favored pulling troops out of Iraq, and 42 percent said the same for Afghanistan. A consistently negative view of the United States persisted in Middle Eastern and Asian countries with Muslim majorities. Favorable views of the United States among Pakistanis dropped to just 15 percent, and among Turks to 9 percent. Lebanon stood out as a notable exception in the region. Forty-seven percent of Lebanese said they had a favorable view of the United States; the number was 27 percent in 2003. But Lebanese opinions of the United States varied according to religion. Eighty-two percent of Christians surveyed expressed positive views of the United States, compared with 52 percent of Sunni Muslims and only 7 percent of Shiite Muslims. In Africa, more than "three-quarters of participants in Ivory Coast, Kenya, Ghana, Mali, and Ethiopia say they have a very or somewhat favorable impression" of the United States, the report said. But in several African countries, a religious divide was also evident. In Ethiopia, for example, 77 percent expressed a positive view of the United States. Among Ethiopian Christians the number rose to 93 percent, while Muslims were nearly evenly divided. In Nigeria, 70 percent of those surveyed held positive views of the United States. But when religion was taken into account, 94 percent of Nigerian Christians expressed a positive opinion while Nigerian Muslims were also nearly evenly divided in their views. Respondents in a "diverse group of countries" listed environmental degradation as a serious global threat. "In North America and Latin America, majorities in every country -- except the U.S. -- say global warming is a very serious problem," the study found.	The image of the United States has "plummeted" in many parts of the world, with mounting distrust of President Bush and U.S. foreign policy expressed not only in Muslim countries but also among traditional allies, according to a survey of global attitudes released yesterday.	13.285714	1	49	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/28/AR2007062800002.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/28/AR2007062800002.html	Paris Hilton, Free To Speak Her Mind (Such as It Is)	2007070119	Guilty pleasure? No, not really. It was more just guilty guilt -- though Paris Hilton, the subject of the interview seen round the world on CNN last night, kept insisting that she had passed a crossroads in life and is a better person because of it. Hilton's appearance on "Larry King Live" was, as CNN had been trumpeting all day, her first since being released from jail early Tuesday after serving 3 1/2 weeks for driving with a suspended license and while intoxicated. Hilton told King she had been under the impression that the license was legitimate and said she'd had only one drink the night of the original arrest. "Sadly, this is part of American culture," lamented King's colleague Anderson Cooper on his own show, "Anderson Cooper 360," following King's. Cooper seemed embarrassed to be covering the interview even though he'd been doing promos during the day as well. On the low-rated "Paula Zahn Now," which preceded King, CNN ran a "countdown clock" headlined "Paris Tells All," in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. She didn't exactly tell all, but then she wasn't exactly asked all, either; King seemed to be playing more a grandfatherly than journalistic role as he gently questioned the infamous heiress. Sometimes the pauses in interviews say more than the responses, and that was the case late in the hour when King asked Hilton -- who said she read the Bible every day while in the slammer -- to quote her favorite passage. Hilton said "hmmm" and then sank into what seemed a vast and vacant pause. Finally she averred, "I don't have a favorite." "God makes everything happen for a reason," Hilton earlier philosophized. Although she said a lifelong battle with claustrophobia made the first hours of incarceration unbearable for her -- after becoming hysterical, she'd been briefly allowed, with typical California confusion, to serve time at home, then hustled back to jail -- she said she vowed to make the best of a bad situation and "went by the motto, 'Don't serve the time, let the time serve you.' " She passed hours in her small and sparsely furnished cell meditating, closing her eyes and pretending she was somewhere else, and writing in a journal, portions of which she read to King. One passage was about making it through a crossroads in life: "It is only then that we find out who we truly are and what we're made of." Why, indeed, should America care who she truly is? Hilton's chief claims to fame had been her status as an heiress, her reputation as a party girl and her notorious performance in a porno film still being sold. All that is behind her, she told King, saying she wanted to use her fame to help various causes, that she sympathized with the other women she met in jail, that she now wants to be "a good role model" for young women, and that jail was actually good for her in that "I've definitely matured and grown a lot from the experience." Even if one were willing to accept that notion from Hilton, it was hard to keep a straight face when she later told King, "I consider myself normal." It was also hard at times to determine which had less depth: King's questions or Hilton's answers. When he asked her what she would change about herself, he probably expected Hilton to come up with a deeply self-analytical rumination. But what she said she didn't like was that when she's nervous or shy, "my voice gets really high," and she vowed to correct this disturbing character flaw. She'd like to marry within a year or two and raise a family, Hilton said, to which King responded, "Don't you think you'd be a load for someone now?" Whatever one might have expected, King did not take the opportunity to propose. Hilton said of her dream man, "He's out there somewhere." Were millions of men raising their hands and shouting, "Here! Here!"? It would be easy to dismiss the entire event as much ado about less than nothing, but America has always loved bad girls, stories of people conquering adversity, and tales of reform and repentance. This saga has all those elements and a beautiful blonde besides, making it essentially irresistible. Of course for all the hoopla about CNN landing the first post-jail interview, other networks reportedly had turned it down. NBC was said to have made a $1 million offer to Hilton's father but negotiations apparently fell through. Meanwhile TV blogs were chortling over remarks made in the past by CNN news director Jon Klein, who once boasted that CNN is "the most essential source of information" in the country and said, "The American people want serious news, and they're not getting enough of it from cable." They certainly didn't get a lot of it from CNN last night. To look at the spectacle from yet another perspective, watching Hilton for an hour was in its way more edifying and encouraging than enduring more hateful rants from publicity hound Ann Coulter on MSNBC's "Hardball With Chris Matthews" the night before. Matthews was still discussing the Coulter appearance on his show last night. Next to Coulter, Paris Hilton is pure refreshment. Hilton said that in addition to suffering from claustrophobia all her life, she has been besieged by attention-deficit disorder since the age of 12. Somehow this made jail all the worse for her, she said. There were times during the interview when any viewer's attention might have been at a deficit or disordered, but it's still bound to be the most talked-about television show of any that aired last night. And it will hardly be, as certainly no one needs to be assured, the last time we see Paris.	Guilty pleasure? No, not really. It was more just guilty guilt -- though Paris Hilton, the subject of the interview seen round the world on CNN last night, kept insisting that she had passed a crossroads in life and is a better person because of it.	22.461538	1	52	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702245.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702245.html	AOL's News Sites Adopt Look of Blogs	2007070119	AOL is blurring the lines of news with a makeover that gives its traditional news sites the look and feel of blogs, a shift that is part of its efforts to change from a subscription-based service to a free, advertising-based Web business. AOL News and other AOL sites this week were turned into blog-like sites that display short news stories -- some as short as a single sentence -- accompanied by video clips, photographs or interactive polls intended to engage readers. AOL Sports plans to begin using a similar format starting Monday. Elsewhere on the updated sites, there are headlines from traditional news sources and links to popular news bloggers and message boards where readers can comment. The style is reflective of a general shift in how consumers prefer to get information on the Web. "People will consume news in a way they want to consume it," said Lewis D'Vorkin, senior vice president of AOL news and sports and an architect of TMZ.com, the entertainment blog co-owned by AOL and Warner Bros. "The more choices we offer, the more they are able to pick and choose between traditional, blogging or user-generated news." The success of TMZ.com, which has become a magnet for Web surfers who are more interested in Paris Hilton than in President Bush, has taught the executives at AOL a few things about the habits of Web surfers, notably that online readers aren't afraid to scroll through several screens, D'Vorkin said. The more time users spend on a site, the more money AOL can collect from advertisers. "TMZ.com is a very long page, sometimes 10 or 12 posts or more," he said. "One of the most clicked-on links on that page is at the bottom, the 'go to next page' link. If you give them what they want, people will scroll." Yankee Group analyst Jennifer Simpson said the approach could lure younger audiences, a demographic that increasingly turns to the Web for news coverage as well as the opinionated commentary of the blogosphere. "This is a trend that we'll see growing more and more as time goes on," she said. Simpson said that AOL is a popular service with older people who signed up when the company primarily sold monthly Internet access. "This is making it feel a bit more hip with a blog style," she said, noting that many younger readers don't make distinctions between traditional news sites and blogs. "They think of it more as a Web site. They're not conscious of the fact that it's a blog. To them, that style is becoming a lot more associated with what a Web site looks like."	AOL is blurring the lines of news with a makeover that gives its traditional news sites the look and feel of blogs, a shift that is part of its efforts to change from a subscription-based service to a free, advertising-based Web business.	10.632653	1	49	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702389.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702389.html	Terrorism Suspect Portrayed as 'Slow'	2007070119	MIAMI, June 27 -- After Jose Padilla was arrested as an accused "dirty bomb" plotter in May 2002, he became an icon of the domestic al-Qaeda threat. For those who knew him just a few years before, it must have seemed like a startling evolution. Because from the summer of 1998, when he moved from Florida to Egypt, through the spring of 2000, the former Taco Bell worker appears in his own and in his associates' wiretapped conversations to have been something far less threatening: a somewhat isolated, financially strapped young American in Egypt who was trying to disentangle himself from a marriage back in the United States and seemingly weary at times of trying to find his footing in a foreign country. When he needed an Army jacket and sleeping bag, he turned to his mother in South Florida to send them. He struggled to learn Arabic, with one of his friends describing him with some exasperation as a "slow learner" -- so lazy that Padilla would learn only if they put a dictionary in bed. Romantically, he was at odds with his American wife, and his friends seem to have been trying to arrange a 14-year-old Egyptian bride for him. Then, when the South Florida man prosecutors call Padilla's "recruiter" to terrorism began to press him to get active, Padilla complained that his efforts to find "good brothers" in the Middle East were complicated by discrimination against people from the United States. "It's very difficult [to get a recommendation] 'cause . . . you know, and especially that I'm American, you know? So it's very . . . you know I am an American, so it's very hard," he tells Adham Hassoun, the Florida man whom prosecutors describe as his recruiter. "Listen, I have to let you go, because the phone card is blowing up." Padilla and two other men, Hassoun and Kifah Jayyousi, are on trial here, accused of a conspiracy to commit violence overseas and providing material support for terrorism. The alleged "dirty bomb" plot has nothing to do with it, however. Prosecutors say the men formed a U.S.-based support cell for al-Qaeda, and some of the tapes and intercepted faxes being presented to the jury suggest that his co-defendants helped arrange equipment or other support for people in the conflicts in Chechnya and Kosovo. The evidence unveiled against Padilla so far, however, has proved far less tangible. The key piece of physical evidence against him is the "mujaheddin identification form," allegedly recovered from an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan, that bears Padilla's fingerprints and one of his aliases. His attorneys, who told jurors that Padilla traveled to Egypt to study to become an imam, have suggested that his fingerprints appeared on the form because it was handed to him by interrogators during his detention after federal authorities labeled him an enemy combatant.	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.	13.642857	0.428571	0.52381	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062700296.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007070119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062700296.html	The Browns Move In at Downing Street	2007070119	LONDON, June 27 -- Prime Minister Tony Blair resigned Wednesday at Buckingham Palace, turning over power to Gordon Brown, his longtime political partner and rival, after a decade of guiding Britain through economic prosperity at home and a deeply unpopular war abroad. Noticeably older and grayer than when he took office in 1997, Blair, 54, had just come from his final appearance at the House of Commons, where he received a rare standing ovation. He spent much of his last address there defending the war in Iraq. He began his remarks at the weekly Prime Minister's Question Time by saluting the latest three British soldiers to die in Iraq and Afghanistan: "I know some may think that they face these dangers in vain; I don't and I never will. "I believe they are fighting for the security of this country and the wider world against people who would destroy our way of life," he said. After a lively, emotional and often humorous exchange with lawmakers, Blair said: "Some may belittle politics but we know, who are engaged in it, that it is where people stand tall. . . . It is still the arena that sets the heart beating a little faster. "And if it is on occasions the place of low skullduggery, it is more often the place for the pursuit of noble causes. And I wish everyone -- friend or foe -- well. And that is that. The end." He quickly left the chamber to sustained applause and went briefly to the prime minister's official home and office at nearby 10 Downing Street, where a moving van had just taken away his family's personal belongings. Blair was then driven to Buckingham Palace, where he officially resigned in a private audience with Queen Elizabeth II. Brown, 56, who has been Britain's finance minister, then separately met with the Queen, who by tradition invites the successor to form a new government. Having arrived in a red Vauxhall, Brown left the palace, after officially becoming prime minister, in a bulletproof black Jaguar. The 2006 movie "The Queen," starring Helen Mirren, featured a scene in which the character of Tony Blair, played by Michael Sheen, kneels and kisses the monarch's hand when he becomes prime minister. Amid TV commentary that this might be happening in the closed-door meeting with Brown, a royal spokeswoman said in a telephone interview that no such thing really takes place: "There is no kneeling or kissing of hands. They just talk." A less flashy, more somber politician than Blair, Brown pledged in his first address as Britain's leader to give the country "a new government, with new priorities." "I have heard the need for change," Brown said, speaking in front of the black door that bears the number 10. He promised change in the national health system and schools. In a nod to the rising concern about immigration, he also said change was needed "to protect and extend the British way of life." Brown did not mention any change in Britain's policy on Iraq, a main reason for Blair's growing unpopularity at the polls and his decision to step down now. A few relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq protested at Downing Street on Wednesday by holding up pictures of the dead soldiers. They applauded when Blair drove away. President Bush was among the many world leaders who telephoned Brown to congratulate him. The two have already met in Washington, but Brown is widely expected to play down any closeness to Bush, who is exceedingly unpopular in Britain. Bush paid a warm tribute to Blair in an interview published Wednesday in the Sun, Britain's biggest-selling daily, famous for photos of topless women on Page 3. "Tony's great skill, and I wish I had it, is that he's very articulate," Bush said. "I wish I was a better speaker. This guy can really . . . he can talk." Bush went on to say: "I've heard he's been called Bush's poodle. He's bigger than that. . . . Somehow our relationship has been seen as Bush saying to Blair, 'Jump,' and Blair saying, 'How high?' But that's just not the way it works. It's a relationship where we say we're both going to jump together." Brown and Blair worked side by side to win three consecutive elections. But in recent years, their relationship has grown strained and Brown has been increasingly impatient to take over the top job. Political experts here predict that Brown will announce his cabinet as soon as Thursday. An intellectual who devours books and began studying at the University of Edinburgh at age 16, Brown is not a natural public speaker. He has been blind in his left eye since he was a teenager, the result of suffering a detached retina after being kicked in the head during a rugby match. Blair will now serve as envoy to the Middle East for the diplomatic grouping known as the Quartet -- the United Nations, United States, European Union and Russia. His prime job will be to secure peace between Israel and the Palestinian territories. Bush welcomed the appointment. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed similar sentiments, saying his government would "render any assistance to Blair." A spokesman for Hamas, the radical Islamic group that last year won Palestinian parliamentary elections and this month seized control of the Gaza Strip, said it could not accept the appointment. "He is a follower of the American project against Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia," said Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza. "He has always supported aggression against the Palestinians." Carrying his own suitcase, Blair boarded a train late Wednesday afternoon to return to his constituency in northeastern England. There he resigned from the parliamentary seat he has held for 24 years. That will allow him more time to focus on the Middle East as well as other new pursuits, including writing his memoirs. Correspondent Scott Wilson in Jerusalem, staff writer Robin Wright in Washington and special correspondent Karla Adam in London contributed to this report.	LONDON, June 27 -- Prime Minister Tony Blair resigned Wednesday at Buckingham Palace, turning over power to Gordon Brown, his longtime political partner and rival, after a decade of guiding Britain through economic prosperity at home and a deeply unpopular war abroad.	25.510638	1	47	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601688.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601688.html	Beyond Politics on Iraq	2007062719	In my judgment, our course in Iraq has lost contact with our national security interests in the Middle East and beyond. Our continuing absorption with military activities in Iraq is limiting our diplomatic assertiveness there and elsewhere in the world. The prospects that the "surge" strategy will succeed as originally envisioned by the president are very limited within the period framed by our domestic political debate. And the strident, polarized nature of that debate increases the risk that our involvement in Iraq will end in a poorly planned withdrawal that undercuts our interests in the Middle East. The current debate in Washington has not been conducive to a thoughtful revision of Iraq policy. Our debate is being driven by partisan political calculations and understandable fatigue with bad news -- including deaths and injuries to Americans. We have been debating and voting on whether to fund American troops in Iraq and whether to place conditions on such funding. We have contemplated in great detail whether Iraqi success in achieving certain benchmarks should determine whether funding is approved or whether a withdrawal should commence. I would observe that none of this debate addresses our vital interests. I believe that the costs and risks of continuing down the current path outweigh the potential benefits that might be achieved by doing so. Persisting with the surge strategy will delay policy adjustments that have a better chance of protecting our interests over the long term. I do not come to this conclusion lightly, particularly given that Gen. David Petraeus will deliver a formal report in September on his efforts to improve security. I do not doubt the assessments of military commanders that there has been progress in security. But three factors -- the political fragmentation in Iraq, the growing stress on our military and the constraints of our domestic political process -- are converging to make it almost impossible for the United States to engineer a stable, multi-sectarian government in Iraq in a reasonable time. Few Iraqi leaders are willing to make sacrifices or expose themselves to risks on behalf of the type of unified Iraq that the Bush administration had envisioned. In contrast, many Iraqi leaders are deeply invested in sectarian or tribal agendas. Even if U.S. negotiators found a way to forge a political settlement among selected representatives of the major factions, these leaders have not shown the ability to control their members at the local level. In this context, the possibility that the United States can set meaningful benchmarks that would provide an indication of impending success or failure is remote. Equally unproven is the theory voiced by some supporters of a withdrawal that removing American troops from Iraq would stimulate a grand compromise between Iraqi factions. American strategy must adjust to the reality that sectarian factionalism will not abate anytime soon and probably cannot be controlled from the top. The president and some of his advisers may be tempted to pursue the surge strategy to the end of his administration, but such a course contains extreme risks for U.S. national security. The resulting contentiousness with Congress would make cooperation on national security issues nearly impossible. It would greatly increase the chances for a poorly planned withdrawal from Iraq or possibly the broader Middle East that could damage U.S. interests for decades. The president and his team must come to grips with the shortened political timeline in this country for military operations in Iraq. A course change should happen now, while there is still some possibility of constructing a sustainable bipartisan strategy. Our security interests call for a downsizing and redeployment of U.S. military forces to more sustainable positions. Numerous locations for temporary or permanent military bases have been suggested, including Kuwait or other nearby states, the Kurdish territories, or defensible locations in Iraq outside of urban areas. All of these options come with limitations. But some level of American military presence in Iraq would improve the odds that we could respond to terrorist threats, protect oil flows and help deter a regional war. It would also reassure friendly governments that the United States is committed to Middle East security. A redeployment would allow us to continue training Iraqi troops and delivering economic assistance, but it would end the U.S. attempt to interpose itself between Iraqi factions. It is essential that as we attempt to reposition from our current military posture, we launch a multifaceted diplomatic offensive that pushes adversarial states and terrorist groups to adjust to us. A first step is working with like-minded nations to establish a consistent diplomatic forum related to Iraq that is open to all parties in the Middle East. Such a forum could facilitate more regular contact with Syria and Iran with less drama and rhetoric than has accompanied some meetings. Just as the six-party talks have improved communications in Northeast Asia beyond the issue of North Korea's nuclear program, stabilizing Iraq could be the occasion for a diplomatic forum that contributes to other Middle East priorities. But the credibility and sustainability of our actions depend on addressing the two elephants in the room of U.S. Middle East policy -- the Arab-Israeli conflict and U.S. dependence on Persian Gulf oil. The implementation of an effective program to remedy these conditions could be as valuable to our long-term security as would be the achievement of a stable, pro-Western government in Iraq. We cannot allow fatigue and frustration with our Iraq policy to lead to the abandonment of the tools and relationships we need to defend our vital interests in the Middle East. The administration and Congress must suspend what has become almost knee-jerk political combat over Iraq. We need to move Iraq policy beyond the politics of the moment and reestablish a broad consensus on the role of the United States in the Middle East.	The following is adapted from a speech given Monday night on the floor of the Senate by Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee.	32.96875	0.5	0.75	medium	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601679.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601679.html	An Exit to Disaster	2007062719	History seems to be settling on some criticisms of the early conduct of the Iraq war. On the theory that America could liberate and leave, force levels were reduced too early, security responsibilities were transferred to Iraqis before they were ready, and planning for future challenges was unrealistic. "Victory in Iraq," one official of the Coalition Provisional Authority told me a couple of years ago, "was defined as decapitating the regime. No one defined victory as creating a sustainable country six months down the road." Now Democrats running for president have thought deeply and produced their own Iraq policy: They want to cut force levels too early and transfer responsibility to Iraqis before they are ready, and they offer no plan to deal with the chaos that would result six months down the road. In essential outline, they have chosen to duplicate the early mistakes of an administration they hold in contempt. The Democratic debate on Iraq has become an escalating contest of exit strategies. Sen. Hillary Clinton outlines a "three-step plan to bring the troops home starting now." Sen. Barack Obama pledges to "have all our troops out by March 31 of next year." Former senator John Edwards wants a "timetable for withdrawal" that would generously leave "some presence to guard the embassy, for example, in Baghdad." No one can confidently predict the outcome of a precipitous withdrawal, but the signs aren't good. Experts such as Fred Kagan at the American Enterprise Institute believe a full-scale Iraqi civil war would result in massive sectarian cleansing that "might not leave a single Sunni in Baghdad." Hundreds of thousands or more, he expects, would die. Nearby powers in that nasty neighborhood would be tempted to intervene in favor of various Iraqi factions, raising the prospect that civil war might escalate into a regional conflict. "Even if it is kept at the proxy level," says Ken Pollack of the Brookings Institution, "proxy fights can be ruinous to countries around it." And the descent of Iraq into complete lawlessness would allow terrorists to carve out fiefdoms. According to the national intelligence estimate issued in January, al-Qaeda "would attempt to use parts of the country -- particularly Anbar province -- to plan increased attacks in and outside Iraq." When pressed to address these consequences, most of the Democratic candidates offer a response similar to Edwards's: "As we withdrew our combat troops out of Iraq, I would not leave the region." So America would defend its interests from a safe distance in Kuwait. But how effective has it been to fight terrorist networks in Pakistan from a distance? How effective has it been to fight genocide in Sudan from a distance? This is less an argument than an alibi. Some Democratic foreign policy experts think that talk of immediate withdrawal is just politics for Iowa consumption; they give the candidates credit for their insincerity. A new Democratic president could easily announce that "circumstances are worse than I had feared" and adopt a more gradual and responsible plan. But there is a problem with this approach. Feeding America's natural isolationism -- no country relishes sending its sons and daughters to fight in a far-off desert -- can create a momentum of irresponsibility that moves beyond control. In 1974, a weary Congress cut off funds for Cambodia and South Vietnam, leading to the swift fall of both allies. In his memoir, "Years of Renewal," Henry Kissinger tells the story of former Cambodian prime minister Sirik Matak, who refused to leave his country. "I thank you very sincerely," Matak wrote in response, "for your offer to transport me towards freedom. I cannot, alas, leave in such a cowardly fashion. As for you, and in particular for your great country, I never believed for a moment that you would have this sentiment of abandoning a people which has chosen liberty. You have refused us your protection, and we can do nothing about it. You leave, and my wish is that you and your country will find happiness under this sky. But, mark it well, that if I shall die here on the spot and in my country that I love, it is no matter, because we are all born and must die. I have only committed this mistake of believing in you [the Americans]." Eventually, between 1 million and 2 million Cambodians were murdered by the Khmer Rouge when "peace" came to Indochina. Matak, Kissinger recounts, was shot in the stomach and died three days later. Sometimes peace for America can produce ghosts of its own.	Entering Iraq without an exit strategy was a mistake. Leaving without regard for the consequesnces would be a larger mistake.	37.25	0.583333	0.666667	high	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601686.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601686.html	The Cheney Doctrine	2007062719	Let's admit it: We in the media haven't had this much fun with Vice President Cheney since he shot a man in the face and neglected, for a while, to tell the boss. And let's admit: Like that episode, this one doesn't matter much on its own. So the vice president's office wouldn't report how many documents it had classified, and it wouldn't let an obscure division of the National Archives look at its security procedures. In bureaucratese, OVP blocked ISOO from conducting an on-site review under Section 5.2 (b)(4) of Executive Order 12958, as amended. Of all the vice president's excesses, this one barely registers on the Cheney Scale. Its seismic impact, rather, stems from the combination of so many Cheneyesque attributes: mania for secrecy, resistance to oversight, willingness to twist the law and assertion of unreviewable power. This is Cheney's version of the $400 haircut/I voted for the $87 billion before I voted against it/I invented the Internet -- a moment whose importance is magnified because it fits with jigsaw precision into an existing template. In this case, as the Post series on Cheney has shown, those preconceptions are justified. As maddening as the vice president's above-the-law attitude is the way he and his staff respond when challenged: first, the silent treatment, then the legal bait and switch. When the Information Security Oversight Office asked Cheney's chief of staff, David S. Addington, why the office had blocked its inspection, Addington didn't deign to reply -- twice. Neither did Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, to whom ISOO wrote in January for guidance. Cheney's initial explanation for his refusal to file ISOO reports -- and this is where the fun we've been having with this story comes in -- rested on his unique status as both vice president and president of the Senate. "This has been thoroughly reviewed, and it's been determined that the reporting requirement does not apply to [the office of the vice president], which has both legislative and executive functions," a Cheney spokeswoman told the Chicago Tribune in May last year. This makes no sense -- as the White House's subsequent abandonment (mostly) of this argument suggests. No doubt, the vice president wears two hats. But it's hard to credit the argument that he is not as a result, "within the executive branch," and therefore covered by the executive order. Indeed, when President Bush rewrote the order in 2003, he granted the vice president explicit authority "in the performance of executive duties" to classify and declassify information. So under Cheney's interpretation he simultaneously gets new executive classification powers but isn't part of the executive in having to report his handling of classified material. Moreover, when the executive order wanted to exempt the vice president's office from one provision, it did so clearly. The amended order explicitly relieves the vice president's staff from having to comply with a rule letting outsiders seek declassification. Now, the argument has shifted from that shaky ground to other, equally shaky ones. First, that the office of the vice president isn't an agency covered by the regulation. "Supreme Court precedent shows that the vice president and the president are not seen as an agency when it comes to executive orders," the battered briefer, Dana Perino, dutifully recited Monday. She was referring to a 1992 census case, Franklin v. Massachusetts, in which the Supreme Court said that the president was not considered an "agency" for purposes of the Administrative Procedure Act. That might be vaguely relevant if the executive order didn't contain its own, far broader definition of agency ("any other entity within the executive branch that comes into the possession of classified information"). Second, Perino now argues, the president never intended for his office or the vice president's to be covered by the reporting and inspection rules. The president and vice president, for purposes of this order, she says, are one and the same -- an argument that doesn't quite square with Perino's point, at the same briefing, that "the vice president's paycheck comes from the Senate." And, Perino says, neither is covered by the relevant part of the executive order. That would be a fine argument, and certainly within the president's power, except that's not what the order says. It's not the way previous administrations have interpreted it -- or how this one did for the first two years, when Cheney's office filed reports about its classification procedures. If the president meant to change that practice when he rewrote the executive order in 2003, he didn't mention it. In the end, Cheney vs. ISOO is just another example of the Cheney doctrine at work: Never willingly provide information, however innocuous. Never do in public what you can accomplish by stealth. And never make a reasonable argument when an outlandish one is at hand. Subscribe to the podcast of this column at www.washingtonpost.com/podcast. The writer's e-mail address is marcusr@washpost.com.	Never make a reasonable argument when an outlandish one is at hand.	76.615385	1	13	high	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601697.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601697.html	The Rich Get Richer	2007062719	He was not even party to the case, but the biggest winner in Monday's Supreme Court decision on campaign-finance law may be New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. If he decides to run for president, the decision could provide an enormous advantage to his campaign. As a billionaire, of course, Bloomberg already has advantages few other candidates have. And in one sense, the decision changes nothing -- Bloomberg was free to spend a few hundred million dollars of his own money on his campaign before Monday, and he is free to do so now. But one result of the decision could be that Bloomberg will have control over more of the money spent on his behalf than any other candidate for president. A quick election-law primer: Anyone can spend as much money as he or she wishes on his candidacy. But there is a limit to how much a person can contribute to a campaign; currently, it is $2,300 per election cycle. The amount is not very high -- the point is to limit the power of rich contributors. On Monday, however, the Supreme Court carved out an exception to this limit: With an election upcoming, corporations and labor unions can spend as much as they want on commercials that talk about a political candidate, either favorably or negatively, as long as they don't specifically ask the viewer to vote for or against the candidate in the ad. Thanks to previous decisions, equally absurd, this right also belongs to so-called issue groups. So: No individual can give more than $2,300 to a candidate. But corporations, labor unions and issue groups can spend hundreds of millions on commercials praising or lambasting any candidate they want. Not only that, the candidates themselves have no control -- they are not allowed to have any control -- over how this money is spent. That's the craziest aspect of this exception to campaign finance law. Pretend you are a candidate. Someone can take out an ad on your behalf, but you can't help them prepare it. You can't tell them what you want to say or how you want to say it. You can't coordinate ad buys or schedules. You can't even know about it before it airs. The result is that the debate has been taken out of the hands of the candidates. Almost all the ads are bought by labor unions, corporations and issue groups. And these ads inevitably distort the issues, because all these groups have single-issue axes to grind, and the axe is not a subtle weapon. The forgotten people in this process -- the candidates themselves -- can raise money from individuals in relatively small amounts and buy their own ads. But their commercials are likely to get lost amid the din of unaccountable distortions made possible by bad legislation and worse judicial interpretation of it. So what does all this have to do with Michael Bloomberg, you ask? Plenty. Individuals, remember, can spend as much of their own money as they want on their own campaign. Bloomberg is worth between $5 billion and $13 billion. If he wants to run for president and spend $500 million, or double that, he can. And if he does, he may be the only candidate in the race able to actually approve the vast majority of his own advertising. Groups will still be able to air advertisements for or against him -- or rather, discussing him positively or negatively -- but he will have more control over his message than most candidates. Of course, the advantages of wealth existed before Monday. But with its decision in F.E.C. v. Wisconsin Right to Life, the Supreme Court may just have increased them. When all other candidates are at the mercy of zealous special interest groups -- even when the groups are on their side -- the candidate with the resources to shape his own message stands to gain. In 2008, only Michael Bloomberg may be able to run a rational campaign on the issues and in the tone of his choice. David Lebedoff, a Minneapolis attorney, is author of "The Uncivil War: How a New Elite is Destroying Our Democracy." His book about George Orwell and Evelyn Waugh is forthcoming from Random House.	He was not even party to the case, but the biggest winner in Monday's Supreme Court decision on campaign-finance law may be New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. If he decides to run for president, the decision could provide an enormous advantage to his campaign.	15.941176	1	51	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601864.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601864.html	A Less-Than-Banner Ruling	2007062719	THE SUPREME Court fractured on a case involving student speech rights this week. The result was not good for First Amendment freedoms on campus. In 2002, then-high school senior Joseph Frederick unfurled a banner that read "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" during a school-sanctioned event across from his Juneau, Alaska, campus. His principal promptly tore it down and suspended the student. Mr. Frederick challenged the punishment, claiming that the principal had violated his First Amendment rights, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit agreed. But on Monday the Supreme Court reversed that decision. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote for the majority: "The 'special characteristics of the school environment' . . . and the governmental interest in stopping student drug abuse -- reflected in the policies of Congress and myriad school boards, including [that of Juneau-Douglas High School] -- allow schools to restrict student expression that they reasonably regard as promoting illegal drug use." One objection to this conclusion is: Who knows what the banner was promoting? As Justice John Paul Stevens wrote in his dissent: "To the extent the court independently finds that 'Bong Hits 4 Jesus' objectively amounts to the advocacy of illegal drug use -- in other words, that it can most reasonably be interpreted as such -- that conclusion practically refutes itself. This is a nonsense message, not advocacy." A more serious objection concerns the chief justice's expansion of the kinds of speech that can be restricted in school. As Justice Stephen G. Breyer noted, the fact that illegal drugs are harmful to students is not a sufficient explanation for banning a broad category of campus expression. The same reasoning can apply to any number of contentious issues. In addition, Mr. Roberts's language suggested that the stated policies of local school boards or other relevant governmental entities should determine in part whether expressing a particular view is permissible at school. Two members of the majority -- Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Anthony M. Kennedy -- explicitly rejected that argument in a concurring opinion, so the court's decision did not enshrine it. But the principle is nonetheless disturbing and, if applied in different cases later, has the potential to shut down student speech on a range of controversial subjects. Issues of drug use and drug policy are matters of serious contention. High school students must be able to debate them frankly -- and that might even involve students taking the position that bong hits are not that bad.	THE SUPREME Court fractured on a case involving student speech rights this week. The result was not good for First Amendment freedoms on campus.	18.230769	1	26	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/17/DI2007061700902.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/17/DI2007061700902.html	White House Watch - washingtonpost.com	2007062719	What's going on inside the White House? Ask Dan Froomkin, who writes the White House Watch column for washingtonpost.com. He'll answer your questions, take your comments and links, and point you to coverage around the Web on Wednesday, June 27, at 1 p.m. ET. Cheney: So 20 Minutes Ago (washingtonpost.com, June 26) Dan is also deputy editor of Niemanwatchdog.org. Dan Froomkin: Hi everyone, and welcome to another White House Watch chat. So much to talk about, let's go directly to the questions. Denver: I wonder if Bush is even aware of all the things Cheney has done. If Bush just signs whatever Cheney puts in front of him, is it possible that Bush doesn't realize how much power he's ceded to Cheney? Maybe the infamous "Bush Bubble" is worse than we thought. Dan Froomkin: Barton Gellman, who coauthored the massive Post series on Cheney that concluded today, told CNN on Monday: "It's clear that the president knows what Dick Cheney is doing, and it's clear the president could stop it." But that may underestimate the power of the bubble. I thought one of the most astute reactions to the series (as in, I wish I'd had it myself) was made by a commenter at the Firedoglake blog, who wrote: "The thing that strikes me about the WashPost series is that Cheney was constructing Bush's bubble from the very get go. He has managed to prevent anybody from one on one access to Bush without his approval. Nobody talked to Bush without his approval or his presence. His heavy handed presence managed to kill every effort to inject reality into the decision making process through intimidation. Just think about him staring at Bush from behind the bushes at that presser." Washington: I realize that because of my work, I probably have a somewhat greater ongoing knowledge of the Bush administration than people whose jobs aren't affected on their policy decisions, but a lot of the stuff about Cheney is old news to me and most of my colleagues. While I applaud the in-depth reporting of The Post, is it really that surprising to most people, and should I be concerned if it is? washingtonpost.com: Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency Dan Froomkin: The great and abiding strength of this series is that so many things that were widely suspected about Cheney now have been documented authoritatively. And there are quite a few new details. And I'm sure it's very surprising to some people. That said, the series suffers from two timeliness problems: 1) As I wrote in Monday's column, the question of the moment is really whether Cheney's influence is waning (not how strong it once was); and 2) As I wrote in yesterday's column, for all Cheney's power within the White House, he and his supposed boss both increasingly seem disconnected from the national debate on Iraq, which is more about how to get out than how to "win." Washington: Hey Dan -- you're a daily read, so please keep up the good work. So many shoes have dropped that the whole country's going to be in socks soon. But really, aside from making him vilified, can anything actually be done about Cheney? His status doesn't seem to have dissipated within the White House. Or is this simply adding sunlight at the end for historical purposes? Dan Froomkin: Thanks. But don't belittle sunlight -- that's what journalism is all about. And while I don't think too many people expect anything to change, Sally Quinn wrote for washingtonpost.com yesterday: "The big question right now among Republicans is how to remove Vice President Cheney from office. Even before this week's blockbuster series in The Post, discontent in Republican ranks was rising." Washington: So Dan -- "The CIA released hundreds of pages of internal reports Tuesday on assassination plots, secret drug testing and spying on Americans that triggered a scandal in the mid-1970s...." Oh look! A shiny penny! Sure smells like distraction. Is this document dump coordinated by the White House -- oops I mean, the fourth branch of government? washingtonpost.com: CIA Releases Files On Past Misdeeds (Post, June 27) Dan Froomkin: I don't understand the timing -- but I don't think it was intended to distract. (Terror alerts are much more effective.) Furthermore, Scott Shane has an interesting piece in the New York Times. He writes: "Comparisons between different historical eras are always tricky. With an incomplete account of C.I.A. misdeeds in its first quarter century from the so-called family jewels, released this week with many redactions, and a presumably even more incomplete knowledge of the spy agencies' actions since 2001, such a comparison is inevitably flawed. "But it is also irresistible. And it raises a provocative question: do the actions of the intelligence agencies in the era of Al Qaeda, which include domestic eavesdropping without warrants, secret detentions and interrogations arguably bordering on torture, already match or even eclipse those of the Vietnam War period?" Alexandria, Va.: Hi. Maureen Dowd has a humorous piece today in your competition paper about the visit of the high school Presidential Scholars to the White House. It seems that they handed Bush a thoughtful letter asking him to stop the torture, black flights etc. that have trashed the reputation of this country overseas. According to Dowd, and other reporters, Bush seldom or never meets anyone who might disagree with him on anything. Several years ago, he famously claimed not to read newspapers or polls. Do you think this is really true, or does she really mean that he just doesn't meet with opponents or hear adverse messages in from of cameras? Is Bush in an echo chamber? Is there a video somewhere of Bush's reaction to the students' letter? washingtonpost.com: Scholars Urge Bush to Ban Use of Torture (AP, June 25) Dan Froomkin: I quote from Dowd's column in my column today. And in my section on immigration I also note that Bush has made his public appearances in support of his immigration plan exclusively in front of audiences pre-selected for their support. (By contrast, he won't even say a word about immigration in front of regular gatherings of members of his own party!) The fact is Bush never meets with the general public, and what few encounters he has with people who disagree with him happen exclusively in private. The only exception was the debates with John Kerry -- and you may recall he appeared quite peevish and bored at times. Political scientist Jeffrey K. Tulis explained just how unprecedented Bush's behavior was on the NiemanWatchdog.org Web site over two years ago: "Certainly, in the past, presidential advance teams have on occasion taken steps to assure friendly audiences. It has not been uncommon for presidents to seek invitations to speak at friendly venues. But systematically screening audiences for an array of speaking tours in the pursuit of a national domestic policy campaign may be a new phenomenon, and one that the president should be asked to defend and justify in terms of his constitutional obligations." Sadly, no one has asked him to defend it or justify it. They barely even report it. (And no, I know of no video of that rare moment -- although I expect some parents in the audience had their video cameras rolling. YouTube anyone?) New York: Dear Dan, The furor over the fired attorneys seems to have died down. Is the White House hoping that the air will go out of this balloon and that Gonzales can just ride out the storm (mixed metaphor, sorry)? If this is their hope, how realistic is it in your opinion? Dan Froomkin: I absolutely am convinced that is their hope and plan. And so far, it has been wildly more successful than most of us possibly could have imagined. But I don't see the congressional investigations ramping down -- and the more they dig, the more they find. Denver: What would be the best way for Congress, or anybody for that matter, to challenge Cheney's assertions that he is both part of the executive branch (when claiming Executive privilege) and not part of the executive branch (when refusing to cooperate with the National Archives)? His position seems illogical and clearly seems to defy the Constitution. Is there some sort of legal action that could be taken with the Supreme Court? Or, short of impeachment, do we just have to live with Cheney being the fourth branch of our government? Dan Froomkin: Rahm Emanuel and other Democrats have threatened to withhold Cheney's budget unless he abandons that argument -- and he now apparently has. He's instead making another argument for why he doesn't think he's subject to an executive order laying out rules for the handling of secrets. See Michael Abramowitz's Post story. Dayton, Ohio: Cheney's quest for power in his role as Vice President is not surprising considering his past and the job's famous lack of authority. What is hard to understand is why Bush has let this man usurp so many of his own presidential prerogatives and powers. Far from strengthening the presidency itself, Cheney has weakened it. Where is Bush in all of this? Why did he allow this to happen and continue to permit it? Dan Froomkin: Well, I'm not sure I agree with Gellman that Bush knows the full extent of how much Cheney has usurped him, but I do agree with the series's assessment that: "In Bush, Cheney found the perfect partner. The president's willingness to delegate left plenty of room for his more detail-oriented vice president." And as Ron Suskind put it on MSNBC the other night: "The devil's in the details. Bush has broad pronouncements, sweeping ideas -- but Cheney gets the execution. And often the execution is all that matters." The question now seems to be: With so much of what Cheney did having gone so terribly wrong, is this partnership eroding? There are some signs that Bush is heeding others in his administration more than he used to. Will that trend continue? Will Bush's quest for a nondisastrous legacy and Karl Rove's desire for a Republican majority put some daylight between them and Cheney? Harrisburg, Pa.: I don't know Dana Perino, but because I work in public relations I can sympathize with the position she's in commenting (or not opining -- what a wonderful term) on Dick Cheney. But doesn't there come a time when even the most loyal of loyalists has to say "this is nuts!" I watched her press conference yesterday and couldn't believe what I was hearing. Is she that loyal? Dan Froomkin: I can't speak for Dana, but I don't get the sense that she's anywhere near her limit yet. And forgive me, but I don't see a White House revolt starting inside the press office. Your question of loyalists saying "nuts," however, raises a bigger question that I hope gets more attention. In today's installment of the Cheney series, for instance, former EPA director Christine Todd Whitman finally admits that she resigned not to spend more time with her family but because she couldn't defend the policies she was being ordered to enforce. That was four years ago! Especially as we discover more of the things that remain hidden, more attention should be paid to the question of why more people didn't resign and why more weren't up-front about why they resigned. Dan Froomkin: Today's column is now on the site! Bush: Blair's No Poodle. Go read it and come right back. Arlington, Va.: Dan, wasn't the new war czar confirmed weeks ago? Think we'll ever hear anything interesting come out of that doomed office? washingtonpost.com: To 'War Czar,' Solution to Iraq Conflict Won't Be Purely Military (Post, May 17) Dan Froomkin: I think a full Senate vote is still pending... Dan Froomkin: And this just in: Laurie Kellman reports for the Associated Press that the Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's office Wednesday for documents relating to President Bush's warrant-free eavesdropping program. "Also named in subpoenas signed by committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., were the Justice Department and the National Security Council. "The committee wants documents that might shed light on internal squabbles within the administration over the legality of the program, said a congressional official speaking on condition of anonymity because the subpoenas had not been made public." Arlington, Mass.: Dan, you mentioned on Monday that one of the traditional vice president jobs was to go to state funerals, and that Cheney had a different idea of what he would do as vice president. So who does go to state funerals, or have there not been that many in the last six and a half years? washingtonpost.com: 'A Different Understanding With the President' (Post, June 24) Dan Froomkin: Interesting question. A quick Googling suggests it has been a combination of Cabinet secretaries, former presidents -- and, in the case of Pope John Paul II, Bush himself. Besides, would you send Cheney to a state funeral after he work a ski parka to that gathering of world leaders to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz in January 2005? Now I kind of wonder if he did it on purpose... Westminster, Md.: Dan, did you happen to catch Ann Coulter on "Hardball"? What did you make of it? washingtonpost.com: Coulter Rips Bush (Post, June 26) Dan Froomkin: I did not. Similarly, I try not to look when I drive by a car accident. But that said, having read Howard Kurtz's report, I'm not entirely surprised that she called Bush a nincompoop. A) She's not very nice; and B) Anyone worried about a Democratic sweep in 2008 has to have realized by now that if Democrats are allowed to run a primarily anti-Bush campaign, they will be nearly unstoppable. So it's time for some outflanking. More Cheney: I think the money quote of the series was that Bush was the decider but it was Cheney deciding on the menu. Second, I don't think Cheney would ever resign for two reason: First, he thinks as does Bush that what they are doing is for a higher good that may not be fully realized for years and years; second, and I think when there was some discussion about dropping him from the ticket he told Russert some thing like that he was elected by the American people along with the president and he should serve out his term. Dan Froomkin: Those strike me as wise observations. Thanks. I sometimes wonder if Cheney is in fact fully aware of how badly things are going in Iraq and how unlikely it is that the continued presence of American troops will make things better -- but that he truly believes that showing "weakness" is so dangerous in the long run that he's willing to keep losing troops indefinitely. New York: My frustration with all this is that the press and others always blame someone under Bush, and never Bush himself. We blame Rumsfeld, Brown (FEMA), Gonzales, Cheney, Colin Powell, Tenet, etc., etc., etc., and we keep leaving Bush alone! Dan Froomkin: I see a 28 to 32 percent approval rating as a sign that most people are making the connection. This is a deeply, deeply unpopular president. New York: Who decides the issue of the right of Congress to subpoena the White House? Does it end up being the Supreme Court? And how long might the process take? Dan Froomkin: Susan Crabtree describes some of the process for The Hill. If a given committee and the White House can't come to agreement, the next step would be a Contempt of Congress motion. Were that ignored, the Department of Justice would be called on to ask a judge to enforce the subpoena. I guess it could get all the way up to the Supreme Court. I'm not at all sure how high the White House will push any of this -- although I'm quite sure that they want to drag this all out as long as possible. St. Catharines, Ontario: Hi Dan. The Cheney piece in The Post starts off with "Cheney is not, by nearly every inside account, the shadow president of popular lore," then extensively details how nothing the president sees has gone unfiltered by the vice president. Is the possibility of "Dubya" being merely a figurehead so frightful that the mainstream media -- and perhaps the American public -- can't bring themselves to say it? Dan Froomkin: I can't quite explain that. It was one of the few assertions in the series that was not supported by ample evidence. And while I'm not saying that it's abundantly clear from reading the series that Bush is just a figurehead, it's certainly a reasonable interpretation, and deserves to be addressed head-on. Dan Froomkin: Okay, thanks everyone for a great chat. See you again in two weeks here, and every weekday afternoon on the home page. Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online 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.	White House Watch columnist Dan Froomkin takes your questions on the latest White House coverage.	215.1875	0.8125	1.6875	high	medium	mixed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062602052.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062602052.html	Cheney Aide Explains Stance on Classified Material	2007062719	Vice President Cheney's office offered its first public written explanation yesterday for its refusal to comply with an executive order regulating the handling of classified material, arguing that the order makes clear that the vice president is not subject to the oversight system it creates for federal agencies. In a letter to Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.), Cheney Chief of Staff David S. Addington wrote that the order treats the vice president the same as the president and distinguishes them both from "agencies" subject to the oversight provisions of the executive order. Addington did not cite specific language in the executive order supporting this view, and a Cheney spokeswoman could not point to such language last night. But spokeswoman Lee Anne McBride said the intent of the order, as expressed by White House officials in recent days, was "not for the VP to be separated from the president on this reporting requirement." Addington did not repeat a separate argument that has been previously advanced by Cheney's office: that it is not strictly an executive branch agency but also shares legislative functions because the vice president presides over the Senate. That argument has drawn ridicule in recent days from Democrats and on late-night television. Addington suggested in his letter that it was not necessary to rehash that dispute. "Given that the executive order treats the Vice President like the President rather than like an 'agency,' " he wrote, "it is not necessary in these circumstances to address the subject of any alternative reasoning, based on the law and the legislative functions of the vice presidency. . . ." The controversy arises from the revelation last week, by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), that the vice president's office has not cooperated since 2003 with officials at the National Archives and Records Administration, who are charged with policing executive branch compliance with rules protecting classified information. In a letter to Cheney, Waxman wrote that the vice president's office had not responded to letters from the National Archives contesting its legal position. Cheney's aides have not filed reports on their possession of classified data and blocked an inspection of their office by officials at the National Archives, according to documents released last week by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which Waxman chairs. Addington's legal argument yesterday has previously been rejected by the director of the Archives' Information Security Oversight Office, J. William Leonard. In a letter to Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales in January, Leonard noted that the 2003 executive order includes only one explicit reference to the Office of the Vice President. "This sole explicit reference for the purpose of exempting the OVP from a provision of the Order supports an interpretation that the rest of the Order does apply," Leonard wrote. "Otherwise there would be no need for an exemption." Kerry rejected Addington's arguments. "This legalistic response raises more questions than it purports to answer," the senator said in a statement. "I . . . ask again for the Vice President's office to plainly answer the question of whether he considers himself outside the realm of agency scrutiny."	Vice President Cheney's office offered its first public written explanation yesterday for its refusal to comply with an executive order regulating the handling of classified material, arguing that the order makes clear that the vice president is not subject to the oversight system it creates for...	12.285714	0.979592	47.020408	low	high	extractive
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/2007/06/dick_cheney_shoots_fish_in_bar.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/2007/06/dick_cheney_shoots_fish_in_bar.html	Dick Cheney: No Fish Left Behind, Or Alive	2007062719	That Dick Cheney: He's not exactly John Muir. Not exactly Henry David Thoreau. The final installment of the Gellman/Becker series shows us a man who loves the smell of rotting salmon in the morning. When he sees a photo of dead fish roasting in the sun, he thinks, "Quick, get me some wasabi." His Secret Service code name is Angler, because he likes nothing better than to put on his waders and stand in a crystal clear mountain stream with a rod and reel and a few sticks of dynamite. Gnawin' on a little home-made spotted owl jerky. Dreamin' of that retirement home with the lovely view of the strip mine. He'll be there pretty soon: Putterin' around the yard, setting leg traps for coyotes and the neighbor's cats. Always with the canister of DDT in the hip-holster. Clearing brush with the flamethrower and the napalm. Planning those RV trips to Yucca Mountain. "Because of Cheney's intervention, the government reversed itself and let the water flow in time to save the 2002 growing season, declaring that there was no threat to the fish. What followed was the largest fish kill the West had ever seen, with tens of thousands of salmon rotting on the banks of the Klamath River." Cheney read that passage this morning and thought, "They make it sound like that's bad." Scientists green-lighted the diversion of water to farms. Here's their study. I am sure the deaths of 77,000 salmon did not in any way represent an invalidation of their conclusion. (The operation was a success, but the patient died.) I always thought the U.S. should have a Minister of Culture. France has one, right? And so does Iraq. Though this story on the Iraqi culture minister doesn't tell us anything about his artistic interests or literary history, only that he's being sought in an assassination plot. (Maybe that's now just part of the culture.) This Ken Auletta piece on Rupert Murdoch is rather ominous. (And very long, but worth the read.) Murdoch has a history of promising to be hands-off, and is anything but. American newspapers have enough problems already. ' In 1995, I spent several months reporting for a Profile of Murdoch for The New Yorker. During ten days in his offices, I attended meetings, witnessed negotiations, listened to his phone calls, and conducted about twenty hours of taped interviews with him. At least a couple of times each day, he talked on the phone with an editor in order to suggest a story based on something that he'd heard. This prompted me to ask, "Of all the things in your business empire, what gives you the most pleasure?" ' "Being involved with the editor of a paper in a day-to-day campaign," he answered instantly. "Trying to influence people." 'I portrayed Murdoch then as a visionary who could make a large company move with the speed of a small one. I also saw him as a modern pirate, a press lord in the tradition of men like James Gordon Bennett, who created the New York Herald in 1835 and also became an adviser to politicians; or William Randolph Hearst, Henry Luce, and Lord Beaverbrook, who used their properties to try to influence events throughout the last century.' [FYI, the Journal yesterday had an excellent take-out on Tony Blair's exit. Subscription only.] A while back I interviewed some lobbyists for a story that never ran (or, um, hasn't yet reached fruition, let's say). One thing that jumped out was the sheer number of lobbyists in Washington today compared to, for example, 40 years ago. One lobbyist told me he remembers when there were only about 60 lobbyists in the entire city. Today, according to this piece in The Politico, there are more than 35,000. And they make big money: "These sums are changing typical Washington career arcs. And they are transforming the professional culture of a capital city that historically has been defined by comfortable salaries but not by genuine wealth and its gilded accoutrements. Lobbyists and consultants who even a decade ago typically had distinctly upper-middle-class lifestyles now dine at trendy restaurants run by celebrity chefs (like BLT Steak, where the Japanese Kobe beef costs $26 an ounce), assemble modern art collections (Democratic lobbyist Tony Podesta has one of Washington's best), wear suits tailored in London or Milan and, like Hillary Clinton pollster Mark Penn, own first homes in Georgetown and second ones by the Chesapeake." [Am I in the wrong business???] [At $26 an ounce, don't you have to chew that steak awfully slowly? Give me the cheap stuff that I can wolf down.] Boodler bc speculates that the CIA was behind the infamous Ten Cent Beer Night in Cleveland. Here's Jennifer Ouellette on roller coaster physics. (She has a link to a site where you can design your own coaster, and then be graded on how well you did.) And for those of you with a possibly brilliant, possibly crackpot scientific theory, here's the Alternative-Science Respectability Checklist. Mickey Kaus is blogging up a storm on the immigration bill. Here's Phil Kennicott on Iraqi insurgents using the Web: 'An entire category of narrative -- the view of the war through the eyes of those fighting the United States -- has mostly eluded American media outlets. Those stories are available in abundance in the insurgent media... 'The basic communications climate for genocide is already in place -- the ability to spread information rapidly, a pool of suspicion and animosity, a tendency to inflate grievances into hysterical rhetoric.' John Paul Stevens on Prohibition and Pot: "[T]he current dominant opinion supporting the war on drugs in general, and our anti-marijuana laws in particular, is reminiscent of the opinion that supported the nationwide ban on alcohol consumption when I was a student. While alcoholic beverages are now regarded as ordinary articles of commerce, their use was then condemned with the same moral fervor that now supports the war on drugs." Now this from Ana Marie Cox: Romney's dog's wild ride. Tina Turner doing Proud Mary in 1982: This'll make your day. By \| June 27, 2007; 6:58 AM ET Previous: People Pressure \| Next: Allergic to Nature; Pulp Non-Fiction Add Achenblog to Your Site Posted by: Bayou Self \| June 27, 2007 9:27 AM Link to YouTube clip of Tahoe fire and story of how the current blaze got its name at the end of the last Kit's comments. Posted by: Loomis \| June 27, 2007 9:34 AM Good morning boodle Two Turtles and one snake were rescued from the road today, sheesh it was a busy morning. Off to bed. Posted by: greenwithenvy \| June 27, 2007 9:46 AM I was really enjoying the first part of your Kit, Joel, about Cheney, laughing, in fact, until I tripped across the word, Klamath. Furious, does not begin to describe... Posted by: Loomis \| June 27, 2007 9:46 AM Whenever someone says something like "I always thought the U.S. should have a Minister of Culture," I always hear what sounds like the entire nation of France laughing. Posted by: byoolin \| June 27, 2007 10:02 AM SCC: "laughing" = "snorting, howling and hooting with derision." Posted by: byoolin \| June 27, 2007 10:04 AM And Mr. Cheney just might be the single-biggest threat to democracy in America in decades. (And that's counting OBL, Kruschev and Castro.) Posted by: byoolin \| June 27, 2007 10:13 AM Bong hits for Joel! (cuz I love you man, for real) Bong hits for all the beautiful people on this blog (again, with love, for real). ...(phew)..And a new lame internet catch phrase is now played out....snarky mashups ensue..."Snakes on a bong hit"? "Best. Bong. Hit. Ever."? Anyone? Posted by: El Kabong \| June 27, 2007 10:26 AM Hi y'all! Hi Bayou Self! Are you "off" for the summer (meaning working a second job)? Hi a bea c & kurosawaguy from yesterday. Howdy Martooni (keep working on it) and Nelson, Pat, Annie, and other former or lurking posters. Cassandra, I'm with you on the head-turning and rule-bending that got us in the immigration mess. Very funny Kit. It makes me remember with embarrassment my freshman high school biology experiment. I took my cue from a counterculture comic, "Odds Bodkins", where a character went fishing with dynamite because he liked to kill fish. Another character suggested that he use detergent, which really killed fish. As they wouldn't let me use dynamite, I decided to see at what concentration ordinary dish soap killed fish. I don't remember the results, though I probably would if I'd used explosives. Posted by: Ivansmom \| June 27, 2007 10:27 AM Somewhere along the way, my dad ended up subscribing to many, many magazines. Which of course I'm now getting. One of these is Readers Digest, which I have always considered the perfect bathroom reader. Yeah... it's ultra-conservative bent has always kinda gotten to me, but how can you argue with Humor in Uniform, Life in These United States or the story of the Mother Who Saved Her Child From a Shark? But this month there is a story called "World's Most Dangerous Leaders" and includes Kim Jong-il, Bashar al-Assad, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hugo ChÃÂ¡vez. It angers me that they can print an article called that without including George W Bush and Dick Cheney in the list. Posted by: TBG \| June 27, 2007 10:36 AM Cheney as champion of industrial power elites, including agribusiness and the energy industry, brings to mind number 9 of the "14 Defining Characteristics of Fascism:" "9. Corporate power is protected. The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power..." Posted by: Shiloh \| June 27, 2007 10:40 AM You know, I tried to angry about the Cheney and Murdoch stories, but their behavior seemed so typical of them that it failed to shock me. How can you be shocked at continuous villany? It's the lobbyist segment of the kit that got me depressed. Who'da known lobbying would be where the big bucks are? If only I could get my kids interested in going to law school... Posted by: CowTown \| June 27, 2007 10:46 AM (Re-submitted, with effusive apologies, and corrections) You know, I tried to get angry about the Cheney and Murdoch stories, but their behavior seemed so typical of them that it failed to shock me. How can you be shocked at continuous villany? It's the lobbyist segment of the kit that got me depressed. Who'da known lobbying would be where the big bucks are? If only I could get my kids interested in going to law school... Posted by: CowTown \| June 27, 2007 10:47 AM Along these same lines, did anybody catch Samuelson this morning? Generally I find him enlightning, but I dunno about this one. As a person who spent years (YEARS!) trying to come up with appropriate benchmarks for a public service, I'm not sure that the US News survey is worth the paper it's printed on. We've got a looong way to go, before we find really meaningful ways to measure educational progress. Or fire service, or police protection, or social service. Public service measurement is a field with incredible mines in it. Posted by: Slyness \| June 27, 2007 10:53 AM i love the url for this kit: "dick_cheney_shoots_fish_in_bar.html" btw, i think a cheney-thompson switcharoo would be way too much like admitting a mistake for this administration to actually do it. Posted by: L.A. lurker \| June 27, 2007 10:55 AM Dick Cheney, Rupert Murdoch, Tony Blair, Lobbyists. Take away Blair and bring me a Putin. I don't have time to mess around with small fry. Posted by: Dr.Evil999 \| June 27, 2007 10:58 AM Decisions, decisions. Read the Cheney article in the morning and ruin a day, read it at night and ruin a good night's sleep. Sure it all seems to be business as usual, and just what you'd expect of him, but somehow having it all in one articulate dot connecting place is so much more depressing. Loomis-thanks for the reports and links on the Tahoe fire. Posted by: frostbitten \| June 27, 2007 11:09 AM CP, thanks for the sea holly recommendation yesterday. I looked them up, and they are simply spectacular. However, I think planting them in zone 2a (our part of the city) would be a big risk. I've never seen this plant in any garden in Calgary. Our front bed gets almost no sun (maybe 15 minutes early in the day). Since I'm planning to pull out everything that is there, except maybe one juniper, we have free rein to amend soil and pick plants that will tolerate the dark, dry conditions. What say you about very hardy plants? One of our neighbours has a beautiful ladyslipper, but I don't think they come in blue or silver. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 11:45 AM It's really hard for me to be ironic and cool about Cheney. I really fail to see why this man is in a position of power. Is there one positive thing that he's done in his public life, not only during the last 6 years, but over the last 40 years? Why was he whitewashed before the first appointment as vp by sources like Time magazine? I remember reading their glowing words in '99 during the election season and wondering why he wasn't running for president instead of W. He sounded absolutely marvelous. People like to mock Cheney when he should be serving time, pure and simple. Posted by: sharons \| June 27, 2007 11:49 AM After months ensnared in the medical-industrial complex, I finally saw the cardiologist yesterday who completely ruled out any heart disease. Have had stress tests and cat scans and echocardiograms and blood work and... nothing. Hypertension is gradually coming under control, too. As you can imagine, I'm chuffed. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 11:56 AM I've added some links, fyi. Posted by: Achenbach \| June 27, 2007 12:00 PM re. the 10-cents beer night riot. A 10-cents doobie night would have been a lot quieter. Posted by: shrieking denizen \| June 27, 2007 12:07 PM For all you Salive growers, check out SFGate.com for a medical study of the LSD effect one gets from chewing the leaves. Be on the lookout for a DEA agent in your front yard. Posted by: bh \| June 27, 2007 12:14 PM Speaking of the 10 cent beer night riot, I wrote that as part of a blog item re. The Comapany... I hope everyone has a chuckle or two over it. Posted by: bc \| June 27, 2007 12:15 PM Little bird so linky, linky, Fill my head with stuff to thinky. Brilliant, bc. I loved the speculation that Cheney may be a "bizarre biotech experiment gone horribly awry." Most of the rest, particularly disco and Scientology, seem to me to be the simple truth. Posted by: Ivansmom \| June 27, 2007 12:17 PM Wow. BOO on me, Big Time. I hadn't refreshed my browser to note that Joel had updated the Kit. If I had any shame whatsoever, I'd be embarassed. Posted by: bc \| June 27, 2007 12:25 PM Good ones bc. Unfortunately, I think Cheney is too human. Another unpleasant trait of the Dark One is his love of the canned hunts. Shooting cage-raised birds that were released hours before just ain't hunting. They make perfectly good targets out of clay if you feel like shooting a hundred shots in one morning. http://www.hsus.org/legislation_laws/wayne_pacelle_the_animal_advocate/cheneys_canned_kill_and_other_hunting_excesses_of_the_bush_administration.html Posted by: shrieking denizen \| June 27, 2007 12:27 PM Dick Cheney is the absolute worst VP the US has ever had. Total disrepect for the law. He pockets mega money from the Iraq war. Maybe his pacemaker will quit. Posted by: Scott Kutos \| June 27, 2007 12:34 PM Scott Kutos, Cheney's pacemaker won't quit until it is indicted. Which would not come as a surprise to anyone. Posted by: bc \| June 27, 2007 12:38 PM I'm still not sure abouut Chuck Barris though. Posted by: Error Flynn \| June 27, 2007 1:21 PM Major front page alert. I've got the bunker open and stocked, just in case. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 1:25 PM Excellent piece on your blog, bc! Hmmm, Cheney as an experiment gone awry. Or is he the experimenter? Posted by: CowTown \| June 27, 2007 1:27 PM Thanks, CowTown. And you have a good point. No reason Cheney can't be both, but I think of him as Vaderesque, more concerned about means to an end, rather than experimentation and implications of such. Posted by: bc \| June 27, 2007 1:42 PM I smell a rotten fish of an argument---Didn't you people read the Cheney article? Hello!---The farmers (i.e., people species, not fish species) needed water for their growing season. Their needs are more important than some stupid fish beloved by wimpy liberal eco-crazy Democrats. Not to mention that there are lots of other types of fish still swimming around someplace. Maybe you should tag along the next time Cheney goes hunting. Right on, tough VP!!--let the Democrats drink the proverbial VP's warm pitcher of spit! Posted by: J Molay \| June 27, 2007 2:04 PM This is me keeping my mouth shut. We got us a monsoon here at the moment, with thunder and lightning and such. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 2:12 PM Hi Mudge! Yes, you're awfully quiet. Without wishing to be seen as a wimpy fish-lover, I note that the Klamath water decision actuall ended up with opposing big-business interests: agriculture on one side and fishing, including commercial fishing, on the other. Were the farmers' needs more important than the fishers'? They're both multimillion dollar businesses which provide food. Posted by: Ivansmom \| June 27, 2007 2:18 PM >Their needs are more important than some stupid fish beloved by wimpy liberal eco-crazy Democrats. I don't give a fig about salmon and don't even like it. Didn't you read the part where they had to declare a commercial fishing failure the next year because all those fish died? I'm sympathetic for the farmers but all they did was save the farmers and screwed the fisherman. AND killed the fish. Brilliant. Posted by: Error Flynn \| June 27, 2007 2:18 PM Same weather here Curmudgeon. Krrrack Boum!This is a bi-Capital storm. Posted by: shrieking denizen \| June 27, 2007 2:21 PM The farmers that got the water were growing that all important crop - Horseradish. Posted by: bh \| June 27, 2007 2:24 PM Big, cracking storm with hail and a short blackout at the G house. But now the sun is shining and it's HOTTER & MUGGIER THAN EVER out there. Poor daughter had to leave the poolside (community pool is across the street) and find haven at a friend's house. Oh to be 13 and jobless again. Posted by: TBG \| June 27, 2007 2:27 PM "Boum," Shriek? Is that the British spelling of "boom"? Frankly, I like it. It has class, and as they say in Alaska, "Juneau Say Kwa." Keep it in, sez the copy editor. The trouble with your replies, sensible and correct though they may be, ivansmom and EF, are that they don't leave room for reading-comprehension-impaired J. Molay to trot out "wimpy liberal eco-crazy Democrats" in his post (I'm betting he's not a her). In his world, WLECD is an argument-stopper. And of course one presupposes all the salmon and coho fisherman of the Northwest must all be WLECDs, otherwise VP Iago wouldn't have intervened against them. Q.E.D., really. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 2:31 PM not a drop up here in Bethesda. Posted by: omni \| June 27, 2007 2:33 PM Good news, Yoki! Yet, if you still feel just a bit funny, then it's time for another treadmill with the doctors. Sometimes I wish you didn't have to go through so many "nopes" until you get to the "uh, yeah..." I'm quite glad your hypertension is under control. Posted by: Wilbrod \| June 27, 2007 2:38 PM You had me at "you people." Posted by: bc \| June 27, 2007 2:38 PM To get the truth about 911 -- including his order NOT to shoot down the planes -- lets torture Dick Cheney using his approved torture program for Gitmo. It ought to more effective that subpoenas. Posted by: torturedick \| June 27, 2007 2:43 PM You caught me Mudge. Boum is French for boom. Those false-friends get me every time. Storm is temporarily over. The sun is shining. I'm sure the old lab is hidden somewhere and whimpering. The poor thing is afraid of thunder. Posted by: shrieking denizen \| June 27, 2007 2:44 PM Error & I were evidently thinking alike. I'm pretty sure we're not the same person though, at least most of the time. For me, the use of "wimpy" as a dire insult usually signals a comment by the male gender; I don't think women are as a whole as concerned with the "wimp" factor. Yes, Congratulation, Yoki! I hope Cassandra's rounds of tests have as good a result. Posted by: Ivansmom \| June 27, 2007 2:44 PM I can't post comments on the Insurgents-using-the-Internet story (the first time I tried, it said I had just posted within the previous few seconds), so I couldn't point this out: "More immediately worrisome for Americans, perhaps, is the hiding in plain site of everything in this report." Hiding in plain site? If it's a typo, it's a pretty good one. Posted by: Blake Stacey \| June 27, 2007 2:45 PM I bet I could wolf down steak at 26 dollars an ounce so fast, I could bill 390 dollars a minute to eat it! Bring it on, folks! Lobby and consult me! Wags! Posted by: Wilbrodog \| June 27, 2007 2:48 PM Posted by: omni \| June 27, 2007 2:51 PM Thanks all. Not to worry, Wilbrod. The cardio guy said "we never close patient files. Call me if you ever have a worry." I will, too. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 2:55 PM Dick Cheney is the very best thing to happen to the Democrat Party since FDR and JFK. Thanks Dicky Baby Posted by: Barb Doyle \| June 27, 2007 2:59 PM Dick Cheney is the very best thing to happen to the Democrat Party since FDR and JFK. Thanks Dicky Baby Posted by: Barb Doyle \| June 27, 2007 2:59 PM Dick Cheney is the very best thing to happen to the Democrat Party since FDR and JFK. Thanks Dicky Baby Posted by: Barb Doyle \| June 27, 2007 3:00 PM Dick Cheney is the very best thing to happen to the Democrat Party since FDR and JFK. Thanks Dicky Baby Posted by: Barb Doyle \| June 27, 2007 3:01 PM I'd give anything to be 13 again, TBG. So much to look forward to that I never even dreamed remotely possible when I was a kid: BJs in the stairwell in high school; a mind-numbingly vast array of beers, ales, lagers and malts instead of just Pabst, Schlitz and Rolling Rock to get adults to buy for me; major swaths of my skin to disfigure with tats and piercings; being allowed to wear jeans and T-shirts (in some places with quasi-obscene logos and messages on them) to school; spending well over a thousand bucks on prom (with the attendent increase in probability of "getting some" that night raised from .000000089 percent to something around 99.867 percent); a vertible smorgasboard of drugs and hallucinogens to chose from, instead of just dropping two aspirin in a coke and drinking it through a straw, or smoking dried banana peel (whatever happened to Donovan, anyway?), the only two mind-altering choices when I was in high school [I suppose we could have sniffed model airplane glue, had we but known; instead, we stupidly built model airplanes with the stupid stuff]; a variety of races AND a choice of genders of whom to have sex with (neither category of choice being remotely available back in the 1950s and earlier 60s, so far as we were aware, without being run out of town on a rail); a cornucopia of electronic devices with which to escape the reality-based world; the name of one less planet to memorize; complete abandonment of tree-based printed reading material; the impending collapse of Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid; the trial, conviction and life imprisonment of Darth Cheney and his evil but stupid henchperson G.W. Bush; the election of Britney Spears AND Paris Hilton to the U.S. Senate; the burning at the stake of Ann Coulter by an enraged mob of Log Cabin Republicans; the three-foot rise in sea level by the year 2050, resulting in the doubling of recreational facilities in Boulder, Colorado, to include water skiing as well as snow skiing; the use of the greater Chicago area as the setting for the reality show "BladeRunner: Who Wants to Marry a Replicant?"--oh, the list goes on and on! Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 3:02 PM This is for bill everything... James Gandolfini Shot By Closure-Seeking Fan Posted by: TBG \| June 27, 2007 3:05 PM Let's all go fishing at 'Mudge's Posted by: College Parkian \| June 27, 2007 3:06 PM I rarely have time lately to peek in during the day but picked the right time today. Thanks TBG! (Loved the photo!) 'Mudge, my daughter turns 13 on Sunday. After reading your 3:02 I think I will go have a nice quiet lie down. Posted by: bill everything \| June 27, 2007 3:12 PM Form NPR WASHINGTON June 27, 2007, 3:03 p.m. ET ÃÂ· The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's office Wednesday for documents relating to President Bush's controversial eavesdropping program that operated warrant-free for five years. About time. Let the Constitutioanl Crisis begin. Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 3:16 PM " the name of one less planet to memorize; " They really have it easy, don't they? Posted by: TBG \| June 27, 2007 3:16 PM Sorry, bill. My oldest granddaughters are 15 and 16, so I'm spiritually with you. As a footnote, I neglected to mention that when Britney and Paris are elected to the Senate, they will be be memebers of the "I'm Going Commando" Party, though from different states. Paris will be elected from Cancun [technically, Quintana Roo], and Britney will represent the great state of Maritime Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Nova Scotia & Corregidor (Canucks, don't ask; you DON'T want to know). Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 3:18 PM bill everything, if it helps, my daughters were almost human again by 13. Ten and 11 nearly killed me - and them. But we all survived and still maintain good relationships. (They are 25 and 21 now.) Posted by: Slyness \| June 27, 2007 3:22 PM Oh, jeez. The bald eagle is coming off the protected species list. Cheney's oiling up his shotgun. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062701171.html?hpid=topnews from AP: WASHINGTON -- The American bald eagle, once nearly extinct, is making a comeback. The government will confirm that when it takes the revered bird off a list of protected species on Thursday. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 3:24 PM I am doing ok with Everythingdottir, so far; the wife, not so much. Hoping a little maturity allows for a reconnect. Posted by: bill everything \| June 27, 2007 3:28 PM The Post doesn't have it yet, so here's AP: White House, Cheney's Office, Subpoenaed Jun 27 03:03 PM US/Eastern By LAURIE KELLMAN Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate Judiciary Committee subpoenaed the White House and Vice President Dick Cheney's office Wednesday for documents relating to President Bush's controversial eavesdropping program that operated warrant-free for five years. Also named in subpoenas signed by committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D- Vt., were the Justice Department and the National Security Council. The four parties have until July 18 to comply, according to a statement by Leahy's office. The committee wants documents that might shed light on internal disputes within the administration over the legality of the program, which Bush put under court review earlier this year. "Our attempts to obtain information through testimony of administration witnesses have been met with a consistent pattern of evasion and misdirection," Leahy said in his cover letters for the subpoenas. "There is no legitimate argument for withholding the requested materials from this committee." Echoing its response to previous congressional subpoenas to former administration officials Harriet Miers and Sara Taylor, the White House gave no indication that it would comply. "We're aware of the committee's action and will respond appropriately," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said. "It's unfortunate that congressional Democrats continue to choose the route of confrontation." In fact, the Judiciary Committee's three most senior Republicans--Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, former chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah and Chuck Grassley of Iowa--sided with Democrats on the 13-3 vote last week to give Leahy the power to issue the subpoenas. The showdown between the White House and Congress could land in federal court. Leahy's committee and its counterpart in the House have issued the subpoenas as part of a sweeping look at how much influence the White House exerts over the Justice Department and its chief, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The probe, in its sixth month, began with an investigation into whether administration officials ordered the firings of eight federal prosecutors, for political reasons. The House and Senate Judiciary committees previously had subpoenaed Miers, one-time legal counsel, and Taylor, a former political director, in that probe. But with senators of both parties already concerned about the constitutionality of the administration's efforts to root out terrorism suspects in the United States, the committee shifted to the broader question of Gonzales' stewardship of Justice and his willingness to go along with the wiretapping program. The Bush administration secretly launched the spy program, run by the National Security Agency, in 2001 to monitor international phone calls and e-mails to or from the United States involving people the government suspected of having terrorist links. The program, which did not require investigators to seek warrants before conducting surveillance, was revealed in December 2005. After the program was challenged in court, Bush put it under the supervision of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, established in 1978. The president still claims the power to order warantless spying. Debate continues over whether the program violates people's civil liberties, and the administration has gone to great lengths to keep it running with extensive presidential discretion. Piquing the committee's interest was vivid testimony last month by former Deputy Attorney General James Comey about the extent of the White House's effort to override the Justice Department's objections to the program in 2004. Comey told the Judiciary Committee that Gonzales, then-White House counsel, tried to get Attorney General John Ashcroft to reverse course and recertify the program. At the time, Ashcroft lay in intensive care, recovering form gall bladder surgery. Ashcroft refused, as did Comey, to whom Ashcroft had temporarily shifted the power of his office during his illness. The White House recertified the program unilaterally. Ashcroft, Comey, FBI Director Robert Mueller and their staffs prepared to resign. Bush ultimately relented and made changes to the classified program that the Justice officials had demanded, and the agency eventually recertified it. The fight was one of the most bitter disputes of the Bush presidency and questions remain over whether the program tramples people's civil liberties. The administration says the program is crucial to preventing more terrorist attacks. Fratto defended the surveillance program as "lawful" and "limited." "It's specifically designed to be effective without infringing Americans' civil liberties," Fratto said. "The program is classified for a reason--its purpose is to track down and stop terrorist planning. We remain steadfast in our commitment to keeping Americans safe from an enemy determined to use any means possible--including the latest in technology--to attack us." Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd said the subpoena to Gonzales is under review and that the department recognizes Congress' oversight role. "We must also give appropriate weight to the confidentiality of internal executive branch deliberations," he said. Majority Democrats and some Republicans are skeptical and have sought to find out more details about the program and how it has been administered. Leahy's panel is required to serve the subpoenas to specific people within the offices named. One is addressed to Gonzales, while the others are addressed to: David S. Addington, Cheney's chief of staff; White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten, V. Phillip Lago, executive secretary of the National Security Council - or "other custodian of records" in their offices. The subpoenas themselves seek a wide array of documents on the program from the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks to the present. Among them are any documents that include analysis or opinions from Justice, the National Security Agency--which administers the program--the Defense Department, the White House, or "any entity within the Executive Branch" on the legality of the electronic surveillance program. Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 3:32 PM Great. Deadeye Dick will start looking for a canned hunt for bald eagles then. He got 70 pheasants in a single morning so he should be able to execute a dozen eagles in the same time. He should shoot them straight in the cage; that would be much faster and cleaner. Posted by: shrieking denizen \| June 27, 2007 3:32 PM The kill is not hunting, its just killing. However, it seems to fit with much of the rest of his thought process. NOt a sporting fellow IMO. Posted by: dr \| June 27, 2007 3:32 PM Dick Cheney is the Very Best thing to happen to the Democrat Party since FDR and JFK. Thanks, Dicky Baby! Posted by: Barbara R. Doyle \| June 27, 2007 3:34 PM Yoki, such good news about your tests, here is a site for Alberta native plants as well as info on the climate zone you are in, you really are in a tough climate and natives might be your best choice. Posted by: dmd \| June 27, 2007 3:34 PM One more thing Yoki you can also specify by your zone using the advanced search, which I believe is, Montane Cordillera. I am going to go cower in the corner now fearing for when my pre-teen reaches 13, thanks Mudge. Posted by: dmd \| June 27, 2007 3:37 PM Can you accept a bit o' free advice? Help Mrs. E out with EDottir. Here is a sample response to a fidget moment (substitute b for f, as needed): "Hey there, Penelopy Louisey E! Don't talk to your mother and my bride that way." (take a page from Jimmy Stewart and cultivate that look) OR "Mind your Ps and Qs there, Penelopy Louisey E. Hurts me to hear my two best gals at it." (mug a John Wayne western bluster) Does this work instant wonders? No. But the setting of a boundary and idenfification of your wife as special to you can help all through the fidget-days. For me, they were better somewhere between 17 and 19. Both CeePeeDots cannot believe how much I have"matured": reasonable, fair, cool, smart, etc. Posted by: College Parkian \| June 27, 2007 3:41 PM And From the Dept. of Non sequitors: currently ESPN.com/boxing has up to polling the Best of Mike Tyson comments. They are as follows (and try not to gut-laugh or snort soda): 1) "I'm gonna make you my girlfriend" 2) "I got my issues" 3) "I want to eat his children" 4) "I'm going to fade into Bolivian" Posted by: Simon D \| June 27, 2007 3:47 PM I'm tryin' CP, I'm tryin; problem is wife too nice a person and too easily takes push back personally; me, jaded lawyer, will use any psychological trick available to steer behavior in acceptable direction. Thanks for the suggestion, though. Explaining that she is crossing my boundary when she goes ballistic on wife not explained often enough. Posted by: bill everything \| June 27, 2007 3:49 PM Good for you, CP! I second the recommendation. It can cut disrespectful talk off like that. Of course, I have also seen M-D relationships where the mother was the one instigating and being unreasonable and hateful. Don't know what you do about that. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 3:51 PM How is the bald eagle not under perminent protection? Posted by: BT \| June 27, 2007 4:01 PM Yoki -- Those interactions are devasting to be around, to say nothing of the M-D dyad. What can be said? Those engaged in such, typically can't or won't hear. In my in-law family, well, the wages of that dynamic continue (about 40 years, I belive. I try to hold compassion for the parties, but I would like to turn a water cannon on them! Posted by: Cooledge Parkian \| June 27, 2007 4:07 PM In that case, Yoki, one does one's best to provide support and sanctuary for the dottir, until she comes of age. Tough situation. Interesting take on the golden rule here. Wonder what capital our esteemed VP has in the Bank of Altruism? Posted by: Slyness \| June 27, 2007 4:09 PM That is excellent news about the Cheney Branch subpoenas. Now I can only wait in glee to hear NPR mispronounce "subpoenas" to agitate my lobes of indecency. Posted by: Simon D \| June 27, 2007 4:12 PM $#%@^ preview/submit on that one: SCC here: In my in-law family, well, the wages of that dynamic continue (about 40 years, I believe) and let's just say that no one is happy. I try to hold compassion for the parties, but I would like to turn a water cannon on them! (Knit. Knit. Knit. Ignore. Avert head.) Some families define themselve by a kind of casual cruelty in words and deeds. Years of military travel and hush-hush Mil Intel/the Firm culture also shaped this. They are clannish and like their damn crabbing just fine. Butt out. If I suddenly disappear, you may surmise that they broke my CeePee cover and Soprano-ed me, for revealing the uglier of the family jewels. Posted by: College Parkian \| June 27, 2007 4:14 PM On the bald eagles: "While no longer declared endangered, the bald eagle will continue to be protected by a 1940 federal law that will make it illegal to kill the bird _ as well as state statutes." Whew! Isn't it awful that, even when good news is announced (bald eagles are back in a big way!) that we immediately question the motive of that announcement? It would be refreshing to be able to trust our government, but for me it will take more than an election to ease my cynicism. Posted by: Raysmom \| June 27, 2007 4:16 PM I confronted Mr. Kennicott with the "plain site" line and he reports, and this is an exact quote, that it was "a devilishly clever and entirely intentional play on words." This after he gasped in horror. Posted by: Achenbach \| June 27, 2007 4:18 PM Simple Yoki, teach the daughter to express her boundaries! Posted by: dmd \| June 27, 2007 4:21 PM I gotta say, the WaPo homepage layout right now sux. They continue to have the Cheney series as the major lede, and have the subpoena stroy as the second subhead under it. I think they ought to drop the Cheney series down and blast the subpoenas story across the top. And then they have the immigration bill second-round shoot-down as the third story, behind the Blair resignation, which is a non-breaking story, been known about for weeks and weeks. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 4:21 PM Yoki -- I pulled a native plants list down from the Calgary Horticultural Society site....some of us will confer over the next few weeks on plantey possibilities. We can do this at my gardening site. Can you tell us about the exposure? Shady? Part shady? Wind? Soil type? Shady in spring? (I see Siberian Squill there with February Gold or Tete Tete daffies!) The first thing that I expect Frosti to say is that in extreme gardening, should you enrich the soil with good stuff: leaf mold, compost, earth worm castings, SMALL amount of fire-place ash -- all to a two feet depth. I BET you could coax hardy Zone 3 planties to stay awhile at your spread. DMD is in the maritimes? DR -- is it dryer for Yoki than you? More steppe than forested? Sorry to bore the none flower-peeps. Carry on with the Cheney biz, etc. Me? I need to cleanse my palette with something lifegiving. Posted by: College Parkian \| June 27, 2007 4:30 PM CP, I believe Yoki is in an extreme dry location, at altitude, in the foothills and prone to wild swings in temp. Not maritime more desert. The link I provided I guessed at Montane Cordilla, I will look further at home. Yoki you said dry shade correct? Posted by: dmd \| June 27, 2007 4:34 PM The San Francisco Chronicle -SFGate.com- has the headline story as VP Office Subpoenaed along side the Tahoe fire update. The govenator is on site giving pep talks. Posted by: bh \| June 27, 2007 4:35 PM "Paranoia" literally means "around/near the mind" - too much emphasis in common usage is put on the fact that paranoia puts you outside the mind, and not enough on being just outside, but near to the mind. The best cure for paranoia is to take a walk. To go around the block. Or jog around it. Good luck with the family travails, bill E, and CP. If you fear repercussions, then strike first and strike hard. Metaphorically, of course. Even if you're wrong, you've removed all doubt from the moral calculus, and you can take comfort in being certain that you were the bad guy. Natchally, dey is utha opshuns. Don't take any advice from yours truly, however. My personal tarmac is littered with unanswered phone calls and bruises. Contra bonum fidei is grounds for annulment in Canon Law - "against the good of faithfulness" Conra bonum conjugum is also grounds for annulment, when the spouse is absent for long stints and fails to fulfill marital obligations, or when the spouse acts cruelly and indifferently to his or her partner Not that a lawyer needs a Canon lawyer... Posted by: Simon D \| June 27, 2007 4:39 PM I'm seeing a brilliant editorial cartoon emerging from somebody's pen soon, with the central motif of: Dick Cheney shooting a bald eagle wearing a Uncle Sam Hat ;). Posted by: Wilbrod \| June 27, 2007 4:40 PM General conditions: semi-arid grassland verging on the desert-like, high altitude, always windy, wild temperature swings (like, up to 30 degrees in 12 hours, both winter and summer). Specific front bed conditions: full shade, under the eves so dry. Soil conditions? Non-existent. Whatever the developer left there 10 years ago. I shall dig it all out and replace it with top soil/soil amendments and will take the organic matter recommendation to heart. Specific back bed conditions: full sun, very dry. There is in fact no back garden at all right now, so given the sun/dry general conditions, I can make a couple of different sorts when I get to it. I spent some time at lunch looking at local garden centre web sites, and there is in fact one sea holly that is said to be suitable for zones 2 and 3! It is the one that is more silvery/greeny blue than deep blue, but I can live with that. I am so excited. I will use some in the back, when the time comes. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 5:07 PM I should have added that in the overall design of this garden, I wish to, if not exactly exclusively xerescape, at least respect the environment and our impending water crisis, and use native plants as much as possible. I need more education on all of that, as the last time I really gardened was in Eastern Ontario with my grandmother in the 60s, and that was an entirely different kettle of fish. Nonetheless, I do want some colour and have a few favourites that I would like to nuture teaspoon by teaspoon full of water at a time. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 5:15 PM I added two more links. Mudge, I disagree. Gellman and Becker spent a year on that series, it's a huge Web sensation, generating much buzz and analysis, and it's not the kind of thing that ought to be bounced, "rolled over," or shunted lower, because of a breaking story that, though important, is essentially an incremental escalation of an ongoing confrontation. Hard to know how it will all play out; but I do think the dot.com newsdesk is right to keep our unique product (unavailable anywhere else -- and produced at a great cost over a long period of time) at the top of the page with the big headline. [It's weird how I'm ALWAYS right.] Posted by: Achenbach \| June 27, 2007 5:24 PM "gunner" and "idiot boy" are not going to be happy until they have turned our planet (or at least our continent) into a festering garbage dump. the damage done by these two morons in so many arenas should be reason enough to start impeachment proceedings. AND STILL we cannot get pelosi off of her grandma _ss to get started on the articles. Posted by: spike59101 \| June 27, 2007 5:31 PM Well, you might have a point, Joel. Of course, I'm also the guy that first defended the Gellman series here, and I don't denigrate it in the slighest. But my point was, it ain't every day the White House and Veep Iago get their a$$ses subpoened by the Judiciary Committe, either. If you wanna keep Gellman up top, OK. But I think the subpoena story deserves a lot more than a crappy subhead. (On the other hand, the Achenblog link has equal weight and nearly equal position to the subpoena subhead, which of course is only right and proper.) But stalks away still grumbling anyway, cuz the prize in my CrackerJacks was the same dinky, cheesy, quiz item the answer to which is George Washington that I also got last week Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 5:38 PM Busy day today and way, way, way off-topic, but I had a good time last night at the BPH too. Great to meet L.A. Lurker and I had only met Raysmom very briefly so it was as though I met her for the first time. And it's always nice to catch up with bc, Mudge, and omni. Posted by: pj \| June 27, 2007 5:44 PM While the Gellman and Becker series is important and puts in context a lot of the VP's evilries I think the Senate finally issuing supoenas on the administration is the most important domestic story since the Dems took control of congress. How these should compete on the front page I bow to the opinion of the decorators. Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 5:46 PM Mudge, the subpoena story certainly ought to have bigger play than the link to the Achendrivel. I don't dispute that. Indeed let's just come right out and declare that we agree that the subpoena story is underplayed. Maybe I'm not as persuaded that it's a really big story (yet). And I'd hate to see anything detract from the play of Becker/Gellman today. Posted by: Achenbach \| June 27, 2007 5:46 PM OMG, Joel, Tina's wearing the same dress that bc wore to the BPH last night! I think I need to take a cold shower. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 5:47 PM Big wheel keep on toynin', so to speak. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 5:48 PM Yeah that dress was working for me. Tonight I'll practice those dance moves. Posted by: Achenbach \| June 27, 2007 5:54 PM Joel, you're such a dawg. That damned clip is more than 9 and a half minutes long, and I'm on my second go-through, and getting no work done whatsoever. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 5:56 PM OK, so they made the subpoena story bigger. Either they were listening to me or I wasn't paying attention to begin with. Hmmm.... Let's go with the first explanation. Posted by: Achenbach \| June 27, 2007 5:58 PM Yeah...but the Achenblog link is still on top of it, so all's right with the world. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 6:00 PM I always love it when a story starts a cascade of questions in my noodle. Do the recent SCOTUS decisions throw any light on how they would handle a showdown between branches of govt. How serious is congress? Will they fight or cave into some partial disclosure? In these days of e-news how important is the placement of stories on the screen. Is there a virtual 'above the fold"? Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 6:11 PM That Romney story reminds me of Chevy Chase in the movie National Lampoon's Vacation. Maybe when Romney finally gets to Wally World it will be closed. We can only hope so. Posted by: TBG \| June 27, 2007 6:16 PM Dick Cheney is the Anti-Christ. His daughter is right, he's not Darth Vader. Darth Vader started out as a likable child and found redemption at the end of his life. Cheney won't change until his dying day. Dick Cheney is 100% Evil. God can't kill him and the even the Devil doesn't want to have anything to do with him. We may be stuck with him forever. Posted by: Cheney-Is-The-Anti-Christ \| June 27, 2007 6:17 PM Dick Cheney has already been practicing his response to subpoenas from Congress: He will get away with it this time, too. Maybe he can even say it to the voters in November 2008. Welcome to The New America. Posted by: oldhonky \| June 27, 2007 6:21 PM Joel, that kit made me laugh out loud in the hotel lobby. Now I'll have to show my new boss what I found so funny. I hope he doesn't start questioning his decision to hire me when he finds out I have imaginary friends. I should have waited until I got to my room before jumping on the free wireless. Posted by: a bea c \| June 27, 2007 6:23 PM Of course there's a 'virtual above the fold', that's why I have a scroll wheel. duh. I wonder if the veep retteated from his not being part of the exec. position so he can claim executive privilege. Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 6:28 PM Hang around, Simon D, this place could use a lawyer. I like a little horseradish on my salmon. I am conflicted. Such a conundrum called for fast, wise leadership. Such as a quickly-arranged water lottery with some placating crop insurance. Enough water held back to save some salmon; breeding stock. It did not happen. Isn't it time for a kit about beer? After 9/11 I made the switch to no imports (well, certain occasional exceptions.) All domestic. A challenge. Posted by: Jumper \| June 27, 2007 7:03 PM I don't think THAT could be called a dress, Mudge. Perhaps a shaggy, glittery sarong made from a cargoful of military braid. You certainly couldn't wear it in anything less than 85 degree weather. And Bc... gold isn't your color. Try another color, wouldja? ;). Posted by: Wilbrod \| June 27, 2007 7:11 PM For you sarong fans, here's a lesson in tying one on-- (thankfully bc is not the model here). For a little less sarong wrappage: http://www.keciasworld.com/tieasarong2.html If anybody plans a sarong BPH-- warn me WAY in advance. I don't think I could take Mudge in a fishnet sarong, blue speedos, loafers, and a lei. Even if the fishnet was dyed a becoming shade of blue. Posted by: Wilbrod \| June 27, 2007 7:16 PM Futurenews: In an exquisite opinion rendered in newspeak, the USSC has ruled that the office of Vice President is neither executive nor legislative and therefore is not within the jurisdiction of the court. Commenting on the ruling, Vice-president Cheney said "It is what I say it is, nothing less and nothing more." Posted by: Shiloh \| June 27, 2007 7:38 PM Wilbrod, thanks for the link. I've somehow ended up with 4 or 5 sarong-lengths, but have never been able to figure out the little diagrams on folding. If Mr. Curmudgeon will promise never to appear at a BPH in a sarong (or a lungi) I will make the same pledge. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 7:43 PM I am really really determined to be welcoming to newcomers (or silent, at least). Imagine if we didn't have Kim or Rainforest! But I absolutely deplore and reject the inflamatory language employed by the likes of CITAC, and I think oldhonkey's post should be zapped for violating the anti-profanity (though it is not so much profane as obscene) rule which is prominently displayed. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 7:48 PM what are the MEN AND WOMEN IN IRAQ DYING AND LOSING BODY PARTS FOR?????? are the United States Soldiers getting a cut, of _t_h_a_t_ M O N E Y? no they are getting their legs blown off, getting medals of honor and waiting two years to be declared disabled as they lose homes that they can't make mortgage payments on. Just as the Iran-Contra scandal evolved to include drug smuggling, the Iraq War also is closely related to drug smuggling. While the Bush regime has so far managed to keep the drug smuggling aspects of the war from reaching the media, evidence is beginning to emerge. The evidence comes largely from a former FBI translator turned whistle-blower, Sibel Edmonds. Hired to translate intercepted messages soon after 9/11 this Turkish lady first blew the whistle on the FBI for dragging its feet. She has state emphatically that she has seen documents that prove the Bush administration was fully aware of the terrorist attack before 9/11. While ATTORNEY GENERAL JOHN ASHCROFT, has imposed a gag order on her, this courageous lady has only been able to speak in generalized terms. However, she has repeatedly stated that when viewed as an international drug smuggling operation the picture becomes clear. Sibel Edmonds has provided a huge clue in her generalized statements, a clue that points directly at the BUSH FAMILY and DICK CHENEY. Haliburton the oil services company formerly headed by CHENEY has a long history of involvement in drug smuggling and gunrunning especially through its Brown and Root subsidiary. Brown and Root also has a long history of providing cover for CIA agents. In the late 1970s Brown and Root was implicated in drug smuggling and gunrunning from oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico built by Brown and Root and using ships owned by Brown and Root. In the 1990s Brown and Root was implicated in smuggling heroin to Europe through Russia. The heroin originated in Laos. The Russian incident surfaced in 1995 after thieves stole sacks of heroin concealed as sugar from a rail container leased by Alfa Echo. Authorities were alerted to the problem after residents of Khabarovsk, a Siberian city became intoxicated from consuming the heroin. Alfa Echo is part of the Russian Alfa group of companies controlled by Mikhail Fridman and Pyotr Aven. The FSB, the Russian equivalent of the FBI firmly proved a solid link between Alfa Tyumen and drug smuggling. The drug smuggling route was further exposed after the Ministry of Internal Affairs raided Alfa Eko buildings and found drugs and other compromising documentation. Under Cheney's leadership of Haliburton, Brown and Root received a taxpayer insured loan through the Export-Import Bank of $292 million dollars for Brown and Root to refurbish a Siberian oil field owned by Alfa Tyumen. The Alfa Bank is also implicated in money laundering for the Colombian cocaine cartels. THERE IS $80 BILLION IN UNRECORDED PROFITS IN THE FIRST STEP OF AFGHANI OPIUM COLLECTION, refinement...three steps later it could be worth $400 BILLION, in unrecorded profits... search on Gary Webb, Cocaine, Letter of Understanding, PARRY, GEORGE H.W. BUSH and notice that the letter of undersstanding allows the CIA to drug traffick without disclosing profits or being responsible for criminal actions... what does that mean? it means that every year about $400 BILLION DOLLARS in drug money gets pocketed off record in Afghanistan and Central and South America... any reports of drug dealers controlling L.A. or San Diego... WHY DOES BUSH WANT AMNESTY, with NO BACKGROUND CHECKS? and you braindead CONGRESS PEOPLE, what do you think would happen if all of the CONTRAs, COLOMBIAN drug runners, Mexican drug runners and soldiers of the CHILEAN, COLOMBIAN, COSTA RICAN, SALVADORAN, HONDURAN, GUATEMALEAN, PANAMANIAN, HAITIAN, PERUVIAN, ARGENTINE... conflicts UNDER CHENEY AND the bush family control? not United States control, bush family control....LIKE BLACKWATER... martial law, border gaurds with drug running experience? $4.4 BILLION DOLLARS to put IRAN CONTRA GUNRUNNERS/DRUGRUNNERS ON THE BORDER? do you guys have a fricking pulse, are your brain scans flatlines? all of a these TERRORISTAS suddenly get a free pass to come IN_COUNTRY with no background checks? these are the guys that taught nuns to fly after raping and torturing them by throwing them out of HELICOPTORS in HONDURAS... think I am crazy? paranoid, unlearned, doubt me? good...search on these topics and look at the end of this post. Loophole 7 - Terrorism Connections Allowed, Good Moral Character Not Required: Illegal aliens with terrorism connections are not barred from getting amnesty. An illegal alien seeking most immigration benefits must show "good moral character." Last year's bill specifically barred aliens with terrorism connections from having "good moral character" and being eligible for amnesty. This year's bill does neither. Additionally, bill drafters ignored the Administration's request that changes be made to the asylum, cancellation of removal, and withholding of removal statutes in order to prevent aliens with terrorist connections from receiving relief. [Compare ÃÂ§204 in S. 2611 from the 109th Congress with missing ÃÂ§204 on p. 48 of S.A. 1150, & see missing subsection (5) on p. 287 of S.A. 1150]. Loophole 8 - Gang Members Are Eligible: Instead of ensuring that members of violent gangs such as MS 13 are deported after coming out of the shadows to apply for amnesty, the bill will allow violent gang members to get amnesty as long as they "renounce" their gang membership on their application. [See p. 289: 34-36]. nice to see you too. . Posted by: hello it's me... \| June 27, 2007 7:49 PM Ahh, somebody with the energy to rant on our behalf. Hello, Hello it's me... Posted by: Wilbrod \| June 27, 2007 7:53 PM If oldhonky is "obscene," then so is Dick Cheney - who used the same expletive in referring to Members of Congress. Cheney's vulgar language is less obscene than his perversion of the Constitution. Posted by: Shiloh \| June 27, 2007 7:58 PM WaPo Saturday, February 17, 2007; Page A30 IT'S THE KIND of story that seems to confirm everything people believe is sleazy about the way Washington works. Last March, Sue Ellen Wooldridge, then the head of the Justice Department's environmental division, bought a $1 million vacation home with Don R. Duncan, the top lobbyist for oil company ConocoPhillips. Nine months later, Ms. Wooldridge signed off on a settlement agreement that let ConocoPhillips delay the installation of pollution-control equipment and the payment of fines. Just to make matters cozier, the third owner of the beach house is J. Steven Griles, the former No. 2 official at the Interior Department who's now the target of a Justice Department criminal investigation into his dealings with lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Oh, and Ms. Wooldridge, who lives with Mr. Griles, once worked with him at Interior, where she gave Mr. Griles ethics advice and defended his actions during an inspector general investigation. By Dana Milbank Wednesday, June 27, 2007; Page A02 Love is a many-splendored thing -- unless you're under investigation by the feds. Then it can be quite a nuisance. Had J. Steven Griles not been busy with so many lady friends while serving as the No. 2 official in the Interior Department, he probably wouldn't have scored a date yesterday with another woman: Judge Ellen Huvelle of U.S. District Court, who sentenced Griles to 10 months in prison for obstructing an investigation into the Jack Abramoff scandal. Griles asked Abramoff for favors for the women in his life, prosecutors said, and in exchange helped Abramoff's clients with their government business. One of Griles's girlfriends, Italia Federici, got $500,000 for her nonprofit from Abramoff's Indian tribes. "I concealed the nature and extent of my true relationship with Italia Federici," Griles confessed to the judge yesterday in a statement interrupted by stifled sobs. Choking out the words, a burly, red-faced Griles told Huvelle that "this has been the most difficult time in my life. My guilty plea has brought me great shame and embarrassment." Mr. Griles and Ms Wooldridge are now man and wife. Aww, ain't love grand. Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 7:58 PM Well, oldhonky's post is pushing the envelope but he's only quoting the Veep. and anticipating his probable response to the subpoenas. I think we're in 'fair comment' territory here. Like Cassandras use of the phrase blow job in the earlier boodle. Now Wilbrod's posting the links to the sarong porn is really going too far. Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 8:12 PM I thought porn was being nekkid, Boko. Posted by: Wilbrod \| June 27, 2007 8:14 PM Good gosh golliwogs Wilbrod, I hope not. I don't think my ticker could take it. I think porn, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Anyway, I save a bundle cause Sears, Walmart and Canadian Tire clog my mailbox with free stuff every Wednesday like calenderwork. Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 8:28 PM It's about time Todd Rundgren weighed in. I always will remember his tribute to Mary Cheney: "We Gotta Get You a Woman." Posted by: bill everything \| June 27, 2007 8:30 PM Not that there is anything wrong with that . . . . Posted by: bill everything \| June 27, 2007 8:33 PM SCC In my 7:58 I should have pointed out that Sue Ellen Wooldridge is mentioned in the last of the Gellman/Becker series. Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 8:40 PM Next time you post links to dog abuse, warn me first. That poor dog had the crap scared out of him being alone in a container that was shaking and sliding on a car going 60 mph, and strong deaccelerating stops without a seatbelt. I'm getting the trots just thinking about it. "Doggie Strap-On" Romney is too mild an appellation. I call on all patriotic dogs to bite him on sight. Aren't there laws about that sort of thing? Posted by: Wilbrodog \| June 27, 2007 8:45 PM 'Mudge, loved the ripostes with Joel. But, given the new "fourth" branch of government that Cheney has created, the subpoena is but one step in what is sure to be an elaborate dance ("kabuki" is the usual metaphor), eventually through the court system, that is unlikely to end before 1/20/09 or, at least, until after the '08 elections. I would say "The Angler" series did benefit from the recent "unique" approach to constitutional jurisprudence emanating from the VPOTUS. I still think was a really important piece of journalism, not that I know a damn thing about it, although it's sort of like Justice Powell and pornography, i.e., "I know it when I see it." Now if Cheney were to preside over the Senate, begin frothing at the mouth and whilst cursing declare "I'm mad as hell and not only am I not going to take it anymore but I am going to devour the Senator from Vermont, Mr. Leahy, then, and only then, do we have a leadoff story. Posted by: bill everything \| June 27, 2007 8:56 PM I hope you're all watching the Paul Simon award show on the PBS station of your choice right now. I just missed the intro to this song; who are the two ladies doing a very nice job singing "The Boxer"? OK, OK, I'll make the no-sarong pledge. Jeez. You guys drive a hard bargain. And Wilbrod, I would have NEVER worn that ensemble (fishnet sarong, blue speedos, loafers, and a lei) unless you'd have let me also wear a pair of almost-to-the-knees black socks with garters, and a three-sizes-too-small "I'm only here for the beer" T-shirt. Whaddaya take me for, anyway? I DO have a fashion sensibility, yanno. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 9:10 PM bh, Thanks for the 4:35 update. Pep talk, you say? I say once a body builder, always a body builder. From the lastest AP story posted at the Tahoe Trib: The governors of the two states Lake Tahoe straddles, California's Arnold Schwarzenegger and Nevada's [Republican]Jim Gibbons, toured neighborhoods charred by the fire. Examining the remains of a house in the Tahoe Mountain neighborhood, just outside South Lake Tahoe, the ex-bodybuilder Schwarzenegger hoisted a dumbbell from the debris, marveling that it was one of the few objects to survive. "Amazing," he told an aide. Little else survived the inferno. Metal mattress coils, a bicycle, tools, half-melted televisions, concrete foundations and chimneys were about all that was left of the burned houses. Some neighboring buildings stood virtually untouched. "It could have been much worse, if we hadn't had such well-trained firefighters," said Schwarzenegger, mentioning his decision in May to free up more money for firefighters and equipment after the dry winter. [When in May? Have the 1,884 firefighters working on the blaze had advanced training since those funds were appropriated? What new equipment has been purchased in the last four to six weeks? Just asking'...] More from the Trib: At a 1 p.m. news conference in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Executive Director John Singlaub addressed residents' concerns that the TRPA interfered with efforts to clear dry brush and trees. [and defended his agency] The news conference: At a 1 p.m. news conference in South Lake Tahoe, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger praised firefighters on the front lines of the Angora Fire and assured visitors that it is still safe to come to Lake Tahoe. State officials estimated the damage at $150 million so far in the fire that has blackened more than 3,000 acres of forest and destroyed more than 200 homes. Sharing the stage with Lt. Governor John Garamendi, Schwarzenegger said efforts to bring in state and federal funds are well under way. But the governor, just returned from a European visit, emphasized that firefighters battling the wildfire are ready for whatever comes. ... Garamendi, the state's Democratic lieutenant governor who declared the Angora fire an emergency while Schwarzenegger was out of the country, said he "fully expects" the federal government to declare the Tahoe Basin a federal emergency. Federal funds would not be available to individual homeowners, although Small Business Administration loans would be available, he said. The state is already documenting its expenses, which could be reimbursed by the federal government, Garamendi said. Posted by: Loomis \| June 27, 2007 9:16 PM I love the Liz Claiborne photo that alternates on the home page that looks oh so much like Jim Carrey in "The Mask." Posted by: bill everything \| June 27, 2007 9:22 PM Ah, that's a relief. I do agree that the elongated leg effect of the black knee-highs are a good fashion addition, and the tight shirt is certainly a good complement to the fishnet sarong. Still... I want the warning ;). Posted by: Wilbrod \| June 27, 2007 9:23 PM Alert readers noticed that I was directly quoting the VPOTUSs earlier riposte to Senator Leahy, who has now signed the (bipartisan!) subpoena aimed at him. That is why I said that out esteemed VPOTUS was just practicing his response to the subpoena. Free speech! Democracy by expletive! Posted by: oldhonky \| June 27, 2007 9:43 PM OK, gang, list-making time. I have no problem whatsoever with the LoC giving Paul Simon the first Gershwin Award. So start your lists: who's next in line? Gimme your next 5 to 10 picks (don't have to be in rank order). [Anybody who puts R. Kelley on the list is going to spend serious quality time in the woodshed.](They gotta be still alive and Murican. Can be a team.) 1) Bob Dylan 2) Stephen Sondheim 3) Joni Mitchell 4) Carole King 5) Burt Bacharach/Hal David (no rotten tomatoes, please) 6) James Taylor 7) Billy Joel 8) Laura Nyro 9) Bruce Springsteen 10) Glenn Frey/Don Henley 11) Stephen Stills 12) Willie Nelson (wrote Patsy Cline's "Crazy," if you need reminding) Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 9:49 PM Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 9:59 PM The Gershwin award is for a songwriter who also performs music? I'd put Dolly Parton up there, just because she's the only songwriter/musician I know of that has the honor of having her own name in sign. Posted by: Wilbrod \| June 27, 2007 10:00 PM Ooops. OK, scratch Joni Mitchell. Damn. Gonna miss that gal. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 10:02 PM Can't top Mudge's list, nor think of any American songwriters, at least that I know are American. But here's a list of those who probably won't win the award, British list of the all time most annoying songs. Yes Celine in on the list. Posted by: dmd \| June 27, 2007 10:06 PM I don't think singing is necessarily part of the award, Wilbrod. Gershwin never sang, and it would knock Sondheim out. I could also see people like Leonard Bernstein, Kantor & Ebb, Jimmy Webb, Brian Wilson & Van D yke Parks, etc., making it on the list. (You know that &%$# Wirty Dird filter wouldn't let me post Van D yke Park's name? Jeez.) Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 10:08 PM Posted by: kbertocci \| June 27, 2007 10:09 PM Neil Young Randy Bachman Celine Dion Gordon Lightfoot Guy Lombardo (what's the diff stiff?) Leonard Cohen Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 10:10 PM Any idea how they classify "popular music"? Posted by: dmd \| June 27, 2007 10:11 PM In spite of his not being my sentimental favourite (I loved James Taylor as a teenager), I've always thought that future generations of merikans would crown Billy Joel (particularly the Joel of the "Brenda and Eddy" days) as the equal, at least, of Stephen Foster and the Gershwin brothers. It's just gonna take a while. And 'Mudge, thank you for reminding me of "The Boxer." Haven't thought of it in years. And when I read your post, the whole song, complete with background arrangements and lyrics, played in my head. I enjoyed it very much. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 10:14 PM That Liz Claiborne picture really does look like "The Mask." Posted by: TBG \| June 27, 2007 10:15 PM I nearly put Randy Newman on that list, Bertooch, and was thinking about Neil Young, but decided two from CSN&Y was too much. Boko, somehow I suspect your nomination of Celine Dion lacked, shall we say, sincerity on your part? Don't want to accuse you of anything, but, um, er, ah... Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 10:16 PM Ditto on The Boxer, that song is completely linked in my mind of watching my Dad place the speakers just so - in order to properly hear the song, its a good memory. Posted by: dmd \| June 27, 2007 10:16 PM I believe Alison Krauss is one of the singers on The Boxer - forget who else is - the WaPo did a story about this when it occurred. I'll see it later, of course. I'd add to the list: Leon Russell Stevie Wonder Brian Wilson Lyle Lovett Posted by: mostlylurking \| June 27, 2007 10:18 PM Would Neil be excluded like Joni Mitchell? Posted by: dmd \| June 27, 2007 10:19 PM Posted by: kbertocci \| June 27, 2007 10:19 PM Wow.. some more drama in the Tahoe fires... 'Last-ditch' shelters saved Tahoe firefighters (06-27) 17:32 PDT South Lake Tahoe, Calif. (AP) -- A patchwork of small blazes exploded into an inferno, surrounding the two young firefighters. Separated from the rest of their crew and with trees turning into matchsticks all around, they had seconds to act. They raced to a meadow, flung open the thin, heat-resistant emergency shelters all wildland firefighters carry, and threw their bodies on the ground. It would be nearly an hour before U.S. Forest Service officials working the wildfire near Lake Tahoe knew the pair survived the searing gases and heat... Posted by: TBG \| June 27, 2007 10:21 PM Mostlylurking, I was on my way to bed and turned around to add my nomination for Mr. Wonder--I should have realized it wasn't necessary. Thanks for taking over, it's bedtime on the east coast for me now. Posted by: kbertocci \| June 27, 2007 10:22 PM Neil Young's Canadian. I think they should allow Canadians - it's so close, yeah, and Boko's list, with a few notable exceptions, is good. Posted by: mostlylurking \| June 27, 2007 10:22 PM Yoki, you should have heard those two women sing The Boxer. They were wonderful. (One might have been Alison Krauss, who is now singing "Graceland.") Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 10:25 PM Alison Krauss and Shawn Colvin. Here's the review of the live show, which was somewhat plagued by trouble: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/24/AR2007052402577.html I'm going to see Alison Krauss in about a week - really looking forward to that. Posted by: mostlylurking \| June 27, 2007 10:29 PM You can't have Neil either. And if any one of you even looks at Shania I'll burst into tears. Two books of green stamps and you can take Celine with you. Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 10:30 PM Graceland! I gave birth to #2 (all natural, for the second time) to the tape cassette of Graceland. Good driving rhythms, just what was needed. On one of my first flights back from Washington to Montreal, when my career took off, a bunch of very good looking black men were on the same flight (c. 1994, I should think). After take-off, they began to sing. It was Ladysmith Black Mombasso between tour gigs. Every single one of us on that very uncomfortable regional jet smiled all the way to landing. A wonderful spontaneous experience. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 10:32 PM I think Paul Simon was the perfect choice for the first Gershwin award. Thanks Mudge for alerting us to the show. Posted by: frostbitten \| June 27, 2007 10:33 PM I'd burst into tears, too, Boko, if I looked at Shania. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 10:33 PM This is my favorite line from the review: "...the crowd, which was so very Washingtonian: lots of dark suits, politely enthusiastic and apparently incapable of proper rhythmic clapping, no matter how hard Yolanda Adams tried to keep everybody in time" Ha! (Seattle crowds are much the same.) Posted by: mostlylurking \| June 27, 2007 10:35 PM I'm really conflicted about opening it up to Canucks (tho' it'd let me sneak Joni back in, along with Robbie Robertson and most of The Band), cuz then we'd have to let other nationalities in, and we'd be overrun with Paul McCartney, a couple of Stones, and other Limey/Liverpool riffraff, a couple of frogs like Michgel LeGrand and Pierre Lai (I think he's still alive, not sure), Andy Lloyd-Weber, etc., and we'd be up to our arses in "Phantom of the Opera" and "Cats" and one damn thing after another, like Lars-Bjorne Lutefisk of Abba {OK, that's probably not his real name, but you kinda know who I mean, and there's no freakin' way I'm letting the writer of "Mama Mia" on the list}, plus whoever writes those Gipsy Kings tunes that Nicholas Reyes growls that I like so much. Here comes Garfunkel to sing "Bridge..." with Simon. Anybody wanna nominate Joan Baez? Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 10:36 PM Lyle Lovett, Yeah! Tom Waites Leon Redbone Carol King should get the next one. Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 10:37 PM Mudge... so would Sondheim be a sound choice? Posted by: Wilbrod \| June 27, 2007 10:37 PM Not Andrew Lloyd-Webber! Please. I'll just stab myself in the eyeballs. I laughed when I heard Robert Simpson interviewed on the CBC one day in 1997, deploring the fact that ALW was now considered "a composer, when really he is a tune smith." Hah! Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 10:41 PM I can second the Redbone nomination. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 10:42 PM Yoki, A useful source for Canadian gardening advice is the forum run by the University of British Columbia Botanical Garden, presided over by Daniel Mosquin. http://www.ubcbotanicalgarden.org/forums/index.php Of course a lot of contributors are mild-climate people. The Klamath's waters have three claimants. In addition to fish and farmers, there's Native American rights, which I think have generally been ingnored. The federal government promised far more water to the various parties than actually exists. In another somewhat-overpromised system, the Miccosukee Tribe is spending whatever it takes on lawyers to ensure an appropriate outcome for Everglades restoration. Posted by: Dave of the Coonties \| June 27, 2007 10:43 PM But if we're going to go so far outside Pop as to nominate Redbone, what about Clifton Chenier? Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 10:43 PM Oh, absolutely Joan Baez. And come on, we can't even remember who's a Canadian, so they should qualify (I'm joking!). Honestly, I keep thinking of Canadians. It's not fair!!! Posted by: mostlylurking \| June 27, 2007 10:46 PM That is because we are so very, very talented. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 10:48 PM It has been lovely to be back here today. Good night all. Posted by: Yoki \| June 27, 2007 10:50 PM Perhaps a good way to judge would be to consider how many of the originator's songs have been covered by other singers. Carole King would be a really big shoe in. Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 10:50 PM Yoki - dry shade - the gardener's nightmare. It will be interesting to see what we come up with. I have a tough pyracantha in dry shade - and an eglantine rose, which would be much happier with some sun, but grows like crazy. Posted by: mostlylurking \| June 27, 2007 10:51 PM mostly \| I can remember who is and who was a Canadian. Jim Carrey, the guy who looks like Liz Claireborn, ferinstance, used to be one. We Canucks have long memories. That's why the CIA did all those mind experiments up here. Posted by: Boko999 \| June 27, 2007 10:59 PM I don't know a lot about Leon Redbone's stuff, but most everything I've heard him sing were old classics somebody else wrote. Never heard of Clifton Chenier. What did he write? Keep in mind that we're talking about a songwriter prolific enough and stroing enough to merit a top national award and capable of sustaining a 90-minute or 2-hour show of his/her hits and golden oldies. We gotta have 15, 20 songs that everybody knows, though they might not know who wrote them. Yeah, Wilbrod, I don't think there's any question Sondheim is in. We're talking about all the lyrics to West Side Story, to "Send in the Clowns," A little Night Music, and a couple of songs from "Gypsy," if nothing else. But West Side Story seals it. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 11:00 PM I love John Paul Stevens. Sure hope he can hang on for a few more years, till we get a Democrat in the White House. Posted by: mostlylurking \| June 27, 2007 11:02 PM I'm all sillied out, I'll let the grownups get on with it. Goodnight. Posted by: Boko9999 \| June 27, 2007 11:03 PM Carole King next for sure. Posted by: frostbitten \| June 27, 2007 11:03 PM The WaPo home page is pretty frightening at the moment. Ya got Liz Claiborne on one side, and a mugging Rosie O'Donnell on the other side (in an ad). Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 27, 2007 11:07 PM I thought Marc Anthony did a nice job. He wouldn't have been on my short list of artists to perform Paul Simon songs but it worked for me. Posted by: frostbitten \| June 27, 2007 11:07 PM Billy Joel is a one trick horse that had no traction and has spent the last 25 years trying to stay in the news even if it meant DWI. Geez Posted by: bill everything \| June 27, 2007 11:19 PM So much to cover this evening. You're right, gold's not a great color for me, but I carried Tina's dress off reasonably well, I think. I have the legs and the back for it, anyway. Willing to try a sarong, but can I go commando? (no photos, please). I'd nominate John Hiatt and Tom Petty for Gershwin awards/shows. Oh, look Michael Moore's on the Daily Show. Posted by: bc \| June 27, 2007 11:29 PM Meant to add that I really appreciate the Gellman/Becker series on Cheney, and I liked the format used by the WaPo.com folks. Posted by: bc \| June 27, 2007 11:31 PM I am in the Carole King camp too, Frostbitten. One of my favorite Carole King songs of popular music is Aretha Franklin's take on "You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman" Listen to the opening quiet piano notes, the sadness is clearly stated. The way the song builds into a grand affirmation of love is just something that makes life worth living for. Posted by: bill everything \| June 27, 2007 11:36 PM I didn't know Leonard Cohen was American. Is he, really? I should look it up but I don't have the energy right now. I think Famous Blue Raincoat is one of the saddest songs I've ever listened to. The other saddest song is Lost In the Moment, which funny enough, is the last track of Edie Brickell's album, Picture Perfect Morning. And she is, of course, Paul Simon's wife. Posted by: a bea c \| June 27, 2007 11:41 PM "We didn't start the fire, it's been burning since the world's been turning, we didn't start the fire, no we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it..." Come on, that's one song I know more than one verse of. And it's all the more true now that we look at the world. "'Nauts in Diapers on long rides, gangsta rappers, suicide, Foreign debts, legless Vets, AIDS, Crack, Scooter Libby Hurricanes hit on the shores, Iraq is under martial law, Global Warming won oscars, I can't take it anymore.... We didn't start the fire It was always burning Since the world's been turning We didn't start the fire No we didn't light it But we tried to fight it " It's the anthem of a generati9n. Posted by: Wilbrod \| June 27, 2007 11:43 PM Of course, I understand Weingarten loathes "Piano man". Which is all the more reason to vote Billy Joel in ;). But generally if you can nominate an ensemble for a Gershwin award... all I can say is, it's too bad the Rolling Stones are a british band. Posted by: Wilbrod \| June 27, 2007 11:53 PM No, a bea c, Boko was kidding - Cohen is Canadian. From the Library of Congress website: http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2007/07-010.html "Named in honor of the legendary George and Ira Gershwin, this newly created award recognizes the profound and positive effect of popular music on the world's culture. The prize will be given annually to a composer or performer whose lifetime contributions exemplify the standard of excellence associated with the Gershwins." So, let's add Aretha to the list, and maybe Bernice Johnson Reagon (Sweet Honey in the Rock), and Emmylou...Tina Turner (must watch that video)... Posted by: mostlylurking \| June 27, 2007 11:55 PM Looked it up...Leonard Cohen is Canadian...Cross him off the Gershwin list. Posted by: a bea c \| June 27, 2007 11:55 PM Has anyone else read Leonard Cohen's poetry? Beautiful stuff. Billy Joel wrote Honesty. Love that song. And we don't have enough of it anywhere, especially the government. Posted by: a bea c \| June 28, 2007 12:00 AM Wilbrod, loved your update. Just have always seen Billy Joel as an oppotunist, without a message. Posted by: bill everything \| June 28, 2007 12:07 AM He wanted to be a history teacher once, Billy Joel said-- that's why he wrote that song-- lyrics before music. And well, what is the message in gangsta rap nowadays? "Bam-bam, whacking wham die, yo' fool made fun with the gang lords, thought you'd played and won, got shy with the gun. Now your eyes be sky, bro...your eyes be sky..." (and that's a massively bowdlerized and almost literate version, I must say). And I like this song about the cold war: All the more poignant when you have had Russian friends. Also check out "Goodnight Saigon" "Pressure" and "Angry Young man". Posted by: Wilbrod \| June 28, 2007 12:40 AM \\Imagine if we didn't have Kim or Rainforest! Thanks Yoki. I had no experience in posting comments on blogs before this. It was frightening at first. Not so now. This is a friendly place and bloggers are civil. I lurk in a M'sian political blog but have never posted any comments because what I have to say, others have already said it and said it better. They never go off-topic! We can criticize our leaders in the blogs but we can't make statements that are deemed defamatory. The beauty of it is, sometimes it's true but it's still defamatory. Our leaders are a bunch of very touchy people. Recently, 2 blog owners' rear ends got hauled to court because of what a couple of bloggers posted and the blog owners refused to release the bloggers identity. Case is still pending. Posted by: rain forest \| June 28, 2007 4:11 AM Thanks Wilbrod for the sarong link. Most men and women (except for the ethnic Chinese) in this region wear sarong in one form or another. In formal settings, Malay women wear baju kurung (tunic over a sarong) without exception. The sarong looks simple but wearing it in the traditional way can be time consuming. The sarong must be wide enough to make 4 to 6 pleats by hand about 4-6 inches wide on the side. All the pleats must be level with the rest of the sarong before they put a belt on. I once watch a colleague tried to get it right for 10 mins. Nowadays, women just have it sown dead. Problem solved. For the men, a variation of the sarong is worn outside the shirt and trousers. Posted by: rain forest \| June 28, 2007 4:27 AM 'Morning, Boodle. Guess what the top story is today? Uh-huh. Didn't realize the Gershwin award could go to a pure performer who ISN'T also a songwriter, so that opens it up considerably. So we have to add to the list. Next year's winner (you heard it here first): Tony Bennett. David Broder has a pretty good column on the Cheney thing, at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062702234.html?hpid=opinionsbox1 . George Will continues to keep his head buried in the sand, nattering on a about liberal Supreme Court justices. Posted by: Curmudgeon \| June 28, 2007 5:51 AM Rainforest, I am humbled by what you said about blogging in your corner of the internet. Would what is said here ever cause trouble for you? Posted by: College Parkian \| June 28, 2007 7:32 AM Good morning, friends. Did not have time to read all the comments, although I'm still laughing at yours, Mudge. The one where you talk about being thirteen and what we have now. We're running late this morning. Yoki, I'm glad it is going well with you. Keep hanging in there. Ivansmom, my test were good. I'm clear until the next time. Have a great day, folks. Will try to check in later. Will anyone seriously do anything about Cheney even with this new thing of asking for documents. I mean is this just for the press? Morning, Mudge, Slyness, Scotty, and all.waving God loves us so much more than we can imagine through Him that died for all, Jesus Christ. Peace. Posted by: Cassandra S \| June 28, 2007 7:43 AM A belated thank you Mudge for the heads up on the Paul Simon tribute. I love Ladysmith Black Mombasso. I can't decide who is more loathsome, Cheney or Coulter. Posted by: Bad Sneakers \| June 28, 2007 7:46 AM Good morning everyone. And I have good news! The UN has designated the Rideau Canal, connecting Kingston and Ottawa Ontario, a World Heritage Site. At the time it was proposed, shortly after the War of 1812, there remained a persistent threat of attack from the United States on Britain's colony of Upper Canada. To impede and deter any future American invasions, the British built various forts (eg. Citadel Hill, La Citadelle, and Fort Henry) and canals (eg.Grenville Canal, Chute-ÃÂ -Blondeau Canal, Carillon Canal, and the Rideau Canal) to defend their territory.- Wiki http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rideau_Canal So you see, a heathly fear of American invasion can have wonderful results. Why ,oh why, can't those silly Iraqis see the fabulous opportunity they're frittering away? Oops to late, oh well. I wonder what clever device the Iranians are contructing. Now the Rideau Canal (celebrating its 175 anniversery this year) is used as the world's longest skating rink in winter and in summer it's a marvelous greenback extr	Blog by Joel Achenbach. Visit www.washingtonpost.com/style.	2,369.875	0.875	0.875	high	medium	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062602056.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062602056.html	GOP Skepticism On Iraq Growing	2007062719	Key Republican senators, signaling increasing GOP skepticism about President Bush's strategy in Iraq, have called for a reduction in U.S. forces and launched preemptive efforts to counter a much-awaited administration progress report due in September. In an unannounced speech on the Senate floor Monday night, Sen. Richard G. Lugar (Ind.), the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, said the U.S. military escalation begun in the spring has "very limited" prospects for success. He called on Bush to begin reducing U.S. forces. "We don't owe the president our unquestioning agreement," Lugar said. The harsh judgment from one of the Senate's most respected foreign-policy voices was a blow to White House efforts to boost flagging support for its war policy, and opened the door to defections by other Republicans who have supported the administration despite increasing private doubts. Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to Bush yesterday urging the president to develop "a comprehensive plan for our country's gradual military disengagement" from Iraq. "I am also concerned that we are running out of time," he wrote. Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.), a member of the Armed Services Committee, praised Lugar's statement as "an important and sincere contribution" to the Iraq debate. Republican skepticism has grown steadily, if subtly, since the Senate began debating the war in February. One lawmaker who has changed his tone is Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.). Earlier this year, McConnell helped block from a vote even a nonbinding resolution opposing the troop increase. Now, he views a change in course as a given. "I anticipate that we'll probably be going in a different direction in some way in Iraq" in September, McConnell told reporters earlier this month. "And it'll be interesting to see what the administration chooses to do." Indeed, Republican leaders on Capitol Hill had been hoping to stave off further defections until after a report on military and political conditions in Iraq is delivered by Army Gen. David H. Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker in September. However, some in the GOP fear that the White House is stalling, hoping to delay any shift in U.S. strategy until the fall. A major test will come next month, when the Senate considers a series of withdrawal-related amendments to the defense authorization bill -- and Republicans such as Lugar and Voinovich will have to officially break ranks or not. White House spokesman Tony Snow said yesterday that Bush hopes "members of the House and Senate will give the Baghdad security plan a chance to unfold." Lugar consulted with McConnell before delivering his speech, but not with the White House, according to Lugar spokesman Andy Fisher. In his lengthy speech, Lugar cited several indicators that he said are working against U.S. success, including the Iraqis' inability to reach a short-term political settlement, the strain on the U.S. military, and the constraints imposed by domestic politics in Washington. Bush and his team, Lugar said, "must come to grips" with reality. However, he warned against a total withdrawal from Iraq. A "sustainable military posture" would reduce U.S. forces into a support role to help the Iraqi army, he said. Similarly, Voinovich called for "responsible military disengagement" from Iraq. "It is absolutely critical that we avoid being drawn into a precipitous withdrawal," he said in a strategy paper that accompanied his letter to Bush. Lugar first expressed concerns about the White House strategy during a private meeting that he and Warner had with Bush in the first week of January. Outlining his plans to dispatch nearly 30,000 more troops to Iraq, Bush argued that military escalation would give the Iraqis time to reconcile sectarian divisions. Since then, as Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government has made no visible movement toward political reconciliation, the two senior GOP lawmakers have regularly voiced muted concern in public.	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.	19.846154	0.589744	0.641026	medium	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062701538.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062701538.html	Bush Plans Envoy To Islamic Nations	2007062719	President Bush announced plans yesterday to appoint an envoy to an organization of Islamic nations with the intention of improving the battered image of the United States in the Muslim world. Speaking at the rededication of the half-century-old Islamic Center in Washington, Bush said the new U.S. representative to the 57-nation Organization of the Islamic Conference "will listen to and learn from the representatives from Muslim states and will share with them America's views and values." "This is an opportunity for Americans to demonstrate to Muslim communities our interest in respectful dialogue and continued friendship," said Bush, who has not yet named anyone to the job. The creation of the post will mark the first time a U.S. president has designated an envoy to the 38-year-old organization, which promotes Islamic solidarity and cooperation. The decision to send an envoy to the group comes at a time when the image of the United States is flagging in many corners of the globe and particularly in the Muslim world. A survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project released yesterday found that unfavorable views of the United States outweighed favorable views by lopsided margins in several predominantly Muslim nations that are U.S. allies, including Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. In his remarks, Bush asserted that he has worked hard to improve the lives of Muslims, despite the harsh attitudes spawned by the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the wider battle against Islamic extremism. "I have invested the heart of my presidency in helping Muslims fight terrorism, and claim their liberty, and find their own unique paths to prosperity and peace," he said. Standing shoeless at the podium in the ornate Islamic Center, which serves as a mosque and Islamic community gathering place in the heart of Embassy Row, Bush thanked those Islamic leaders who have spoken out against extremism and called on others to join them. "We must encourage more Muslim leaders to add their voices, to speak out against radical extremists who infiltrate mosques, to denounce organizations that use the veneer of Islamic belief to support and fund acts of violence," Bush said. The president also criticized Syria and Iran for repressing freedom and held out hope to people in those countries who "yearn" for freedom. "You are not bound forever by your misery. You plead in silence no longer," Bush said. "The free world hears you. You are not alone. America offers you its hand in friendship." Bush had first appeared at the center just days after the 2001 terrorist attacks, when he denounced bias against Muslims in the United States. This was the third visit to the center of his presidency, the White House said. Despite the anti-Americanism that is being fueled by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Bush called those efforts crucial to the struggle to bring freedom to the Muslim world. He also pointed out that the United States has stood with Muslims numerous times in recent years: Aiding them in the face of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia and Kosovo, helping earthquake victims in Pakistan and Iran, and assisting tsunami victims in Indonesia and Malaysia. "Americans of all beliefs have undertaken these efforts out of compassion, conviction, and conscience," Bush said.	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.	13.5	0.5	0.586957	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601189.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601189.html	Inflation Target May Be Shifting	2007062719	If investors and financial analysts could ride in the back seat of Ben S. Bernanke's 1998 Chrysler Sebring convertible, many would be whining that familiar summer refrain: "Are we there yet?" They'd hope to hear from the Federal Reserve chairman that the nation's central bank has reached its goal of bringing inflation under control. For months, Wall Street has been begging for a signal that the Fed is done increasing interest rates to slow the economy, an inflation-fighting measure. JavaScript is required to display this interactive graphic. If it is turned off, please enable JavaScript in your browser preferences. It isn't likely to happen. As they meet today and tomorrow to review monetary policy, Bernanke and his Fed colleagues appear reluctant to declare victory, even though inflation has eased in recent months. On the contrary, they are likely to say they want inflation to keep falling and are concerned about the risk that it could flare up again. That means they won't lower borrowing costs anytime soon. Many investors and analysts cheered recently when they thought inflation had subsided. The central bank's preferred core inflation measure, which excludes food and energy prices, dipped in April to 2 percent. That is within the range of 1 to 2 percent identified by Bernanke and others as their comfort zone for core inflation. But that's still not good enough for some members of the Fed's top policymaking committee. After years of focusing publicly on core inflation, its members are paying more attention to broader measures that include the cost of fuel and food. Those items have long been dismissed as too volatile to shed much light on long-term inflation trends -- they can rise or fall rapidly in a short period. But for nearly five years, food and fuel prices have done a lot more rising than falling, and some economists say they have become a sustained source of inflationary pressure. With forecasts calling for strong global economic growth, international competition for commodities such as oil, corn and other grains is heating up, driving the price increases. Another factor is renewed interest in ethanol, which is causing increases in the price of corn, which is used to make ethanol in the United States. That, in turn, makes meat, eggs and dairy products more expensive because corn is a primary feed for cows, chicken and other livestock. In their meetings over the next two days, members of the Fed's top policymaking committee are expected to discuss whether to highlight their concerns about overall inflation in a written statement, a step that could look like moving the goal posts to investors accustomed to the central bank's emphasis on core figures. If the Fed shifts its focus from core inflation to overall inflation, "it would unnerve more than a few market participants," potentially causing mortgage and other long-term interest rates to rise, said David Shulman, senior economist with the Anderson Forecast at the University of California at Los Angeles. This creates a communication challenge for Bernanke, who has long argued that the Fed should express its goals as clearly as possible, both through its words and by adopting a numerical inflation target. The financial market's expectations for interest rates affect stock prices and help determine mortgage rates and other borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. "In our view, the Fed is at a critical juncture," said Laurence H. Meyer, a former Fed board member and now vice chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers. With core inflation at 2 percent, "it's important for the committee to make clear where it wants to go," Meyer said. "Is it satisfied? Is it done? Or is it committed to moving inside the comfort zone" by forcing inflation lower? Meyer remains in close contact with members of the Fed committee. He said there may be "an emerging consensus" to aim for a 12-month change in consumer prices that is "close to but below 2 percent," as does the European Central Bank. The Fed began focusing public attention on a Commerce Department inflation gauge known as the core personal consumption expenditure price index, or core PCE, under Bernanke's predecessor, Alan Greenspan, who stepped down in January 2006. Economists had determined that core inflation measures served as better predictors of overall inflation because they excluded food and energy prices, which could swing with the weather or geopolitical events. One bad frost in Florida could wipe out an orange harvest and briefly push up juice prices, or turmoil in an oil-producing nation could temporarily send fuel prices higher. But Commerce Department figures show that overall inflation persistently outstrips core inflation these days. Consumer prices, for example, rose 2.2 percent in the 12 months that ended in April, and core prices rose 2 percent. The difference may not be huge, but it worries Fed policymakers because the expectations of consumers and businesses about future price increases can be self-fulfilling -- consumers may be more willing to pay higher prices now if they expect them to keep rising, while a business may raise prices because it believes it will have to cover higher costs and wages. Expectations also are influenced by perceptions of overall inflation: Even if core prices are well-behaved, people still have to eat and buy gasoline. It's costing more to do both. Pizza Hut and Papa John's recently raised the price of their cheese pizzas and Cheesecake Factory plans to increase its menu prices because of rising dairy costs. General Mills said it would raise cereal prices this week to help offset higher grain and fuel costs. And gasoline prices have topped $3 a gallon in much of the country since early spring. According to the Labor Department, which has separate measures for inflation, energy prices were up 4.7 percent and food prices were up 3.9 percent in the 12 months that ended in May. "The core was created because food and energy prices were volatile. But when they are up and they remain up, the Fed must be very concerned," said Eugenio J. AlemÃ¡n, senior economist at Wells Fargo Bank. "If gasoline and food prices cause a change in expectations, we are doomed because the Fed will have no choice but to raise interest rates."	If investors and financial analysts could ride in the back seat of Ben S. Bernanke's 1998 Chrysler Sebring convertible, many would be whining that familiar summer refrain: "Are we there yet?"	32.297297	1	37	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601472.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601472.html	Judge Orders Prison Time for Ex-Interior Deputy	2007062719	A federal judge rejected the tearful pleas of the former second-ranking official in the Interior Department yesterday and sentenced him to 10 months in prison for a felony conviction of obstructing a Senate investigation into corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. "You are not above the law," U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle told former deputy interior secretary J. Steven Griles as he asked for forgiveness. Griles pleaded guilty in March to lying to the Senate about his relationship with Abramoff. In the plea agreement, prosecutors recommended a sentence of five months of house arrest and five months in prison. But Huvelle imposed a sterner penalty of 10 months in prison and a $30,000 fine. She said she wanted to send a message to deter wrongdoing by high-ranking government officials. Defense attorneys had asked for three months of home detention, community service and a "reasonable fine." Griles, 59, the highest-ranking federal official convicted in the Abramoff scandal, apologized for his actions and cited 24 years of public service. "This has been the most difficult time," Griles said, pausing to break down in tears, "in my life. My guilty plea has brought me great shame and embarrassment. I have lost my business, my income and, most importantly, my reputation." The judge said that years of public service were no cause for leniency. "You held a position of trust as number two in the Department of Interior, and I will hold you to a higher standard," Huvelle told Griles. "I find that, even now, you continue to minimize and try to excuse your conduct and the nature of your misstatements." After the judge left the packed courtroom, Griles sought comfort from his wife, Sue Ellen Wooldridge, a former Interior Department solicitor and former assistant attorney general. Griles, who is not cooperating with the federal investigation, was introduced to the now-convicted lobbyist by a girlfriend who ran an advocacy group co-founded by former interior secretary Gale Norton and financed by Abramoff's Indian tribal clients. The government contended that Abramoff thought that if he and his tribal clients contributed money to the group, then he would gain special access to Griles through the girlfriend, Italia Federici. Federici pleaded guilty this month to tax and perjury charges and agreed to cooperate with the government. She admitted to acting as a go-between, shuttling information and lobbying requests from Abramoff to Griles. The government alleged that Abramoff raised thousands of dollars for Federici's group -- the Council of Republicans for Environmental Advocacy (CREA) -- just before Griles became deputy secretary. The government said that Griles had asked for $100,000 for CREA and Abramoff solicited the funds from his tribal clients. Griles said that while he helped raise money earlier, he was unaware of those 2001 contributions to CREA on eve of his joining the Interior Department. He said he learned of them later when Federici stopped acting as a conduit between the lobbyist and Griles. With her brow furrowed, Huvelle expressed disbelief several times that Griles did not know that Abramoff was funding CREA at a time he was romantically involved with Federici. Griles stood in the front of the courtroom and said Abramoff was no different from any lobbyist who came before him as the top deputy to then-Secretary Norton. "I had more contact with many, many lobbyists -- more than Jack Abramoff," Griles said. Barry M. Hartman, attorney for Griles, told the court that the actions Griles took involved "normal, appropriate contacts with lobbyists," and that his only offense was not being truthful to the Senate about his relationship with Federici. Griles's attorneys disputed as "inaccurate inferences" government assertions that Griles pushed Abramoff's lobbying requests as he urged the lobbyist to hire his friends and bankroll a girlfriend's plan for a charity. But Huvelle dismissed the defense attorneys' arguments. She also questioned government lawyers at one point about whether they accepted too lenient a plea from Griles. "The agreement you have with the government is a very favorable one," Huvelle told Griles.	A federal judge rejected the tearful pleas of the former second-ranking official in the Interior Department yesterday and sentenced him to 10 months in prison for a felony conviction of obstructing a Senate investigation into corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff.	18.738095	1	42	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062600169.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062600169.html	Hey, Paris Hilton! What Are You Going to Do Now?	2007062719	She is on three years probation. What. If. She. Gets. Arrested. Again? Let's review: She goes to parties . . . for a living. Public transportation, sadly, not an option. And so reels the mind. Questions, you likely have them, but if not, do not e-mail us about obsessive media coverage of the Hilton Affair. We are so beyond that now. The vortex is too powerful. All matter in the universe? It is her plaything. Unknown life forms in a galaxy far, far away are currently scrolling through paparazzi pics. Questions: Paris Hilton is out of the clink and back in the big house. The celebrity heiress was released from county jail shortly after midnight Tuesday after serving three tumultuous weeks for repeatedly violating the terms of her probation in a drunk-driving case. So, how did she look? She looked absolutely fabulous. She changed in a hallway bathroom at the jail into a chic sage short-sleeved jacket over skinny jeans and serious heels, naturally. Lip gloss? Check. Blond hair in a braid over her right shoulder, looking very Heidi, very "Sound of Music." As opposed to her usual rather porny nightclub appearance, Hilton looked fresh-faced, almost innocent. That sucking sound? That is the vortex. Questions: What will she do with her life now that she is free? Perhaps a career in the arts. Before her release, she gave her attorney Richard Hutton a pencil drawing to deliver to the uber-celebrity-gossip Web site TMZ.com. Hilton's schoolgirl sketch showed a weird self-portrait of Hilton, with those alien doe eyes, garbed in county jail drawstring pants and smock, standing beside a pay phone (the horror), with a TV mounted to the wall containing an image of CNN's "Larry King Live" with guest host Harvey Levin, overlord and progenitor of TMZ.com. This has got to be a hoax? So we called Levin's publicist at TMZ who confirmed: It is real. (Somewhere a graduate student in psychology has just begun writing a doctoral thesis that is pure gold.) Questions: This is from a report by ABC celebrity interview doyenne Barbara Walters: "On Sunday at 3 p.m., Paris Hilton phoned me collect from jail. Prisoners must call collect. The unusual conversation came about because Kathy Hilton, Paris's mother, had phoned me, and while we were talking, Paris called on the other line. When she heard I was talking to her mother, she said she'd like to talk to me herself. She sounded tired but totally aware of what she was saying." Hilton tells Babs, "I feel as if I'm a different person." She denies wailing, sobbing, screaming in jail before her release (for one day) to home detention, but confesses, "I was not eating or sleeping. I was severely depressed and felt as if I was in a cage. I was not myself." "How are you different?" Walters gently inserts the probe. "I'm not the same person I was," Hilton says. "I used to act dumb. It was an act. I am 26 years old, and that act is no longer cute. It is not who I am, nor do I want to be that person for the young girls who looked up to me. I know now that I can make a difference, that I have the power to do that. I have been thinking that I want to do different things when I am out of here. I have become much more spiritual. God has given me this new chance." Questions? Answers. No screaming. Not dumb. An act. And now? "God," Hilton tells Walters, "has released me." Paris Almighty? Huge box office. Also: When she is not in her jail cell, Walters reported, "she can play ping pong." More to come, on CNN's "Larry King Live" on Wednesday, a battle of wits, from some of sharpest crayons in the cable box. Specifically, what is the millionaire star of "The Simple Life" thinking of next? We were thinking more crass exploitation. But no. In her jailhouse phoners with Walters and Ryan Seacrest of E! News, Hilton said she would like to donate her celebrity to the challenges of breast cancer or perhaps multiple sclerosis or maybe "a kind of Paris Hilton playhouse, where sick children might come." Also, she told Seacrest she was looking forward to "a nice meal" (a girl has gotta eat) and to "be in my own bed." As Hilton told Seacrest, "I just realize that the media used me to make fun of and be mean about," assuming, perhaps quite rightly, that a gigantic superbubble of mass amnesia had erased all memories of her "Simple Life" reality TV persona, in which she impersonated a fantastically wealthy spoiled airhead brat in order to lampoon the hog-slopping yokels. As Hilton put it to Seacrest, "Frankly, I'm sick of it. I want to use my fame in a good way." Okay. We've had our fun. Let's get real here. What if Paris Hilton did volunteer her services for the good of all peoplekind -- the Michael Jackson toy playhouse thing or maybe the celebrity MS gig -- would that not be a ninth wonder of the world? Seriously, cancer is bad. Really, really bad. Nobody wants it. And so if Paris Hilton has been saved (in jail she read the Bible and "The Secret" and the Wall Street Journal) and has grown (though some reports say she lost 10 pounds in jail), can't we all just put our national tendencies of cynicism and skepticism in the delete basket and get on the (band) wagon with Paris and cure some cancer, please? Questions: Does it really matter that during the same news cycle that TMZ.com was gorging on the Hilton Release, it also reported that her sister Nicky had been spotted partying at the Grand Resort Hotel in Athens with billionaire Hollywood spawn/boy pal David Katzenberg? Totally irrelevant. Upon her release from the slammer, Hilton was met by her mom and dad, the older heirs Kathy and Nick Hilton, and a giddily crazed crush of paparazzi, who swarmed their black SUV with cameras, pleading "Paris! Just one word! Paris," as if she were the oracle for our strange times. Hilton rolled down the window and told the press, "I'm great." She was smiling her trademark cipher smile. She did the chin dip. "Thank you for all your support," she said. She looked happy, and composed, far different from the last time she was seen in public at the court hearing that sent her back to jail, when Hilton sat trembling and twitching, and then erupted in sobs of "Mom! It's not right!" after Superior Court Judge Michael Sauer sent her back to jail. Hilton had been briefly released to home detention because L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca said she was suffering from an undisclosed "serious medical condition." At a Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors hearing Tuesday, Reuters reported, Baca dropped some hints: "I think we all in this room know something about suicide. . . . If I know something that can be done that solves the medical problem . . . What's worth more? Serving time in the county jail for driving on a suspended driver's license or a person losing their life?" After Hilton was sprung from the gritty reality show of the Lynwood women's facility, where she had spent most of her jail time in solitary confinement or in the medical ward, news helicopters circled overhead and then aerially stalked her as she left the jail and headed back toward Bel-Air. At one point, her SUV stopped and news copters captured images of the pappers leaping from their own pursuit vehicles to surround the Escalade with popping flashes that just shouted: Welcome back! For those keeping track of the math of celebrity justice, Hilton served almost 23 days in detention, counting one day of home confinement, which is longer than most inmates in the overcrowded and chaotic Los Angeles jails. She was originally sentenced to 45 days for violating her probation by driving on a suspended license after a plea bargain on an alcohol-related reckless driving beef. The time off? For good behavior. Staff writer Monica Hesse contributed to this report.	LOS ANGELES, June 26 -- She is free, but are we? She is on three years probation. What. If. She. Gets. Arrested. Again? Let's review: She goes to parties . . . for a living. Public transportation, sadly, not an option. And so reels the mind. Questions, you likely have them, but if not, do not e-m...	20.9625	0.9625	31.9375	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062602064.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062602064.html	Sprint Ad Campaign Leaves Nextel's Name in the Dust	2007062719	Sprint is wiping Nextel from its slogan. After their merger, Sprint Nextel embarked on what analysts said was a disastrous marketing campaign. And problems with Nextel's network prompted an exodus of customers. So now, the Reston company is hoping to reinvent its image around a new tagline -- "Sprint ahead" -- that ignores Nextel. It will also eliminate the Nextel name from the sponsorship of the main NASCAR racing series, one of Nextel's most successful branding campaigns before the merger. Starting next year, the Nextel Cup will be the NASCAR Sprint Cup. New television commercials, online ads, billboards and movie theater ads will roll out Sunday at a critical time for the company. In addition to trying to improve the reputation of its network, Sprint is attempting to stave off competition from AT&T and Verizon Wireless, which have benefited from Sprint's steady loss of customers. "This is the most important initiative the company's undertaken since the merger" in 2005, said Michael Nelson, an analyst with the Stanford Group, a New York investment firm. "This is going to be a defining moment in whether they can turn around their business." It's particularly important for Sprint to resonate with younger customers, especially considering the highly anticipated launch of Apple's iPhone two days before Sprint's campaign begins, Nelson said. "The timing is certainly not coincidental," he said of Sprint's campaign. "Sprint could really be left out in the cold." Wall Street has sharply criticized Sprint's lack of distinctive marketing since the merger. The companies, which use different technologies, had strong identities on their own before their union, but analysts say customers got confused by the combined company's brand. While Cingular/AT&T Wireless pushed its "raising the bar" campaign after its 2004 merger and Verizon Wireless's advertising stressed its reputation for good service, Sprint Nextel settled on "Sprint, together with Nextel." The new campaign, developed by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners of San Francisco, will focus on Sprint's data network. The ads drop Sprint's yellow color and feature neon-hued streaks of light, touting the "magic screen you carry in your pocket." "The wireless industry focuses on the shortcomings in our category -- dropped calls, bad rate plans and poor coverage," said Michelle Emerson, vice president of brand marketing and integration for Sprint. "We're trying to leave that behind and start a new conversation about Sprint." Sprint declined to disclose how much it is spending on its campaign, but officials said it would roughly match its spending on its post-merger advertising campaign.	Sprint is wiping Nextel from its slogan. After their merger, Sprint Nextel embarked on what analysts said was a disastrous marketing campaign. And problems with Nextel's network prompted an exodus of customers.	13.864865	1	24.459459	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062602224.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062602224.html	The Bearing Question: Which Way Will Grunfeld Go?	2007062719	Ernie Grunfeld has less than 48 hours to make a decision, and it has little to do with picking 16th tomorrow. The NBA draft is small change next to the real dilemma. Grunfeld has to ask himself whether he truly believes the Wizards could have replaced Cleveland in the NBA Finals if Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler had been healthy. That means not drastically altering the current roster. Or does Grunfeld see what most saw, the team that was slip-sliding away at the end of the season, whose defensive breakdowns made it impossible for the Wizards to contend, much less get out of the first round? Which end of the argument the franchise's architect comes down on -- what Grunfeld decides -- means everything to Washington's future. Including the seminal question hanging over next season: Does Gilbert stay or go? Arenas says opting out of his contract next summer is only a business decision. But at 25 years old, he is entering the prime of his career. He doesn't want to spend his best years watching the playoffs on TNT. If, at the end of next season, he feels the Wizards are not demonstrably closer to winning a title than they are at this minute, he would be foolish to stay. And that's where Grunfeld comes in. His need for change or his pledge to continuity will directly impact his star's decision. In order, he needs to find a gem or swing a deal tomorrow night, give the appearance of an upgrade from last season by October and keep the most important player in modern franchise history happy. "Gilbert is happy," Grunfeld said yesterday in a telephone interview. "He likes the city. He loves the fans and the fans love him. He wants to win. We have to win. Simple as that. That takes care of everything." Dynamics are shifting quickly these days at Verizon Center. Next week Grunfeld will officially be named team president, inheriting the title from the outgoing Susan O'Malley, Abe Pollin's chief confidant who spent more than 20 years with the team. It won't change Grunfeld's job description. But there is no question he has the implicit trust of the man team employees call Mr. Pollin. Grunfeld's power has consolidated. If the Wizards don't contend for the Eastern Conference title next season and the Eddie and Ernie Show were to end after five years, it's safe to say Coach Eddie Jordan would be the one changing jobs. Jordan's assistant coaches have yet to be given contract extensions for the upcoming season. Jordan wanted extensions for them last season after he signed an extension. Citing club policy, the Wizards vetoed the idea but made it clear Jordan would have on his staff whom he wanted. Grunfeld plans to remedy the problem after the draft, but let's be clear: Jordan and his staff don't have much of a leash this season. Fairly or not, they will be held accountable more than the front office or the team's stars for any struggles.	Thursday's NBA draft is small potatoes next to the Wizards' real dilemma, which is deciding whether the team as constituted canÂ be a serious contender.	19.5	0.7	1.433333	medium	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062700995.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062700995.html	Too Much Video Gaming Not Addiction, Yet	2007062719	CHICAGO -- The American Medical Association on Wednesday backed off calling excessive video-game playing a formal psychiatric addiction, saying instead that more research is needed. A report prepared for the AMA's annual policy meeting had sought to strongly encourage that video-game addiction be included in a widely used diagnostic manual of psychiatric illnesses. AMA delegates instead adopted a watered-down measure declaring that while overuse of video games and online games can be a problem for children and adults, calling it a formal addiction would be premature. "While more study is needed on the addictive potential of video games, the AMA remains concerned about the behavioral, health and societal effects of video game and Internet overuse," said Dr. Ronald Davis, AMA's president. "We urge parents to closely monitor children's use of video games and the Internet." Despite a lack of scientific proof, Jacob Schulist, 14, of Hales Corners, Wis., says he's certain he was addicted to video games _ and that the AMA's vote was misguided. Until about two months ago, when he discovered a support group called On-Line Gamers Anonymous, Jacob said he played online fantasy video games for 10 hours straight some days. He said his habit got so severe that he quit spending time with family and friends. "My grades were horrible, I failed the entire first semester" this past school year because of excessive video-game playing, he said. "It's like they're your life." Delegates voted to have the AMA encourage more research on the issue, including seeking studies on what amount of video-game playing and other "screen time" is appropriate for children. Under the new policy, the AMA also will send the revised video-game measure to the American Psychiatric Association, asking it to consider the full report in its diagnostic manual; the next edition is to be completed in 2012. Dr. Louis Kraus, a psychiatric association spokesman, said the report will be a helpful resource. The AMA's report says up to 90 percent of American youngsters play video games and that up to 15 percent of them _ more than 5 million kids _ might be addicted.	CHICAGO -- The American Medical Association on Wednesday backed off calling excessive video-game playing a formal psychiatric addiction, saying instead that more research is needed.	14.758621	1	29	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062602339.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062602339.html	Blacks in Fairfax, Montgomery Outdo U.S. Peers in AP	2007062719	Black students in Montgomery and Fairfax high schools are far more successful in Advanced Placement testing than their peers in nine of the 10 school systems in the nation with the largest black populations, according to a Washington Post analysis. Participation in the AP program has more than doubled in 10 years. But this surge in college-preparatory testing has not reached most African American students, according to a review of 2006 exam results in 30 school systems with about 5,000 or more black high school students. Still, black students in both Montgomery and Fairfax counties passed AP tests in spring 2006 at the rate of more than eight tests for every 100 black students enrolled in the high school grades, the analysis found. That is far greater than the success rate of African Americans nationwide, who produced about one passing AP test for every 100 students. None of the other school systems studied produced successful AP tests at even half the rate of Maryland's and Virginia's largest school systems. Jerry D. Weast, Montgomery's superintendent, said that the county's black students generated a larger number of passing AP tests last year -- 851 exams from 10,326 students -- than any other school system in the nation except New York City, although they trail whites and Asians in Montgomery. AP experts believe Weast, although the claim is difficult to prove, because each system's scores are proprietary. School districts provided their AP data to The Post. "Eight years ago, we started knocking down barriers and eliminating prerequisites so more African American students could enroll in rigorous AP courses," Weast said, "because the bottom line is that AP is the way to go. It is the best way to prepare kids for success in college." Fairfax, with 5,771 black high school students, had 494 passing tests from African Americans. The AP program began in 1955 as a means for top high school students to take college courses. A national surge in AP testing began in the late 1990s as a quest for greater rigor for a broader spectrum of high school students. Participation among black students has tripled in 10 years. But the numbers were so low 10 years ago that by 2006, none of the largest school systems in the country could meet the goal of having 1,000 passing tests from black students. In the 1 million-student New York City system, the nation's largest, black students produced 987 AP tests that earned scores of 3 or higher on the five-point AP grading scale in 2006. Philadelphia yielded 144 passing AP tests from black students. District schools had 108. Four other school systems in the Washington and Baltimore suburbs with large black populations -- Prince George's County, Baltimore County and Anne Arundel County in Maryland and Prince William County in Virginia -- each outperformed black students in the nation as a whole in AP testing, although none approached the national average for all public school students. Baltimore City, on the other hand, yielded only 90 passing AP tests from a population of more than 20,000 black high school students.	Black students in Montgomery and Fairfax high schools are far more successful in Advanced Placement testing than their peers in nine of the 10 school systems in the nation with the largest black populations, according to a Washington Post analysis.	13.627907	0.976744	20.697674	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601878.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601878.html	Council Mostly Applauds Nominee	2007062719	D.C. Council members and city leaders yesterday gushed praise on Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's nominee to take over the $2.3 billion public school modernization program, but some were highly critical of the mayor for the secrecy with which he made the choice. Council members questioned Allan Y. Lew during a public roundtable on his nomination and voiced displeasure with Fenty's lack of consultation in the process for choosing Lew and other appointees. In recent weeks, some council members have complained that they were blindsided by Fenty (D) and received short notice or none at all about the nominations of Lew and Michelle A. Rhee to be school chancellor. The council is scheduled to vote on their confirmations July 10. "I'm really angry about the process. Not the nominee. The process," said council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8). "I just want to go on the record that I don't like that." Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray (D) asked Lew why he did not talk to council members about the fact that he was being plucked for the new position, especially since the $611 million Washington Nationals stadium project, which Lew is responsible for as executive director of the D.C. Sports and Entertainment Commission, could have been left in limbo. "I think out of respect for the mayor's office," Lew said. "What about respect for the council?" Gray asked. Lew said he expected the mayor's office to reach out to the council. Lew managed the construction of the Washington Convention Center in addition to the baseball stadium project -- two big-ticket items that city leaders consider successes so far. Council member Carol Schwartz (R-At Large) said she was pleased when she learned that Lew was the nominee to head the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization -- a new department established by Fenty's school takeover plan. Schwartz said she thought: "Gosh, that's just the kind of expertise we need. I wish you were two people." As chief of the schools modernization, Lew would be paid $275,000 a year, a raise of $25,000 from his sports commission job. He said he plans to manage school construction with the same care he has used with past projects. Lew's duties would include creating the construction office from scratch. He said he would want to operate initially out of trailers at RFK Stadium and would have about 35 full-time employees, including a general counsel and a chief financial officer. Lew said he is working with City Administrator Dan Tangherlini to find $2 million to $3 million in the D.C. budget to finance the office for the remainder of fiscal 2007. Gray said in an interview that any change in the budget would need to get council approval. Lew said he has visited several schools and has seen the damage done by years of neglect. The schools will need an aggressive maintenance program to preserve the school renovations, he said. "If we don't build in the various warranties . . . three years, two years from now, we will be revisiting the same schools," he said. "It's almost like not changing the oil in your car. The engine dies." "That's how we've managed the schools for many, many years," Lew said. Council member Tommy Wells (D-Ward 6), a former school board member, reminded Lew that he has never been in charge of building a school. "It's different. It's like building a hospital," he said, noting that Lew will need someone on staff who knows how to construct schools. Lew, who said in earlier testimony that he relies on private contractors, said that if confirmed, he would hire experts in school construction.	D.C. Council members and city leaders yesterday gushed praise on Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's nominee to take over the $2.3 billion public school modernization program, but some were highly critical of the mayor for the secrecy with which he made the choice.	16	1	46	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601837.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601837.html	Calling the Faithful To Become a Flock	2007062719	Joel Cohen wanted his kids to receive instruction in their Jewish faith. But the closest synagogue was half an hour from his house in Waldorf. So Cohen did what any good dad would do: He opened the phone book and called everyone he could find in the area with a Jewish-sounding name, hoping that others might help him form a social group to teach the Torah. More than 15 years later, members of that original Charles County group plan to break ground for a synagogue in Waldorf in August. The building will mark the culmination of steady growth within small Jewish congregations, an increase in numbers that has been a piece of the Southern Maryland region's swelling population. From Waldorf to Lexington Park to Upper Marlboro, small, close-knit Jewish congregations are becoming more visible as a decade of rapid development brings suburbanization and a more diverse population to the area. Quantifying the growth of Southern Maryland's Jewish population is difficult. The U.S. Census Bureau does not collect religious affiliation data, and the National Jewish Population Survey does not break down data to geographic regions as small as Southern Maryland. The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington published a study in 2003 about Jews living in Washington, Maryland and Virginia, but it did not examine Charles, St. Mary's or Calvert counties. But experts and Jewish congregation members agree that the Jewish population in those three jurisdictions is growing. Two congregations' plans to build synagogues in or near Southern Maryland appear to support that view. Cohen's congregation, Sha'are Shalom, started with about a dozen memberships 15 years ago and now counts 36, many of them families. A Calvert congregation, Beit Chaverim, started with about 20 memberships about 2000 and now has 36. Nearby in Prince George's County, the Shaare Tikvah congregation sold the Temple Hills synagogue it had occupied since 1967 and plans to erect a building in Upper Marlboro to more effectively target the budding Jewish presence in Southern Maryland. It has 34 memberships, including many families. And the Beth Israel congregation in Lexington Park has about 55 memberships, 40 of them families. After a boost when the Patuxent River Naval Air Station expanded in the late 1990s, the St. Mary's group has maintained steady numbers and, like all the congregations, can count many more Jews in Southern Maryland who are not official members. Southern Maryland's small congregations have little resemblance to their big-city counterparts that often can count more than 1,000 dues-paying members and run six simultaneous adult education classes. Instead, these are groups of no more than 60 families that meet in such places as an Episcopal church's classrooms or at members' homes. Some use part-time rabbis or rabbinical students. All of them struggle with the fact that it requires serious commitment to be a Jew in Southern Maryland. Some of the amenities that come with big-city life, such as Kosher delis, good rye bread and Jewish neighbors, are few and far between. "Even the supermarkets that do try to provide certain things, especially before Passover, they don't get it," said Lisa Shender, who moved to St. Mary's from near Philadelphia and is membership coordinator for Beth Israel. "Coming down here, we found ourselves in a distinct minority. It was quite a change." Cohen now works as an economist near Columbus, Ohio, where he belongs to a congregation of about 550 members. He plays down his phone book exploits, but he remembers the challenges that his small congregation in Waldorf faced in its infancy -- hashing out whether to teach children about the Holocaust, deciding how important it was to provide adult and youth classes and struggling to survive in an area with very few Jews. For Cohen, those were the most daunting obstacles. By comparison, he said, calling 60 strangers and asking if they wanted to form a Jewish group in Southern Maryland was easy. Cohen's experience is typical of small congregations, said Karen Falk, curator of the Jewish Museum of Maryland in Baltimore. She conducted a study of small Jewish communities in Southern Maryland and found that the groups were driven by the dedication of their key members, who often join or form congregations so their children can receive Jewish instruction.	Joel Cohen wanted his kids to receive instruction in their Jewish faith. But the closest synagogue was half an hour from his house in Waldorf. So Cohen did what any good dad would do: He opened the phone book and called everyone he could find in the area with a Jewish-sounding name, hoping that...	13.344262	0.983607	59.016393	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/13/DI2007061300789.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/13/DI2007061300789.html	Celebrity Weddings	2007062319	"Desperate Housewife" Eva Longoria plans to marry boyfriend Tony Parker on what is quickly becoming the most popular wedding date of the year, July 7, 2007, and a handful of other bold-name brides are planning weddings in the coming months. Many of them, including Salma Hayek and Jaime Pressley, will walk the aisle in maternity wear while several others have surprised the press with post-wedding announcements. Recently wed stars include Amy Winehouse, Claire Forlani, Lisa Ling and Brittany Murphy. Who else is planning a wedding in the coming months? What are the latest trends in celebrity wedding style? Brides.com editor in chief Theresa DiMasi will be online Wednesday, June 20, at 2 p.m. ET to discuss this summer's crop of celebrity brides, celebrity wedding style and this summer's hot wedding date: 7/7/07. Submit your questions or comments before or during the discussion. Brides.com serves as the online home for Brides, Modern Bride and Elegant Bride magazines. DiMasi was previously managing editor at Conde Net's Epicurious.com, Concierge.com, Style.com, Men Style.com and YM.com, where she won 8 webby awards in three years. washingtonpost.com: Theresa, welcome back to washingtonpost.com. We're talking celebrity weddings and trends today. We know Eva Longoria and Tony Parker are planning to tie the knot on what has become one of the most popular wedding dates this year -- 7.7.07. Who else can we expect to walk down the aisle this summer and what's all this fuss about 7.7.07 anyway? It's a pleasure to be back. Yes, the wedding of Eva Longoria and Tony Parker is indeed the big celebrity wedding of the summer, at least until now... Other celebrities that are engaged and possibly getting married this summer are Salma Hayek, Katherine Heigl, Ellen Pompeo, Kate Walsh, Jamie Pressley, Beth Ostrovsky, and Isla Fisher. 7/7/07 is a lucky day. many couples want their day to be perfect and what better way to start their life together than having a little luck on their side. Also, according to our Brides.com readers, it is an easy day for the groom to remember come anniversary time. Washington, D.C.: I thought Katie Holmes' dress was gorgeous and have been looking for one just like it. Can you tell me who designed it, and I guess more importantly, which designers have been knocking it off? (I want the look but don't know if I could afford the price tag!) Theresa DiMasi: Katie's dress was indeed gorgeous. She wore an off the shoulder ivory lace Armani. I would recommend going to our dress gallery and searching through our many dresses to find similar cuts and styles, such as off the shoulder gowns. ABS is famously known for doing red carpet knockoffs so it is definitely a place to start looking. Washington, D.C.: What theme are you expecting at Eva Longoria's wedding with her and Tony Parker coming from two different cultures? Theresa DiMasi: We know the wedding is taking place in France, outside of Paris at the Chateau de Chantilly. Tony grew up in France so i would expect some touches of both cultures in the wedding day festivities. Eva is stylish and daring in her choice of red carpet attire so I'm guessing that the theme and style of her wedding will reflect her personal tastes. New York, N.Y.: Are you seeing any interesting trends develop at celebrity weddings? What's the next big thing to trickle down to us average folk? Theresa DiMasi: Yes, celebrities are having two weddings and many are having more than one dress. Elizabeth Hurley and Gwen Stefani are two examples. We're seeing brides are treating their wedding day like a red carpet event--getting indulgent spa treatments like eyelash extensions, teeth whitening and more. Arlington, Va.: I've been planning my wedding for about a year and am looking for funky, fun but romantic centerpiece ideas for the tables. Is there anything that celebrities (or anyone else for that matter) have done lately that's really good and perhaps, unusual? Theresa DiMasi: More and more brides are going for an organic look with centerpiece that incorporate fruits and even vegetables. Tall vases filled with lemon, lime and orange slices are fresh and colorful for summer weddings and vases filled with crisp green apples are a great way to play up an autumnal look for a fall wedding. You can even embellish a more traditional-looking floral centerpiece with accents such as berries, twine--even artichokes! Other popular choices are vases filled with vibrant-colored glass pebbles, topped off with equally vibrant blooms. What is prompting the interest in this date? I would get an interest in 02/02/02 for instance because of the whole "two of us" concept but who cares about three sevens? I don't get the significance. Furthermore, as someone who married on a day in November -- it is a day that only really ends up mattering to you and him and the family and friends that send you cards each year. Theresa DiMasi:7/7/07 is a Saturday in July, a very popular month to get married. It is also over a holiday weekend. Many couples just happened to choose this date for these reasons. The number 8 is a very popular number in Chinese culture so we're expecting 8/8/08 to be as popular a wedding date. Alexandria, Va: I loved, loved, loved Gwen Stefani's wedding gown. The splash of color was brilliant. I'd love to have something similar but with a blue splash/fade at the bottom and a very low cut back. (I figure the veil will act as a barrier during the ceremony and then sexy disco mama comes out for the reception.) Have you seen similar designs anywhere else or have suggestions. Oh, and $1,000 or less please (preferably, $600 or less). Tall order, but thanks! Theresa DiMasi: Gwen Stefani wore a lovely John Galliano dress. Color is definitely a trend these days, with soft pinks and blues being the most popular. You might want to look at the collections from David's Bridal or Demetrios. Another way to incorporate color is a beautiful sash or belt--also very popular these days. Arlington, Va.: Hi! I am getting married this September and I was wondering what little things we can incorporate into our wedding/reception to make it seem as glamorous as celebrity weddings? Obviously we do not have their bank account though but I'm sure little details can make it beautiful -- I'm not the most creative bride but I'm trying! Theresa DiMasi: First of all, congratulations. And you are absolutely right. Little touches make the difference. For your dress you can choose something more va-va-voom like a slinky fishtail or with a corset. Wear your hair long and wavy. Keep the flowers exotic and simple -- not complicated bouquets or centerpieces. A single flower or color. Guests placecard holders can also be the favor they take home. Rule of thumb: if you are on a limited budget, decide what's important to you and splurge on that. For example, use an iPod mix in place of a band if you want to splurge on the food. Washington, D.C.: Where is the best place to host a destination wedding if I want to marry in celebrity style? Theresa DiMasi: Take your cue from Eva Longoria, Katie Holmes, Madonna and Gwen Stefani and get married in a castle in Europe. The romance is built right in. Arlington, Va.: Besides Tony Parker and Eva Longoria, do you anticipate any big celeb weddings in the near future? Seems like sort of a slow summer for celebrity marriages. Maybe Brangelina will shock us all? Theresa DiMasi: It is all speculation because celebrities in general like to keep their lives private but I would not be surprised to hear of more engagments--Vanessa Minnillo, Nicole Ritchie... Washington, D.C.: Theresa, I'll be in a wedding next week and have medium length wavy hair. I'm at a total loss as to how to style it so it looks a little glammed up for the wedding but not so glam that I turn into a helmet head or look completely unlike myself. Theresa DiMasi: You are looking for a glamorous style. I recommend something swept to the side, with a beautiful crystal or retro-inspired clip (or even a feather). Take a look at our hairstyles gallery for inspiration. Silver Spring, Md.: Like any other wedding, celeb weddings are all about the bride, right? Are there any new and exciting groom traditions or trends I should be aware of? Theresa DiMasi: The new exciting trend we're seeing is in grooms choosing unique and public ways to propose. Grooms are going all out. For example, Nick Cannon proposed to girlfriend and Victoria's Secret model Selita Ebanks in Times Square on the Jumbotron. Washington, D.C.: So I read where Rod Stewart's new wife Penny Lancaster wore a mini-dress as her wedding gown. How trashy is that? Theresa DiMasi: For some brides wearing a short dress is an expression of their personal style. Many wear a more modest gown for the ceremony and choose a fun, party dress for the reception. Washington, D.C.: Do you not think its strange that Eva Longoria is going all out of the way for a second wedding? What is the deal with having multiple lavish ceremonies (first, second, and third weddings ala Jennifer Lopez) now days. Theresa DiMasi: Just because things didn't work out the first time it doesn't mean you can't go all out for a second wedding. Eva eloped the first time and probably wants to do something more traditional this time. Tony is also young, it is his first marriage, so they both probably want to have a classic wedding. Richmond, Va.: Wow. You have the coolest job ever. But do you ever get tired of living and breathing weddings 24/7? Oh ya, a celebrity wedding question -- whose was the most extravagant celeb wedding ever? Theresa DiMasi: Thank you. I am lucky to have the coolest job ever. And no, I never get tired of talking about weddings! It's fun and it's the happiest time in a person's life. The most extravagent wedding? In the early 50s many celeb weddings were designed by the big movie studios, but many consider Lady Diana marrying Prince Charles as the most extravagent wedding. The wedding of the century. Clifton, Va.: Does Salma Hayek have a definite wedding date or do you know if she's planning on marrying before or after the baby is born? Also, do you know of any sites that maintain an upcoming celebrity wedding calendar? I would love that. Theresa DiMasi: Salma is due this summer and there are rumors she is planning a December wedding. It would give her time to adjust after the baby is born. This is about the same amount of time we saw Katie Holmes take, between the birth of Suri and her wedding in Italy. However, nothing is confirmed. New York, N.Y.: Have you attended any celebrity weddings? New York, N.Y.: I just got engaged and everyone is pressuring me about where I am going to register. I don't even know what to register for since my fiance and I feel like we already have a ton of stuff. What are some cool things we should definitely put on our list? Theresa DiMasi: Two great choices: setting up a travel registry so your guests can contribute toward your honeymoon. Or how about having guests donate to your favorite charity. Laurel, Md.: I love color, but I am having trouble deciding on a color theme for April 2008 wedding. I thought I was going to do pink and brown before I even got engaged, but I am so over that combo now. What do you suggest that will look cool for that time of year? Theresa DiMasi: For an April wedding, play up the sping-is-in-the-air mood with refreshing, fun color combos like teal and ivory or a palette of soft greens. The key is complementing a more vibrant hue with a flattering neutral such as a taupe or ivory. The result is elegant yet modern. Topanga, Calif.: OK, I am not engaged -- yet! Keeping my fingers crossed! But, how do I make sure my boyfriend gets me the ring I really want? I am so not materialistic, but it's jewelry I plan on wearing for the rest of my life, so I'd better love it! He's such a great guy and I don't want to drive him crazy. I really need a subtle, classy way to let him know the kind of ring that will make me happy. Theresa DiMasi: First of all, 75% of women have direct input into their engagement ring so don't feel bad! You can drop subtle hints like "I like Platinum." Or "If I were to get engaged soon, I'd choose a princess-cut diamond ring." It's in everybody's interest that you like the ring. Washington, D.C.: What aspects of the wedding do you recommend you splurge on and the others where you can skimp? Theresa DiMasi: It's a matter of choice. We're seeing music as one area where couples can save money. They opt for an iPod mix instead of a band. Also, less people are doing favors. There are lots of budget-cutting tips. For example, using flowers in season, or sticking to one color. Our budget tools helps you manage your costs. My recommendation for a splurge is videography. It's a great way to share your day with famiy and friends and a great keepsake. Silver Spring, Md.: What are your top 5 All-time celebrity weddings? Theresa DiMasi: Madonna and Guy Ritchie Lady Di and Prince Charles Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale Elvis Presley and Priscilla Beaulieu Carolyn Bessette and John F. Kennedy, Jr. Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban Upper Marlboro, Md.: What do you wear to a formal black tie wedding in November in Boston? Theresa DiMasi: If you are the bride sleeves, jacket or a warm wrap is always a good choice. If you are the guest you can choose a floor-length gown or even a cocktail dress as long as fabric and color work. Stay away from summery fabrics such as linen. Dundalk, Md.: Why did Liev Schreiber say he and Naomi Watts were married if they weren't? Is he some kind of doofus? Theresa DiMasi: Celebrities closely guard their personal information. Could be that he was joking. Perhaps he was really excited about his upcoming nuptials or he wanted to throw people off the trail. I really need a subtle, classy way to let him know the kind of ring that will make me happy.: Why not talk to him about marriage and when you reach agreement say "great, let's go ring shopping!" Theresa DiMasi: I think it depends on your boyfriend. Some guys are ok with hearing suggestions loud and clear. Others will pick up on subtle hints. I would think about your boyfriend's style and choose a way that works for him. Green with Envy: What did you think about Kelis' green wedding dress when she married Nas? I thought it was fab! Theresa DiMasi: It totally fit her personality. Theresa DiMasi: Thank you all for having me. Good luck on your wedding planning and celeb watching. Check out Brides.com for all your wedding planning needs. Talk soon-- Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online 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.	Brides.com editor in chief Theresa DiMasi discusses this summer's spate of celebrity brides, celebrity wedding style and this summer's hot wedding date: 7/7/07.	111.071429	0.928571	11.928571	high	medium	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061901813.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061901813.html	Mystery Of the Girl Sleuth	2007062319	Among my many failings as a parent has been my inability to convince my daughters to read Nancy Drew. As a child, I didn't so much read Nancy Drew mysteries as devour them, from yellow cover to yellow cover. I would no sooner be done with "The Secret in the Old Attic" than I would start in on "The Mystery of the Tolling Bell." I wanted to Be Like Nancy -- who wouldn't? She was smart and adventuresome, quick-thinking and fearless, the epitome of independence in her sporty blue roadster. Perhaps most important for a girl reading Nancy in the early 1960s, she showed that girls could have it all, complete with a wardrobe of sweater sets and sheaths, and a boyfriend, the endlessly tolerant Ned Nickerson, who never got in the way of her sleuthing. "Nancy manages the almost impossible feat of being wholesomely 'feminine' -- glamorous, gracious, stylish, tactful -- while also proving herself strong, resourceful, and bold," novelist Bobbie Ann Mason wrote in "The Girl Sleuth." Years after I was officially too old for Nancy, I would sometimes go down to the basement -- alas, no secret passageway -- and spend a cozy afternoon curled up with Nancy. I was not, of course, alone in this passion. Conceived by a man but, for the most part, written by women under the pseudonym Carolyn Keene, Nancy has sold more than 200 million copies since 1930. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has attributed her feminist streak to "growing up on Nancy Drew." "Here was somebody who was doing things," Ginsburg told me. "She was fearless. She was what every girl would like to be." The Somali Dutch feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali had the same reaction decades later. "From the time I started reading novels of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys, I wanted to be like Nancy Drew," she told "60 Minutes." So when I had daughters, I was sure it was a matter of time before Nancy became part of their lives. Yet I had no luck. Perhaps it was the old-fashioned design I find so comforting and familiar that turned them off -- the fusty typeface, the stylized cover paintings of titian-haired Nancy in sensible shirtdress. Now, my 12-year-old is irretrievably beyond the Nancy zone. She is deep into a truly odious series, the Clique books, about a group of popular rich girls, which seem to be more product placement than novel. She just finished a book called "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah!" Nancy Drew, it's safe to say, didn't know from bat mitzvahs. But the Nancy Drew movie has come along in time for Julia, 10. Anything that gets turned into a movie can't be that bad, even if your mother likes it. And so, in the past few weeks, Julia has started reading Nancy -- first, "The Secret of the Old Clock," now, "The Hidden Staircase." Julia and I went to see the movie last week. I was braced to hate it; the movie is set in the present, Nancy leaves River Heights for California, and I imagined Nancy turned Valley Girl. Omigod, it's a clue! Instead, the creators let Nancy be Nancy, with her Peter Pan collars, knee socks and penny loafers, but also with a laptop and iPod. I hope the movie will generate more Nancy readers, but I have a theory about why the series is not as popular among girls today as in my generation or Justice Ginsburg's. It came to me as Julia and I were watching the most recent Democratic candidate debate. Hillary Clinton-- yes, Nancy Drew was her favorite as a girl, too -- began to talk about "when I become president." Truth is, whenever I hear the senator say that, I cringe. It sounds, to my 40-something ear, awfully presumptuous, the kind of boasting that nice girls don't do. But Julia had a different reaction. "That was good," she pronounced, unprompted. "It made her seem very confident, like she was in charge." This, I think, is the difference between her generation and those that have gone before: Girls now don't need Nancy Drew. They know what we had to learn -- that self-confidence is something to celebrate, not suppress; that they don't need to apologize for being assertive, or even, heaven forbid, ambitious. For us, Nancy Drew was revolutionary. Today, she's the new normal. Subscribe to the podcast of this column here. The writer's e-mail address is marcusr@washpost.com.	Nancy Drew and the Mystery of the Changing Demographic.	92.9	0.8	2.6	high	medium	mixed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/05/24/DI2007052401168.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/05/24/DI2007052401168.html	Goss's Garage - washingtonpost.com	2007062319	He visits right here once a month to answer questions about fixing your car. For more auto advice and industry news, visit our Cars section. I'm gettin an error code on my Volvo, 4801, which indicates failure of the 3 way converter. O2 sensors are new, PCV service has been done. Volvo tells me that the cat is only warranteed for 8/80000. I've had other cars with much more mileage (87000) and never had to replace a converter. The cost for the job will be around $1500. Seems to me that Volvo quality has sunk since Ford has been in the picture. Thanks for letting me vent. Pat Goss: Seems to me that Volvo quality has improved since Ford has had a say in their design. The first thing to consider is do you really need a converter? A code does not tell what is wrong only what is being affected by what is wrong. To find the real culprit it is necessary to run the diagnostic routine that matches the code. The routine will tell what is actually going on. The only thing the code indicates is a lack of activity in the converter and that can be caused by many things. The most common one we find is dirty fuel injectors from lack of maintenance or cheap gas. At any rate I would have someone perform the diagnostic routine to verify cobnverter function and if the converter is actually bad they sometimes are (on all cars) look into other sources for the parts. Alexandria, Va.: I have a 1999 Honda Civic. At my last dealer service appointment, I was told that my rear trailer arm bushings were starting to split. What are rear trailer arm bushings? Can they be repaired, or do they have to be replaced? Pat Goss: The term is trailing arm and they are metal pieces that hold the rear wheels in position. But just because there are cracks in the rubber doesn't automatically mean you need to replace them. If the cracks are only in the exposed part of the rubber and are not allowing excess movement of the wheels they probably do not nedd to be replaced. The exposed part of the rubber almost always has cracks but they are usually cosmetic not structural. I would get a second opinion to be on the safe side. If they do have structutral damage they need to be replaced immediately. I have recently had two flat tires on my car. I don't drive the car very much and in both cases the car was fine when I parked it and when I came out the next time a tire was flat. Is having a car sit for several weeks more likely to make the tires go flat? I don't think I have started driving around places where I am more likely to drive over nails or other debris. My wife's car also recently had a nail in it and had to be plugged. Any thoughts? Pat Goss: Flat tires always mean one thing --- a leak! True, tires will self-deflate over time but that time is usually many months to a couple of years. You need to have someone find and fix the leaks. Olney, Md.: I bought a new 2007 Camry last September, and from the get-go, acceleration hasn't felt right, as if the transmission has a problem or there's something wrong with the gas line. When you push down the gas pedal at slower speeds, you just get a sensation that you're not going to go. The dealer's body shop tells me that it's "normal" for the 2007 Camry's due to a feature that helps with gas mileage. Thoughts? Pat Goss: Not really. At least not as far as a cure goes but I get a ton of compalints about poor performance on newer Camry's. Vienna, Va.: Hi Pat! I hope you take this question..my sister has a 2006 Hyundai Sonata. Just recently, the car will randomly start to shudder and shake, and the check engine light will come on. When we turn the car off for a few minutes and then turn it back on, it'll be ok, but the check engine light will remain on. This has happened about three times now; the first two times, my sister took it to the dealership the next day and they had no idea what was wrong with it. Unfortunately, it's always happened at a time when she couldn't go straight to the dealership. The third time, she wasn't able to go to the dealership until two days after it happened, and by that time, the check engine light had gone off. Do you know what this could possibly be? Thanks so much! Pat Goss: Unfortunately no. There are hundreds of things that could cause such symptoms but --- the dealer is feeding her a story if the light was on when the car arrived at their door. With the light on there should have been a readable code which would have told them the affected area of the car. How can I tell if my car has diff whine? I think my new car has it. What are the symptoms? My car's all wheel drive (Audi quattro). Is it easy to fix? My dealership thinks it's normal. Pat Goss: Whine is nothing more than abnormal noise. So if there is any abnormal noise coming from the differential (actually any noticeable noise) you have a differential problem that needs attention. Clunker, Carville: Hi Pat. I've been driving a 91 Escort with 113k miles for about four months (manual transmission and none of those frivolities like air conditioning or power steering!). I'm getting ready to move, and am wondering if I should try to drive it a thousand miles to a new home or not. Previous owners took good care of it, including regular oil changes and a new radiator, and as long as it's running, I'm tempted to keep driving it. When I get it checked out pre-move, what should I have them look for? At this stage in its life, what starts to go wrong? (Or maybe the better question is "What DOESN'T start to go wrong?") Thanks for your help. Pat Goss: You have possibly fallen ito the mistaken notion that miles or age drirectly relate to condition and reliability. They do not! Condition is all that relates to condition. I have seen cars with 200,000 miles in far better condition than cars with 20,000 miiles. Get the car checked thouroughly checked before heading out and if the car is in good condition you should do fine. Also remember that most folks think nothing of driving an older car 1,000 miles around town but panic at the thought of a 1,000 highway. In reality the highwy miles are actually much easier on a car than the city miles. Chantilly, Va.: Our son is going overseas for a year and will be leaving his F250 diesel. What should I do to keep it in good shape? I plan drive it short distances every week or so but wonder about other routine maintenance. Pat Goss: Routine maintenance should be performed on time intervals as oppoised to mileage. Also it should be driven, not just started, for at least twenty to thirty minutes weekly for best protection. I presume he is in the military and if so please tell him THANKS!!! Bethesda, Md.:'03 Acura TL with 50,000 miles has developed a bit of hesitation on shifting, particularly at around 20 mph. I know that there have been issues with the transmission on this model - and there was a recall that was done a couple of years ago. In case it turns out to be a major problem, am I better off taking it to the dealer or to an independent transmission shop? Pat Goss: Take it to the dealer as you may be covered by one of the Honda customer satisfaction programs. Washington, D.C.: I am considering purchasing a 1990 Honda Accord EX that is being sold by a private owner.It has 200,000 mi and I have been told that the timing belt has been changed recently, should I consider buying it even though it has high mileage and what should I be looking for in considering or not considering this vehicle? The cost is $1,600 Pat Goss: Hard to say. There is a lot more to a car than a timing belt and I would have to know the condition of all the other parts as well. The only way to make a decision is to have the car thoroughly checked --- and I mean everything. At its age if it doesn't have a new radiator, hoses belts, alternator, brake rotors, brake pads, struts, etc. you could be staring-down another two or three thousand dollars in repairs to make the car reliable. Then you would have $4,500.00 or mopre in a $1,000.00 car. Annapolis, Md.: Thanks for taking my 2 questions. 1. Our Ford Escord has a bad ignition cylendar. The only way that Ford will sell an ignition cylendar is in a set with the other 3 lock (2 doors and a trunk). Is this normal? 2. I have two cars over 120 K miles. Boy!!! That seems pretty good. How much more can I expect? They both seem to be running OK. Pat Goss: The Japanese started the entire lock set replacement gimmic and now the Domestics have mostly followed. There is no way to tell how long any one car will last but with really good maintenance 120,000 miles is about half of what we would normally expect. I brought my '97 Wrangler in to a shop to have it checked because the front end bounces and wanders when I'm making turns at higher speeds (especially when hitting a bump while going around a bend on the highway). I figured it was the sway bars or links, but they said those look fine. They "think" it might be the steering dampening shock, but aren't sure. Any other ideas what to look at before I drop a couple hundred for something that may or may not work? The mechanic said he feels the rear sway a bit too. Thanks. Pat Goss: The steering damper is almost certainly in need of replacement if the Jeep has over 50,000 or 60,000 miles. They are inexpensive and they take about ten minutes to install so it is a good guess. There really is no way to effectively test one unless it is leaking fluid or is visibly damaged. But your symptoms are textbook. Mt. Airy, Md.: Hi Pat, Here's a strange one: I have a 94 Cadillac Sedan DeVille with 67,000 miles on it. While driving this past Tuesday, the car stalled for no apparent reason. I did not even realize it until I went around a corner and noticed that I had no power steering or brakes. It did start right back up and I have not had any issues since. The only issue with the car currently is the A/C has a leak in the vacuum line, but I don't think that would cause it to stall. Should I just assume it was an anomaly or should I have it checked out and if so, what should they check for? Thanks. Pat Goss: It is an extremely common problem and the number one cause is a faulty crankshaft position sensor. But don't waste money on code scans and such as they rarely set codes. They have to be pinpoint tested and many techs haven't been trained in such methods. Ellicott City, Md.: I have a 2000 Mazda Millenia 2.5L with 140,000 miles on it. The left rear wheel bearing went bad because the dust cover behind it got rusted and caused the bearing to fail. I replaced the wheel hub assembly with the bearing a few days ago. My question now is: do I need to replace all bearings very soon, or just wait until they failed? What is the expected life of these bearings? I have never put in any grease to lubricate them during the 140,000 miles. Pat Goss: Wait untiul they fail! That might be this afternoon or ten years from now. The most common one we find is dirty fuel injectors from lack of maintenance or cheap gas.: Pat, Had them serviced recently and I always buy the gas at a high volume station. The check engine light goes on and off with no lack of performance felt in the car. I'm considering an after market converter which can save about $300 versus Volvo. World Pak seems to have pretty good prices. The dealer told me that the converter they sell is a 'remanufactured' unit, which doesn't instill a whole lot of faith in the part. Pat Goss: if they are selling remanufactured converters they ar breaking all kinds of laws. But, if this is the case the price should be in the $300.00 to $400.00 range. I would still have the converter checked before buying any replacement. I see ten to fifteen cars a week with converter codes and condemmed converters. Of those cars we usually find one evry two to three weeks with an actual bad converter. Baltimore, Md.: I just had the windshield replaced in my Lexus RX 330. When I have the auto feature turned on for the wiper blades they seem to go off when there is no moisture on the window, especially when I am turning corners. Do you know what could be causing this? I did not have this problem when the original windshield was in. Pat Goss: Rain sensing wipers are supposed to stop when the windshield is dry and come back on when the widshield gets wet. So, based on your description it sounds as if they were not working properly before. However if you are talking about the intermittent position on non-rain-sensing (non-automatic) wipers there is proably a wire that was partially disconnected during the repair. Washington, D.C.: I have a brand new Honda Civic (with 4000 miles), purchased this year. I've noticed that it makes noises over bumpy roads, etc. Like squeaks and rattles in the body of the car. The car is perfectly fine otherwise and I noticed this in my last Honda as well, but not until a significant mileage. Is this normal? Pat Goss: Each car has its own personality. Therefore ten identical cars from a dealer inventory will drive and act differently. Sounds like you bought one with sloppy assembly. I would try to get the dealer to do some adjustments and tightening. Honda has materials available to the dealer to correct most unwanted noises. Next time do a more thorough test drive and always drive the exact car you will be buying not just a demonstrator. Thanks for taking my question. Either last discussion or one in recent weeks you mentioned that the type of engine oil(natural versus synthetic) used is dependent upon the length of time in which you plan on keeping your car. Will you pleas elaborate on this idea. I am driving a 2004 Subaru with 46K miles (mostly highway since I acquired it with 36K). It would be appreciated if you answered to my situation, however, a general answer is welcomed also. Pat Goss: Virtually all cars will last 100,000 or so miles with minimun care and basic products (those products must meet manufacturere's requirements). However, if you want to get real value from a car using highest quality products (for lubricants that means full synthetic) and moe frequent services will double, triple or sometimes even quadruple the life of the car. Longer intervals between oil changes: Pat, What with all of the high mileage oils on the market now, how good are the oil filters ? If you go 10000 miles between changes, when do you change the filter ? Pat Goss: Only as good as their design criteria. If your car has a recommended 5,000 mile oil change interval the filters made for that car are designed accordingly. I would not use long-life oils in cars other than those designed for long oil change intervals. That way the filters and the engine will match the change interval. Damascus, Md.: I have a '92 Sentra that runs great. Only for the past eight months or so, the driver's side door creaks/groans when I open it. Can I lube it myself? With what -- oil, silicon, something else? Pat Goss: Spray the hinges and door-stops with a rust penetrating product such as CRC, WD-40 or similar then move the door back and forth until the noise goes away. After that spray the hinges with white lithium grease. This is sevice that would normally be included in a quality oil change. That's why the service is called an oil, lube, and filter. A friend told me about Mothers clay detailing kit. I tried it and not only was it easy, it cleans all of the dirt and debris off of the finish with little effort. Pat Goss: Yep --- that's true of all the clay products. You mentioned to an earlier poster possible "bad gas" or "cheap gas". What are the differences between name brand gas and the stuff you buy at the local no-name mini mart? What is considered "bad gas" nowadays? Pat Goss: High quality gas will have more cleaning agents than is mandated by the government. Cheap gas will often have the absolute minimum required. As with many thigs the government does the standard is way out of date and it allows some companies to sell gas that builds up a lot of deposits. Most major oil companies use more than the government requires and a few provide a LOT more. The best gasolines are rated "TOP TIER" and have the most cleaning agents. This will be shown on the pump and it must be made available in all three levels for the company to qualify as as a "TOP TIER" provider. Alexandria, Va.: I have a 2002 Accord DX--nothing fancy. It only has about 30,000 miles on it. I drive mostly weekends, occasionally a long trip. I service the car every 6 months. I have not yet changed the tires or the battery. I know I should change the tires just because of age. But what about the battery? Pat Goss: I would be more concerned with the battery than the tires. Faulty crankshaft position sensor....: Pat, my daughter drives a 1994 Ford Taurus and it's stalled 3 times in traffic, the last time on 495! We've taken it to the dealer after each incident, and each one has run a series of tests then, essentially, shrugged their shoulders. I've heard that this is a known problem with certain Ford models built in the late 80's/early 90's, but that Ford refuses to acknowledge it because of the cost of a recall. Is it the crankshaft position sensor? It's sitting in our driveway now, because I won't let my daughter drive it, but I won't see it either because I feel I'd be passing along a death mobile to someone else. Have you heard anything about this, and if so is there any recourse? Pat Goss: It could be although Ford does not have as many problems with the crankshaft position sensor as some other makes. One item we find frequently on certain Fords is a problem with the Mass Air Flow sensor. However, depending on the actual year there are other more likely problems a couple of which are under reacll. Some earlier Fords have recalls on igniton modules and ignition switches. Washington, D.C.: Pat: Do you know if it is possible to add Electronic Stabilty Control to a car, or must it come from the factory that way? Pat Goss: it could be added but the cost would be astronomical. Average to retrofit a car would be on the order of $20,000.00. So in realioty it is factory installed or nothing. Falls Church, Va.: Pat: I know you're a Corvette guy, so I was hoping you could help me. I have a '98 convertible, and after exactly an hour (You can set your watch by it) the gas gauge hits empty and stays there until you turn off the car and restart. Normally this wouldn't bother me too much, but when I'm doing the 7-hour drive to Rochester, it makes planning fuel stops a little harder. Pat Goss: The most common cause of malfunctioning Corvette, and most fuel gauges, is sulfur contamination on the sending unit resistor. I have had exceptionally good luck with BG-44k to remove the sulfur and restore proper function. Most fuel system cleaners do not contain the additive that will neutralize sulfur. Bethesda, Md.: Pat, love your chats and radio show. My '01 Lexus ES 300 auto dimming rear view mirror was installed 1.5 inches (or so) low. That is, it is not flush with the headliner as it ought to be. I tried to loosen the 30-gauge star-type bolt/screw that I believe attaches it to the mounting plate. It won't budge and I am afraid of applying too much torque. The mirror is stuck on there pretty good. Any advice on how to loosen it and reattach it 1.5 inches higher? Will it take an auto-glass shop to do the work? Pat Goss: You will need the services of a GOOD glass shop. They can remove the mounting plate and then, using a special glass adhesive, move the plate to the desired location. That is providing there are no plastic covers above the mirror. Boston, Mass.: When is the end? At what point are the costs of fixing a car no longer worth it and it's time to move on? Pat Goss: The end is when a car is so old that parts are diffuclt to get or when it is so beat up that making it look respectable would be impractical. In purely financial terms these are the only conditions (mostly the parts availability) that make it more practical to replace than to fix a car. it is estimated that more than 99% of all traded or sold cars are disposed of on based feeling rather than being financially or actually necessity. 95 Camry: Hi Pat. I love your radio show and am excited for your chat. I have a 1995 Toyota Camry with 140K, which is getting new timing belt, water pump, and brakes this weekend. Are their any other services I should do at this time? I'd like to keep it for another 2-3 years. Also, the antenna fell off recently. Is this expensive to fix or something I could do at home? Thanks so much for your help! Pat Goss: Impossible to say without reviewing the car's complete past sevice history. What any car needs at a given time or mileage is dependent on what has been done in the past. Sorry! F.O.R.D. (Fix Or Repair Daily) in Newport News, Va.: I have a 1992 Ford Taurus. the engine trembles when stopped at a stop light or stopped while in drive and then gives this dropping feeling like the car is about to shut off (which it has done in the past). Then while trying to take off again it hesitates and takes longer to pick up speed between 35-45 mph. The car is the Frankenstein of the Ford Taurus and among other things has had the engine replaced about a year ago. The mechanic I went to thought he fixed the same problem about two months ago then after about a month the problem came back again. Have any idea what the problem is or what I should be looking for? Pat Goss: AHH! Must be one of the horrific 3.8 cars. In those years Taurus and Sable could be one of the best cars on the road (3.0 engine) or one of the absolute worst (3.8 engine). Anyway check the coils. Have you seen a lot of brake/rotor problems on the HHR? I've heard they have issues with the front brakes. Pat Goss: I see a lot of rotor problem on every make and model of car on the road. The cause of over 90% of all rotor problems (industry surveys and what i see in my shop) is improper tightening of wheel lug nuts. Modern cars require the lugs to be tightened with a torque wrench. Not only must the nuts be absolutely evenly tightened they must be absolutely the right amount tight. Any idea if GM will ever give the H3 a more powerful motor ? Seems to me a 5 cylinder is not enough to push that heavy a vehicle. Pat Goss: Maybe but right now it would surprise me if they did. More power means less fuel economy and that isn't something most manufacturer's want to mess with --- well --- except to make it better. Have you had a chance to test drive the new Jeep Patriot? What are your thoughts on this suv? Pat Goss: Yes --- it's okay! Does tire size affect fuel mileage? I recently purchased new tires for my Ford Escape and the local tire dealer didn't have the standard size in stock so he sold me a larger tire. Since the new tires have been on I've noticed a considerable drop in fuel mileage. Pat Goss: Tires are one of the most important parts of fuel economy. Tires that are wider require more power to move them. It's called rolling resistance. Tires that are taller may cause the engine to require more fuel to overcome the change in gearing. Yes tire size can be similar to changing the gears in the differnetial. Even the tread design and the construction of the tire can change fuel economy. Had a truck here in the shop about six months ago that had improper (bigger tires) and experienced an 11 mile per gallon decrease in fuel economy. Proper tires and the mileage came back. Carlisle, Penn.: I admit that I have never read your discussion before, so I apoligize if you have addressed this topic before. I will search the archive. I recently purchased a new hybrid Prius and turned down the chance to purchase the extended warranty from the dealer. Was this a good idea? Should I change my mind and purchase it now? I have about 700 miles on the car and am getting 49 mpg. Pat Goss: Because of the problems Prius has had and because they really don't have a long term history for reliabilty or service life it might be a good idea. But I have been hearing horror stories about warranty prices due to the extreme complexity of the vehicle and parts costs. So depending on how long you plan on keeping the car, how much peace of mind it would give you, how much money you keep in reserve for emergencies, and the actual cost of the warranty --- maybe! Don't fall for a cheap price on a no-name warranty as they often aren't worth the paper they're written on. My '98 Subaru Legacy has started making a rattling noise whenever I accelerate. I was going to try and locate and check the fuel filter to see if it is clogged (and forcing the fuel pump to work harder), but is there anything else I can check, or do I just need to take it to a garage? Thanks. Pat Goss: If equipped; check the operation of the EGR system (not just the valve) and check for vacuum leaks and Mass Air Flow sensor readings. Also don't forget to make sure the engine isn't beginning to run a little hotter than normal (may be difficult to see on the gauge). The poster with the bad cat has a point. I've never seen one go bad with that few miles. Are they designing them differently ? Is it a Ford/planned obsolescence type of thing? In my experience with Volvos their parts always seemed to last a long time. Pat Goss: No. Ford anything and actually most companies don't even make their own converters. It probably isn't a bad converter anyway (just a converter code and a tech that doesn't know how to take the next steps) but if it is keep in mind that any part of anything mechanical can fail at any time with or without warning. and a few of everything will fail prematurely. Also remeber that the Federal Government sets the standard and the warranty period not the manufacturer. Have listend to you for many years. Respect your answers. I have a 2007 Infiniti G35X. all wheel drive and 306 HP. Really moves out. Requires 91 octane gas. What happens to the a car like this 10.5 compression, when you use a lesser grade like 89 or oven 87. I would think not good things. My wife who knows zilch about cars wants me to try it. I do not want to ruin this beautifle machine. Pat Goss: Who knows? Maybe nothing, maybe serious damage. There is no way to predict on an individual vehicle and unfortunately there usually would be no warning if your's was doomed. The engine of my car sometimes accelerates by itself. It seems to occur most often when it the temperature is high. Pat Goss: Check the throttle body for gum and varnish buildup and check the Idle Air Contorl for the same conditions. Many have to be cleaned every thirty or so thousand miles. Seattle, Wash.: Notice how people are grumbling about Ford "recalls," but Honda problems are a "customer satisfaction campaign"? Pat Goss: Funny how that works. it isn't the reality of the situation these days but the words you chose to describe the situation. Baltimore, Md.: I have an 03 Volvo with 70k miles. I'm about to go on an approx. 1000 mile road trip. I'd like to know if i should replace my battery (still original) before I go? I don't know why but I'm worried that it will suddenly die. How do you know when to replace a battery, before it dies? thanks! Pat Goss: The car is four going on five years old and a large percentage of original equipment batteries fail at about the three year mark. If the battery is out of warranty I would opt for relaibilty and go with the odds --- I would replace the battery. Actually, I am replacing the battery in my 04 Explorer tomorrow. Falls Church, Va.: Good morning Pat, I hope you can help me out with my dilemma, I purchased a 2007 Infinity M35x and although it is a nice car, the maintenance has me perplexed. Unlike any of my other newer cars, there is no indicator for oil life. I looked in the owners manual and it gives either a 3500 or 7000 mile interval depending on usage, but with todays oils and manufacturing technology that seems extremely conservative. Can you provide me with any insight as to the reason for not having an oil monitoring system built into the car or any way to safetly extend the interval and not waste oil unnecessarily? Pat Goss: No oil monitoring system? Why shame on them! But really, why would anyone want, need or rely on an oil monitoring system? They do not check oil condition they do not know how you drive, they do not know how dusty the roads are that you drive on, they don't know how you maintain the rest of the car, etc. It's refreshing to see a company eliminate the false sense of proper maintenance oil monitoring systems provide. If your driving is mostly short trip low speed go for three to four thousand miles. If your driving is mostly highway and higher speed go for five to dsix thousand miles. Pat Goss: Sorry folks but time has run out. For those of you who I didn't get to send your questions to me directly and I will try to answer them. Until next time have a safe happy holiday, remember our troops and drive gently. 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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/20/DI2007062001981.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/20/DI2007062001981.html	Smithsonian Under Fire	2007062319	Submit your questions and comments any time before or during the discussion. James V. Grimaldi: Good afternoon. Lots of questions, so we will get started. New York, N.Y.: Thanks for your work on this subject. My question: is there a faint hope there might be some criminal charges brought here? Both my parents (now deceased) were federal civil servants, who were proud of their positions and the public trust and public service they felt their positions exemplified. I think both my folks would have viewed this behavior as betrayal, and as criminal too -- even if the board of regents apparently smiled on it. James V. Grimaldi: Thanks. The head of the independent review committee, Charles Bowsher, said that they were not referring anything for criminal charges. He said there might be exposure for unpaid taxes on spending that was in excess of what is considered a reasonable business trip. He specifically referred to a trip to Hawaii taken by Mr. Small and his wife. It is somewhat encouraging to hear regent chair Roger Sant say the board is committed to operating at a new level of involvement and oversight. But it's unlikely confidence will be restored on the part of the SI staff and the larger museum community, which has been watching the eroision of ethics standards at the Smithsonian during Small's tenure, until there is a more realistic governance structure and new board members in place. What's the prognosis for a change in board structure, and who makes that decision? Now that the compensation excesses of Larry Small and Sheila Burke and Small's working style are out in the open, it's time to revisit and reverse some of the really egregious decisions of his administration -- starting with the contract with Showtime that gives a single for-profit enterprise preferential and in some cases exclusive access to Smithsonian collections. Cleaning up employment practices for top executives should be only the regents' first step in righting the ship. Any sense that they see that as their charge? James V. Grimaldi: The regents have adopted some moderate reforms regarding expense accounts, reimbursement for travel, limitations on spousal travel, etc. Those are included in the regents governance report issued Monday. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/documents/GovernanceCommitteeReport_6192007.pdf washingtonpost.com: Report of the Governance Committee ( Smithsonian, June 14) Linden, Va.: Small's management was the cause of a great deal of unrest at the Smithsonian from the beginning -- resulting in every museum head's resignation. Shouldn't the Board of Regents -- along with the "gatekeepers" and the Congress have taken action then, rather than let things deteriorate? James V. Grimaldi: The independent panel was very stern with the "gatekeepers." The panel said, "The General Counsel and the Inspector General of the Smithsonian should serve "gatekeeper" roles by monitoring compliance of senior management with laws and policies. The General Counsel and the Inspector General did not play these monitoring roles because Mr. Small isolated them from not only the Board of Regents but also from having any meaningful oversight of the Secretary's office. Additionally, over time Mr. Small significantly reduced the budget and staff of, among others, both the Office of General Counsel and the Office of Inspector General. Neither the General Counsel nor the Inspector General made adequate efforts to overcome the isolation from the Board or the diminution of their respective roles. The Chief Financial Officer was also ineffective in monitoring financial matters of the Office of the Secretary." Portland, Ore.: From a 2007 March 19th Washington Post article: "Roger Sant, the chairman of the executive committee of the Board of Regents, has taken the lead in defending the secretary." Why is Roger Sant still a regent today? Why hasn't he been forced to resign? Keeping him on the board of regents makes me think twice about supporting the Smithsonian in the future. And while recent comments suggest that action will be taken to fix this situation, am I supposed to trust the very man who defended the corruption of Small's administration to implement these new changes? I have a hard time seeing how the Institution can move forward without getting rid of Sant. Who decides whether to remove him or not? Your view? James V. Grimaldi: Roger Sant seems to me to be a decent man. It is not up to me to decide whether he stays. Congress votes on all regents and Mr. Sant is up for re-appointment, but his nomination is stuck in the Senate while this matter is in the news. He has not continued to defend Mr. Small in recent days, particularly since he and the regents received the report from the independent panel. Easton, Md.: Was an oversight committee in place? James V. Grimaldi: The oversight committee was supposed to be the audit and review committee, chaired by regent Roger Sant. In regard to excessive travel, for example, the panel found, "Board members and executives of charitable organizations who approve or receive excessive travel benefits are subject to penalties under the [Internal Revenue] Code. The audit committee should have responsibility for ensuring compliance." Washington, D.C.: What's to keep the Smithsonian from trying to get some of its money back from Small? I mean, apart from the fact that he'll no doubt fight for every cent like a mother lion for her cubs. It makes my blood boil to think he was treating the institution like his own personal cash cow, when the infrastructure is crumbling and Congress has actually floated the idea of charging admission. It's the principle of the thing! James V. Grimaldi: I am sure that lawyers would get involved in a discussion such as that. Oklahoma City, Okla.: Given that Larry Small was once #2 guy at Fannie Mae and the fact that their former CEO, Frank Raines, exhibited a similar cavalier management style, what does this say about Fannie Mae's executives? James V. Grimaldi: You should draw your own conclusions about Fannie Mae. Kathleen Day and Jacqueline Trescott did a fine piece last year outlining Mr. Small's involvement with the Fannie Mae scaneal. washingtonpost.com: Small Linked To Scandal at Fannie Mae ( Post, May 25, 2006) Washington, D.C.: Have Small or Burke's current employers commented on their extracurricular activities? Did they know about their shenanigans? James V. Grimaldi: The regents have said very little lately about Mr. Small. They have defended the work ethic of Sheila Burke, who told the independent panel "that she works 24 hours a day, seven days a week and that she is and has always been available by email or cell phone whenever Smithsonian staff need to contact her." Acting Smithsonian Secretary Cristian Samper said on Wednesday, "I also want to acknowledge Sheila Burke's strong management skills and the professionalism she has shown throughout her time here at the Smithsonian. Although the IRC criticized Sheila's involvement in corporate and nonprofit boards, the report also noted her prodigious work ethic and stated that her teaching and service on nonprofit as well as corporate boards were fully disclosed and approved by Secretary Small." The independent board found fault with the oustide work. "One of the most disturbing failures of governance and oversight uncovered by the Committee in its investigation relates to the service on outside boards by Secretary Small and Deputy Secretary Burke, the amount of time spent by them, especially Ms. Burke, on these outside duties, and the leave policies and practices that permitted the two top executives of the Institution to be frequently absent from the office without the knowledge or approval of the Board of Regents. "Serving on outside boards - profit and nonprofit - may provide benefits to senior executives: exposure to leading governance practices, sharpening of strategic planning skills, connecting with potential donors and mentors. But the potential for conflicts of interest, or perceptions of such conflicts, raises serious issues for those who serve in executive capacities at entities largely funded by taxpayer dollars." The panel was notably troubled with Ms. Burke's outside work because it was so important to the day-to-day operations of the institution. She was the chief operating officer. The panel said, "There is, however, no substitute for the in-person presence of an organization's Chief Operating Officer on a daily basis. This position, more than many others, requires one's presence in the office, especially given the size and complexity of the Smithsonian. "Clearly, Ms. Burke has not been satisfying this very basic job requirement in a normal manner. Moreover, the compensation issue here goes well beyond perception. If one's income from outside sources far exceeds the income from his or her main employment, it is difficult to believe that the primary employer is getting the full attention it deserves." The panel did note that there was no question that she had a strong work ethic. Washington, D.C.: Didn't Lawrence Small facilitate the growth of the for-profit Smithsonian Business Enterprises, vastly increasing the percentage of museum exhibit and research space allocated for souvenir shops and other money-making ventures, and compromising curatorial policies through media questionable contracts? James V. Grimaldi: Smithsonian Business Ventures was created by the Board of Regions the year prior to Small's arrival. However, he was a supporter of SBV and its structure. Washington, D.C.: In recent years a lot of people at the Smithsonian lost their jobs because the Institution's trust funds were supposedly depleted. Now we find that Mr. Small was spending a big portion of that money. Is there any chance of justice or reinstatement for the people who were terminated? James V. Grimaldi: There are a lot of unanswered questions as the Board of Regents searches for a new head of the institution. I'm sure that the new secretary will want to review many of the decisions from the Small era, as would any new chief executive. There has been a lot of criticism of the growth of salaries among the upper level management of the Smithsonian. Most of those high salaries were paid out of what is called the Smithsonian Trust, rather than federal appropriations. One criticism has been that the high salaries came at a cost in the number of jobs among trust fund employees. I don't know to what extent the new secretary of the Board of Regents will review the trust rund payroll. However, I don't think the Smithsonian has a surplus of funds to hire back laid off trust fund employees. Antioch, Wash.: It never ceases to amaze me that a guy making as much as Small did can't simply pay the difference between coach and first class out of his own wallet, or throw a few parties on his own dime. How much does a guy need to make, anyway? James V. Grimaldi: First-classs travel was important to Mr. Small, a tall gentleman. When he was negotiating for the job of secretary, he made it clear that if he and his wife were not allowed to travel in first class, it would be a "deal breaker." Falls Church, Va.: Thanks for your expose ... As a Smithsonian Resident Associate member I have noticed a significant degradation of the variety and quality of programs over the last year or so ... what happened? Was there a staff reduction to make up for Small's waste of Smithsonian resources? Will the Smithsonian Associates ever be able to recover? The Smithsonian Associates program was a gem. Hopefully your probing will get them to straighten up. What do you think? James V. Grimaldi: I'm not sure, but my best recollection is that Smithsonian Associates might have been rolled into the Smithsonian Business Ventures. Our family has enrolled as associates in the past, but we never took part in very many of the programs. Fairfax, Va.: One amazing thing about the Smithsonian is how poorly it markets its memberships and magazines, and how incredibly tacky the merchandise in its catalog is. It is interesting that SBV and Small and Burke never brought in a top consulting company to revamp marketing and merchandise. Compare the catalog to those of the Metropolitan Museum or the Art Institute of Chicago. No comparison. James V. Grimaldi: The Smithsonian brought in Gary Beer as CEO of SBV, which oversees the merchandising. Mr. Beer has had a lot of turnover in SBV, which might have had an impact on the quality. SBV has come under criticism for its choices in quality; for example, Bob Sullivan, a former Smithsonian Natural History Museum executive, told me that the Smithsonian licensed to Wal-Mart a Smithsonian Talking Skeleton. Mr. Sullivan did not think that was the best way to brand the Smithsonian name. James V. Grimaldi: Thank you for the good discussion. I look forward to hearing from you in the future. 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.	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.	60.926829	0.512195	0.707317	high	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/19/DI2007061901172.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/19/DI2007061901172.html	D.C. Schools Chancellor	2007062319	Rhee was online Thursday, June 21 at 2 p.m. ET. Washington, D.C.: One issue that comes up in a lot of Post articles about D.C. schools is the need for the district to be more responsive to teachers. There was a particularly poignant article a few months back about a D.C. teaching fellow's struggle to make it through her first year as a special education teacher; at every step of the way, the district office failed to provide answers to even her most simple questions. Have you thought about the idea of instituting a teacher call hot line? School staff could call this one number for any kind of question and be guaranteed an answer within a certain amount of time (even if the answer is "we don't know"). I think it would do a lot to improve responsiveness and allow district staff to get a better idea of the needs of schools. washingtonpost.com: A Special Challenge (Post, Feb. 18) Michelle Rhee: I think, as the Mayor does, that responsiveness is incredibly important. We need to ensure that our educators are spending their time efficiently and focused on students and instruction. This means that we have to be very quick to provide them with the answers and resources they need. Washington, D.C.: My daughter is at Murch Elementary School and we are trying to hire a new principal. What is the timetable to get a qualified and dynamic principal in place to start the school off in the fall? Michelle Rhee: As you may know, I placed a freeze on the hiring of new principals while we assessed the candidate pool. I believe it's important to ensure that we have the highest quality applicants. This should be done through an aggressive and strategic national recruitment effort. Right now, we are focused on building a strong pool and effectively engaging the community to hire outstanding principals for the 2008-09 school year. In the meantime, we'll mostly be placing principals in interim positions. Washington, D.C.: Admittedly, you have very small shoes to fill, given that every one of your predecessors has been an abject failure, but you've never run a school -- any school. How do you think you can clean up this mess? Thanks. Michelle Rhee: Though I've never been a superintendent, I do have significant experience with affecting systemic change in some of the most troubled urban districts across the country. The experiences that I've had and work that I've done have prepared me to tackle the challenges we face here in Washington. Bethesda, Md.: Will you be sending your children to D.C. public schools, or will they attend private schools? Michelle Rhee: My children will be attending DCPS schools. Capitol Hill, D.C.: Any plans to educate the guardians (parents, grandparents, etc.) of D.C. students to teach them how to instill the importance of education in their children? Some of the problems with the education system are in the homes. Michelle Rhee: It's crucial that we engage parents, families and the broader community in our efforts to provide an excellent education to all students in our city. That said, involvement and engagement looks different for different people. I've never met a parent who didn't want their child to excel in school and have the opportunity to attend college. We need to find ways to ensure that all parents can be involved in their child's education. Washington, D.C.: The exodus from the traditional public schools to newly-formed charter schools is huge ... from my son's sixth-grade graduating class at a top DC public school a year ago, at least a third (probably more) left to go to brand new, just-opened charter schools. A year later, some are coming back to the system, disenchanted, or leaving for private or suburban schools. What are your thoughts on the role of charter schools in the District? Do you think it's possible to redirect some of the energy parents and others are putting into charter school development into public school reform? Michelle Rhee: I support any school that is producing strong results for our students. The District is home to some of the finest charter schools in the nation, and I'm grateful to those educators. Overall, I think it's important to hold all schools to high standards of achievement for children. Washington, D.C.: What can local business leaders and philanthropists do to help? Michelle Rhee: I firmly believe that it is time for the tremendous wealth and resources of our nation's capital to begin impacting its schools. I am incredibly excited about engaging the business and funding communities in our work. In order to do so effectively, I want to lay out a vision and plan for how to utilize external resources efficiently. Washington, D.C.: Ms. Rhee, welcome! I was wondering if you have already moved to Washington? Because you're planning on enrolling your girls in DCPS, did the quality of individual schools affect where you decided to buy your house/rent? Most expectations would be that you would live in upper northwest where the schools are better (though that may insulate you a bit from the quality problems elsewhere). I'd be curious whether the quality of the local elementary school affected where you chose/will choose to live. Michelle Rhee: Thank you for the welcome. I am currently house-hunting, so if you have any suggestions, I'm open! Washington, D.C.: What will you do to ensure a smooth transition? As the successor in a long line of school officials, how do you propose to integrate your ideas and the Mayor's plans without completely overwhelming teachers, parents and students with new practices? Michelle Rhee: My goal is to ensure that we are not heading in a new direction just for the sake of doing something different. In my opinion, the way that we're going to see progress is to strategically build on the foundation that already has been laid. Right now, I'm listening and learning a tremendous amount so that I can understand where we are and how best to move forward. Silver Spring, Md.: As a D.C. elementary school teacher, I want to know what you plan to do about the high turnover in our schools. I started out as a D.C. Teaching Fellow -- a program you are familiar with -- and have just completed my fifth year. While I plan to return to my school in August, I also know of many people like myself who are thinking about or preparing to leave DCPS for other districts that offer stability and more support to teachers, and where it is unheard of for teachers to be expected to do their jobs in 100-plus degree classrooms. How soon can we begin seeing a light at the end of the tunnel that is the DCPS shipwreck? What can you offer teachers who are thinking about bailing out? Michelle Rhee: It's a priority of mine to ensure that we are properly recognizing and rewarding the effective educators in our system. We have to start by providing our teachers with the training, support and resources they need to be successful. Washington, D.C.: Having now seen the massive state of disrepair in D.C. school facilities and classrooms, can you possibly justify the obscene funding of district administrative jobs over infrastructure and curricular improvements? Michelle Rhee: I believe that we send messages to our children about how much we value them and how important education is through the learning environments we create. It is critical that we ensure that our schools are engaging and safe. We'll be looking for efficiencies in spending so that can put more dollars in the schools and classrooms. Washington, D.C.: Given your emphasis on teacher quality and the work you've done related to teacher union contracts in the past, what will you seek in negotiating with the union this summer? Michelle Rhee: I have a great working relationship with the leadership of the WTU and am confident that together we will be able to craft a contract that puts the best interests of students first and foremost. Thomson Parent: The recent Post series on D.C. schools highlighted how the turnover of Superintendents has allowed those avoiding change to wait out all reforms. How much of the reform implemented by Janey will you carry forth? I thought he was on the right track. Michelle Rhee: I think it's very important to build on the foundation of work that Dr. Janey began. The Master Education Plan and new standards are a great start. We next have to distill down to a few key priorities and execute those well. Washington, D.C.: My question is about accountability. As a Wilson High School and Deal Junior High School parent, I want to know who will be accountable for teacher's performance? Teachers get evaluated, but incompetent teachers stay not only in the system but in the school. While I applaud those teachers who really care and are supportive, I've dealt with many teachers who simply show up for work and don't really care about the students. At Wilson we need a principal who is hands-on, not one who just delegates and thinks teachers are doing a fine job. Michelle Rhee: Everyone who has the privilege of working with our students must be willing to take personal responsibility for achieving outcomes that move student achievement forward in a significant way. Anything less is shortchanging our kids. Washington, D.C.: Much has been made about the fact that you do not have past experience as a superintendent. How do you think that lack of experience benefits you or hurts you as you move forward in improving D.C. public schools? Michelle Rhee: Though I have not been a superintendent, I have significant experience working in urban districts. My work with The New Teacher Project has enabled some of the largest districts in the country to significantly improve their processes for recruiting and hiring new teachers. The experiences and results I've seen through that work show I understand the realities of urban districts but can come at them from a different angle. Washington, D.C.: How do you feel about the New Leaders for New Schools program's emphasis on creating a more professional work environment, especially among teachers? Do you expect to continue hiring principals from this program as much as Superintendent Janey did? Michelle Rhee: I think New Leaders for New Schools is a high quality program. I also think it's important to think broadly about the leadership pipeline and pool so that we have school leaders being developed through a broad range of channels. Alexandria, Va.: As an educator, I have noticed that the incidence of dropping out and the incidence of discipline problems starts at middle school and goes into high school. Have you thought of ways to change secondary education? An apprentice program with area businesses comes to mind. These children need money and have little interest in what even I find to be boring and repetitive lessons. The skills could be taught with the job. How do we stop the high drop out rate and compete with what the students do after school? Drugs and other crimes pay higher dividends than a high school education. Michelle Rhee: Many of the challenges we face with older students come from a lack of engagement. It's important that we find innovative ways to ensure that all of our students are invested in their education. This can be done through the continuation and development of "themed" approaches to schools to take into account the varying interests our students may have. DCPS employee: Ms. Rhee, in past administrations, secrecy has been a huge issue. Most of us didn't know what was happening until it reached The Post. Are you going to change how information is given to the employees especially the teachers (we are in the trenches)? You sent the employees an e-mail stating if we had any questions to feel free to contact you. Not 30 minutes after that reached the account, another e-mail was sent by a director (I won't name the department) stating that all e-mails must go through the department's secretary and then it will be passed on. How are you going to address such a dictatorship? Or will you? Michelle Rhee: I think clear and consistent communication is critical at all levels. Access is also important -- teachers should be able to have their questions and concerns addressed in an efficient and timely manner. Anacostia, D.C.: Adding to your point about engaging parents, will you increase the number of parent coordinators and parents centers in the system? Michelle Rhee: I will consider any and all strategies that increase parental involvement and ensure that the community feels comfortable in our schools. Washington, D.C.: Do you support expanding language immersion programs throughout DCPS? And more importantly, can we be ensured that solid new programs like the Tyler Spanish immersion program for 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds at Tyler Elementary School on Capitol Hill will survive under a new administration? Michelle Rhee: I support programs that have shown strong results for our children. In the past week, I've learned about a lot of programs and schools in DCPS that are working and serving students well. I look forward to expanding those programs so that they will be available to a broader range of students. Washington, D.C.: How do you view the relationship between DCPS and University of District of Columbia? Do you have any thoughts on what the qualifications for the new president for the university should be? Michelle Rhee: Institutions of higher education can play an important role in school reform. There are many potential partnership opportunities and I look forward to engaging the university in these efforts. Washington, D.C.: You were quoted as saying that the quality of teachers is the problem with DCPS. While that is certainly part of the problem, it is not all of it. How will you be able to fix a long-troubled school system in a city with complex issues if you are diagnosing the problem in such a simple manner? Michelle Rhee: I have been clear that I believe teachers are the most critical factor in impacting student achievement. We need to ensure that our students have the highest quality teachers. It is our responsibility as a district to provide teachers with the support, training and resources they need to focus on student achievement and be successful. Mount Pleasant, D.C.: No offense, Ms. Rhee, but I've lived in Washington for almost 10 years, and I've seen a lot of high-level school officials come and go in that time. The only constant is that nothing has changed. I of course wish you the best, but you'll forgive me if I hold off on my excitement about how everything's going to be different now. I'll leave the excitement to you: What are you excited about, and what do you think realistically will happen in the short- and long-terms of your tenure here? Michelle Rhee: I took this position because I believe it is possible to build a system that provides an excellent education to all students in this city. I'm excited because I see the potential and because I have seen first-hand what is possible. Every time I meet students or talk to children, I'm reminded of that potential. Washington, D.C.: Educating children with ADHD or emotional difficulties has been a formidable challenge for many DCPS teachers. Will there be teacher training that provides hands-on experience and effective strategies? Michelle Rhee: It's important to address the challenges we face with special education. Part of the solution will require that we put significant effort and thought into teacher recruitment, training and preparation in this area. Washington, D.C.: What role do you see for the Washington business and higher education communities, in turning around the D.C. public schools? Michelle Rhee: In order to dramatically improve the quality of education our students are receiving, we need to engage the broader community in our efforts. Businesses and institutes of higher education can be critical partners. They can provide knowledge and resources in important areas in which the district needs to improve. Monmouth County, N.J.: I have read with interest your taking the new position. I work in a "urban" school district which is "at risk" with several years of no AYP. What do you see as the three most important steps you will have to take next year to improve the academic performance of the D.C. district? Michelle Rhee: We need to set very clear expectations for everyone in the system for what outcomes we want to see. Second, we need to give people the resources and tools necessary to be successful. Third, we need to hold people accountable for attaining their goals. Silver Spring, Md.: According to a Washington Post report, it takes a year to repair dangerous building conditions, and there is no accurate list of teachers or employees -- all this while spending is the third-highest per student among the largest school districts. How will you fix basic infrastructure problems in the schools? washingtonpost.com: Washington Post interactive: Fixing D.C.'s Schools Michelle Rhee: We currently have financial and operational reviews taking place. I want to ensure that the resources we currently have are being put to ensuring high quality school programs for our students. Capitol Hill, D.C.: In an earlier response you mentioned that you will support programs that have shown strong results for our children. To my knowledge there are few standardized benchmarks for progress with regard to very young children (e.g. 3-year-olds or 4-year-olds) not counting things like enrollment. Will you establish and make benchmarks for various programs public? How? Michelle Rhee: It's crucial that we establish benchmarks and goals for all students so that we can measure their academic progress. Maryland: I was pleased that you communicated directly with teachers after taking the helm. Will you be open to meeting with teachers (I believe you already did) to hear from us what our issues are? How can teachers participate in the process of change? How will you communicate with teachers to find out what really is going on in the schools? Finally, will teachers have access to you, or will you just be another political figure in the city we see on the news when bad (or good) news is reported in The Washington Post or on TV? Michelle Rhee: I already have had many opportunities to meet with teachers and will continue to do so. I have a number of meetings with teachers scheduled for the summer, which are being held in conjunction with the Washington Teachers Union. Washington, D.C.: How did you achieve such a great improvement in test scores in Baltimore? What test were your students taking? Michelle Rhee: First, I had very high expectations of the students and I was explicit about sharing those with the kids and their families. Second, I invested the parents and the community in what we were trying to accomplish in the classroom. Third, we worked hard. There was no silver bullet. All of these things have been identified as contributing to student achievement. Chevy Chase, D.C.: DC has no high school that ranks on a par with the best urban high schools, like Stuyvesant in New York City. How important is it to you to build an academic high school that can compete with the best urban public high schools? Is reversing "white flight" from DCPS high schools an important objective, and if so, what are your plans to address this problem? Michelle Rhee: My goal is to create a system of schools that all parents want to send their children to. Standards vs. Flexibility: What are your views on the tension between trying to establish curricular standards and rules that all schools/students should meet, and leaving room for flexibility that lets teachers use their particular strengths and for students to be taught and evaluated as individuals? Michelle Rhee: It's important for there to be consistent standards across the district for student performance. Teaching is an art, though, and successful teachers have different styles. For effective teachers who are producing strong results for children, I want to encourage those teachers to continue with what they are doing. Teaching or Testing:"It's crucial that we establish benchmarks and goals for all students so that we can measure their academic progress." Doesn't this just lead to teachers that "teach to the test"? How do you make sure that the benchmarks are part of the solution and not part of the problem? Michelle Rhee: Standardized tests are only one measure we can use to look at student progress. There are many others, including attendance, college-going rates and parental satisfaction. Severna Park, Md.: What plans do you have to address the noncompliance issues regarding the Blackman/Jones consent decree for Special Education? Michelle Rhee: We have made significant progress on addressing these issues in the past six months. Maryland: Many of us believe that the WTU has not played a very helpful role in improving schools -- it is a union mostly for veteran teachers who cling to jobs, though their usefulness and enthusiasm has long been spent. Are there other venues you plan on using to reach and communicate with teachers? Michelle Rhee: The WTU has been and will continue to be an important partner to us. However, there will be multiple venues for collaborating with teachers. Washington, D.C.: Michelle, most of your answers have contained qualifiers such as "I think it is important to..." or "It is a high priority that..." Can you give us some real red meat about what concrete things you are doing or will do in the next month or two? Michelle Rhee: First, I am putting additional resources on finding and hiring excellent teacher and principal candidates. Second, we are preparing for a strong start to the school year by ensuring that all teachers, principals and schools have the resources they need. Also, we are working to make sure that our educators have the training necessary to effectively implement a strong instructional program. Washington, D.C.: As in most urban school settings these days, violence is a problem many cities have yet to confront in any novel ways. Have any initiatives you have seen in other cities impressed you so much that you think they might be worth implementing here in the District? Michelle Rhee: Though I will be looking for national best practices to address the issue of violence in our schools, I want to first look within DCPS. We currently have programs that have been effective in curbing violence such as the Violence Free Zone program that has been very successful at Anacostia High School Michelle Rhee: Thanks to everyone for taking time to send in questions. I am excited about addressing both the challenges and opportunities we have before us, but I'm also very confident that we will make measurable strides for the sake of our children. In the end, that is the most important thing. Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online 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.	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.	109.536585	0.609756	0.756098	high	low	abstractive
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2007/06/clintons_you_and_i_debuts_to_b.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/sleuth/2007/06/clintons_you_and_i_debuts_to_b.html	Clinton's "You and I" Debuts ... to Boos	2007062319	There were some notably odd moments for the 2008 Democratic presidential candidates at this week's annual Take Back America conference of liberal activists in Washington. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) got to test out her brand new campaign theme song -- "You and I" by Celine Dion. Unfortunately, the song debuted at a forum at which the senator was booed for blaming the Iraqi government for the mess in Iraq. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) waltzed on stage in the ballroom of the Hilton Washington to Neil Diamond's "Coming to America." Not to be superstitious or anything, but "Coming to America" was the theme song for Michael Dukakis's 1988 presidential campaign, and we know how that story ended. Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) apparently had a moving handshake backstage. Moving ... in that they both kept moving and barely looked each at other as they did a quick walk-by handshake as they passed each other in a hallway. Obama clearly had the best get-out-the-vote operation going at the conference, where all the major '08 Democratic presidential hopefuls spoke and attendees then voted for their candidate of choice in a "presidential straw poll." Obama's youth outreach director, Hans Riemer, packed the place with Obama supporters in sun dresses and flip-flops and shorts and t-shirts by offering them free tickets on Facebook. (Call it the Obama Girl factor.) And it worked! Obama won the straw poll, sponsored by Politico.com, with 29% of 720 votes cast. (Edwards came in second with 26%, and Clinton in third with 17%.) Clinton's appearance at the conference was looking like a rerun of last year's debacle, when she was flat out booed for not having apologized for her original vote in favor of the Iraq war. But she handily rebounded after initially angering the crowd this morning with her blame-the-Iraqi-government comment. After the boos started, Clinton quickly explained that she's co-sponsoring a bill to force President Bush to get congressional reauthorization to continue the war in Iraq. That did it. The crowd went wild, applause all around (even though a few Code Pink types continued holding up their "STOP WAR" and "Lead Us Out of Iraq Now" signs). Toby Chaudhuri, a spokesman for the Campaign for America's Future, which sponsored the conference, joked that maybe the Obama campaign was responsible for the Clinton heckling. "I thought I saw Obama Girl in a Code Pink outfit." he said. By Mary Ann Akers \| June 20, 2007; 5:31 PM ET Previous: Johnny Sack's Campaign Cameo \| Next: Michael Moore's Sicko So Meano To Hillary Posted by: Anonymous \| June 20, 2007 6:16 PM '...a few Code Pink types'? Wow that is pretty offensive to the many of us who opposed this war from the beginning and continue to be skeptical of Hillary's latest anti-war posturing. Posted by: matt d. \| June 20, 2007 6:24 PM Why does Hillary Clinton have to apoloigize for voting for the war in Iraq, instead of telling it as it was. She obviously got suckered in the big lies told by the Bush administration. George W. Bush and his cronies used Hitler philosophy: Tell the biggest lies, repeatedly, and the gullible masses will cheer and step to the beat of the drums! Posted by: LEONARD Heiferling \| June 20, 2007 6:34 PM Posted by: Jeff \| June 20, 2007 6:39 PM Posted by: Troop \| June 20, 2007 6:40 PM If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, is that Bush's fault too? Lets allow people to take some personal responsibility for their votes. Weaseling out of voting histories for brownie points by claiming you were lied to is weak and shows questionable character. There are quotes and even video footage of Mistress Clinton, Bubba, Gore, et al claiming Iraq had WMD and was funding and involved in Muslim terrorist activites. They had all been saying that all along. I guess Bush was using mind control on them. Posted by: BlameBush \| June 20, 2007 6:45 PM Leonard, you love to simplify what has happened over the last few years. Maybe you can't handle complexities very well. Just like Hitler? Come on, read some history books and learn a little more about the world before you attempt to paint the Bush Adminstration with such a broad brush...and with such contempt. Posted by: Jeremy \| June 20, 2007 6:47 PM The TBA2007 website has the speeches to view. The reception that Obama received was incredible and his speech was very powerful. He's been getting huge diverse crowds throughout the country, it looks like he really will be able to bring us back together to get things done in Washington (and get us out of Iraq). Posted by: Reggie \| June 20, 2007 6:47 PM Continuing Hitler's philosphy, Bush's government will confront Congress with its version of the Enabling Act that would vest the cabinet with legislative powers. This act will allow for deviations from the constitution. With this combination of legislative and executive power, Bush's government will suppress the political opposition. Rather than holding new presidential elections, Bush's cabinet will pass a law proclaiming the presidency dormant and transferr the role and powers of the head of state to Bush as FÃÂ¼hrer und Reichskanzler. Give me a break you uneducated hippies! Posted by: Anonymous \| June 20, 2007 6:50 PM To say that Hillary got suckered is a big exaggeration. A lot of Democrats weren't voting their conscience when they voted for the war in 2003. They knew it was stupid. They weren't being led blindly by Bush and his team. People like Hillary and Edwards and Kerry were making a tactical decision, based on how they wanted to be perceived by moderates in the future elections. And it blew up in their faces. They were also trying to avoid what happened to Democrats who voted against Bush 1's first Gulf War. That war was comparatively short and successful and popular with the American people, and people who had voted against it ended up looking bad. So if Hillary got "suckered," it's only because she was playing politics instead of doing her job, which is to do what she knows is right for the country. Posted by: drew b \| June 20, 2007 6:52 PM Bush may not be responsible for the war in Iraq, nobody really is: but i diagnose him of control freakism: one of the symtom is to see optimism where people are dying; The dems should find another candidate: Hillary too stiff, another Margaret Thatcher, no improv, all script; personally i cant stand her: Obama, the south will never vote for him: other than that he s fine: Posted by: Jack Africa \| June 20, 2007 6:56 PM LEONARD, Hillary knew that we were being lied into Iraq. She had to know, because many people, including myself, knew at the time. We knew at least enough to seek more info, ie read the NIE. Their plan has always been to divide Iraq into 3 states, and then attempt to secure the Sunni state, which contains most of the oil. This has been the oil companies' #2 plan for nearly a century. (Plan #1 = keep the oil in Iraq in the ground until absolutely necessary.) Bill Clinton was chosen to be president over 20 years ago, precisely because he would carry out the same general foreign policy as the Bushies. Posted by: Iconoclast421 \| June 20, 2007 7:05 PM "Why does Hillary Clinton have to apoloigize for voting for the war in Iraq, instead of telling it as it was. She obviously got suckered in the big lies told by the Bush administration." she could apologize for being so unbelievably stupid as to be suckered in the first place. it's amazing how many folks today are trying to convince everyone (mostly themselves) that Bush & Co were just so darn convincing. some of us (many of us) found it sadly easy to see through the lies from the get-go. maybe that's because Hitler was far from being the only politician to go with the big lie tactic. you think Daddy Bush told "the truth" when he was getting us into first Gulf War? Posted by: jam \| June 20, 2007 7:08 PM Hillary eats up the focus on Iraq. It reminds the middle-right that she's not really a liberal at all. What baffles me is why she gets a free pass on the ruinous policies the Clinton team pushed thru in their time in office. There were two choices in the late 1990's; we could be resonsible and negotiate trade agreements that ensured the environment would be respected and that working people all over the world (and especially those right here) could have a chance of retaining their dignity and have some security and peace of mind, OR we could listen to the BS that flowed from America's Think Tanks and The Chamber of Commerce and we could rape the workers of the world and destroy the environment in China for milleniums by gobbling up their garbage products (often made by children), while shutting down just about any factory in America that made quality products. Now instead of inventing products we have a new inventions called 'equity firms'. Where did all this start. With Clintons and NAFTA. What a wonderful world it could have been if those two dorks hadn't started us on the raod to extinction. And for that she gets a pass? I want to get ill when Hillary gives speaches where she acts like she represents the downtrodden and those who were treated unfairly by the Republicans. She represents America's Equity firms. Her biggest contirbutor in recent years has been Goldman-Sachs. The only thing that makes me more ill than Hillary is the feminist who gush over Hillary and will vote for her for one reason and one reason only. Will they wake up and act like unbiased adults before it's too late. Posted by: JMR \| June 20, 2007 7:09 PM Hillary was suckered into it? Puh-leeze! There were plenty of skeptical voices around, and plenty of experts exposing the Bush/Cheney lies in the run-up to the war. Anyone paying attention to the constant posturing and political squirming, the ever escalating belligerent rhetoric, and the ever-churning propaganda, would have known what's up. I certainly did! I refuse to believe that anyone as connected and as intelligent as Hillary, got "suckered" into voting for this WAR. And yes, you all did vote for the WAR, John Kerry -- not just to back up Bush in his supposed U.N. negotiations. It was blindingly obvious what they were all voting for, and it was very obvious indeed what Bush intended to do. The vote was all about bending to the political winds and the fear-mongering/faux-patriotic hysteria whipped up in the wake of 9/11. Any Democrat who voted for this war, demonstrated with that vote that they have no principles and no spine. And yes, that includes YOU, Hillary. Posted by: Bubba \| June 20, 2007 7:12 PM "Why does Hillary Clinton have to apoloigize for voting for the war in Iraq, instead of telling it as it was. She obviously got suckered in the big lies told by the Bush administration." I don't think she got suckered. She just looked the other way like she did when Bill got suckered. Posted by: Rick \| June 20, 2007 7:17 PM The cool thing is all you Washington insiders and friends of the Bush family will be out of work come election time. Insteading of posting blogs like these, why don't you polish up your resumes so you can starting looking for new jobs. Posted by: Anonymous \| June 20, 2007 7:28 PM Which candidate can turn back the tax breaks for the rich...which candidate can get universal health care coverage...which candidate can get social security reformed..which candidate can restore the middle class...which candidate can help the lower income people have respectable lives...which candidate can get the homeless a home...which candidate can get the troops home??????ANSWER>>>unless there is a majority of democrats large enough to block a filibuster in congress, then none of the candidates will accomplish these goals...the republicans will stonewall every attempt to get a bill passed unless there are enough votes where they can't stop the vote. If you want change, it has to start in congress and the white house, or we will remain in the stalemated morass we are currently in, with a congress unable to over ride the minority. Posted by: Inna \| June 20, 2007 7:58 PM "Their plan has always been to divide Iraq into 3 states, and then attempt to secure the Sunni state, which contains most of the oil. This has been the oil companies' #2 plan for nearly a century. (Plan #1 = keep the oil in Iraq in the ground until absolutely necessary.)" Iconoclast421 Aside from the fact that the Sunni areas have almost no oil, the rest of what you say may be true, but it is secondary to the overriding object of the neocons: to create a joint empire in the Middle East, with Israel as a partner, along the lines of what the U.S. was up to in all of Latin America throughout most of the 20th Century. If you can see that, then all of Bush & Co. foreign policy makes total sense. Posted by: Lav \| June 20, 2007 8:21 PM Ankleless Annie needed Kerry's botox in that silly "Sopranos" parody: Giuliani ought to be offended, and Tancredo, well, he's a Presbyterian. Can't imagine why the top song wasn't "What's Love Got To Do With It" or "Come Home Bill Bailey." Posted by: Philip V. Riggio \| June 20, 2007 8:35 PM This article is planted by the CIA. Waste of words, CIA freaks. Posted by: Shirley Jackson \| June 20, 2007 8:37 PM Sorry, but I see no relationship whatsoever to the campaign and the song! What is the campaign trying to say? They could certainly do better than that song. If not, they should just walk away because Hill is not going to be the candidate anyway. Posted by: victoria2dc \| June 20, 2007 9:02 PM How can we decrease Hillary's so-called lead over the great Sen. Obama? Posted by: Joey \| June 20, 2007 10:30 PM I don't care what Hillary's theme song is, I think her platforms are outstanding. I think she is more experienced than any other candidate for the Presidency -- Republican or Democrat and I really hope this country will get over its sexism toward Hillary as a woman. But whether it does or not, there are enough women voters out there to put her in office. And women are tired of seeing men win every single race just because they are men. Nothing against any of the other Democrats, but they just aren't as tough as Hill and we need someone tough to win this presidency. Hillary, you go girl. Posted by: Southern Girl \| June 20, 2007 11:24 PM Obama and Clinton are just triangulating Ivy League lawyers representing the elite. Edwards, who lacks the baggage of his two rivals, is the only REAL progressive. Posted by: Vincent \| June 21, 2007 12:01 AM I said this in response to the "Sack" column. It also applies to Edwards, Obama and a lot of the Repulsicans as well, so I'll repeat it. Bill & Hillary are attorneys. Attorneys are the scum of the earth. Attorneys who go into politics are sh*t. People go to law school, become lawyers and learn the best ways to circumvent the law. Then they go into politics and write laws that they KNOW can be circumvented, enforce the law as they choose in executive positions, or make decisions as they choose as judges. Then they laugh up their sleeves as they and their associates bank all the money they plunder as a result of their corruption. Yeah we need another corrupt attorney to head up the next administration, NOT!!! Posted by: r man \| June 21, 2007 9:49 AM So far I'm for Edwards. The Clinton campaign won't tell me what corporations are behind her, so trust is the issue with me. All this John Wayne "never admit that you are wrong" is old-fashioned, polarizing and non-progressive. I'm just afraid of no change if HRC gets in. It's time for some of us baby-boomers to get out of the way. Posted by: swtexas \| June 21, 2007 9:57 AM So far I'm for Edwards. The Clinton campaign won't tell me what corporations are behind her, so trust is the issue with me. All this John Wayne "never admit that you are wrong" is old-fashioned, polarizing and non-progressive. I'm just afraid of no change if HRC gets in. It's time for some of us baby-boomers to get out of the way. Posted by: swtexas \| June 21, 2007 9:57 AM I'm 89 years old and have been a "political animal" ever since I campaigned (just out of short pants) for Henry A. Wallace. Hillary is strictly an opportunist who seems to feel that the country owes her the top job. If she apologized that she goofed when signing for War, then perhaps we could forgive her. We all make mistakes.But that picture of her signing that statement will live for me forever. As it will for the kids dying and getting wounded for a war that no one knows why we are fighting. My only logical thought is that big business wants Iraq oil and we will kill and be killed to get it for them. Posted by: Les \| June 21, 2007 11:00 AM "Southern Girl" asserts that men win because they are men, so now a woman should win because she is a woman! That's answering stupidity with stupidity. There are many millions [that is no exaggeration] of us men who are perfectly willing to support and vote for and have a woman as president. But you don't get it, do you? We don't support THAT woman, or the NY HillBillaries altogether. As for being the "most experienced"--in what? We've already had our "two-for-the-price-of-one" election, if you are old enough to remember 1992 and the subsequent events. Your "you go girl" is so teeny-bopper silly that, well, I won't even mention it. Posted by: Radical Patriot \| June 21, 2007 1:26 PM Posted by: Wil Burns \| June 21, 2007 3:15 PM The favorite nonargument made to excuse all of the blunders of Bush and company is to say that it was Bill Ãâ¡linton's fault. The unalterable fact is American workers were doing do much better during the Clinton years than they have been for the last six years. There's no way to spin a yarn about how (1) stagnating wages, (2) outsourcing jobs, (3) declining and disappearing benefits, (4) stoppage of health insurance help, (5) keeping the minimum wage down, (6) watching middle class kids being squeezed out of the opportunity for college, (7) breaking unions by claiming all of these slaps at working folk are ALL Clinton's fault. History is clear about which party has stuck it to labor whenever it's had the chance, and it hasn't been Clinton's. My goodness, you old-time conservatives must really be running scared if you have to actually make any kind of appeal to the peasants who work for a monthly check. Generally, you're far too busy dumping all over the American workers to come up with any kind of empathy for them. Posted by: igorvitch33 \| June 21, 2007 3:19 PM The favorite nonargument made to excuse all of the blunders of Bush and company is to say that it was Bill Ãâ¡linton's fault. The unalterable fact is American workers were doing do much better during the Clinton years than they have been for the last six years. There's no way to spin a yarn about how (1) stagnating wages, (2) outsourcing jobs, (3) declining and disappearing benefits, (4) stoppage of health insurance help, (5) keeping the minimum wage down, (6) watching middle class kids being squeezed out of the opportunity for college, (7) breaking unions by claiming all of these slaps at working folk are ALL Clinton's fault. History is clear about which party has stuck it to labor whenever it's had the chance, and it hasn't been Clinton's. My goodness, you old-time conservatives must really be running scared if you have to actually make any kind of appeal to the peasants who work for a monthly check. Generally, you're far too busy dumping all over the American workers to come up with any kind of empathy for them. Posted by: igorvitch33 \| June 21, 2007 3:20 PM All I am saying is she def lost my vote..CELINE YUK... If you are going for a theme song by a Canadian pick Anne Murray, You Needed Me or A Little Good News.... The TRUE Canadian Diva..... Posted by: stace \| June 21, 2007 6:30 PM Many have commented an the lack of political acumen from Hillary compared to Bill, and the Soprano's "spoof" highlights this clearly. While Hillary chooses a soppy chick song, Bill's choice was the one that should have been, "I'm a believer". Upbeat, positive....."When I see her face". Maybe the Right is right when they say she'd be a bad President- If she can't even pick a fun interesting song.... Posted by: Nathan \| June 21, 2007 11:39 PM You guys better wake up. We are not voted in by ballot but by blood line. So, it looks like this: bush, clinton, bush, clinton...you need to look up how many deaths were really under the clinton era and it wasn't just vince foster either. did everyone seem to forget that some things from the white house went missing after they left office? Posted by: mkr \| June 22, 2007 11:02 AM Hello, The best choice and we all know it is Al Gore Posted by: ReElectADemocrat \| June 22, 2007 11:32 AM America needs the strong and brilliant President to back America. Watch out Republican's incitement. What is wrong you Americans, why you don't take what you have now? Who else is better than Hillary Clinton? Edwards is too weak, Obama is too inexperienced, over proud of himself, crude political perfermances and too many mistakes as immature politician. I would advise to Obama, go back to learn the reality, find out yourself more, build up career for your Country, wake up from the dream of lucky chance and then you may compete with same level of candidates 10 years later. How about with Rice? Posted by: Kyu Reisch \| June 23, 2007 1:14 AM There may be alot of people in the U.S. who do not understand why their military is in Iraq but the people who led the effort and the people who supported the move, including Clinton, do know. It was clear to people familiar with the history of the region all along that possession of WMD cannot be the reason, because knowledge of the same WMD 10-20 years prior posed no problem for the U.S. while U.S. was tactically supporting Iraq. This seems to be appreciated by more people now. The logical underlying reason likely was an alignment of often diverse interests present in the U.S. to take on this war: 1) To reverse a decline in influence resulting from decades of opportunistic policies and restore it by force through a strong U.S. military presence in the Middle East, 2) Curtail Saddam's regime and military from gaining enough strength to pose a credible threat to Israel's military policies that are fundamentally in conflict with the Arab/Muslim masses in the region, 3) Do something powerful and impressive in reaction to 9/11 to repair superpower image. 4) probably additional reasons that I do not appreciate Combination of these interests, and those who may have been still be believing the WMD threat story, clearly added up to a slight majority of the U.S. population when Bush was reelected in 2004. Clinton, being a senator from New York, had to be especially sensitive to 2). Clinton may be culpable for her part in supporting this war but she is hardly alone with 62 million people endorsing the war in the 2004 election. My vote would go for Obama as the main hope for steering America in a more positive direction. I would gladly take back the Bill Clinton years in a heartbeat. Posted by: Humble Opinion \| June 23, 2007 12:31 PM We are in World War IV with radical Islam. We can lose it in the polling booths in our elections just as we lost in Vietnam. We were not defeated militarily there. The difference then and now is that the Vietnamese were not going to follow us home. The jihadists will. They attacked us beginning in 1979 and continued right along with impunity. They got the idea that the U.S. would not react. 911 was a wake-up, the Pearl Harbor of this century. Perhaps we should not have gone into Iraq, but we are there. A defeat there will encourage our enemies, especially the jihadists and discourage what friends we have. A short term gain may result in long term loss. The same applies to illegal immigration-short term economic gains for some-for businesses who hire cheap labor-(losses for others) and short term political gains (more dependents for government handouts and more Democrat voters). The same goes for cheap imported products now, but with serious and increasing trade imbalance that will cost us dearly later. Actions do have consequences. Without question, we need to disarm Saddam Hussein. He is a brutal, murderous dictator, leading an oppressive regime ... He presents a particularly grievous threat because he is so consistently prone to miscalculation ... And now he is miscalculating America's response to his continued deceit and his consistent grasp for weapons of mass destruction ... So the threat of Saddam Hussein with weapons of mass destruction is real..." - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Jan. 23. 2003 \| Source "I will be voting to give the President of the United States the authority to use force -- if necessary -- to disarm Saddam Hussein because I believe that a deadly arsenal of weapons of mass destruction in his hands is a real and grave threat to our security." - Sen. John F. Kerry (D, MA), Oct. 9, 2002 \| Source "One way or the other, we are determined to deny Iraq the capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and the missiles to deliver them. That is our bottom line." - President Clinton, Feb. 4, 1998 \| Source "If Saddam rejects peace and we have to use force, our purpose is clear. We want to seriously diminish the threat posed by Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program." - President Bill Clinton, Feb. 17, 1998 \| Source "We must stop Saddam from ever again jeopardizing the stability and security of his neighbors with weapons of mass destruction." - Madeline Albright, Feb 1, 1998 \| Source "He will use those weapons of mass destruction again, as he has ten times since 1983." - Sandy Berger, Clinton National Security Adviser, Feb, 18, 1998 \| Source "[W]e urge you, after consulting with Congress, and consistent with the U.S. Constitution and laws, to take necessary actions (including, if appropriate, air and missile strikes on suspect Iraqi sites) to respond effectively to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs." Letter to President Clinton. - (D) Senators Carl Levin, Tom Daschle, John Kerry, others, Oct. 9, 1998 \| Source "Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." - Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D, CA), Dec. 16, 1998 \| Source "Hussein has ... chosen to spend his money on building weapons of mass destruction and palaces for his cronies." - Madeline Albright, Clinton Secretary of State, Nov. 10, 1999 \| Source "We begin with the common belief that Saddam Hussein is a tyrant and a threat to the peace and stability of the region. He has ignored the mandate of the United Nations and is building weapons of mass destruction and th! e means of delivering them." - Sen. Carl Levin (D, MI), Sept. 19, 2002 \| Source "We know that he has stored secret supplies of biological and chemical weapons throughout his country." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002 \| Source "Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power." - Al Gore, Sept. 23, 2002 \| Source "We have known for many years that Saddam Hussein is seeking and developing weapons of mass destruction." - Sen. Ted Kennedy (D, MA), Sept. 27, 2002 \| Source "The last UN weapons inspectors left Iraq in October of 1998. We are confident that Saddam Hussein retains some stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons, and that he has since embarked on a crash course to build up his chemical and biological warfare capabilities. Intelligence reports indicate that he is seeking nuclear weapons..." - Sen. Robert Byrd (D, WV), Oct. 3, 2002 \| Source "There is unmistakable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years ... We also should remember we have always underestimated the progress Saddam has made in development of weapons of mass destruction." - Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D, WV), Oct 10, 2002 \| Source "In the four years since the inspectors left, intelligence reports show that Saddam Hussein has worked to rebuild his chemical and biological weapons stock, his missile delivery capability, and his nuclear program. He has also given aid, comfort, and sanctuary to terrorists, including al Qaeda members ... It is clear, however, that if left unchecked, Saddam Hussein will continue to increase his capacity to wage biological and chemical warfare, and will keep trying to develop nuclear weapons." - Sen. Hillary Clinton (D, NY), Oct 10, 2002 \| Source "We are in possession of what I think to be compelling evidence that Saddam Hussein has, and has had for a number of years, a developing capacity for the production and storage of weapons of mass destruction." - Sen. Bob Graham (D, FL), Dec. 8, 2002 \| Source Posted by: Donald W. Bales \| June 23, 2007 10:22 PM Let's see jam, you wrote, "maybe that's because Hitler was far from being the only politician to go with the big lie tactic. you think Daddy Bush told "the truth" when he was getting us into first Gulf War?" Are you actually being stupid enough to say Saddam Hussein did not seize Kuwait, and did not pose a threat to Saudi Arabia, Iran, Israel and other neighboring countries? If not, what big lie did G. H. W. Bush need to tell for the first Gulf War to take place? To most educated, rational human beings that one was an easy call. His failure to take Saddam out at that time sent a message to that part of the world that we did not have the sense or the fortitude to do the job right. We paid for the weakness that implied on 9/11 and we will continue paying for it unless we decisivly respond to such acts of war or terrorism. When instigators of these attacks want to "negotiate" it is only to delay actions against them in order to strengthen themselves and prepare for their next attack. Wake up people! Posted by: r man \| June 25, 2007 12:57 PM The comments to this entry are closed.	Mary Ann Akers, Behind the scenes in Washington	712.555556	0.888889	1.777778	high	medium	mixed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062000364.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062000364.html	Israel Allows Some Palestinians to Leave Gaza	2007062319	EREZ CROSSING, Gaza Strip, June 20 -- Israel allowed Palestinians with severe health problems and foreign-passport holders to leave Gaza on Wednesday in a flight that reflected the humanitarian challenges that have arisen in the days since Hamas's violent takeover of the strip. At the same time, Israeli tanks and troops pushed just inside central Gaza near the area where radical Islamic gunmen ambushed an Israeli border post this month. Israeli military officials said the forces came under fire from Palestinian gunmen. The fighting Wednesday near the city of Khan Younis killed five Palestinians, including two from the armed Islamic movement Hamas, which controls the government and security services in Gaza after defeating rival Fatah forces last week. Israeli troops in the West Bank killed two more Palestinian gunmen, making the day one of the deadliest in months of conflict between Israel and Islamic groups in the territories. The chaotic scene at the Erez crossing and the stepped-up Israeli military operations, which included Apache helicopter strikes on sites near Erez that Palestinians used Wednesday to fire at least six rockets into Israel, highlighted the complexities that Israeli and Palestinian officials face in keeping the situation in Gaza from becoming a humanitarian crisis. Hamas's quick military conquest has split the Palestinian Authority -- a provisional government established 13 years ago under an agreement with Israel -- and further divided two territories envisioned as the cornerstones of a future Palestinian state. Israel seized the West Bank and Gaza during the 1967 Middle East war. It eventually evacuated Israeli settlements and soldiers from Gaza in the fall of 2005. After five days of fighting last week that left more than 140 Palestinians in Gaza dead, Hamas is running a parallel government here that is not recognized by Fatah leaders or any foreign countries. The West Bank is governed by a new emergency cabinet appointed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate Fatah leader whose government is backed by the United States and recognized by Israel. Abbas harshly criticized Hamas in a speech Wednesday, saying that "there was no dialogue with those murderous terrorists." Scores of Palestinians remain caught at the Erez crossing, which has been almost entirely destroyed by looters since Hamas's takeover. Many of those at the crossing live in the West Bank but have been unable to return home because Israel has kept crossings effectively closed. "We don't have anything to do with politics," said Talal Jabber, 37, an agricultural engineer from the West Bank city of Tulkarm, who traveled to Gaza with Israeli permission as part of a Palestinian government delegation. The factional fighting that culminated in Hamas's victory began during Jabber's visit, and he has lived in growing squalor inside the tunnel crossing for several days. Israeli officials delivered food and water Wednesday to approximately 60 people who would rather wait at the crossing than return to Gaza City. "I was on a mission here," Jabber said. "Now I want to go home." Israel's new defense minister, Ehud Barak, ordered the military Wednesday to allow Palestinians suffering from serious illness or wounds from the recent factional fighting to enter Israel for treatment. The decision came as Israel's high court prepared to hear a petition filed by Israeli human rights groups challenging the crossing closures on behalf of ill Palestinians in Gaza.	EREZ CROSSING, Gaza Strip, June 20 -- Israel allowed Palestinians with severe health problems and foreign-passport holders to leave Gaza on Wednesday in a flight that reflected the humanitarian challenges that have arisen in the days since Hamas's violent takeover of the strip.	12.755102	1	49	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062001874.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062001874.html	Dozens of Insurgents Killed in Iraq Offensive	2007062319	BAGHDAD, June 20 -- U.S. and Iraqi forces continued targeting Sunni insurgents in the city of Baqubah north of Baghdad on Wednesday, the second day of a major new offensive aimed at stamping out the Sunni extremist group al-Qaeda in Iraq. About 10,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops are participating in the new offensive, called Arrowhead Ripper, which began early Tuesday in Diyala province, a mixed Sunni-Shiite-Kurdish province north and east of Baghdad that, in recent months, has become a stronghold of al-Qaeda in Iraq and the most violent area in the country outside of the capital. Forty-one insurgents and one American soldier were killed in two days of fighting, the U.S. military said Wednesday. "We have found three warehouses and factories where car bombs cars were built, as well as large stashes of TNT and mortar rounds used to make" roadside bombs, said Mohammed al-Askari, an Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman. "We also found the swords that they used to slaughter people in their so-called courts, in addition to sniper rifles and silencers." The U.S. military said in a statement that five weapons caches had been found and that 25 roadside bombs and five booby-trapped houses had been discovered and destroyed. A U.S. military spokesman, Lt. Col. Christopher C. Garver, said the military was investigating the mistaken bombing of a house in the Khatoon neighborhood of Baqubah on Wednesday. The incident occurred when soldiers decided to destroy a heavily booby-trapped residence with an aircraft bomb, but the bomb hit the wrong house, Garver said. He said it was unknown whether there were any casualties in the strike. Later, a helicopter destroyed the targeted house with a Hellfire missile, and there were large secondary explosions, Garver said. Askari said that the offensive "has developed greatly" and that U.S.-led forces were starting a "second phase by surrounding and isolating the areas in which the terrorists are located." The U.S. military has been sharply criticized -- particularly from within its own ranks -- for earlier offensives against al-Qaeda in Iraq and other Sunni insurgents that allowed them to slip away and regroup in other areas. As soon as U.S. forces withdrew, the insurgents typically returned. This time, military planners are trying to avoid that outcome by drawing a tight ring around Baqubah that locks insurgents inside, where they can be captured or killed. The challenge was illustrated Tuesday by the capture of six uninjured men who were trying to escape from Baqubah in an Iraqi ambulance, the U.S. military said in a statement. Commanders "said we need to cordon off the city and control access in and out, which is what we did yesterday morning, and now we are very deliberately doing house-to-house clearing," said Capt. Jon Korneliussen, a U.S. military spokesman. "Many houses were wired with explosives." Lt. Col. Fadhil Mahmoud, commander of the 4th Battalion of the Iraqi army's 2nd Brigade, which was working with U.S. forces to clear al-Qaeda in Iraq insurgents in western Baqubah, said that the city of 300,000 people was under curfew and that all passageways in and out had been sealed. Mahmoud said Sunni fighters from a variety of insurgent groups that have fought U.S. forces in the past -- including the Islamic Army and the 1920 Revolution Brigades -- were now working closely with U.S. and Iraqi forces in the offensive, helping them identify al-Qaeda in Iraq members and facilities. The fighters, operating under an umbrella group called the United Jihad Factions Council, have been issued special insignias to distinguish them from al-Qaeda in Iraq members, he said. Elsewhere, three Sunni mosques north of the town of Hilla were bombed in apparent retaliation for recent attacks on Shiite shrines, said Capt. Muthana Ahmed of the Babil provincial police. The Interior Ministry raised the death toll from Tuesday's suicide truck bombing outside the Shiite al-Khilani mosque in Baghdad to 87, with more than 200 injured. A group of eight Christian students was abducted in the northern city of Mosul on Wednesday, according to Mosul police Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim al-Jibouri. There has been a rash of attacks and kidnappings involving Christians in recent weeks. Other Washington Post staff in Iraq contributed to this report.	Washington Post coverage of the American occupation of Iraq, the country's path to democracy and tensions between Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds.	33.2	0.64	0.88	medium	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902351.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902351.html	Report Slams Small's Tenure	2007062319	Former Smithsonian secretary Lawrence M. Small took nearly 10 weeks of vacation a year during seven years running the vast museum complex and was absent from his job 400 workdays while earning $5.7 million on outside work, according to an independent commission report to be released today. The Smithsonian's second-ranking official, Sheila P. Burke, was absent from her job as deputy secretary for 550 days while earning $10 million over six years on non-museum work. The report, obtained yesterday by The Washington Post, concluded that Small "created an imperialistic and insular culture" that discouraged dissent, kept secrets and limited the flow of information to the Board of Regents, whose job it was to hire and oversee Small. "Mr. Small's management style -- limiting his interaction to a small number of Smithsonian senior executives and discouraging those who disagreed with him -- was a significant factor in creating the problems faced by the Smithsonian today," the report concluded. "His attitude and disposition were ill-suited to public service and to an institution that relies so heavily, as the Smithsonian does, on federal government support." The report also found that Small's fundraising ability, which earlier had been used to justify his salary and housing allowance, was less effective than that of his predecessor, I. Michael Heyman, who raised more money his last year on the job than Small did in 2006. The report found that fundraising declined and business revenues dropped during Small's tenure, "making the Smithsonian more reliant on federal appropriations and grants." The 108-page executive report to be released today was prepared by an independent panel led by former U.S. comptroller general Charles A. Bowsher with the assistance of the Williams & Connolly and Arnold & Porter law firms. The panel investigated lavish spending and management at the nationally revered 160-year-old institution, which encompasses 18 museums and the National Zoo. Roger Sant, chairman of the regents' executive committee, said in a statement last night that the regents were "sobered by the findings on executive compensation, financial controls and ineffective policies. We take all the findings very seriously. . . . We have identified and are learning from our mistakes. We are now turning the corner." The review committee was formed by the regents following reports about unauthorized expenditures, including charges for chartered jet travel, Small's wife's trip to Cambodia, luxury car service, hotel rooms and expensive gifts. On Monday, in anticipation of the report, the regents announced management reforms. Small, while taking substantial time off, earned his full salary -- $915,568 his last year on the job -- because he was permitted unlimited leave. Burke, who also had no restrictions on leave, earned $400,000 in her last year on the job. The terms of Burke's employment were known in most instances only to Small and Burke. Information about Burke's outside employment and activities on more than a dozen nonprofit boards and commissions was not shared with the Board of Regents, the report found. Small resigned in March and Burke announced her resignation on Monday on the eve of the independent review report. The investigators found that "Mr. Small placed too much emphasis on his compensation and expenses." Small's compensation far exceeded that of prior Smithsonian secretaries -- 42 percent higher than his predecessor's when he began in 2000 and 250 percent higher when he left seven years later. Small "aggressively guarded each and every element of what he viewed as his rightful compensation package," including his $150,000-a-year housing allowance. Small's contract stated that the allowance was meant to compensate Small for his use of his home for job-related entertainment, but the review board determined that it was "simply additional salary."	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.	17.166667	0.52381	0.714286	medium	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062001456.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062001456.html	U.S. Refuses to Free 5 Captured Iranians Until at Least October	2007062319	The United States will not release five Iranians detained in a U.S. military raid in northern Iraq until at least October, despite entreaties from the Iraqi government and pressure from Iran, U.S. officials said. The delay is as much due to a communication and procedural foul-up within the U.S. government as a policy decision, they added. During his Washington visit this week, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari appealed to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to free the Iranians, who were arrested in Irbil in January, U.S. and Arab officials said. Zebari told U.S. officials that the release would help the new U.S.-Iran dialogue on Iraq, which brought diplomats from the two nations together last month in Baghdad at their first public meeting in almost three decades. Iran has become pivotal to U.S. efforts to stabilize Iraq because Tehran exerts great influence in Iraq with a wide cross-section of parties and has armed and trained many militant groups. Zebari also warned that Tehran might not attend a second session unless the Iranians are released, the sources said. The U.S. raid on Iran's northern liaison office Jan. 11 was designed to detain two senior Iranian officials who were visiting Iraq, U.S. officials said. The two escaped arrest, but U.S. commandos did detain five mid-level operatives working with Iran's elite Quds Force, which is the foreign operations wing of Iran's Revolutionary Guards and is tied to arming, training and funding militants in Iraq. The detention of the Iranians followed President Bush's vow to break up Tehran's networks in Iraq. The fate of the five men has reached the highest levels of the White House, with Bush's top foreign policy advisers meeting to discuss the issue in the spring. They agreed to hold the men as they do other foreign fighters captured in Iraq, with their status reviewed every six months. They were originally due for review six months after their detention -- or by mid-July. Instead, the Multinational Force headquarters reviewed their status in April, meaning they are not eligible for another review until October, U.S. officials said. Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker were unaware that a review had occurred until last week, the officials noted. Zebari was not told of the new timeframe during his talks in Washington, U.S. and Arab officials said. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned June 13 that the United States would face consequences for its January raid. "We will make the U.S. regret its repulsive, illegal action against Iran's consulate and its officials," Mottaki told reporters in Tehran. The same day, Iran filed a complaint with the United Nations. "U.S. military forces, in violation of the most basic provisions governing diplomatic and consulate affairs and in a flagrant contempt for the most fundamental principles of international law, attacked the Iranian Consulate General in Irbil and abducted five Iranian consular officers after disarming the guards of the premises, breaking the doors into the building and beating and injuring the personnel of the Consulate General," the letter said.	The United States will not release five Iranians detained in a U.S. military raid in northern Iraq until at least October, despite entreaties from the Iraqi government and pressure from Iran, U.S. officials said. The delay is as much due to a communication and procedural foul-up within the U.S....	10.410714	0.964286	26.607143	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062000952.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/20/AR2007062000952.html	Special Court Convicts 3 of Sierra Leone War Crimes	2007062319	FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, June 20 -- Three former military leaders in Sierra Leone were found guilty of war crimes Wednesday by a U.N.-backed court, the first verdicts stemming from the country's 10-year civil war. The ruling also marks the first conviction in an international court for the conscription of child soldiers -- a practice made notorious by images of drugged elementary-school-age boys wielding automatic weapons in the regional conflict. The court found the three defendants, Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu, guilty of 11 of 14 charges, including terrorism, using child soldiers, enslavement, rape and murder. The three were acquitted of charges of sexual slavery, "other inhumane acts" related to physical violence and acts related to sexual violence, said Peter Andersen, spokesman for the Sierra Leone Special Court. The tribunal was set up after the end of fighting in 2002 to prosecute the worst offenders in a war that ravaged the small West African country and also consumed neighboring Liberia. The court has indicted 12 people, including former Liberian president Charles Taylor, who is accused of backing Sierra Leonean rebels. Charges against the three men convicted Wednesday in Freetown linked them to fighters who raped women, burned villages, conscripted thousands of child soldiers and forced others to work as laborers in diamond mines. The three were indicted in 2003 as the alleged leaders of the junta, called the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. The group of former military officers toppled Sierra Leone's government in 1997 and then teamed up with rebels to control the country until 1998, according to the indictment. Sentencing is scheduled for July 16. David Crane, the founding prosecutor of the Sierra Leone Special Court, called the ruling a watershed moment for human rights. "This particular judgment sets the cornerstone forever -- those who recruit children into an armed force are criminally liable," Crane said. Although children have been used in wars throughout history, experts say the recruitment and conscription of children reached a new level in Sierra Leone and Liberia. In Liberia, Taylor's men are accused of organizing the so-called Small Boys Unit, which conscripted youngsters, armed them with machine guns and baptized them with names like Babykiller. About a half-million people were victims of killings, systematic mutilation and other atrocities in Sierra Leone's conflict, which was fueled by illicit diamond sales.	FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, June 20 -- Three former military leaders in Sierra Leone were found guilty of war crimes Wednesday by a U.N.-backed court, the first verdicts stemming from the country's 10-year civil war.	11.243902	1	41	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902192.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902192.html	A Gymnastics Boot Camp	2007062319	NEW WAVERLY, Tex. -- It involves a trek to the wilderness to reach the 2,000-acre Karolyi ranch, home of the national training center for the country's elite female gymnasts. Here, an hour north of Houston, far from the interstate, across the train tracks and tucked miles down a rutted, gravel road is a surreal scene: 30,000 square feet of gym space, a dance studio and rows of cabins set amid a clearing in a dense forest in which camels roam, peacocks honk and red tail deer lurk. Save for the cabins that house the gymnasts, the buildings will be padlocked in January, when average temperatures will hover around 50 degrees. And the top prospects for the 2008 U.S. Olympic gymnastics squad, ages 15 to 20, will be put through a grueling regimen of Outward Bound-style training that includes cross-country running over the rugged terrain, rope climbing, push-ups, pull-ups and dancing among the trees, with every activity timed and graded. It's hardly the training you might envision for athletes not much bigger than a music-box ballerina. But in the view of Bela Karolyi, the bear-hugging icon of women's gymnastics for more than three decades, it's precisely the sort of training the U.S. hopefuls need to take on the traditional powers of Russia and his native Romania, as well as new world power China, at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. With his shock of white hair, bushy mustache and thick Hungarian accent, Bela Karolyi, 64, is the most colorful character in the cast that is preparing the U.S. women for the upcoming Olympics. But he is essentially a role player, having been eclipsed by his wife, Martha (pronounced "Marta"), who took over as national team coordinator in 2001 after near revolt against Bela's dictatorial approach. And the role reversal -- with Martha as master coach, and Bela as the training-center's chief fundraiser and architect -- has produced a record medal haul for the country. Since Martha's appointment following the U.S. women's fourth-place showing at the 2000 Sydney Games, the squad has enjoyed a glorious turn atop the podium. They won the 2003 world championship team title; the silver team medal at the 2004 Olympics; nine medals at the 2005 world champions; and five medals, including a team silver, at the 2006 world championships (China won gold). Most say the credit belongs to Martha, the most powerful person behind the women's team, who is more comfortable deflecting accolades than taking bows. She works directly with the gymnasts and their personal coaches, while Bela tends to his flock of exotic animals and constructs whatever the gymnasts need -- including the outdoor fitness course that he is convinced will produce the toughest athletes, pound for pound, at the 2008 Games. The Karolyis' system, installed with the blessing and funding of USA Gymnastics, the sport's national governing body, is a hybrid of the centralized, state-run Romanian model and the individual American approach. Gymnasts continue to live with their families at home, where they train year-round with personal coaches and attend school. But every six weeks they travel to the Karolyi ranch, accompanied by their coaches (no parents allowed), where they train as a group for three to five days at a time. At each session, Martha makes clear what she is looking for in selecting the next Olympic team, as well as what the international judges will be looking for in awarding the coveted gold medals. Then she patrols the gym, evaluating workouts according to the most exacting standards. Each athlete is graded monthly on her physical conditioning. And each must compete on all four apparatus (balance beam, floor, uneven bars and vault), with the routines scored to track their progressing and steel their poise under pressure. With a broad smile and supportive manner, Martha is piercing and direct with her evaluations. One gymnast may need more flexibility; another, more leg strength; another, greater artistry. She probes constantly for cracks in mental fitness, as well. "Sometimes a gymnast in workout situation is ideal person -- very hard worker, very nice girl, would do anything to please everybody and is permanently improving herself," says Martha, with an accent similar to her husband's. "But when the lights are on in the big arena and the noise, she is shrinking, shrinking. And you are sorry. But that's the hardest part to improve. You cannot rely on them. And if you cannot rely on them, you cannot risk [putting them on] the team. If you have the ability but you cannot perform, what good is it?" With 4 million American children participating in gymnastics, the pipeline for prospective Olympians is gushing. There is enough talent, insiders say, to field multiple Olympic teams. The challenge is assembling a squad that is accomplished both technically and artistically; sufficiently diverse to excel in all four events; injury-free; and emotionally unshakable. That's what the Karolyi camp is about: The harsh business of culling the pack as you might thoroughbred horses, separating those whose bodies and minds are breaking down from those who blossoming. The fact that it's a numbers game is lost on no one. The gymnasts strive to impress from the moment they arrive -- their hair anchored in tidy ponytails, their posture erect, heads held high and toes impossibly pointed. With selection to the 2007 Pan American Games squad at stake, 17 members of the U.S. national and junior teams put their skills on display, with one eye on pleasing Martha and the other looking over their shoulder at their peers. The internal dialogue is obvious: "Who is doing a more difficult trick than I am?" "Who is doing the same trick with more power or grace?" "Do I need to work harder?" Says Chellsie Memmel, 18, of West Allis, Wis., the 2005 all-around world champion: "You come here and you know what is expected of you. You just have to come here and work. There aren't any distractions here. It's like we come here and do our job." The Pan Am team selections will be announced later that evening. For now, the last session of camp has ended, and the gymnasts line up shoulder-to-shoulder, shortest to tallest, to present themselves to Martha. With perfect posture, she announces the three who scored highest on the test of physical conditioning. Each steps forward to receive applause, including second-place Corrie Lothrop, 15, a junior-team member from Gaithersburg who has rebounded from back injury. "Not too much to talk" about, Martha says in conclusion. "Let's have a good working time. All come back happy and ready to go with our very high goals." Then in unison, as if members of the Von Trapp family singers, the gymnasts say: "Thank you, Martha, coaches and national staff. Good-bye." Finally each steps forward according to height. Martha cradles each gymnast's face in her hands, then drops her palms to the top of her shoulders, leans down and speaks in a tone so hushed that only the gymnast can hear. She tells each what she did well this session and what she needs to improve before returning next month. And one by one they take a balletic turn toward the gym door and march out, head high.	At a remote ranch in Texas, gymnastics icon Bela Karolyi and his wife Martha use a grueling training regimen to mold young American girls into potential U.S. Olympians for the 2008 games and beyond.	40.583333	0.75	1.138889	high	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902206.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902206.html	Home Depot Sells Unit, Announces Stock Buyback	2007062319	Under Nardelli, who left the company in January under criticism for the size of his paycheck and the price of the company's stock, the company had expanded beyond its familiar do-it-yourself warehouse stores into wholesale supplies for professional builders. Although he doubled sales in his six years at the company, Nardelli was unable to move the stock price. The sale of HD Supply essentially dismantles what was left of his strategy and infuses cash into the company at a key time as it attempts a turnaround in the face of a severe downturn in home construction. Home Depot's board yesterday authorized a massive $22.5 billion share repurchase -- the equivalent of taking nearly a third of its shares off the market -- which should boost its languishing stock, analysts said. "Nobody expected a repurchase of this magnitude," Hoff said. "It's a bold move, and I think it's a positive one for shareholders." The struggling retailer now plans to focus on improving its stores to keep up with its high-performing rival, Lowe's. "They're almost negating what Nardelli brought to the table," said Stephanie Hoff, a senior retail analyst at Edward Jones, an investment firm. Nardelli was fired Jan. 2, and his $210 million exit package sparked an uproar over executive compensation. Many investors felt he did not deserve such a lavish pay package given the languishing performance of Home Depot's shares. Nardelli had earlier angered them by refusing to answer questions at an infamous annual meeting late last year. Details of the sale leaked out early yesterday, pushing Home Depot shares up 0.8 percent by the closing bell. In after-hours trading, the stock shot up about 5 percent on news of the repurchase program. With high potential for growth, HD Supply could have been a "home run" for Home Depot, Hoff said, even though it was a small part of the business. But it would have taken time to grow, and many investors had lost patience with the division. Instead, Home Depot plans to spend $2 billion this year on improving customer service, adding more experts in stores and enhancing inventory. The buyers of HD Supply -- private-equity firms Bain Capital Partners, Carlyle Group and Clayton Dubilier & Rice -- will each own a third of the new company, which will keep its name. The division's current head, Joe DeAngelo, will become the new chief executive. The sale is expected to close in the third quarter. Wholesale construction supply is a $400 billion business with a fragmented landscape populated largely by mom-and-pop operations, said Chris Ullman, a Carlyle spokesman. He called it "ripe for consolidation." HD Supply, for instance, is the second-largest business in the sector with 26,000 employees and 1,000 locations across North America; but it controls only 4 percent of the market. Last year, the division had revenue of $12.1 billion, second in industry to Ferguson Enterprises, a division of a British company. As a company, Home Depot took in$90.8 billion in 2006. With its national footprint and deep-pocketed backers, HD Supply could return a windfall for its new owners. "It's a big opportunity for a focused management team," Ullman said. "It's a grow-and-consolidate type of play." HD Supply had been up for sale for months. The winning bidders trumped a rival offer from private-equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners and CCMP Capital Advisors. The sale is an all-cash deal and most of the proceeds will be used for Home Depot's share repurchase program. The company is also borrowing $12 billion to pay for the repurchase. In effect, that means the company is relying more on debt for its funding sources and is taking away a huge chunk of shares from the market -- a not-uncommon move for mature businesses. Home Depot said its earnings per share are expected to decline by 9 percent on a 52-week basis. Analysts said that outlook reflects the struggles of housing, which is suffering its biggest downturn in 16 years. The Commerce Department reported yesterday that construction of new homes and apartments dropped by 2.1 percent last month, 24.2 percent below the year-ago level.	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.	18.886364	0.454545	0.5	medium	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061900535.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061900535.html	Snyder Adds A TV Icon To His Empire	2007062319	Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder yesterday purchased the company behind the Golden Globe Awards show and Dick Clark's "American Bandstand," adding to Snyder's entertainment portfolio that includes movies, amusement parks and a 1950s-themed hamburger chain. In the past two years, Snyder has struck a deal to produce movies with Tom Cruise. He has bought the Johnny Rockets restaurant chain, which features a waitstaff that dances and sings oldies. He has assembled a group of five radio stations to transmit his team's football games. And he continues to spend millions of dollars to recast Six Flags' troubled theme parks. Snyder's Red Zone Capital, a private-equity firm, yesterday announced the purchase of Dick Clark Productions for $175 million from Mandalay Entertainment Group, a private company owned by Peter Guber, formerly studio chief of Columbia Pictures. Six Flags, a publicly traded company, will own 40 percent of the production company. Along with the "Bandstand" library of television shows spanning three decades, Snyder gets the perennial "New Year's Rockin' Eve" broadcast from Times Square, the Golden Globe Awards show, the American Music Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards. Red Zone and Dick Clark Productions have hired Creative Artists Agency, a Hollywood talent firm, to help find ways to exploit and sell the company's properties. Six Flags chief executive Mark Shapiro said the Dick Clark properties, which include the popular reality television show "So You Think You Can Dance," provide a natural fit with the company's theme parks. "This raises the consciousness of our brand and better positions us to speak directly to the American family," Shapiro said. "These are all shows that the entire family watches together. There is the opportunity to do special events like clinics, tours, auditions at the parks." Shapiro, who declined to comment on Red Zone or any other of Snyder's holdings, said he envisions the 877 hour-long "American Bandstand" reruns being broadcast on plasma screens across Six Flags parks. "We can use awards-show tickets, promotions and backstage passes to drive season-pass sales," he said. " 'Buy a Six Flags season pass and win a chance to go to the American Music Awards.' We are putting plasma screens in every crowded ride line and every crowded food line. And now people can watch our own content. Who's not going to watch the Rolling Stones on 'American Bandstand'?" The Dick Clark acquisition fits into Red Zone's investments, as well as Snyder's personal holdings, in leisure industry assets. After making his fortune in marketing, he bought the Redskins and turned it into one of the most valuable franchises in professional sports. Snyder has since gone into the private-equity business with an eye toward Hollywood, as well as toward acquiring what he has termed "under-marketed" leisure properties. So frequent have been his visits to the West Coast that fellow businessmen and associates of Snyder have been talking privately in the past few months about whether Snyder would buy a residence in Los Angeles. Snyder, who will take over as chairman of Dick Clark Productions, declined to comment. In a press release, he said, "This was a rare opportunity to acquire a powerhouse portfolio and grow it in new directions." Terry Bateman, former chief marketing officer for the Redskins, will be chief executive of Dick Clark Productions.	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.	15.204545	0.477273	0.477273	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061901904.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061901904.html	Breast Cancer Drug Study Canceled	2007062319	The federal government yesterday canceled a $100 million study designed to test a new generation of drugs to prevent breast cancer in women at risk for the disease. The National Cancer Institute took the unusual step of terminating the long-planned study, saying the massive project could not be justified amid questions about the study's usefulness and the drugs' safety. "The numerous scientific concerns . . . are sufficiently formidable that the NCI will not commit to the funding of this particular trial," the agency wrote. "While the . . . study may provide another possible option for women at risk for breast cancer, the dangers of introducing these drugs, with their many known side effects, outweighs their potential until we are better able to determine who will benefit from these interventions and what the longer term effect may be." The decision was criticized by proponents, who argued that the study would have been crucial to determining the best drugs to prevent breast cancer, potentially protecting thousands of women from the common malignancy. "We're certainly disappointed," said D. Lawrence Wickerham of the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project in Pittsburgh, which was organizing the study. "We feel this trial is scientifically valid and one that has the potential to impact the health of thousands of women in this country and around the world." The planned study had divided breast cancer researchers and patient advocates. About 180,000 U.S. women are diagnosed with breast cancer each year and about 40,000 die from it, making it the second most common cancer in women and second leading cause of cancer deaths in women. At least 1 million women are at high risk for the disease because of family history, having a gene that increases their risk or other reasons. The only drug approved to reduce the risk is tamoxifen, which blocks the hormone estrogen. But because tamoxifen increases the risk for uterine cancer and blood clots, few women take it unless they have already had breast cancer. Another estrogen-blocking drug, called raloxifene, appears equally effective with fewer serious side effects, but it has also not been widely adopted in part because it can cause hot flashes and other symptoms similar to those of menopause. The study was intended to evaluate a new generation of drugs known as aromatase inhibitors, which appear to be more effective at reducing the risk. The study would have involved giving either raloxifene or the aromatase inhibitor letrozole to 12,800 women at high risk for breast cancer at 500 sites across the United States and Canada and then following them for five years. After multiple reviews, the cancer institute had initially endorsed the trial. But amid budget concerns, NCI Director John Niederhuber in January called for a new review, citing scientific questions about the project. A committee Niederhuber appointed decided last week not to endorse the project, citing its cost and the fact that two large studies comparing other aromatase inhibitors with a placebo were underway in the United States and England and would provide answers before the federal trial would be completed. The committee also questioned how many women would use an aromatase inhibitor even if it was shown to be effective. Aromatase inhibitors carry risks, particularly of brittle bones. Although some breast cancer advocacy groups had endorsed the study, others had lobbied against it, saying more research was needed to better identify women who would benefit most from such drugs, particularly because of the side effects. "We're talking about giving very powerful drugs to healthy women who have not had breast cancer," said Barbara Brenner of the group Breast Cancer Action. "We know there are lots of side effects in the short term. We have no idea what they would do in the long term." Others disagreed, saying women should have the choice. "A woman who is very high risk for breast cancer wants to see if she can do something to prevent it. She should have that option," said Pat Halpin-Murphy of the Pennsylvania Breast Cancer Coalition.	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.	18.190476	0.428571	0.52381	medium	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902061.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902061.html	Somalia's Opposition Regrouping, Planning	2007062319	NAIROBI, June 19 -- Far from being defeated, Somalia's opposition groups are politically uniting, strengthening and planning a conference next month to hone their strategy for ousting the Somali government and the Ethiopian troops backing it, according to a recent statement issued by the groups and to a foreign diplomat in the Somali capital. The official, who is closely involved in the country's faltering reconciliation process and spoke on condition of anonymity because of his position, said that Somali insurgents "are reaching out to different clans and to the general public without any conditions" and that "it is becoming a war between Somalia and Ethiopia." "Things are getting worse instead of better," the official said, stating what is perhaps obvious to families who have lost relatives to the insurgents' bombs and Ethiopian attacks. The U.S. government supported Ethiopia's military intervention in Somalia, which ousted the Islamic Courts movement, which was popular for the security it brought to parts of the country but which included leaders the United States accused of having ties to al-Qaeda, a charge the leaders denied. In a pattern that analysts have compared to Iraq on a small scale, Ethiopia's incursion was followed by an insurgency, composed of Islamic Courts fighters and militias drawn mainly from Mogadishu's powerful Hawiye clan, who accuse Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf of excluding them. In late March and April, Ethiopian and Somali government troops launched a major offensive with tanks and attack helicopters against insurgents hiding in Mogadishu's civilian neighborhoods, and afterward, they declared victory. But after a brief calm, insurgent attacks have again flared. A roadside bomb exploded Monday in the capital, killing two civilians, and an assassination attempt was made Tuesday on a high-ranking official. In a move to assuage the opposition, a spokesman for Yusuf said later Tuesday that the government would offer amnesty to former Islamic movement fighters and release others from jail. But the opposition appears only to be growing. Groups that once were quarrelsome and fragmented are unifying against their common enemies, including the United States, which has launched two airstrikes and one naval strike against insurgents since January. Earlier this month, a group calling itself the Global Anti-Aggression Campaign met in Doha, Qatar, and issued a statement condemning "Ethiopian naked aggression" and Ethiopia's "collaborators." Attendees included former Islamic Courts leader Sharif Ahmed, the former speaker of the Somali parliament and members of the Somali diaspora. According to the statement, the group will hold a conference next month to establish a "Somali national movement for the liberation of the country from the foreign oppressive occupation by all legitimate means available." A national reconciliation conference aimed at bringing political stability to the troubled nation in the Horn of Africa is also scheduled for next month, having been postponed last week for a fourth time. Somali officials said various groups needed more time to choose their delegates, but opposition leaders called the conference a sham, saying it is merely an attempt by Yusuf to consolidate his power. The complaint is hardly confined to Yusuf's opponents. The diplomat in Mogadishu said on Monday that the United Nations, the United States and other nations are "sleepwalking to failure" in Somalia by continuing to back a government that refuses to acknowledge the opposition except by fighting it. "The Somali government is in a state of denial," the official said. "They can't accept that there is an opposition, and that's very foolish. There are daily roadside bombs in Mogadishu. Today for example. And it's almost every day."	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.	15.043478	0.434783	0.521739	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902037.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902037.html	Libby Files Appeal to Delay Prison	2007062319	Former White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who faces prison soon in the CIA leak case, asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to delay his serving of the sentence. The former chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, Libby was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for lying and obstructing an investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's identity. A federal judge has denied a request to stay the sentence while Libby appeals his conviction. In a motion to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Libby argued that the ruling was inappropriate. He said he has a good chance of having his conviction overturned and should not have to serve jail time while the court challenge plays out. "The Bureau of Prisons will shortly designate a prison facility and direct Libby to report within a period of two to three weeks after designation," his attorneys wrote. "Accordingly, we respectfully ask that the court expedite action on this application." A delay in the sentence would give President Bush more time to consider whether to pardon Libby, who also served as an assistant to the president. Libby's supporters have called for a pardon, saying Libby was not the source of any leak and got caught up in a political investigation.	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.	5.833333	0.333333	0.333333	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902169.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061902169.html	Ex-Interior Official Asks For Leniency	2007062319	Lawyers for former deputy interior secretary J. Steven Griles have asked a federal judge to turn aside the government's recommendation of jail time for their client in favor of three months of home detention when he is sentenced next week on a felony charge of obstructing the Senate's investigation of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Prosecutors, who have recommended a split sentence of five months in jail and five months of home detention, filed a lengthy memo supporting that view with Judge Ellen S. Huvelle last week. Griles pleaded guilty in March to lying to the Senate about the nature of his relationship with the now-convicted lobbyist. Griles was introduced to Abramoff by a girlfriend who ran an advocacy group financed by Abramoff's Indian tribal clients and who acted as a go-between for their lobbying concerns. Griles's attorneys told the court that he did not conceal his interactions with Abramoff, disputing the Justice Department's contention that his obstruction prevented the Senate from discovering "the secret, unique, sustained and unfettered access Abramoff had" to him. They disputed as "inaccurate inferences" government assertions that Griles avidly pushed Abramoff's lobbying requests as he urged the lobbyist to hire his friends and bankroll a friend's plan for a charity. Griles is scheduled to be sentenced Tuesday.	Lawyers for former deputy interior secretary J. Steven Griles have asked a federal judge to turn aside the government's recommendation of jail time for their client in favor of three months of home detention when he is sentenced next week on a felony charge of obstructing the Senate's investigation...	4.634615	0.980769	50.019231	low	high	extractive
http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2007/06/crime_and_penitence.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/2007/06/crime_and_penitence.html	Crime and Penitence	2007062319	In researching âBody of Lies,â my new novel about the Middle East, I asked the heads of several Arab intelligence services about interrogation techniques. They each said that in questioning Al Qaeda members, a useful method was to have a devout Muslim sheik present during the interrogationâsomeone who could pray with a young convert to Al Qaedaâs brand of Salafist Islam and convince him that this was a false path of Islam, not the true path. Which raises an interesting question: Should clerics from any religion be part of an interrogation process? Having a sheik in the interrogation room is certainly better than extracting information through âwaterboarding,â or some other grotesque form of torture. But what are the proper limits? When the British were interrogating IRA terrorists, for example, should they have brought a Catholic priest into the cell block, in the hope of extracting useful information? When Timothy McVeigh was questioned about the Oklahoma City bombing, should a priest or minister have urged him to ârepent, repent!â? What about information obtained during confession? If a priest hears a penitent confess that he has placed a bomb at Dulles Airport, what responsibility does he have (if any) to warn authorities? These questions arenât easy to answer, but hereâs my own view: At the heart of Islamic terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda is a perverted notion of Islam. The converts to this false path need to be âdeprogrammed,â much like the members of any other cult. The best people to do thisâperhaps the only peopleâare Muslim clerics who can speak with authority about the meaning of the Koran and the hadith, or sayings of the Prophet Mohammed. The Saudis have created an innovative âdeprogrammingâ effort that has steered hundreds of Al Qaeda captives back toward a less violent (but still Wahabbist) form of Islam. Jordan has a similar program. So does the United Arab Emirates. A skillful interrogator can use religious concepts, even if he isnât a sheik. I can cite one remarkable real-life example, drawn from Jordan, the country where my novel âBody of Liesâ is set. After the horrific hotel bombings in Amman in November 2005, the Jordanians captured the wife of one of the bombers. The chief of the Al Qaeda branch of the Jordanian General Intelligence Department knew that it was urgent to obtain information quickly. He interrogated the woman himself. He began by saying that women were the source of strength of the Arab and Muslim worldâthe source of everything that was good and pure. Knowing that she was childless, he addressed her throughout as âMother.â On a television screen behind him were images of the carnage at the hotels, where dozens of Jordanian families had been killed or wounded. The Jordanian interrogator asked the distraught woman why she had participated in these terrible acts. She answered that her husband had ordered her to do so. âThese acts are against Godâs will,â said the interrogator. âDonât you understand that it is wrong to obey your husband before God?â The woman began to break in that moment. âYou need to repent,â the interrogator said. And she did, providing a full confession that helped break up the cell and save many more lives. If Godâs priests are present in an interrogation room, whose side are they on? My own answer would be that they take the side of the victimsâthe victims of terrorist bombings, past and future, who might be saved by a penitantâs confession; and also the prisoners who may be victims of torture and other outrages against human dignity. David Ignatius, co-moderator of PostGlobal, is a Washington Post columnist with a wide-ranging career in journalism, having served at various times as a reporter, foreign correspondent and editor. He has also written widely for magazines and published six novels.	A conversation on religion with Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn. Visit http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/	51.428571	0.428571	0.428571	high	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061901442.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007062319id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/19/AR2007061901442.html	Pakistan Protests Knighthood for Salman Rushdie	2007062319	Pakistani officials summoned Robert Brinkley, the British high commissioner in Islamabad, to express anger over the honor for Rushdie, which was announced along with British government honors for about 950 people on Queen Elizabeth II's ceremonial birthday on June 16. The knighthood means that the writer, who turned 60 on Tuesday, will be known in Britain as Sir Salman. "Sir Salman's knighthood is a reflection of his contribution to literature throughout a long and distinguished career which has seen him receive international recognition for a substantial body of work," Brinkley said in a statement. Noting that at least two Muslims had also received honors from the queen, Brinkley said, "It is simply untrue that this knighthood is intended as an insult to Islam or the prophet Mohammad." The row over Rushdie comes at a time of tense relations between the British government and Britain's 2 million-strong Muslim population, the largest group of whom are of Pakistani descent. Many Muslims in Britain have complained that they suffer discrimination and have been unfairly targeted by authorities since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States and suicide bombings on the London public transportation system carried out by Islamic extremists in July 2005. "Muslims are bound to take this as a signal by the British establishment that we don't give a damn what you think, we are backing the guy that insulted you," said Asghar Bukhari, spokesman for the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, a British group that advocates Muslim involvement in the democratic process. "It's sending a signal in these tense times and adds evidence to a community that certain governments are waging a war on Islam," Bukhari said. "It's a small thing, but a big thing symbolically. When you say 'Salman Rushdie,' you know Muslims don't like him -- what service has he done for Britain? Nothing apart from attacking the Muslim community." The Pakistani National Assembly passed a resolution Monday demanding that Britain withdraw Rushdie's knighthood. Pakistan's parliamentary affairs minister, Sher Afgan Khan Niazi, who sponsored the resolution, said the award would "encourage people to commit blasphemy against the prophet Mohammad." The provincial assembly in Northwest Frontier Province issued a resolution saying Rushdie was "hated in the Muslim world" and called the award "part of a campaign being waged in Europe and the West to hurt the feelings of Muslims." On Sunday, Iran condemned the honor for Rushdie. "Giving a medal to someone who is among the most detested figures in the Islamic community is . . . a blatant example of the anti-Islamism of senior British officials," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini. A spokeswoman for the British foreign ministry, who spoke on the condition of anonymity following standard government practice here, said Brinkley expressed "deep concern" to Pakistani officials over comments reportedly made Monday by Pakistan's religious affairs minister, Mohammad Ejaz-ul-Haq. Various news agencies reported that Ejaz-ul-Haq said, during Monday's parliamentary debate over Rushdie's honor: "If someone commits suicide bombing to protect the honor of the prophet Mohammad, his act is justified." He later returned to parliament to say that he was not supporting or trying to incite suicide bombing, but simply trying to explain its origins, according to news reports. "The British government is very clear that nothing can justify suicide bomb attacks," the foreign office spokeswoman said. The spokeswoman downplayed the significance of the disagreement with Pakistan, which she described as a "key ally" of Britain. Special correspondent Karla Adam contributed to this report.	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.	15.152174	0.5	0.586957	low	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/12/AR2007061201691.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007061619id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/12/AR2007061201691.html	Ms. Clinton, Thinking Small	2007061619	THERE ARE pluses and minuses, it's often said, to having a former first lady running for president. On the debit side, for example, is the oligarchical aura of two families passing the presidency back and forth for 24 or possibly 28 consecutive years. On the positive side is the experience Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) gained during eight years in the White House, experience that ought to translate into a broader national perspective than a senator or governor can attain. But has it? That's the question raised by Ms. Clinton's announcement over the weekend that she will oppose the free-trade agreement with South Korea -- and for the narrowest of special-interest reasons. It's hard to imagine an issue where the national and international benefits weigh so clearly and heavily on one side. Yet Ms. Clinton, sounding more auto salesman than statesman, has joined many of her Democratic colleagues in Congress in opting to jettison those benefits. The United States and South Korea in April concluded 10 months of negotiations to sign what would be, if ratified, the most far-reaching trade agreement since the pact with Mexico and Canada that President Bill Clinton championed in 1993. It's a pact between the world's largest and 11th-largest economies that would benefit workers, farmers and companies on both sides. As a democracy with a strong trade union movement, South Korea doesn't pose the workers' rights challenges that vex unionists in agreements with poorer countries. This deal would open the Korean market to a wide array of U.S. agricultural, industrial and cultural products and services; in fact, the political risks in South Korea are far higher than here. And it would demonstrate U.S. commitment to a vital region at a time when China is steadily gaining ground. But forget all that; Ms. Clinton objects that South Korean manufacturers sell many more cars here than do American carmakers over there. Never mind that the agreement requires Korea to remove discriminatory tariffs and taxes on U.S. cars; never mind that U.S. tariffs on Korean cars can "snap back" if Korea doesn't keep its word. Not good enough, says Ms. Clinton. What more could she have wanted for Detroit? She won't say. The candidate announced her opposition at a union gathering in Michigan, where it was well received. Former senator John Edwards announced his opposition in April; Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) isn't sure yet, a spokesman says. Where are the Democratic candidates with the courage to say, as Bill Clinton once did, that openness to the world is good for America and good for the world? One would have hoped that Ms. Clinton would be such a candidate. But if she can't stand up in as clear a case as this one, the hope may be misplaced.	THERE ARE pluses and minuses, it's often said, to having a former first lady running for president. On the debit side, for example, is the oligarchical aura of two families passing the presidency back and forth for 24 or possibly 28 consecutive years. On the positive side is the experience Sen. H...	8.983333	0.966667	56.066667	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/12/AR2007061201674.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007061619id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/12/AR2007061201674.html	Harry Reid's Sham	2007061619	Harry Reid, the Senate's majority leader and resident Uriah Heep, affected 'umble and syrupy sadness about the Senate's inability to pass the immigration bill that he pulled from the floor last Thursday evening for a transparently meretricious reason. Saying the Senate's time was too precious to expend on what would have been limited debate on a limited number of Republican amendments to the bill, Reid vowed: "Everyone that's been home, there are two issues that are foremost in their minds: Number one is the Iraq war and number two are gas prices. We're going to deal with that as soon as we finish with this immigration legislation." So the Senate took Friday off, wasted Monday in the predictable futility of failing to pass a nonbinding nullity, a resolution expressing constitutionally irrelevant lack of confidence in the attorney general, then debated lowering gasoline prices -- or cooling the planet, or something -- by spending taxpayers' money to raise food prices. It took up legislation to quintuple the mandated use of mostly corn-based ethanol, which already has increased Americans' food bills $14 billion in the past 12 months. For such silliness, Reid scuttled the bipartisan attempt to improve the eminently improvable immigration status quo. Senators from both parties who are trying to resuscitate the bill surely read last weekend's Rasmussen poll recording public approval of Reid ( 19 percent) far below the president's pathetic 36 percent. Democrats who control this floundering and roundly disapproved Congress are paying a painful price for the pleasure of defeating everything that could be construed in any way as an achievement by the president. Granted, Reid is just one reason for the immigration legislation's parlous condition. Another reason is that lessons from 14 years ago have been forgotten. In his new biography of Hillary Clinton, " A Woman in Charge," Carl Bernstein recalls April 23-25, 1993, the 94th, 95th and 96th days of the Clinton administration, when the president and Mrs. Clinton attended a retreat with Senate Democrats in Williamsburg. It was already clear that the Clintons were not going to fulfill their promise to present "comprehensive" health-care legislation within their first 100 days. Bernstein reports that two of the most respected and, for Mrs. Clinton's purposes, most important senators, Pat Moynihan and Bill Bradley (both were on the Finance Committee, which would handle her legislation; Moynihan was chairman), were appalled by her highhandedness. Bradley asked her whether the tardiness in delivering her bill would complicate passage by making the bill competitive with other legislative goals, and he suggested that some substantive changes in her proposal might be necessary. Bernstein writes: "No, Hillary responded icily, there would be no changes because delay or not, the White House would 'demonize' members of Congress and the medical establishment who would use the interim to alter the administration's plan or otherwise stand in its way." Bradley and Moynihan heard this, Bernstein says, "with disgust and distrust." Her plan never even came to a vote in a Congress controlled by her party. Like her plan, the recent immigration legislation had three handicaps. First, it was drafted in secret -- and unlike her bill, the immigration bill was not the subject of hearings that could have clarified such fundamental matters as whether immigrants are net drains on, or contributors to, the fiscal health of federal, state and local governments. Second, like many comprehensive "solutions" to large, intricate problems that are susceptible to incremental ameliorations, the immigration bill, like the Clintons' health-care bill, was presented as a package so finely calibrated and exquisitely balanced that any significant change would, as Shakespeare said: Take but degree away, untune that string, And, hark! what discord follows. Third, people skeptical about the legislation were, if not demonized, cast as bigots or, at best, people uninterested in doing "the right thing for America" (President Bush). Perhaps Reid, in his rush to truncate debate, was being chivalrous toward Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Suppose Senate Republicans agree to expedited handling of the legislation so the Senate can get on with whatever folly Reid next considers urgent business. And suppose 60 senators can force a final vote on a bill that retains the most important provisions -- increased border security and electronic identity verification. Many businesses, which profit from being magnets for illegal immigration, think being part of law enforcement is an intolerable nuisance, which is heartening evidence that workplace enforcement might work. If the Senate passes a bill, immigration then becomes a hot potato for the House, where 61 of Pelosi's Democrats represent Republican-leaning districts (Bush carried them). Hark! what discord will follow. What fun.	Nattering about nonbinding nullities supersedes substance for the Senate majority leader.	76.333333	0.666667	1	high	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/12/AR2007061201672.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007061619id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/12/AR2007061201672.html	Atypical Evangelical	2007061619	The presidential candidate was talking about the threat of outsourcing and the immorality of corporate chief executives getting huge bonuses while workers' pension plans go bust. "When CEOs are making 500 times the average wage of their worker, how can you justify that?" he asked. "I think a president ought to call out companies . . . in which the CEO leads his company into bankruptcy . . . and gets a $100 million bonus while the workers down below end up losing their jobs and have worked 20 and 30 years for pensions and they're gone. . . . That's immoral. . . . And that's not free enterprise; that's theft." Standard presidential primary fare, perhaps, except that the candidate speaking was a Republican, and a conservative Christian one at that: former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee. A long shot for his party's nomination, certainly, yet Huckabee, a Baptist minister, is not the cartoon Christian conservative of popular imagining. He's got, as he put it, "the purity of credentials," but Huckabee's menu of social conservatism offers more choices than implacable opposition to abortion and gay rights. "Being a conservative is also about having a much broader agenda than the very narrowly focused one that sometimes conservatives are either accused of or -- frankly -- can be guilty of," Huckabee said last week at a luncheon hosted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Huckabee, 51, has the air of the nice neighbor who wanders by to discuss your crabgrass problem. "I'm a conservative," he said, "but I'm not mad at anybody about it." I am not now and never will be a Huckabee voter. There may not be a single major issue on which we agree, from stem cell research to Guantanamo detainees, from tax policy to immigration reform. This is, after all, a man who believes schools should teach creationism (alongside evolution) but not contraception. He has spoken of the need to "take this nation back for Christ" -- though he says, "I'd probably phrase it a little differently today." But listening to Huckabee, I was struck by his interest in the bread-and-butter issues getting short shrift, especially from Republican candidates, in an Iraq-dominated campaign. Not that you could tell from debates, when Huckabee tends to get so many God questions that, as he notes, you'd think he was running for Senate chaplain, not president. "I'm happy to give my answer . . . but I'm thinking, you know, tonight, all over America, there were families sitting down to dinner, and I doubt that any of them . . . said, 'I wonder what the next president will think about evolution,' " said Huckabee. "Here is what I think they talked about: How are we going to afford gasoline at $3-plus a gallon? What is going to happen if our kid breaks his arm in the playground at school? Can we pay for the doctor bills and also pay the rent at the first of the month? Will we be able to save enough money for our kids to go to college, and if they do, are we going to be so in debt that it will take every dime of our life savings to get them a higher education? Families are wondering, if Dad loses his job this Friday and gets the pink slip, and his job goes to China, and he is 50-plus years old, where is he going to go to work?" This sounds more like John Edwards's Two Americas than like any of the Republican front-runners. Huckabee traces his pragmatic conservatism to his 10 1/2 years as governor -- a job in which "you can't afford the luxury of being an ideologue." One of his signature accomplishments was ARKids First, a program -- passed before the similar Clinton administration initiative -- to provide health insurance for low-income children not eligible for Medicaid. None of this will matter if Huckabee can't scrape up enough money to keep his campaign afloat. His first-quarter take was a pitiful $544,879. He's at 5 percent in the latest New Hampshire poll -- and that was up from the pre-debate 1 percent. After the lunch, I happened to see one of Huckabee's fellow former governors and marathon running buddy, Iowa Democrat Tom Vilsack. "I've always thought he was the dark horse in the race," said Vilsack, who dropped out of the campaign for lack of funds. If Huckabee can avoid that fate, Vilsack said, "I think there is room for Mike Huckabee" in Iowa, where evangelicals "are pretty serious caucus-goers." President Huckabee would not be my choice. But a Republican field with candidate Huckabee in it is a more interesting place -- if, that is, anyone pays attention to something besides whether he thinks humans descended from apes. Subscribe to the podcast of this column athttp://www.washingtonpost.com/podcast. The writer's e-mail address ismarcusr@washpost.com.	'I'm a conservative,' Mike Huckabee says, 'but I'm not mad at anybody about it.'	43.26087	1	5.695652	high	high	mixed
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/13/DI2007061300377.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007061619id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2007/06/13/DI2007061300377.html	Celebritology Live - washingtonpost.com	2007061619	When stars shave their heads, couch-jump, commit a fashion faux pas and commit random acts of tomfoolery, washingtonpost.com Celebritology blogger Liz Kelly shares the buzz, offers perspective and provides crucial links to juicy alternate news sources and, of course, takes your reaction in her daily blog. Now join Liz each Thursday at 2 p.m. ET to gab about the latest celebrity pairings (and splittings), rising stars (and falling ones), "Lost," and get the scoop on the latest gossip making waves across the Web. Before she started blogging about celebrities, Liz ran washingtonpost.com's Live Online section, where she enjoyed talking to really interesting people -- including some Post reporters -- on the phone. She produces both Carolyn Hax's advice discussion and Gene Weingarten's Chatological Humor. Liz Kelly: Here I am, back after a week off and continuing a long tradition for vacationing media types, massive news of course broke on my beat during my absence. I'm referring to last week's overblown Paris Hilton in-and-out-and-in jail fire drill and I must confess that on more than one occasion, I actually turned off MSNBC to go ride a bike or drink wine at sunset on the beach and do other stuff for which I should be incredibly ashamed. Not. Anyway, there's plenty of Paris to go around and the story has already consumed a large portion of the blog this week. I'm sick of her and am hoping to make my tomorrow's Post Radio appearance (8:20 a.m., ahem) a Paris-free zone for the first time in weeks. Can't she take a cue from Lindsay Lohan and just disappear for a month? I need to thank last week's Celebritology substitute bloggers for keeping things going during a busy week. Not only was Celebritology the go-to place for breaking Paris news, but Jen, Frank, Nancy, Mike and Tanya also wrote a week's worth of good main posts -- from soft rock to movie title mash-ups -- that had me admiring them from afar. If you find yourself in need of more distraction once today's discussion is over, you might want to spend some time on the Onion A.V. Club's First Annual Absolute Best Issue, which includes some real gems (like Crispin Glover's bizarro appearance on David Letterman back in 1987). Thank you to Celebritology stalwart Frank Thomason for the link. Speaking of links, I haven't checked it out yet, but this is way cool. Esquire has apparently published a new Stephen King novella in it's entirety in their July issue. "The Gingerbread Girl" covers 23 pages of the issue and is apparently "the story of Emily, who flees to the secluded Vermillion Key off of Florida's coast after the death of her infant child. Her new neighbor also enjoys the privacy of the key, but the women he brings with him never return home." Cool. Here's to the return of good fiction in mainstream mags. Big thanks to reader Genilson Brandao for bringing this one to our attention. But wait, there's more: I spewed coffee on my monitor (just a little) this morning while watching Pulp Muppets. It's by turns funny and creepy, kind of like the original movie. I love that the Bruce Willis has been transformed into Beeker. And, last but not least, here's a link from sister blog Channel 08 -- apparently this spoof music video from a busty chick with a crush on Barack Obama is making the rounds of the wonkier sites. S'alright. Okay, let's get it on... Liz Kelly: I left out the Pulp Muppets link. The horror! Here it is. Oh, Angie: Have you heard the rumor that Angelina Jolie shut certain news outlets out of her press junket for A Mighty Heart, and/or made the ones who WERE allowed sign an extensive contract? It's not on the mainstream news sites, but I'm seeing it on the gossip sites. Is this a normal celeb practice, or is it Angie being Angie again? Liz Kelly: I did hear something about that this morning. We don't know the whole story, but Fox News is claiming that they were banned from attending the "Mighty Heart" premiere and that other reporters were asked to sign a contract before interviewing Angie. Here's the text of the release as posted on the Fox News Web site: Reporters were asked to agree to "not ask Ms. Jolie any questions regarding her personal relationships. In the event Interviewer does ask Ms. Jolie any questions regarding her personal relationships, Ms. Jolie will have the right to immediately terminate the interview and leave." The agreement also required that "the interview may only be used to promote the Picture. In no event may Interviewer or Media Outlet be entitled to run all or any portion of the interview in connection with any other story. ... The interview will not be used in a manner that is disparaging, demeaning, or derogatory to Ms. Jolie." Arlington, Va.: I was distraught to see Posh's NBC reality stint cut to only one hour. What's the point? What can they possibly show in only one hour to make it worth watching? Liz Kelly: Really? See, it's reduction to an hour moved it into the watchable category for me. We will be getting only the creme-de-la-creme of the footage they've been accruing. We won't be forced to sit through boring episodes detailing pets, contractors and all of the other pap that goes into stretching out most celeb-reality homelife shows. Seriously, if I have to watch the equivalent of a Danny Bonaduce therapy session or Ozzy Osbourne scooping up dog poop one more time I'll scream. I just want to see the good stuff. Seattle, Wash.: Well, I could ask a question about Paris Hilton and all, but what I need to know is, when will Sanjaya start his new reality show? Liz Kelly: First Sanjaya has to get through the "Idol" summer tour -- kicking off July 6 in Florida (I'm already looking into press credential for the Sept. 9 D.C. show). Things don't wrap up until September, by which time I'm sure we'll be fully apprised of Sanjaya's next move. Washington, D.C.: Can you explain the Jimmy Kimmel-Sarah Silverman pairing? I guess I can see it from his perspective; she's funny, talented, attractive (though not the babe she'd have us believe). But what's in it for her? Kimmel is a fat, ugly, no talent schmoe. Is she just using him because he has his own show? (And how in the name of creation did he ever get his own show?!?!?) Liz Kelly: Okay, I may be opening myself up to all kinds of hate here -- and it wouldn't be the first time -- but is Sarah Silverman actually all that funny? Yes, she's cute and can act, but every time I read an interview with this woman I want to punch her. She tries too hard, like she did in this recent EW interview." Oooh, she said "vagina." Genius. _______________________Portland, Ore.: Hi Liz, I've just recently discovered your blog and chat. I've been a long time fan of Hax and a secret Celeb Gossip junkie for years. I was going through the archives and wondered: Did you still want people's daily gossip sources? I e-mailed a couple to you recently, in particular my favorite: Pinkisthenewblog and forgot to add another interesting one for you. Television Without Pity Not gossip, but snarky, intelligent, andhilariouslyy detailed recaps of many of my (and it sounds like your) favorite shows. Thanks for giving my 'gossip/celebrity' fix such an official sounding name. Liz Kelly: Yes, thank you! I did get your e-mail and agree on all counts with the sites that you included. In fact, one of the categories coming up in next week's Celebritology Honors voting will be "Favorite Celeb Obsessed Web Site." Maybe one of your faves will surface as a nominee. Definitely keep the candidates coming, though -- it seems like every week someone finds a new way to come at this content. Bracing Myself: Will prison do for Paris what it did for Martha? The long, creepy tradition of putting women in their place should tell us that she will emerge stronger than ever, now that she's been properly punished for being so powerful. Liz Kelly: Sure, Martha emerged stronger and dressed in a much-talked-about prison-made shawl, but things have pretty much quieted down for her at this point. Still, Paris did talk to Barbara Walters earlier this week via phone and shared her new jail-inspired outlook on life. Apparently she is done acting dumb (we'll see, dumbo) and hopes to get into philanthropic work. She's so humbled that she wants to open a series of "Paris Hilton Houses" on the model of Ronald McDonald Houses. Lost News: So I know its off the air, but it's sort of good news that Lindeloff and Cruse came out and said they would not "pull a Sopranos." I didn't know what they were talking about (sorry, no cable!) and had to look it up. Once I did I was so glad that they said that would not happen with LOST. Liz Kelly: Agreed. Here's a link to the story where Lindeloff and Cuse talk about their plans for the final 48 episodes of the show. Good decision on their part. I think "Lost" fans would hunt them down and go all Sayid on them if they tried to leave us hanging like that? Liz Kelly: Apologies for the goofed up html above. Turns out I'm not good at everything. Chevy Chase, D.C.: I'm pretty sure that Pearson's missing pants are flat front, Liz. It just shows to go you. Liz Kelly: Show us what? That they are sought after? Worth millions? Woodbridge, Va.: Is it okay to actually feel sorry for Paris Hilton now? First time nonviolent offenders in Los Angeles typically only serve 10 percent of their sentence and Paris is well beyond that. Shouldn't we be more concerned about celebs who have walked free like O.J., Robert Blake, Michael Jackson. Liz Kelly: I can only speak for myself. I don't feel bad for Paris Hilton. According to the heiress, she's already served about 20 percent more time than most offenders in the same situation. But we need to step back and really think about this. She's a celebrity -- not only a celebrity, a HUGE celebrity -- and if she had only served a few hours or been allowed to complete her sentence at home there would have been cries of unfairness and preferential treatment. In fact, we heard those cries last week when she was sent home for a day. And for better or worse, O.J., Robert Blake and M.J. all submitted to the legal process. Did they hire expensive lawyers? Yes. That is their right. Did they violate their probation? No. That is the difference here. Paris is not in jail for her initial arrest. She's in jail because she considered herself above the law and drove on a suspended license. TWICE! Hilton House?: Instead of opening a bunch of places for poor kids to play, why doesn't she start a foundation to educate teens and young adults about the dangers of drinking and driving? She is in jail because she drove drunk and then continued driving with a suspended license! My mother's best friend in college was killed when her boyfriend got drunk and crashed his car into a minivan, killing everyone involved. If she wants to stop being "dumb," this would be a good place to start. Liz Kelly: You won't get any arguments here. Scooter Libby: Any chance we can follow the Scooter Libby jailhouse saga? I'm thinking it's going to have a good jailhouse story line, "Scooter, this is your new friend Vinny." At least as good as Paris goes to mental ward. Liz Kelly: Dude, let's leave Scooter to the Sourcettes. We've got all the jailhouse drama we can take. What about my personal fav WashPost celebrity? (besides you of course). Why is there no chat with Hax tomorrow? I need her! As a consolation can you tell me (and link to if possible) if Carolyn ever did a wedding theme'd chat? I seem to remember talk of one but google is giving me nothing. Thanks Liz! And K-Fed should be fixed! Liz Kelly: Hax is indeed on tomorrow. Will get her page up immediately following this show. Rumors: Catherine Keener divorces Dermot Mulroney, her husband of 17 years, shortly after he appears in "Georgia Rules" for "irreconcilable differences" ... affair with LiLo? Liz Kelly: Geesh, let's hope not. As a longtime Catherine Keener fan, I was sorry to hear that she's going through such a hard time. But, like any good "Walking and Talking" fan, I see it as an opportunity for her to finally get back together with Kevin Corrigan. D.C. all the way: Whatever happened to that album Halle Berry was going to make? Was that just a wild rumor? Hope so. Also, whatever happened to Brittany Murphy and her career? Liz Kelly: The Halle Berry album was, thankfully, chalked up to an Internet hoax. Brittany Murphy still has a career, with five movies currently in production... including "Sin City 2." But, in the end, was her career ever red hot to begin with? She was in "Clueless" and some barfy movie with Ashton Kutcher and "8 Mile" and "Riding in Cars With Boys," but she didn't carry any of the above. Katie's hair: Whadaya think about Ms. Holmes-Curise's new do? I think it's way cute, but the similarity to Posh kind of disturbed me, mostly because Posh disturbs me. There is something alien and zombie-like about her. Amazing clothes do not compensate for the chin down, alien-eye stare she pulls in front of the camera. I cannot remember ever seeing a single photograph where she was smiling or looking happy or even relaxed. Ugh, creepy. Anyway, Katie's hair -- comments? Liz Kelly: I liked her long locks, but far be it from me to critique anyone else for changing hairdos. I do it often enough. She's had the long locks for a while and the style really looked good on her. And, of course, we have to remember that she's "Kate" now, not "Katie" and maybe Kate has short hair. Undisclosed Courthouse Location, D.C.: Earlier poster is SOOO totally wrong. Judge Pearson's pants were pleated. Now we know the true identity of Bluto. Liz Kelly: Breaking news, right here. Chevy Chase, D.C.: Sarah Silverman was on celebrity poker a couple years ago and in a petulant fit laid stomach down on the card table. The announcer said that the "river" (next to last card) would be dealt in small of her back. Sarah said, "If I had a nickel for everytime I have heard that." Washington, D.C.: Are you skeptical about Paris Hilton's change? I think she will look striking in a nun's habit. If O.J. can devote his life to finding the real killer(s), after not even being convicted, why couldn't actual jail time put Paris on the road to good deeds? Liz Kelly: Of course I'm skeptical, but that's when I stop to think about it. Some other blogs are positing that this is all a last ditch effort designed to save Paris's cash cow: endorsement deals. And who can blame her? She was already dropped by Endeavor Talent Agency earlier this week. Washington, D.C.: What about K-Fed! Does he not know about birth control devices?! Liz Kelly: Well, we're still not sure Shar is actually pregnant. Reps for both Shar and K-Fed deny the story, though Star Magazine says they are stalling for time while they figure out what to do. Submitting a second time: I sent this in to Reliable Source, but I didn't really get an answer. Re: Jen-Brad-Angelina et al, Vince Vaughn was in Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the movie that spawned Brangelina (a name that totally doesn't work, by the way, the "a" sound is all off). Anyway, that nasty triangle had SO many conspiracy theories (i.e., when did they get together, did Angelina get pregnant on purpose?) I was surprised that nobody talked about Vince Vaughn being in the right place at the right time to scoop up a broken-hearted Jen: "I saw them flirting on set and it just wasn't right, you poor thing, let me give you a hug." Do you remember any speculation along these lines? I know it's history, but I really really want to know if the tabs just completely missed this angle! Thank you and have a pleasant Thursday. Liz Kelly: Well, that is kind of ancient history at this point, but who can blame Jen for falling into the arms of her co-star while her marriage was imploding with an assist from Angelina Jolie? Sure, there was speculation at the time, but unlike the very public courtship of Brad and Angelina (anyone else remember that 40-page W photo spread?), Jen and Vince really did try to keep their romance under wraps at first. Confound you, now you've got me defending Jennifer Aniston. Washington, D.C.: Remind which one is Dermot Mulroney again? I know Dylan McDermott was the guy in "The Practice," and Dermot was in "My Best Friend's Wedding." But when I think back to that movie, I picture the guy from "The Practice"! And sometimes I get Kyle McLachlan mixed in there too. Was Charlotte York's husband the dude who married Cameron Diaz? Liz Kelly: Oh man. Okay. Dylan McDermott was on the practice and has (had?) a wife named Shiva. Dermot Mulroney is etched into my mind as an aspiring country crooner in one of River Phoenix's last movies, "The Thing Called Love" and as soon-to-be-ex Catherine Keener's co-star in "Lovely & Amazing." Kyle McLachlan has been a gen X heart throb since his first turns in "Dune," "Blue Velvet" and "Twin Peaks." I'm not sure how Cameron Diaz fits in. Clueless and Brittany Murphy: I appreciated the movie "Clueless" even though I was 22 when it came out in theaters. Flash forward to probably 1999 and the very in-your-face pictures of subject and Ashton Kutcher basically having intimate relations with their clothes on in every single picture of them while they dated. I still remember one in which she is on his back --piggyback if you will. I had no idea who she was by that point since her career fizzled for a while. Liz Kelly: Clueless rocked, though Brittany's part in it was negligible. Although I did admire her part at the time. By the end of the movie, she was true to herself as a somewhat average looking chick who preferred skate boards to emery boards. Too bad the actress behind the character seems to be the exact opposite. Alexandria, Va.: I also can't stand Sarah Silverman. The look of her nostrils aside, I don't like how she pushes the envelope so far until she rips it open and tears up the contents. On her Comedy Central show, she had an episode where he joked that when people achieve the ability to live on the moon that there will finally be a place to put people infected with HIV/AIDS. She's too ignorant in my opinion to be more than off-beat eye candy for those guys who "find her hot." Liz Kelly: Thanks for agreeing. I love off-beat. I live in the off beat, but she's just annoying. Talent agency: Endeavor Talent Agency? Is that for people that are TRYING to be talented? Liz Kelly: I assume that's the reference. I doubt it's named for the space shuttle. Philadelphia, Pa.: You are credited with coining the term "vanilla but a little kinky." How did it come about that you created that phrase? Liz Kelly: I believe you have me confused with the other Liz Kelly. The one who annoying comes up in Google searches, the author of (I kid you not) "Smart Man Hunting." Port of Spain, Trinidad: Liz, Re: Sara Silverman At the dentist's I picked up an old "GQ" that had pictures of her in a black teddy, stockings, etc., and a trench coat, flashing boy scouts and sticking out her tongue. What in god's name was the significance (or funny) of that? Or is it a guy thing? Liz Kelly: Dude, I'm not the target demographic. You tell me. Silverman: is grating, tired, and undoubtedly paid SOMEONE in the media millions to ensure that her mustache is never, ever mentioned in print. Liz Kelly: I feel so vindicated. "Brangelina": Was that poster just testing you or something? What the heck was that? Didn't that all happen almost three years ago at this point? Geez. Also, small side note. Angelina wouldn't have had a prayer if the Pitt's marriage was solid to begin with. Trust me, I speak from experience here. Anyway, talk about old news. Wow. Liz Kelly: Maybe he's still stuck on the Aniston-Pitt break up. Keeping it straight: Dermot Mulroney -- My Best Friend' Wedding, The Wedding Date (terrible movie with Debra Messing), Rachel's post-maternity leave Nemesis on Friends. Dylan McDermott -- The Practice, Shelby's (Julia Roberts) husband in Steel Magnolias Kyle I-can't-spell-his-last-name -- Charlott's husband on SATC, Bree's new husband on Desperate Housewives. How Cameron Diaz fits in ...: She was engaged to Dylan McDermott in "My Best Friend's Wedding." Duh. 42 yr. old straight male here. Isn't Celebritology wonderful? Liz Kelly: Ahhhh, righto. I was too busy being dazzled by Rupert Everett, who stole the movie. Dylan McDermott: Remember when people were talking about how he was dating Julia Roberts? Now people don't remember who he is. In fact, do people remember who Julia Roberts is? Liz Kelly: Yes, she's that pregnant actress whose niece is starring in the new "Nancy Drew" movie. See, I'm not called "Celebritologist" for nothing. Today in Sports ... Hit for a Cycle: Hey Liz, So I saw this on my page-a-day calender and thought I'd tell you -- mostly because I first learned what it was when everyone was mocking you in Gene's chat Today's sports: In 1876 Philadelphia's George Hall became the first Major League Baseball player to "hit for the cycle" a single, double, triple and home run in the same game. Also -- Today's Birthdays: Alois Alzheimer (1864-1815), physician, Ernesto "Che" Guevara (1928-1967) (revolutionary), Donald Trump, Boy George, Steffi Graf (you share a birthday with Graf and Guevara!) AND MY SISTER! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Trish. (had to stick that in there) Liz Kelly: Thanks for sharing and happy birthday, Trish. Port of Spain, Trinidad: Dear Liz, Thinking about summer vacation today! So I have a summer-themed question for you. Pretend that George Clooney has invited you to his Italian villa for two weeks. What (besides Mr. Liz?) would you pack? Liz Kelly: Several books by Andrea Camilleri, who writes about the irascible yet sexy Sicilian Inspector Montalbano, my vegan Italian cookbook, some good walking shoes and -- for any candid shots of other houseguests -- my digital camera. Washington, D.C.: Re: Sarah Silverman -- I completely agree with your earlier post that she's just NOT that funny, if at all! When she hosted recently (the MTV awards, I think), I cringed -- cute, but humorless. Liz Kelly: Wow. I am just astounded. I can't wait to tell Weingarten. Washington, D.C.: On Sarah Silverman, I've got to say she's kinda funny but mostly a potty mouth. Of the remaining celebtarts which one do you think will top the Paris heads to prison story? My friends and I think someone like Kristin Dunst will come from nowhere with a zinger scandal. Liz Kelly: I dunno. Kirsten Dunst, pothead that she seems to be, does a pretty good job of staying out of the tabloids. I'm pulling for Ashlee Simpson -- who has been pretty quiet since her morph into Ashlee 2.0. It's high time she turns up in some scandal rag with John Mayer. Peoria, Ill.: I like how celebrities state they wish they could date average people for a change. Yeah, right, Jennifer Aniston, don't forget to return my call. I don't think I'll wait up too long waiting for you to call back. Liz Kelly: True. And there are some celebs who manage to live somewhat like average folks. Why right here in Virginia, we've got Robert Duvall and Jessica Lange and you don't see their pix splashed all over the cover of the Roanoke Times. Richmond, Va.: The only difference needed to be made between Dermot, Dylan, and Kyle is that Dylan McDermott is the one that's good looking in a rakish way, and the other two look so smarmy that you want to punch them in the face. Liz Kelly: This is the definitive explanation, except I would cast Kyle as the good looking rake and Dylan and Dermot as the recipients of any beat down. New York: Also I think Sarah Silverman is not funny. If she was not dating Jimmy Kimmel she would not be on any press. Liz Kelly: Really? Because I know men who find her hilarious. I suspect it is only that she's hot. Fortaleza, Brazil: While much of the media has been obsessed with trivial things such as the Paris Hilton case, Fox News the other day moved on, and had an interview with a woman who has just completed a film about the life of -- Anna Nicole Smith! I can get Fox News via satellite but fear the Smith film may not make it to local cinemas. Can you bring down a copy for my wife and me to watch? I do not think she has heard of Anna Nicole. Liz Kelly: Sure thing! Just waiting for your Fedex with the plane ticket and Ritz reservation to arrive. Sarah Silverman: I loved Sarah Silverman and I quoted a great shocking joke that Gene Weingarten printed in his discussion. The line was "sure we Jews killed Jesus ... and I'd do it again." Yet I lost respect for her when someone write in and said she stole that line from Lenny Bruce. May anyone verify that? Does she really steal jokes or not? Liz Kelly: There I can't help you. Perhaps someone could research this and report back for next week's chat? Let's take Silverman down! Re: Silverman: She's so busy pushing the envelope that she forgets to be funny. A little of her goes a long way. Liz Kelly: True. There are some comedians I never tire of, though. Jim Gaffigan is one. And John Leguizamo. And Dave Chappelle. Prince Georges County: As I jam to John Mayer and no I am not ashamed. I have to wonder if he and Jessica are still together. Although, by the end of the day their status might change. What's the fallout with Nick and Vanessa from those picks she had with LiLo? Liz Kelly: I think Jessica and John are finally truly apart. Perhaps now Jessica can set her comeback plan into motion and stop acting like a dopey groupie. And Nick is apparently standing by Vanessa after pix of her playing with knives with LL surfaced last week. Kids! What will they do next? Speaking of Che: Personality Parade said Benecio del Toro will be doing Che with a Cuban accent. Che was from Argentina, and spent only about 8 of his 40-odd years actually in Cuba. Surely Ben knows this, no? Liz Kelly: I would hope so. Maybe Personality Parade misunderstood him. Me, I'm giving Benicio the benefit of the doubt because he's damn hot. Seriously, I'm now distracted. Ya know I recently re-watched the Kevin Spacey classic "Swimming With Sharks" and had totally forgotten that Benicio has a small, yet important role in it. Washington, D.C.: That new ABC crap trap on Wednesday about some Traveler guy, has got to be the craptastic of crap. Just had to get that out Liz Kelly: Agreed. Crapitty crap crap. Minneapolis, Minn.: I LOVE Sara Silverman. She tries too hard at times, but I think she is very funny. If it matters, I'm a 32-year-old female. Liz Kelly: Thank you. You are the one Sarah Silverman fan here representing today. Richmond, Va.: Straight men think all women are hot. Liz Kelly: Ohhhh, okay. Now I get the fascination with Rosie O'Donnell. Middle America: Mike Huckabee stated "one of the things that's frustrating is there's more attention on Britney Spears getting out of the car without underwear than who's going to be the next president." My question: does anyone know want kind of underwear Britney is now wearing? Liz Kelly: What kind of underwear is Barack Obama wearing? That's the question. Chicago, Ill.: re: Brangelina ... old news Welcome Back. This is for everyone who is dumping on Jennifer today. Three years ago when this was news everyone was feeling sorry for her and the way she had been treated. Now no one is defending her. Isn't that just like us? Old news or new news the bottom line is that Angie stole Brad from Jennifer. Liz Kelly: Apparently the wounds over that break up have not yet healed for all of us. Madison, Wisc.: Uh, am I missing something? Why should there be "fall out" because of the Vanessa and Lindsay knife pictures? It looked like they were just goofing around. When my boyfriend and I are cooking together, we often pretend to stab each other. It's funny. Liz Kelly: Okay, we'll end on this chilling note today. Come to the blog tomorrow morning for a Friday List, subject TBA, and back here next week for another edition of Celebritology Live. Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online 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.	Join Celebritology blogger Liz Kelly to gab about the latest celebrity pairings (and splittings), rising stars (and falling ones) and get the scoop on the latest gossip making waves across the Web.	164.526316	1	15.105263	high	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/11/AR2007061101926.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007061619id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/11/AR2007061101926.html	New Ways to Aid the Old	2007061619	Twenty years after Congress vowed to improve the way we care for the old and the infirm, nursing homes still inspire dread. But some mavericks are working to deinstitutionalize them and make them more like home. "We want to change the culture of aging," said Bonnie Kantor, executive director of the nonprofit Pioneer Network, a Rochester, N.Y.-based umbrella group leading the effort, "and we're beginning with nursing homes." Rather than warehouse those who are frail or disabled, the advocates of change argue, providers of long-term care need to create genuine communities where people receive needed services while continuing to lead meaningful lives. Only a few hundred of more than 16,000 nursing homes nationwide have undergone the systemic transformation envisioned, according to the Pioneer Network. Hundreds more, including some in the Washington area, are taking first steps in that direction. What distinguishes a humane nursing home? Pioneering homes go by a variety of names and descriptions -- Eden Alternative, Green House, Planetree, resident-directed, person-centered -- but share common features: autonomy and choice for residents, homey personal spaces, valued staff and a strong community of residents, staff, families and volunteers. Some 1.5 million Americans live in nursing homes, including nearly 20 percent of those 85 and older, according to the National Institute on Aging. All receive medical services such as physical therapy, medication management and wound care. Roughly 10 percent of those in nursing homes are short-term patients who need care while recuperating from a sickness or injury. More than half of nursing home residents use wheelchairs, and nearly half have dementia, according to federal data; 4 percent are bedridden. Nursing homes may be free-standing or share a campus with assisted-living facilities (which offer communal meals and help with dressing and bathing) and/or independent apartments for the elderly. In 1987 Congress passed the Nursing Home Reform Law, promising fundamental rights to residents. But the law's promise has gone unmet, advocates say. "Rights, respect, being treated as a unique individual, staff who are trained, quality of care and quality of life -- these key principles of the Nursing Home Reform Law are now 20 years old," said Alice Hedt, executive director of the National Citizens' Coalition for Nursing Home Reform. "We're eager for culture change to take hold so that each resident can enjoy truly individualized, person-directed care." The Pioneer Network wants to see at least 10 percent of the nation's nursing homes overhauled in the next 10 years. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation boosted such efforts in 2005 when it announced a $10 million program to encourage the creation of 50 Green Houses, innovative models of elder care developed by revolutionary gerentologist Bill Thomas. The first Green Houses were built in 2003 by Mississippi Methodist Senior Services in Tupelo. They offer a residential setting and specially trained aides who act as caregivers, homemakers and companions, supported by nurses and therapists. Today, Green Houses are operating in nine additional cities, with 15 others in the development stage. · Nursing home residents want to make their own decisions. In her 20 years of research on quality of life for nursing home residents, Rosalie Kane, a professor at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health, has found that residents want more control than most have over their daily lives and that this freedom is key to their "well-being, mental health and even physical health." Among the things residents want to decide, Kane's surveys show: how and when they use the phone or leave a facility for visits, who their roommate is, what food they eat, and what time they wake up and go to bed. By getting rid of strict institutional schedules and reorganizing staff time, pioneering homes aim to deliver on these desires.	Twenty years after Congress vowed to improve the way we care for the old and the infirm, nursing homes still inspire dread. But some mavericks are working to deinstitutionalize them and make them more like home.	19.051282	1	39	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/13/AR2007061300810.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007061619id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/13/AR2007061300810.html	President Names Ex-GOP Leader As Key Adviser	2007061619	President Bush yesterday tapped veteran GOP strategist and lobbyist Edward W. Gillespie as White House counselor, adding another Washington insider to a key position in his administration as it continues to battle with Congress over Iraq, the Justice Department and immigration. Gillespie, 45, will replace outgoing counselor Dan Bartlett, who is leaving at the end of the month to spend more time with his family, and is the latest in a parade of prominent outsiders who have gradually been replacing Bush's original team. Gillespie will also be stepping down as chairman of the Republican Party in Virginia. Bush made the announcement in the Oval Office after lunching with Bartlett and Gillespie. He described Gillespie as "a seasoned hand who has got excellent judgment. He's a good strategic thinker that I know will do a fine job." In Gillespie, Bush is gaining one of Washington's top Republican strategists and someone who has been a key ally outside the administration since the beginning of his term. Gillespie was a spokesman for Bush during the 2000 Florida recount, helped steer his two Supreme Court nominees through the Senate confirmation process and served a stint as chairman of the Republican National Committee during the 2004 campaign. Along with the new White House counsel, Fred F. Fielding, and a number of lower-level appointments, Gillespie represents an influx of veteran Washington hands into a White House that once seemed to prize its opposition to the ways of the nation's capital. With the administration facing multiple investigations by congressional oversight committees and a fierce battle in Congress to maintain support for funding of the Iraq war, that kind of experience will be essential, in the view of many outside allies of Bush. Gillespie's background as one of Washington's top lobbyists for corporate interests quickly proved a magnet for criticism yesterday. As chairman of the firm Quinn Gillespie & Associates, Gillespie has been registered to lobby for 57 companies and associations in the financial services, telecommunications, pharmaceutical and transportation fields. Gillespie's firm had come to be regarded as the one to see if a company wanted access to the White House. Opensecrets.org reported that Quinn Gillespie had income of $16.8 million from lobbying during 2006, including $320,000 from the American Hospital Association, $360,000 from AT&T and $600,000 from the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Some of the firm's clients have major decisions pending before federal regulatory bodies and other government institutions. DaimlerChrysler, for instance, is worried about moves to raise fuel-efficiency standards, while XM Satellite Radio is looking for approval of its proposed merger with Sirius. Gillespie will make $168,000 a year in his new job, White House aides said. Gillespie, in a brief interview yesterday, said he would recuse himself from dealings with former partners and clients, but some outside ethics experts and lobbyists said it would be all but impossible for him to avoid influencing at least in a general way the industries he once represented. "This shows the reverse revolving door, spinning at the stratospheric level," said Don Simon, a Washington lawyer and former general counsel for Common Cause, the good-government advocacy group. "Someone who is at the top of the corporate lobbying world is going into the top of the White House staff, and it shows the sometimes incestuous relationship between lobbyists and government." White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten dismissed concerns about this lobbying background, saying Gillespie has worked out "a good recusal regime" with the counsel's office and that he always viewed Gillespie as more of a specialist in strategic communications than lobbying. Bolten, who first sounded out Gillespie about the job a month ago, said the one-time aide to former House majority leader Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.) was far and away the president's first choice for the job. Bolten said he expected Gillespie to develop a "strong and close personal relationship of confidence" with Bush while retaining the "ability to step back and see the big picture." As structured under Bush and Bartlett, the position of White House counselor has been a free-ranging adviser with broad authority over communications, as well as a hand in policy and almost everything else that comes across the president's desk. Both Bolten and Gillespie suggested that model will continue, though officials said it is unlikely that Gillespie will be able to fully replace Bartlett, who worked with Bush for almost 14 years and enjoyed an unusual rapport with him.	President Bush yesterday tapped veteran GOP strategist and lobbyist Edward W. Gillespie as White House counselor, adding another Washington insider to a key position in his administration as it continues to battle with Congress over Iraq, the Justice Department and immigration.	19.318182	1	44	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/12/AR2007061202054.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007061619id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/12/AR2007061202054.html	Database Is Tool in Deporting Fugitives	2007061619	Hugo Vinicio Hernandez knew that immigration agents could detain him at any time for having disregarded a deportation order in 2001. But the Guatemalan man didn't think he would wind up in the custody of immigration agents as a result of a routine traffic stop. He was deported after being pulled over by a Takoma Park police officer in January. It's a fate that a growing number of illegal immigrants are facing as federal officials add hundreds of thousands of names of people with outstanding deportation orders into the FBI-run National Crime Information Center database, which police officers use to search for warrants. In Montgomery County, about 60 people have been taken into custody by police officers on immigration warrants since last year. Officers elsewhere in the region, including jurisdictions with large immigrant populations such as the District and Fairfax and Prince William counties, said that they also enforce civil immigration warrants. Although the numbers are relatively low, they are expected to increase regionally and nationally as more records are uploaded, which concerns immigrant advocates and some local police officials. "It's very important for the local police department to develop strong relationships with the community," said Montgomery police Chief J. Thomas Manger, who has made reaching out to recent immigrants a priority. "That trust is being jeopardized." Supporters of the effort say that enlisting the help of police officers to identify and remove the roughly 600,000 immigrants who are thought to have outstanding deportation orders is long overdue. But two police associations have lobbied against the inclusion, saying that by acting on the warrants, departments risk alienating recent immigrants, a segment of the community that has historically had an uneasy relationship with law enforcement agencies. That, they say, is likely to hinder cooperation from witnesses and victims of violent crimes who are in the country unlawfully. Separately, immigrant advocacy organizations are suing the government, saying that it had no legal standing to add administrative records to what has traditionally been a database for criminal warrants. Disregarding a deportation order is a violation of administrative, not criminal, law. Because many outstanding deportation orders date back several years and in some cases don't reflect the person's current immigration status, some law enforcement officials and immigrant advocates say they fear that people could get picked up because of sloppy record keeping. The problem is compounded because some immigrants are ordered deported in hearings that can be held in their absence. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it screens records carefully before adding them to the database. Since the government began adding immigration warrants to the database in 2002, authorities have identified more than 25,000 fugitives, according to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. The database "is an effective force multiplier that leverages the resources of law enforcement officers throughout the United States who, in the course of their daily duties, encounter criminal and fugitive aliens wanted by" the agency, said Michael Keegan, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman.	Hugo Vinicio Hernandez knew that immigration agents could detain him at any time for having disregarded a deportation order in 2001. But the Guatemalan man didn't think he would wind up in the custody of immigration agents as a result of a routine traffic stop.	11.708333	1	48	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/13/AR2007061301116.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007061619id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/13/AR2007061301116.html	New Business Loans Available to Military	2007061619	The Small Business Administration on Wednesday unveiled a new loan initiative designed to aid the military community. The Patriot Express Initiative includes new programs as well as expanded ones for veterans and members of the military community who wish to establish or grow a small business. "We are reaching harder to put together a program so that more veterans would have access to capital than they would have through our traditional programs," said SBA Administrator Steven Preston in a Monday interview. The loans can be used to start up or expand a business, purchase equipment, provide working capital, fund inventory, or go toward office space. "Generally, through our research, we've found that veterans make good business owners and the degree of business ownership among veterans is higher than other demographics," said Preston. "They come out [of the military] well-trained. They come out disciplined, and we want to make sure that every opportunity is available to them to start a business." Eligible military community members include veterans, service-disabled veterans, reservists and National Guard members. Certain spouses also are eligible, including the widowed spouse of a service member or veteran who died during service or of a service-related disability. Active-duty service members participating in the military's Transition Assistance Program, which offers job-search assistance to service members transitioning to civilian life, also may apply. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the chairman of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, sent a letter (pdf) Wednesday to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson and Preston requesting updates on how the administration is implementing veteran small business programs, citing the new Patriot Express program as an example. He expressed concern over a lack of coordination between agencies and departments in their efforts to educate members of the military community about opportunities like special loan programs available to them. Kerry requested that the officials provide his panel with monthly reports "on how the agencies are working together" to market the loan program and the Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, which caps certain loans at 4 percent. The SBA is working with a group of specific lenders nationwide to offer these loans for up to $500,000. For loans greater than $350,000, lenders are required to take all available collateral. The loans are expected to be offered at about 2.25 percent to 4.75 percent over prime, depending on the loan's size and complexity. Local SBA district offices have lists of Patriot Express lenders.	The Small Business Administration on Wednesday unveiled a new loan initiative designed to aid the military community.	27	1	18	medium	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/13/AR2007061301447.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007061619id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/13/AR2007061301447.html	Graham: Wife To Be Buried In Charlotte	2007061619	With his wife, Ruth Bell Graham, in a coma at home in western North Carolina, the Rev. Billy Graham announced yesterday that she will be buried in the city of Charlotte and not in her beloved mountains at the site she said she favored as recently as a week and a half ago. "After much prayer and discussion, Ruth and I made the decision to be buried beside each other at the Billy Graham Library in my home town of Charlotte, N.C.," Billy Graham is quoted as saying in a news release posted on the Web site of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The couple made this decision in early spring, the statement said, and decided to announce it "now that she is close to going to heaven." The burial site has been a matter of contention for months, threatening to break apart the country's most famous Christian family. A Washington Post story in December revealed that son Franklin Graham, chief executive officer of the BGEA, had told potential donors that he planned to bury his parents at the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte. Two of the other four Graham children, Ned Graham and Anne Graham Lotz, objected, as did Ruth, who called the library, a Disney-like building in the shape of a barn, "a circus." In the presence of six witnesses, including Ned, a neuroscientist and a Graham employee, Ruth signed a notarized statement saying she wished to be buried in a memorial garden at the Cove, a mountain retreat center that she and Billy built about 20 years ago. Originally, she and Billy wanted to be buried there, the document said, and "under no circumstances am I to be buried in Charlotte, N.C." But in March, Ruth and Billy signed another document saying they wanted to be buried in Charlotte, according to BGEA spokesman Larry Ross. Ross said the paper was signed in the presence of an attorney and a doctor. Ruth and Billy Graham moved to the mountain hamlet of Montreat, N.C., shortly after getting married in 1943. She raised their five children there. In 1984, Ruth began supervising the construction of the Cove, a 1,500-acre property 18 miles from Montreat. A training/retreat center was established there, as well as a chapel and a library of books and gifts that Billy Graham had acquired over the years. Ruth and Billy picked out a family burial spot; one relative is already buried there. After the Post story ran, Billy said he and Ruth would be buried at the Cove. In early January, David Bruce, Billy Graham's executive assistant, circulated among the family a tentative plan for Ruth's burial at the Cove. Asked two days ago whether that plan was still in place, Bruce said it was, as far as he knew. Ned Graham said yesterday that when he visited his mother a week and a half ago, she told him she still intended to be buried at the Cove. He said he and his sister Anne first learned of the change last night. "I know this goes against my mother's wishes," he said. Ruth turned 87 last Sunday, according Ross, and received several visitors. But yesterday she lapsed into a coma, suffering complications from pneumonia. According to Ross, Ruth Graham has been alternately conscious and unconscious for a while. Earlier this week, with a doctor's approval, Billy and several of the children, including Franklin, decided to withdraw the solids and liquids from her feeding tube, Ross said. Earlier in the week, she was talking and asking for Coca-Cola, chocolate and gravy, Ned said, and staff members occasionally slipped a bit onto her tongue.	With his wife, Ruth Bell Graham, in a coma at home in western North Carolina, the Rev. Billy Graham announced yesterday that she will be buried in the city of Charlotte and not in her beloved mountains at the site she said she favored as recently as a week and a half ago.	12.596491	1	57	low	high	extractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/13/AR2007061300616.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007061619id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/13/AR2007061300616.html	Shimon Peres Easily Wins Israeli Presidency	2007061619	JERUSALEM, June 13 -- Shimon Peres, the former prime minister, Nobel laureate, and perennial loser of elections, handily won Israel's presidency Wednesday in his second bid for what will likely be his last official position in public life. Peres won a secret-ballot victory in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, to secure the largely ceremonial post that eluded him seven years ago. He will take office next month at a time when Israel's presidency has been tarnished by criminal allegations swirling around the man now holding the office, Moshe Katsav. "The president's role is not to deal with politics and partisanship, but to represent what unites us," said Peres, a great-grandfather who will turn 84 the month after he is sworn in. "The Knesset chose to prove today that elected figures represent the people." Israel's president serves a single seven-year term, and the post has often gone to Israeli elder statesmen as capstones to long public careers. The president formally accepts the credentials of foreign diplomats, globe-trots to promote the Jewish state, and holds the power to grant pardons. An articulate polyglot who often seems more loved abroad than at home, Peres holds the ideal credentials for the post, especially following Katsav's tenure. Katsav, a former Likud Party lawmaker, suspended himself in January from official duties pending a decision from the attorney general on whether to indict him on rape, assault and other criminal charges stemming from allegations made by several women who once worked for him. "We hope that in the next seven years you bring respect to this institution, respect that lately has been missing," Dalia Itzik, the Knesset speaker, told Peres following the afternoon vote. Peres was first elected to parliament in 1959 as a protege of the founding prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, after distinguishing himself building Israel's fledgling defense forces and nuclear power program. He became minister of immigrant absorption in 1969 and has since held the important foreign, defense and finance portfolios in various governments. But Peres, who arrived in Tel Aviv from Poland as a child, is the only former Israeli prime minister never elected outright to the office. He held the job three times -- first in 1977 when he briefly replaced Yitzhak Rabin, his rival within the Labor Party, after Rabin resigned amid a financial scandal. Later that year, Peres led Labor to its first defeat in national elections. He followed that with another loss in 1981. In 1984, he became prime minister through an unprecedented rotating arrangement with Likud because neither party won enough seats to govern without sharing power with the other. A proponent of a two-state solution to Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, Peres shared the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize with Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat for his work as foreign minister on the Oslo accords. That agreement set in motion the process of creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel, but it has collapsed since then. Peres again succeeded Rabin as prime minister in 1995 after his assassination, serving less than a year in office before losing the next general election. Peres ran as the Labor candidate for the presidency in 2000, but lost to Katsav in a secret vote after most lawmakers pledged in public to support him. A year later he took Labor into a national-unity government with his old friend and rival, Likud leader Ariel Sharon. At the end of 2005, after losing the Labor leadership race, Peres left the party to join Sharon's new Kadima movement. In contrast to his last bid for the presidency, Peres worked diligently behind the scenes to secure parliamentary support. His closest rival was Reuven Rivlin, the Likud candidate for the job who withdrew from the race Wednesday after Peres secured a large lead in the first round of voting. Staff researcher Samuel Sockol contributed to this report.	JERUSALEM, June 13 -- Shimon Peres, the former prime minister, Nobel laureate, and perennial loser of elections, handily won Israel's presidency Wednesday in his second bid for what will likely be his last official position in public life.	16.622222	1	45	medium	high	extractive
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2007/06/pants_trial_day_two_we_see_the.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007061619id_/http://blog.washingtonpost.com/rawfisher/2007/06/pants_trial_day_two_we_see_the.html	Pants Trial Day Two: We See The Pants	2007061619	At noon precisely on Day Two of the $54 million pants case, we saw The Pants. Defense attorney Christopher Manning unveiled the suit trousers that Roy Pearson says are not his and that the owners of Custom Cleaners say are indeed the ones that Pearson submitted for a $10.50 alteration back in 2005. The dramatic moment in Courtroom 415 at D.C. Superior Court revealed that yes, the pants look like they are part of a suit, and yes, the dry cleaners attached to these pants a tag with the same numbers that appeared on the receipt Pearson got for his suit. But Pearson still denies these are his pants, and still demands $54 million, though he has not yet wept today. Pearson finally completed his lengthy testimony this morning and Manning proceeded to conduct a short but withering cross-examination in which Pearson, himself an administrative law judge for the D.C. government, revealed his unusual beliefs about the relationship between merchants and customers: Pearson told the defense lawyer that if the tables were turned and he were in the place of the Chung family, the owners of the Northeast Washington cleaners who purportedly lost Pearson's pants, he would have immediately written a check for $1,150--the replacement value of the Hickey Freeman suit to which the pants belonged--to provide the satisfaction that the store's "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign promised. It took more than 10 minutes and numerous attempts by both Manning and Judge Judith Bartnoff to get Pearson to answer a question about whether anyone has the right to walk into any cleaners and claim $1,150 simply by saying that their suit had been lost. Finally, Pearson said that the law requires that "The merchant would have an obligation to honor their demand." "So your answer is Yes?" Manning asked. The courtroom, in which it's hard to discern any support for Pearson except from his mother and her friend, broke up in laughter. Derisive laughter. Manning pushed ahead: Does Pearson believe that people should interpret signs "in a reasonable way?" "Depends on the circumstances," Pearson said. Asked to answer yes or no, Pearson said, "No." And just to drive home just how odd Pearson's view of the world might be, Manning asked whether a reasonable person would interpret a "Satisfaction Guaranteed" sign to mean that the merchant will do his best and if problems arise, will try to fix the situation, and if he can't, will compensate the customer, Pearson replied: "No." This ended Pearson's case and defense lawyer Manning used the break in the action to ask Judge Bartnoff to toss out the whole case because it fails as a matter of law. After lengthy discussion, Bartnoff ruled that "It's a close call," but she would let the case proceed, but for one small part that she threw out. Pearson had argued that the cleaners' sign saying "Same Day Service" was misleading and fraudulent, but Bartnoff said he produced no evidence of that and indeed he had never asked for same day service on any of his garments. "All Same Day Service says is that same day service is an available service," the judge ruled, freeing D.C. cleaners of any chance that they might suddenly be required to wash and repair every single garment in town in a single day. Bartnoff has handled Pearson with a disarming and delightful mix of humor and stern direction. Sometimes incredulous, sometimes gently joshing, she has repeatedly lured Pearson out of his tendency to go off on long, incomprehensible recitations about the minutia of the District's consumer protection law. But Bartnoff has been careful to let Pearson state his odd notions of law with few limitations. This is known as giving someone all the rope they need to hang themselves. "Your position," Bartnoff said to Pearson this morning, "is that 'Satisfaction Guaranteed' means they have to satisfy whatever you demand, with no limitations, absolutely unconditionally?" "I have grave doubts about that," said the judge. By Marc Fisher \| June 13, 2007; 1:36 PM ET Previous: Virginia Voters: Low Turnout, High Dudgeon \| Next: Pants Update: Trial Over, Verdict Next Week Thank you for update for tis case. I want to hire him as my attoney. So, if he does not satisfy me, I can get $ 54 million. Posted by: Don \| June 13, 2007 02:08 PM Thank you for update for this case. I want to hire him as my attoney. So, if he does not satisfy me, I can get $ 54 million. Posted by: Don \| June 13, 2007 02:09 PM Thank you for update for this case. I want to hire him as my attoney. So, if he does not satisfy me, I can get $ 54 million. Posted by: Don \| June 13, 2007 02:09 PM it seems like this guy has some twisted sense of entitlement. anyone who walks into a dry cleaner and claims that the item isn't theirs is entitled to whatever amount they ask? is the guy nuts? Posted by: entitlementsrus \| June 13, 2007 02:10 PM It would have given us some perspective to determine the basis for the defense motion, i.e., WHY the defense thought that Pearson's claim failed as a matter of law -- given that the blog yesterday stated that Pearson was very meticulous in adducing his case, thus implying that Pearson was establishing the necessary points of his claim. But then, that would constitute ``reporting`` and I guess no one reads WaPo or Marc for that anymore. . .much easier to spout opinion and project one`s own opinion into the story. Posted by: RL \| June 13, 2007 02:12 PM I'd like to demand a same-day alteration to this blog entry: It's "all the rope they need to HANG themself." Not "hand." I won't demand money for this error... yet. Posted by: TC \| June 13, 2007 02:15 PM Thank you for update for this case. I want to hire him as my attorney. So, if he does not satisfy me, I can get $ 54 million. Posted by: Loyola 2L \| June 13, 2007 02:18 PM Thanks for the update - keep them coming! Posted by: Custom Cleaner Junkie \| June 13, 2007 02:21 PM Don, I'm with you buddie! This guy should go into private practice - his client list would be HUGE. Hope he carries "satisfaction" insurance! Posted by: Mr. D \| June 13, 2007 02:22 PM As for letting Pearson go on and on, it is not a matter of giving him enough rope -- it is because he has zero legal costs as his own attorney and he is demonstrably litigious, at least as regards this matter. Any defense objection upheld by the judge would be instant grounds for an inevitable appeal. So the defense doesn't object, so as to save the Chungs the costs of defending an appeal that objection would create. The judge understands this, so I predict a minimal judgment for Pearson that will basically force him to end this matter by denying him grounds for appeal [determinations of fact at trial are basically not appealable]. Litigation has been described as a contest where two parties throw silver dollars into a river until one cries uncle. The REAL story of this case is that, [a] as his own counsel, Mr. Pearson has a mint in his basement and [b] this happens EVERY DAY -- justice is compromised by the financial burden of prospective litigation. A determined, well-financed defendant can frustrate a wronged plaintiff indefinitely until that plaintiff is forced to walk away with a pittance. And a well-financed, vexatious plaintiff can force an innocent defendant into bankruptcy. Maybe the Post should have assigned a reporter with a legal background instead of a gossip. Posted by: RL \| June 13, 2007 02:22 PM Here is why I believe the plantiff will get nothing. It seems to me he said he dropped the pants from lawsuit, so that would seem to me, rule out possibility he gets any compensation, be it $1000, $3000, or $12,000 for the pants. He is now basing just on the signs, but the judge assigned to his case says he has offered no real proof yet. If it continues to go on like that, the plantiff, a judge himself, might be looking at not only not getting anything, but paying court and attorney's fees for the other side. Posted by: Thuyen \| June 13, 2007 02:28 PM I have no idea what you are trying to accomplish here, or how you might think you are coming across. What I would almost guarantee is that you are failing in one instance, and wrong in the other. Posted by: Frank \| June 13, 2007 02:29 PM I think that the judge in this trial is also giving Pearson every opportunity to demonstrate why he shold not be reappointed as an administrative law judge. Posted by: Mister Methane \| June 13, 2007 02:30 PM Notwithstanding the absurdity of this case and the comic relief it provides, it still raises a serious and important question, e.g., how did this fellow manage to land a job as an administrative law judge in the first place? As a Hearing Examiner and member of the National Association of Administrative Judiciary, [and I take my role very seriously], I'd like to see some investigation into that obvious question. Posted by: LAWPOOL \| June 13, 2007 02:34 PM "This is known as giving someone all the rope they need to hang themselves." That might be the reason Judge Bartnoff deliberately chose to let this case go to trial. Perhaps she felt that letting Pearson embarrass himself in front of the world might discourage other frivolous lawsuits. While I don't claim to be a legal expert, I suspect that most such lawsuits are filed by "cranks," an old term used to describe people with chips on their shoulders. Posted by: Tonio \| June 13, 2007 02:34 PM It's common knowledge that in this case it was the customer, Pearson, who was rude, unreasonable and irate with the cleaners, even to the point of screaming threats literally "in their face" on several occasions. The business owners attempted to be more than fair and reasonable by not only finding and returning the original pants, but also offering 3 times their value, then 4 times and finally 12 times ($12,000). But this crazy, wacko, freeloading crybaby decided to get greedy and ask for a ridiculous $54 million. It's time to put an end to frivolous lawsuits by making an example of this lowlife judge. Posted by: Al \| June 13, 2007 02:37 PM Where does Pearson's reappointment stand? Posted by: Judge Pearson? \| June 13, 2007 02:41 PM This guy is an Asian racist. End of story. Posted by: \| June 13, 2007 02:41 PM Judge Bartnoff is giving Pearson his right to be heard, as is everyone's right. Unfortunately, he just sounds silly. Indeed he probably has some sort of basis for his claim, but for goodness sakes, he has no common sense! Most of us would have said, ok, we'll take the pants, or the money. I think he needs to perform public service (say with habit for humanity in N. Orleans) to realize that there are more important things in life than a stupid pair of pants, and feeling like a victim. Posted by: well my 2 cents \| June 13, 2007 02:43 PM I think you put an end to frivolous lawsuits by either tossing them out where warranted or letting them fall on their face at trial, as Pearson is doing here. The strength of our civil justice system will again be revealed when Pearson loses. Posted by: NW \| June 13, 2007 02:44 PM A cleaners lost my pants and I say the pants are priceless. Now I demand $100 million, not a penny more or less. Better yet, I'm paying for a PC at BestBuy but it doesn't meet it's specs after my testing, now I want $100 million. Posted by: Pentrix2 \| June 13, 2007 02:47 PM It's just so sad to know that Mr Pearson has the power to decide other peoples lives as a judge. Hope this case ends with some harsh lessons to judge Pearson. Posted by: \| June 13, 2007 02:47 PM I hope the Chungs made on an official offer of judgement with that 12,000 settlement offer. If they followed the rules and if DC has an offer of judgment rule like the federal courts - if he recovers less than their offer the Chungs would be entitled to have their attorneys fees paid by this idiot. He should lose his appointment as an ALJ and he should be investigated by the DC bar for engaging in this abusive lawsuit. He brings shame on our profession. Posted by: GWLawyer \| June 13, 2007 02:48 PM Yet another example of why DC is a lost cause. The fact this guy is on the DC payroll in the first place is amazing. The fact he was allowed to bring this to a court in DC and piss away the DC taxpayers money is a crime. Posted by: Glad I live in Maryland \| June 13, 2007 02:48 PM Do you really think that Pearson feels, or has the ability to feel, embarrassed? Also, in order to persuade someone you would have to reach some level of reason with that person. People like Pearson clearly do not dwell in the realm of reason and therefore can not be persuaded from doing something. Posted by: Chris \| June 13, 2007 02:49 PM There is a similar Supreme Court case, in which the plaintiff won: Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors. The case involved a merchant seaman who had been wrongfully discharged by his employer, as well as a statute that specifically said how to calculate the damages (multiplied by number of days he went unpaid--and it was years). As a result, something like $400 in back pay came out to be something like $250 thousand in damages. The dissent said this was an "absurd result," which is usually legalese for "we should ignore the exact words of the statute," but the majority said essentially, "If that's what the statute says, that's what we'll do. The Congress meant to deter such wrongful discharges." The pre-trial statement in this current case about pants (at http://www.vamedmal.com/library/65,000,000%20lawsuit%20pretrial%20statements.pdf) makes this look similar. So, if those aren't his pants (which is a big question) and if this is a true violation of the DC consumer protection statute (another big question), then the judge is going to have to decide if this statute produces an "absurd result" that shouldn't be enforced. It may look obvious here, but it's a big deal to dismiss the plain meaning of the statute. That would open the judge up to being called an "activist judge" who ignores the law and is anti-democractic. (Note: That is not my view, but lots of people think so.) Posted by: Tim \| June 13, 2007 02:53 PM There is a similar Supreme Court case, in which the plaintiff won: Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors. The case involved a merchant seaman who had been wrongfully discharged by his employer, as well as a statute that specifically said how to calculate the damages (multiplied by number of days he went unpaid--and it was years). As a result, something like $400 in back pay came out to be something like $250 thousand in damages. The dissent said this was an "absurd result," which is usually legalese for "we should ignore the exact words of the statute," but the majority said essentially, "If that's what the statute says, that's what we'll do. The Congress meant to deter such wrongful discharges." The pre-trial statement in this current case about pants (at http://www.vamedmal.com/library/65,000,000%20lawsuit%20pretrial%20statements.pdf) makes this look similar. So, if those aren't his pants (which is a big question) and if this is a true violation of the DC consumer protection statute (another big question), then the judge is going to have to decide if this statute produces an "absurd result" that shouldn't be enforced. It may look obvious here, but it's a big deal to dismiss the plain meaning of the statute. That would open the judge up to being called an "activist judge" who ignores the law and is anti-democractic. (Note: That is not my view, but lots of people think so.) Posted by: Tim \| June 13, 2007 02:54 PM There is a similar Supreme Court case, in which the plaintiff won: Griffin v. Oceanic Contractors. The case involved a merchant seaman who had been wrongfully discharged by his employer, as well as a statute that specifically said how to calculate the damages (multiplied by number of days he went unpaid--and it was years). As a result, something like $400 in back pay came out to be something like $250 thousand in damages. The dissent said this was an "absurd result," which is usually legalese for "we should ignore the exact words of the statute," but the majority said essentially, "If that's what the statute says, that's what we'll do. The Congress meant to deter such wrongful discharges." The pre-trial statement in this current case about pants (at http://www.vamedmal.com/library/65,000,000%20lawsuit%20pretrial%20statements.pdf) makes this look similar. So, if those aren't his pants (which is a big question) and if this is a true violation of the DC consumer protection statute (another big question), then the judge is going to have to decide if this statute produces an "absurd result" that shouldn't be enforced. It may look obvious here, but it's a big deal to dismiss the plain meaning of the statute. That would open the judge up to being called an "activist judge" who ignores the law and is anti-democractic. (Note: That is not my view, but lots of people think so.) Posted by: Tim \| June 13, 2007 02:55 PM This recently divorced Mr. no pants would be well served by the services of Deborah Jeane Palfrey. IS a better courtroom romance possible? we can only speculate... Posted by: mL \| June 13, 2007 02:58 PM I hope the poor owners of the cleaners get to countersue this idiot for $54 million. He's basically ruined their lives lately for what amounts to one of the most frivolous and ridiculous lawsuits ever. They should be able to clean this guy out of everything he has. Posted by: dan \| June 13, 2007 02:58 PM This is the same as the lawsuits from the recording industry. I agree with RL in that the REAL story is about whomever has the bigger legal war-chest has the advantage. The music studios have huge resources in going after people with limited legal resources - therefore they can harass people in the same way as this petty man with the pants suit. I lose faith in our legal system every day. Posted by: RP \| June 13, 2007 02:59 PM It is tragic that a "NUT" can bring a suit that can ruin a hard working family. I just hope that the Court can see this suit for what it is, and award the Plaintiff NOTHING, but make him pay for all Court costs and legal fees for the Defendants. Posted by: Manuel Cebollero \| June 13, 2007 03:02 PM What scares me, and should all of us I think, is that this gentleman is a Judge in the DC legal system. Just how valid can his rulings in his courtroom be given his demonstrated nonsensical approach to legal interpretation? And yet they are nonetheless legal rulings that likely would be appealed to even higher courts at some cost to the taxpayer. Our tax dollars at work. Posted by: Michael Wolozyn \| June 13, 2007 03:03 PM Why is it that I see so many duplicate (and triplicate) postings in the comments section of Washington Post stories? Is it a software bug or are people just repeating themselves to make a point? Posted by: Josey \| June 13, 2007 03:03 PM There was a question asked about why the defense asked for a judgment as a matter of law. I am pretty sure that it is normal for the defense to ask for a judgment as a matter of law after the plaintiffs case (regardless of if it is warranted or not...kind of like tossing the dice to see if the judge agrees with you) Does anyone know if this administrative "judge" is a lawyer, or not? (you don't have to be one to be a judge). If he is, I think he must have some real issues, becuase a frivolous case like this, is easliy enoguh to get him hauled before the Bar Association of whatever state he is licensed in (losing your law license over a pair of pants does not seem to be the acts of a rational person) Posted by: Twoos \| June 13, 2007 03:05 PM I think the real Pearson is lost in Bizarro World. Bizarro Pearson is on the stand. Posted by: \| June 13, 2007 03:05 PM My apologies for the repeats: I can't tell if it's a software bug from the Post, an incompatibility with Apple, or just my mistake: I was trying to post the comment, and the screen froze. I thought it hadn't gone through. I'll be more careful in the future. Posted by: Tim \| June 13, 2007 03:06 PM Tim, gimme a break. First of all, the way Pearson calculated the "damages" was absurd. He's charging them for the cost of renting a car to drive to another dry cleaners. He's tripling the damages by charging the mom, dad, and their SON. And he rejected their offer of 12 thousand dollars compensation. Your overly literal interpretation of the law only shows that there is no room for COMMON SENSE in our judicial system. You should be Pearson's poker buddy. Posted by: "activist judge"? C'mon! \| June 13, 2007 03:07 PM A possible concern with making an offer of judgment for 12,000 is that then they would open themselves to having to pay his attorney's fees if he accepted. The offer of judgment covers only the merits and not the fees. Given the number of hours he claims he has been working on this case the defense may not have wanted to take the risk. Posted by: 1L \| June 13, 2007 03:08 PM Make him try on the pants- if the pants don't fit you must acquit....... Posted by: Rick \| June 13, 2007 03:11 PM "Why is it that I see so many duplicate (and triplicate) postings in the comments section of Washington Post stories? Is it a software bug or are people just repeating themselves to make a point?" Most likely, the poster is getting an error and reposting without checking to see if it went through OR they aren't patient enough to wait and re-click the submit button. Posted by: To Josey \| June 13, 2007 03:13 PM I agree that there needs to be common sense here. I don't support his suit. I think he should lose. But on page 12 of the pre-trial statement, he lays out a specific formula of how to calculate the damages under the statute--and that's where the millions come from. If that formula is the right one (I haven't read the statute), if those aren't his pants (and I obviously don't know), and if this is found to be a violation (and I certainly don't know), then the judge will have to find a way out from under the statute. Use common sense? Great idea. But that gets you called an "activist judge" when you're interpreting statutes. Go back and read some of the comments of Republican Senate Judiciary members when they were refusing to confirm judges under the Clinton Administration. There's a lot of common sense that gets labeled "activist." (And I don't play poker outside the family. It doesn't make common sense to me.) Posted by: Tim \| June 13, 2007 03:13 PM This is the most blatant case of fraudulent advertising since my suit against the film, "The Never-Ending Story". Posted by: Lionel Hutz \| June 13, 2007 03:16 PM "If it continues to go on like that, the plantiff, a judge himself, might be looking at not only not getting anything, but paying court and attorney's fees for the other side." Here's hoping. That asshat Pearson deserves worse. Posted by: Eric \| June 13, 2007 03:16 PM Um, is anybody curious as to how this guy got a judgeship after being unemployed for several YEARS? If there's any justice he'll soon be unemployed again, because he should be disbarred. Posted by: CMA \| June 13, 2007 03:17 PM I feel so so sorry for the family that is basically being harrassed by this nut job who doesn't have a life! I can't believe he actually cried on the stand yesterday - what a whacko! Posted by: Emily \| June 13, 2007 03:19 PM so, do the pants belong to the suit or not? Is the defense calling any fabric experts to prove they are his pants? What would Judge Judy do? Posted by: Glenn \| June 13, 2007 03:21 PM Correction, "if the pants do fit, you must acquit." Posted by: 3Lplus \| June 13, 2007 03:22 PM Tim, the judge won't have to find a way out from the statute. All she needs to do is point out that a reasonable person would expect to be compensated for the cost of the pants and suit. The supposed "damages" all stem from the fact that Pearson refused the settlement offer of 12 grand and decided to rent a car and do other silly things that supposedly cost him. Nobody forced Pearson to rent a car. Nobody forced Pearson to spend hundreds of hours on this case. All of his supposed "costs" are things of his OWN DOING. What's next? Should the Chung's reimburse Pearson for the pizza he bought last night because he was hungry from the trial? Maybe they should reimburse him for the telephone calls he made to him mother when he called her to discuss this case. And then there's the opportunity cost: If Pearson hadn't spent those hundreds of hours on this case, he could have worked a second job and made additional money. So the Chung's should reimburse him for his potential second salary! Posted by: activist judges \| June 13, 2007 03:23 PM I saw his nickname in somewhere... "Sponge Roy NO Pants" Posted by: Don \| June 13, 2007 03:23 PM They should get a fabric expert to take samples from the jacket and the pants and determine they are from the same bolt of fabric. Posted by: I agree with Glenn \| June 13, 2007 03:24 PM It's sad to see how the well-educated take advantage of the hard-working individuals. Posted by: \| June 13, 2007 03:27 PM One more comment: Who the heck rents a CAR just to go to the dry cleaners? And why is there so much confusion over whether the pants belong to him? If they are part of a suit, then there is a matching JACKET to go with the pants somewhere. Someone should just get a search warrant for Pearson's home and see if they can find the jacket that matches the pants. If they find it, then case closed. Send the nut to the looney bin. Posted by: activistjudges \| June 13, 2007 03:28 PM Is Pearson a Bush appointee? Posted by: Dan Fahey \| June 13, 2007 03:28 PM The judge in this case has been described as patient, but that should be the norm. Judges are supposed to listen to both sides before deciding upon a case. I think that in the end, the judge will offer the Pearson a choice: either take the pants or take a small amount in settlement. She most likely will ignore calculated fees as the the Chungs have been more than reasonable in trying to resolve this dispute. I don't know the laws of DC but in some courts, the judge has power to fine someone for frivolous lawsuits. If such a law is on the books, I would hope she enforces it. Posted by: Austin \| June 13, 2007 03:28 PM Those pants wouldn't be worth $54M even if this idiot was in them! What a waste of the taxpayers money! how did this even make it to Court! Posted by: Mary Q \| June 13, 2007 03:29 PM If $1200 lost pants are worth $54 million law suit, what would a $40,000 lost car worth ? Let's see, $54 mil divide by 1200 = 4500. This means my lost car is worth $1.8 billion law suit. This is U.S. legal system at its best. Posted by: An Asian bystander \| June 13, 2007 03:31 PM "Yet another example of why DC is a lost cause. The fact this guy is on the DC payroll in the first place is amazing. The fact he was allowed to bring this to a court in DC and piss away the DC taxpayers money is a crime. Posted by: Glad I live in Maryland" Yeah, I'm glad you live in Maryland too - you're delusional. Nobody in MoCo has ever been incompetent or unreasonable? Posted by: E in DC \| June 13, 2007 03:32 PM The pants are part of a law suit? Is he pressing his claims? He seems hot under the collar, fit to be tied. I would cut the drycleaner some slacks. The case is really socking it to the drycleaner. Posted by: Rich Rosenthal \| June 13, 2007 03:33 PM Ok, here's my theory on why the pants supposedly don't match the suit Pearson says he brought in... His son testified yesterday that he used to 'shop' in his dad's closet for work clothes so here goes. Son borrower's 2 suits, son switches pants & jackets. Dad takes suit to cleaners still on the hanger w/out checking to see PANTS DON"T MATCH. Cleaners briefly misplace pants, when found they don't match the jacket & therefore Pearson claims they are not his. That's my theory, the pants they tried to give him back really are his pants, just from a different suit. Posted by: js \| June 13, 2007 03:33 PM The pants are part of a law suit? Is he pressing his claims? He seems hot under the collar, fit to be tied. I would cut the drycleaner some slacks. The case is really socking it to the drycleaner. Posted by: Rich Rosenthal \| June 13, 2007 03:33 PM this trial puts a whole new meaning to: being taken to the cleaners. Posted by: Steveo \| June 13, 2007 03:33 PM 1L suggested that the defendants may not have made an offer of judgment for the 12,000 because of the risk of having to pay his attorney's fees if he accepted. Are you sure about that? I thought the rule applies only if the eventual judgment is less favorable than the offer. If you make an offer of judgment and it's accepted, all parties pay their own fees. But then, Civ. Pro. is a long time ago. Can anyone shed any light? Posted by: BK \| June 13, 2007 03:33 PM Judge Judy would call him a pompous ass Posted by: crazytown \| June 13, 2007 03:35 PM Judge Judy would call him a pompous ass Posted by: crazytown \| June 13, 2007 03:35 PM Judge Judy would call him a pompous ass Posted by: crazytown \| June 13, 2007 03:35 PM Yank his license to practice law for filing a frivolous suit. Have him disbarred. This never should have gone past small claims court. It's a perfect example of what is wrong with this country. Meanwhile former workers at Rocky Flats suffering from cancer due to radiation exposure are dying while waiting for the benefit approvals. Where are the priorities in this country? Posted by: \| June 13, 2007 03:36 PM And I thought Patent Law was strangling small businesses! I want to sue for so many things now that I've heard this. I remember that slow driver in front of me who made me late for a job interview in 1979. With back pay, interest and the irrepairable harm I suffered from the embarrassment of being late, I think 6 billion should be sufficient...your honorable. (Smile) And what about that kid who broke my pencil in a pencil fight in 6th grade. I was just starting my lifelong novel that day...sniffle, sniffle. With no pencil to write, I lost all my momentum. I coulda made zillions I tell ya! (Smile) Seriously, if I could find some way to sue an oil company for the sunburn I got via the hole in the ozone layer, man we could all get paid. Hmmm? Posted by: WIll I. Sue \| June 13, 2007 03:36 PM Let me be really clear: He should lose. This is a ridiculous suit. But on page 23 of the pre-trial statement (I was wrong about the page number earlier), he lists a "statutory minimum" of $1,500 per day, and cites a provision of DC Code. If the pants aren't his, if this is actually a violation of the Code, then apparently the formula has to kick in. Common sense says it's ridiculous, but if the statute is truly a minimum, then a strict textual interpretation will require the millions be paid. The Griffin case is almost exactly the same. The dissent was right in calling it an "absurd result," and practically begging for common sense. The dissent even said that the plaintiff should have settled for less and been reasonable. But the statute had a formula and the Supreme Court said it had no choice but to implement it. That's the danger of strict adherence to text. Sometimes it produces absurd results. But one person's "absurd result" is another person's "judicial activism." I hope that this case doesn't get there. Maybe these are his pants. Maybe the DC Code doesn't count an unsatisfied customer as being the victim of fraud. Maybe this guy will come to his senses and withdraw. But if everything breaks his way, then I would like to hear what Justice Scalia (aka "text, text, and only text) would say. The end. I've beaten this dead horse. Posted by: Tim \| June 13, 2007 03:38 PM Interesting note: Roy Pearson's name is NOT on the current list of the Administrative Law Judges at the OAH website. [http://oah.dc.gov/oah/cwp/view,a,3,q,593365,oahNav_GID,1856,oahNav,\|34118\|,,.asp] link to the above. Is he not now a judge? This might be a reason that he is pushing so hard, if he does not have a job. Or it could be he's just an idiot. Posted by: Dave \| June 13, 2007 03:39 PM Is the mental capacity of the judge going to be examined once this farce is over? He may be suffering from dementia. Posted by: Jackie \| June 13, 2007 03:40 PM i can't believe he actually rejected 12,000 - he could've bought 10 more HF suits. he must be very confident in his claim. Posted by: me \| June 13, 2007 03:40 PM Rich, Enough with the off the cuff comments. His case is falling apart at the seams! But I think it might be tailor made for television. Posted by: Maryland \| June 13, 2007 03:41 PM Here's a question. The Chungs don't have 54 million dollars, so what exactly will he accomplish? Bankrupting the Chungs and collecting on whatever money they have left over after paying legal fees?????? Posted by: dc \| June 13, 2007 03:42 PM Pearson is an administrative law judge? What are the basic requirements to fill such a position? Functioning organs? ...'Cos if it's a matter of using logic and reason, then I am going to have my 6 month old daughter apply. Posted by: This is lame \| June 13, 2007 03:42 PM All I have to say is that the Founding Fathers are currently rolling in their graves! This is making a mockery of our justice system. Posted by: Founding Father \| June 13, 2007 03:42 PM This judge (the plaintiff) must have a mental illness. It is sad he has chosen to torture an innocent family because of his personal problems. Take him off the bench and house him in a mental hospital before he resorts to violence as his next step. Posted by: Amy \| June 13, 2007 03:46 PM Only in DC could this unemployable moron land a job as an ALJ, or any government job at that. However, I would have expected this to happen under Barry, who, ironically was also in court yesterday. Oh yeah, what every happened to the crack head who worked for Barry (another irony) who recently drive over 40 people at a fair? Posted by: Chris \| June 13, 2007 03:47 PM DC asked: Here's a question. The Chungs don't have 54 million dollars, so what exactly will he accomplish? Bankrupting the Chungs and collecting on whatever money they have left over after paying legal fees?????? Answer: If there's any poetic justice, he'll take over the dry cleaners and the Chungs can drop off their laundry every day until a button goes missing and they can sue for $100 million. Posted by: Fiona \| June 13, 2007 03:47 PM What a farce. All the serious problems facing this country and we're paying this much attention to a guy who has come unhinged because a dry cleaning firm lost an ordinary pair of pants?? At a minimum, he deserves to be completely ignored. Posted by: Bob F. \| June 13, 2007 03:48 PM Posted by: hahahaha \| June 13, 2007 03:48 PM The Chung's lawyer appears to have this case all sewn up. Say, who is crazier, Pearson or Keith Washington, the PG county cop who shot the movers and pulled his gun on a home appraiser? Posted by: tooskinneejs \| June 13, 2007 03:50 PM Pearson is using the legal system to carry out a hate crime. The judge overseeing this case is just letting Pearson spill out all his crazy for the record so that his insanity will be a matter of public record. His career is over. His reputation is in the gutter. Only someone with some form of insanity would have done this to himself. I hope the family can stay in the USA and not give up hope. If I lived in their city I would give them my business and apologize to them on behalf of that pig. Posted by: Nancy \| June 13, 2007 03:50 PM Posted by: Kate \| June 13, 2007 03:52 PM Wash Post, why dont you put in the story where exactly this clown is a judge and what capacity. Anyone who has been through this guys court could instantly appeal their decision based on this guy's bias's, mental thought process, and craziness. Posted by: Hung Jurror \| June 13, 2007 03:53 PM isn't affirmative action wonderful? first john q. taxpayer puts this fool through school, then hands him a job, and now spends tens of thousands of dollars for the courts to hear this case -- in a crime-ridden city that clearly could better use its judicial resources. frightening. absolutely frightening. Posted by: roc \| June 13, 2007 03:55 PM On top of all else he enlisted his own son to lie on the stand. This is a tragic situation. I fail to see the humor in it anymore. Posted by: Todd \| June 13, 2007 03:56 PM Tim, Pearson can lay out whatever cost he wants. What people are saying is that his cost is bogus. Just because he lays out the cost does not mean they are valid, even if the judge were to find for him does not make his cost valid. That is the point. You seem hung up on the fact that he laid out his cost as if that means anything. Any judge, even if ruling for the plaintiff can determine if the cost is reasonable. One cost that would definetly get thrown out is the car rental to go to a cleaners. He could have caught the bus, he could even have gone back to those cleaners. I'm not a lawyer but i think you were so intent on showing a similiar case, you failed to see where the disagreement with your post were. Posted by: the anti-tim \| June 13, 2007 03:57 PM Is Pearson's job in jeopardy? It SHOULD be - he's a nut and shouldn't be in a position to decide ANYTHING in a courtroom. Posted by: Maureen \| June 13, 2007 03:57 PM This judge smells dirty to me. Posted by: T Soprano \| June 13, 2007 03:58 PM Bailiff takes the pants and hands them to the plaintiff. Matter of pants now resolved. Now plaintiff pays 100% of legal fees for defendants. Posted by: Carol \| June 13, 2007 03:58 PM Rick said: "Make him try on the pants- if the pants don't fit you must acquit......." I say: Well done, Rick. Posted by: still \| June 13, 2007 03:58 PM "all the rope they need to hand themselves" Posted by: jeffResistor \| June 13, 2007 03:58 PM can someone fire the plaintiff from his judges gig? They should - he clearly hasn't a clue how the reasonable world works... Posted by: Fire him \| June 13, 2007 03:58 PM This is not a frivolous lawsuit. If it was, it would have been tossed out. Only lawsuits with merit proceed to trial Posted by: Big Ron \| June 13, 2007 03:59 PM This is not a frivolous lawsuit. If it was, it would have been tossed out. Only lawsuits with merit proceed to trial Posted by: Big Ron \| June 13, 2007 03:59 PM Ok, so what it comes down to really is if the Chung's Satisfaction Guaranteed sign constituted fraud under the current statute and if it did then he can use the calculation in the statute to come up with this ridiculous $54 million figure? If I remember correctly from yesterday's testimony, during previous run-ins w/the plaintiff the Chungs had tried to exercise their right to refuse service to him. Mr. Pearson begged them to allow him to keep coming to their business because it was the only one within walking distance to his home (Mr. Pearson does not drive). It would appear that even Mr. Pearson did not think their sign constituted fraud. Posted by: js \| June 13, 2007 03:59 PM Next week, Mr. Pearson will be suing the grocery store for selling Red Delicious apples that were not red enough or delicious enough. Posted by: Katie \| June 13, 2007 04:00 PM What gets me are the people who cry "I can't believe people are spending time on this matter when there so many other important things to worry about...blah blah blah," all the while spending time reading those very same stories, reading through peoples posts, and spending time writing posts. If you don't care then why are you here?!?!?! Posted by: Scott \| June 13, 2007 04:01 PM Of course this guy is nuts,he's part of our messed up American Judicial System serving as a Law Judge for the DC Government. American Judicial System- screwed up and full of nuts! DC Government- screwed up and allows Marion Barry to still have a vote! Posted by: Mitch \| June 13, 2007 04:01 PM The Judge, Prosecutor, Plaintiffs and the defendants should be lock up for wasting tax payer's money. This is what America has become. Posted by: Rivers \| June 13, 2007 04:02 PM Tim, the formula may be right but the $1500 per day fine only pertains if the judge rules that posting a sign saying "Satisfaction guaranteed" is a violation of the law, and that isn't going to happen. As was so ably pointed out by the Chung's attorney, such signs are meant to be read and understood according to a "reasonable person" standard, and for the judge to rule the way Pearson wants her to on the meaning of that sign would be to overturn a hundred years or more of common law and precedent. Posted by: Tom \| June 13, 2007 04:03 PM He can technically get this before a judge. That does not mean he actually has a winning case. Posted by: anne \| June 13, 2007 04:04 PM This guy is insane and as a result should be disbarred/fired. If he's representing all of the residents from the district then I expect a cut of the $54 million! Posted by: Jasmin \| June 13, 2007 04:04 PM Katie, I once bit into a red "delicious" apple that was all mealy and tasteless, which made me feel cheated. My case got thrown out of court because it wasn't the grocer that named the product. Turns out it was a farmer from Pennsylvania who died over 100 years ago who came up with the name. Maybe they were tastier back then. Posted by: jeffResistor \| June 13, 2007 04:04 PM I am going to sue all of you posters for not satisfying my need for entertainment in middle of the day Posted by: 2 Funny \| June 13, 2007 04:04 PM Posted by: HORN \| June 13, 2007 04:05 PM The judge is going to deliver a legal smackdown of epic proportions. I'd love to be there. Posted by: Heath \| June 13, 2007 04:06 PM Posted by: S. Rockville, MD \| June 13, 2007 04:06 PM To "Anti-Tim" (Anti-Tim??? Really? Did I strike that much of a nerve? Sorry. I'm actually a nice guy who's just avoiding his real work.): Lots of parts of his claim can be thrown out. The car to the dry cleaners is particularly ridiculous. But, if he wins his claim, you can't throw out the the part that the statute says is "a minimum." Unless the judge says that the statutory minimum produces an "absurd result," which of course it does. All I'm saying (apparently not very well) is that if the statute requires something ridiculous, then the judge should have some discretion to say, "That's ridiculous," and disregard it. Judges should be able to do justice. But that's not the general trend in politics and judges these days. (And the similar case is probably forty years old. I should have said that. And it's federal, not DC, so it's not really the same. The argument just seemed remarkably similar.) Posted by: Tim \| June 13, 2007 04:06 PM I thinks Pearson should be disbarred. If you think so as well, then contact the D.C. Bar whose web address is: Monica D. Potter Email: PotterM@dcobc.org Case Manager Office of Bar Counsel 515 5th Street, NW Building A, Room 117 Washington, DC 20001 (202) 638-1501 (202) 638-0862 -- Fax Couple of other DC Bar email addresses: Posted by: Don \| June 13, 2007 04:07 PM Posted by: Heath \| June 13, 2007 04:07 PM What is happening in court now? Emil Steiner was a better reporter!Come on, give us the story. Posted by: dasmaks \| June 13, 2007 04:08 PM good thing he never expected "good food" in an Army Mess Hall he could file a alwsuit 3 times a day for years he would never have been satisfied rofl Posted by: mikey30919 \| June 13, 2007 04:08 PM Thanks Don, I'm on it right now. Posted by: Amy \| June 13, 2007 04:08 PM Marc, please do some research into how exactly this man went from being unemployed for several years to landing a job as a judge in DC. Oh, and buying a suit that cost $1,150 to wear under the robe on his first day "back at the office." Posted by: jeffResistor \| June 13, 2007 04:09 PM Why aren't there any updates? Its 4:00pm on the east coast. What's going on in the trial? Posted by: Yikes! \| June 13, 2007 04:10 PM Posted by: Tim \| June 13, 2007 04:11 PM Yikes, i think the reporters are afraid to leave the courtroom until the judge renders a decision. Posted by: Janey \| June 13, 2007 04:13 PM Posted by: harry \| June 13, 2007 04:14 PM Someone should look into the rulings this guy presided over as a judge and the outcomes to see if there's any agenda or pattern of abuse on his part. Some might say he's suing for the "spirit" of consumer advocacy. I say he's suing because he's definately got self-esteem issues, issues with Asians and litigious lunacy. I wonder what Ralph Nader say on this issue, hmmmmm? Posted by: Tony \| June 13, 2007 04:14 PM I'm not sure he's a barred attorney. However, I believe an ethic charge has already been filed against him. I hope he gets some good court room experience out of this. He'll need it. I think you're point is a little off. Judges do have discretion when it comes to civil judgements. This isn't a constutional law case. If you're trying to say you don't like strict constitutionalists that's fine but this doesn't really relate to that. I think that's where people are getting hung up on your posts. Posted by: Chris \| June 13, 2007 04:15 PM Re pants fitting: He won't try on the pants because he knows they are his. If they truly were not his pants he would put them on. They would be the wrong length/fit if they belonged to someone else. That would be my first movie if they really were not my clothes. This guy is a loser in every sense of the word. Posted by: sam \| June 13, 2007 04:15 PM I think Pearson is just using this arena to bring attention to a gripe he has with false advertisement in general, pulling the ole bait and switch. Don't we all see this every day? And shouldn't merchants be held accountalbe? If he was suing for 12000 or even 100,000 I don't believe this would be getting this attention/reaction, which is what he wants. And if he attempted to make his point by suing a large Telesomething firm it would have never made it to court. So this is how he is going about it. I don't agree with him, but it makes sense. Posted by: Perhaps \| June 13, 2007 04:17 PM Tim, i did not have a catchier name :-). People rarely rile me up (it's one of the qualities i have that exasperates my girlfriend.. sometimes, i seem too calm).. i wanted to make sure you'd know i was replying to you. I think another point someone was making was that most of his cost was due to him, not the cleaners so even if the judge followed the law, he still should not get much. He could have settled... after he refused to settle, all cost subsequent are his.. he cannot claim the cost is because the dry cleaners lost his pants when they were clearly willing to replace his pants many time over. It would be like going to macdonalds after they made a bad sandwich, complaining, having macdonalds offer you a free sandwich plus a coupon for free food for a month, refusing it, then scheduling a trip in space and then suing macdonalds for the trip in space cause it happened after you refused the free sandwich and coupon offer.. the law does not work that way and this has nothing to do with common sense.. the law just does not work that way. Posted by: anti-tim \| June 13, 2007 04:17 PM He does have an ethics charge against him already. But don't let that stop all of you from voicing your opinion to all parties involved. If they can get Jericho back on the air we can get this guy off the bench. Posted by: Donald \| June 13, 2007 04:18 PM Not enough bad things can happen to this admin law judge. Posted by: JD \| June 13, 2007 04:20 PM When Pearson is disbarred,the biggest joke will be all the cases he heard being thrown outdue to his insanity. Posted by: EGM \| June 13, 2007 04:21 PM I know it's not Constitutional. If it were, there would be a lot more room for a judge's discretion in the world of Scalia. Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, Alito--they all look to something more than just plain text in the Constitution. But not in the area of statutory interpretation, which is where the formula part of this case comes from. In that world, Scalia wants only to know what the statute says, not what it meant to the Congress or what the Congress intended. (Roberts seems a little more flexible on that point.) And the minimum penalty (if it ever kicks in--see Tom's comment above about why it probably won't), is in the DC statute, the statute that the judge may have to interpret. Posted by: Tim \| June 13, 2007 04:21 PM Posted by: The Cosmic Avenger \| June 13, 2007 04:21 PM The law is NOT on Pearson's side. They offered him 12 thousand worth of satisfaction. Not good enough. Reasonable interpretation is just as big a part of the law as customer satisfaction. This man is a vindictive monster and anyone who thinks he is just an unhappy customer sticking it to The Man is just as pathetic as him. Posted by: Joe \| June 13, 2007 04:22 PM The fact that the judge on this case has been seen laughing should tell us what is coming. Posted by: Ben \| June 13, 2007 04:23 PM I hope the Chungs sue him for emotional pain and suffering. I think they'd have a great chance of winning! Posted by: Barbara \| June 13, 2007 04:24 PM I'm suing Disneyland. They said it was the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH and it most certainly was NOT!!! That's at least 900 trillion dollars right there. Cha Ching! Posted by: holly \| June 13, 2007 04:25 PM Chris or anybody who is curious about Mr. Ponge Roy No Pants, Mr. Sponge Roy No Pants is a barred attoney. I think he should be disbarred. Posted by: Don \| June 13, 2007 04:25 PM Does anyone know who the doctor is who testified? I can't find any listings for the doctor in the area. Posted by: Ned \| June 13, 2007 04:26 PM I didn't think judges wore anything under their robes. Eeeeeek! Posted by: readytogohome \| June 13, 2007 04:28 PM I can see here that no one has had their favorit thing distroyed by the very people you trust will enhance or refresh your item. May not be worth millions but I understand the mental pounding that tolls. Posted by: William P Marseglia \| June 13, 2007 04:28 PM I'm going to see that doctor who testified and then sue the living bejeezus out of her. Posted by: Kelly \| June 13, 2007 04:28 PM RL, the blog does explain why as a matter of law the defense moved for dismissal (first, they do that automatically no matter how strong the plaintiff's case is to preserve the issue for appeal). After Mr. Pearlman gave an absurd definition of how h'd have to interpret "satisfaction guaranteed" to get that they, in his case, did not satisfy him by searching for the pants and recovering them and later offering financial settlements, his interpretation and great understanding of the law was irrelevant. The "fraud" was the violation of their own signs, and no reasonable person would interpret the signs that way. Ergo, no fraud, no matter how meticulously he explained what the violation would have been had there been fraud. Posted by: eek \| June 13, 2007 04:28 PM It's all comes down to this he is a moma boy thumbs down for his act and two thumbs down for his screen play Posted by: Tim Scott \| June 13, 2007 04:29 PM They have his stupid pants. He is doind this because he is a racist pig. Posted by: jennifer \| June 13, 2007 04:29 PM Now I'm not the biggest Scalia supporter but I do believe he looks at the Congressional record quite a bit. I'm pretty sure he does if the statute is unclear. That might be as far as he goes. Posted by: Chris \| June 13, 2007 04:29 PM I am not a lawyer either, but it looks like the code says "treble damages or $1,500" whichever is less. Section 3905 k 1 A Posted by: Fiona \| June 13, 2007 04:29 PM So, let me get this right. If my right finger needs amputation due to an accident, and my surgeon removes the wrong finger, can I claim a malpractice lawsuit of $54 million? Probably not, unless the hospital loses my pants when I am discharged from the hospital! Get a life, you lowlife judge! Posted by: Paul \| June 13, 2007 04:30 PM 1)Sorry about all those wedgies, RL. Not! 2)Tim: Scalia would turn to his three-fifths of a colleague Thomas, shout "Arrrrgh" and embark on a privateering career with his letters of marque. 3)The double and triple postings are from the distinguished members of the bar actually having to type something themselves... you see the results. 4)Don't pants, once they touch someone else's butt, lose their value? They may have cost him $1000 at some point, but that was 20 pounds, and two asses (the son) ago. Posted by: Clarence Darrow \| June 13, 2007 04:30 PM He hasn't worn those pants in two years. Good chance he's fattened up quite a bit...therefore, those pants may not fit. Posted by: Chris \| June 13, 2007 04:32 PM I went to McDonald's and I found that I wasn't "lovin' it" Do I get to sue someone? Posted by: Shelly \| June 13, 2007 04:32 PM I'm not sure he's a barred attorney. However, I believe an ethic charge has already been filed against him. I hope he gets some good court room experience out of this. He'll need it." Chris (and everyone else who is wondering whether Roy Pearson passed the bar exam anywhere), just do a quick Google search or check out Wikipedia. Roy Pearson passed the Washington DC bar exam in 1978 and practiced law for 24 years doing public interest work before becoming a contract examiner handling police complaints. Incredibly, he also directed a clinical program at Georgetown Law School for a short time. Even more incredibly, Pearson is a graduate of Northwestern Law School, normally reputed to be one of the Top 10 - 15 law schools in the country. If I were a Northwestern Law alumnus, or even a Georgetown Law alumnus, I would be very ashamed right now. Just goes to show you that supposedly prestigious law schools make gigantic admissions mistakes sometimes by letting in insufferable, colossal jackasses. Posted by: Roy Pearson Is An Idiot \| June 13, 2007 04:33 PM Posted by: Sam \| June 13, 2007 04:33 PM hey WP, give Marc Fisher a laptop with wireless--why else is he not posting regular updates?? Posted by: 21st century \| June 13, 2007 04:35 PM Doesn't the statute give the court the option to provide "any other relief the court deems proper" 28-3905(k)(1)(F)? Shouldn't the "or" after the semicolon follwing (k)(1)(E) makes anything in (k)(1)(A)-(E)optional for the court, even with a finding for the plaintiff? Posted by: Not a legal scholar, but I play one in comments \| June 13, 2007 04:35 PM Roy Pearson Is An Idiot, Posted by: Shawn \| June 13, 2007 04:36 PM Blogs are supposed to be running commentaries. Why us a blog, rather than a regular story, to cover the case, if there aren't going to be any incremental real-time updsates? Does anyone know what time court adjourns? Posted by: Yikes! \| June 13, 2007 04:36 PM Did this "Judge" actually go to law school? If so, which one? They must be dying of embarrassment. Posted by: gasmonkey \| June 13, 2007 04:37 PM 21st century, in a courtroom??? No. I have a feeling if you get up and leave you lose your seat and there's no way anyone's gonna do that. Posted by: Danny \| June 13, 2007 04:38 PM Blogs are supposed to be running commentaries. Why cover the case in a blog if there aren't going to be any incremental real-time updates? Does anyone know what time court adjourns? Posted by: Yikes! \| June 13, 2007 04:38 PM The fact is "Satisfaction Guaranteed" is rubbish. It means nothing and always has. It's simply impossible to guarantee satisfaction. It's possible to compensate people for not being satisfied, but it can never be guaranteed. If someone ruins my favorite suit and then pays me what it cost or is worth, it's compensation, not satisfaction. I still have to go out and buy that suit again and have it tailored again ... if they even still make the suit. So I'm not going to be satisfied and no one can ever guarantee it. Posted by: Mike \| June 13, 2007 04:39 PM This is what happens when universities are FORCED to let in subpar candidates because of affirmative action. Posted by: Joseph \| June 13, 2007 04:39 PM He should try on the pants. "If the pants don't fit, you must not acquit." :-D Posted by: Kate \| June 13, 2007 04:40 PM This half-you know what, so-called "judge" is a DISGRACE to D.C. He must be removed from the bench! Posted by: Chris Keeley \| June 13, 2007 04:40 PM That has to be a different Roy Pearson!!! I can't believe this guy got through law school let alone actually passed the bar. How is that possible? Will the real Roy Pearson please step forward? Posted by: \| June 13, 2007 04:41 PM If the Chungs win their case because PEarson's case is frivolous can Chungs countersue for mental anguish and stress for million bucks? I'd like to see Pearson get taste of his own bad medicine Posted by: Chungs should countersue! \| June 13, 2007 04:41 PM If I don't get the best bang for my buck can I sue the girl I gave the buck too? Posted by: Richie \| June 13, 2007 04:42 PM well how did eric steiner post all day long yesterday? http://blog.washingtonpost.com/offbeat/ surely the audience was just as packed then...if the case continues, the blog beat should revert to eric. marc's not getting the job done. Posted by: 21st century \| June 13, 2007 04:42 PM Honestly, if you were running any type of business in this guy's neighborhood would you let him in the door? I wouldn't. Then he would sue me for discrimiation. Although if you put up a sign saying Reserve Right to Refuse Service then you would be covered. Posted by: Daniel \| June 13, 2007 04:43 PM Will this ss lose his law license for this absurd abuse of our court system? If there is any justice in the world -- and this case will surely prove that question -- this case is a win for the defendent and they will make this idiot judge pay the attorney's fees for the defendent, and they will fine this plainiff for his abuse of the system. Never in the history of mankind has the legal profession looked so bad! Posted by: colorado kool aid \| June 13, 2007 04:44 PM 21st century. Today is the verdict, much different situation. you cannot post messeges from the courtroom. No way no how. Posted by: Jonah \| June 13, 2007 04:45 PM Here is a link to a blogger from the courtroom that actually is posting updates, unlike Marc Fisher: Soo Chung apparently cried on the stand describing the hardship and pain this litigation has put her and her family through, and her tears, unlike Pearson's, were probably justified. Manning finished his direct examination of Soo Chung. Roy Pearson had no cross-examination of her, probably because even an insufferable, colossal jackass like him knew that if he asked any questions, Soo Chung would look even more sympathetic, and Pearson would look like even more of a bully than he already is. Closing arguments are apparently underway. Maybe they are finished by now. Posted by: Roy Pearson Is An Idiot \| June 13, 2007 04:45 PM Am I the only one who is 100% convinced that Pearson will appeal this all the way to the Supreme Court, if he can? Posted by: Thin Man \| June 13, 2007 04:46 PM A reporter would have to be a total fool to give up his space right now. I'm sure they are itching to have this done and get out and report but nobody is going to move until the judge hits the gavel. Posted by: Kevin \| June 13, 2007 04:46 PM Well Joe you seem angry- I was just attempting to see another side of it. I also said I don't agree with him. Let me ask you- should we all have the same exact level of satisfaction? Do you think we should be told what is satisfying to us as individuals? I really don't know enough about him to label him a vindictive monster, but apparently you do. Posted by: perhaps \| June 13, 2007 04:46 PM I think its pretty obvious President Bush is to blame here. I'm just waiting for someone from the left to link him to all this. Give it time... it will happen. Posted by: Craig O \| June 13, 2007 04:47 PM I'm dying. Please let this have a very happy ending. Everyone pray with me. Posted by: Samantha \| June 13, 2007 04:48 PM By ruling that his case was not ridiculous enough to be dismissed as a matter of law, the judge probably protected him from any ethics claim. Obviously, his legal skills are not that subpar if he has been able to adduce enough evidence to let such a frivolous claim survive being dismissed this long. Posted by: \| June 13, 2007 04:48 PM No wonder the legal system is held in contempt. Hopefully the judge will rule for the cleaners and order Mr. Pearson to pay legal costs for the cleaners as well as damages for emotional distress and anything else one can think up. As well, are there not requirements to go to court? The Bar Association should examine this case with care. Posted by: Rudolfo \| June 13, 2007 04:49 PM Pearson is greedy, abusive, and mentally ill. He needs to be disbarred! He is taking advantage of taxpayer's money, draining county resources, and taking time away from other serious matters. What is equally disgusting is Pearson's abuse towards the Chungs over a pants. He needs to be sent to prison for all the hurt and suffering he has caused for the Chung family and the citizens of D.C. Imagine what Pearson is like as a judge. He is nothing but a corrupted, opportunist who should be disbarred. How can an irrational, money hungry, malicious, sleezy person make sound judgement in court? Pearson needs to pay back the county by doing time in prison. He is disgusting!! Posted by: JS \| June 13, 2007 04:49 PM Pearson is greedy, abusive, and mentally ill. He needs to be disbarred! He is taking advantage of taxpayer's money, draining county resources, and taking time away from other serious matters. What is equally disgusting is Pearson's abuse towards the Chungs over a pants. He needs to be sent to prison for all the hurt and suffering he has caused for the Chung family and the citizens of D.C. Imagine what Pearson is like as a judge. He is nothing but a corrupted, opportunist who should be disbarred. How can an irrational, money hungry, malicious, sleezy person make sound judgement in court? Pearson needs to pay back the county by doing time in prison. He is disgusting!! Posted by: JS \| June 13, 2007 04:49 PM I mean seriously, how can this be the same Roy Pearson? He must have had some huge mental breakdown which would explain his years of "unemployment." Posted by: Chris \| June 13, 2007 04:50 PM perhaps . Give me your name, address and number and I'll find something to sue you for. Your yard is ugly so it reduces my home's value. You looked at me funny. I'll say you shoved me. Then let's see how you feel about the abuse of the legal system. Posted by: Joe \| June 13, 2007 04:51 PM satisfied? I'll let you be the Judge Posted by: perhaps \| June 13, 2007 04:52 PM I would much rather watch this play out on Court TV rather than the Phil Spector trial. Thank you for the updates. I must, however comment on your statement "But Bartnoff has been careful to let Pearson state his odd notions of law with few limitations. This is known as giving someone all the rope they need to hand themselves." This is just another example of biased reporting. Please consider writing just the facts. Then if you feel compelled, feel free to log in here and add your "personal" thoughts about the case where comments are encouraged and accepted. Posted by: All about truth \| June 13, 2007 04:56 PM 10.) My KFC was not finger licking good? 9.) I couldn't have my burger my way at Burger King! 8.) I didn't love the chicken from Popeyes 7.) I wasn't "lovin it" at McDonalds 6.) My Wendy's hamburger was not fresh, yet frozen which was not right! 5.) My Taco Bell was inside the bun! 4.) I didn't eat fresh at Subway 3.) My Papa Johns didn't have better ingredients? 2.) My Miller Lite was more filling and less taste! 1.) I didn't get the most bang for my buck with the girl I gave it too!!! Posted by: Mitch \| June 13, 2007 04:57 PM The rule on a $12,000 offer of judgment would be, if accepted, that each party pays its own fees. The winner (the plaintiff in that case) might petition for costs, but those would be minor. The only way fees could be awarded upon acceptance of an offer of judgment would be if it were a fee shifting case, such as civil rights matters. If the offer of judgment is rejected and the verdict comes in below that, the only fees that would be awarded Pearson would be those that accrued after the offer was made. Posted by: Offer of Judgment \| June 13, 2007 04:57 PM The name of this blog is "Raw Fisher" yet there is no sushi involved. I'm suing. Posted by: Devin \| June 13, 2007 04:57 PM I'm waiting for Bill O'Reilly (the self professed independent) to lay the blame at activist judges or secular progressives.. i am shocked you yourself did not take the opportunity to blame the looney left or the secular progressives (who are anyone that pretty much disagree with Bill). I'll be watching the "factor : the high spin zone" for updates on how secular progressives are responsible for this mess. Posted by: hey craig \| June 13, 2007 04:58 PM take a breath joe- I don't agree this should be a court case- I was merely saying that he is using it to draw attention to his personal gripe. AND if that's what he is doing it makes sense to do it this way- because it is getting attention. make sense? will pictures help? Posted by: perhaps \| June 13, 2007 04:59 PM That's why this is called a BLOG. Posted by: Ken \| June 13, 2007 05:00 PM yes Mitch you can- but you shouldn't win Posted by: perhaps \| June 13, 2007 05:01 PM perhaps. I'm still waiting for that address. Posted by: Joe \| June 13, 2007 05:01 PM It's all comes down to this he is a moma boy thumbs down for his act and two thumbs down for his screen play. The other day My gandson and myself went to pick up my two shirts and they could not find them they were miss place and they ask me for my phone to let me know if they have found them as we left my grandson ask me was I mad and I said yes and no and he stop and look at me and I told him why, yes that the workers couldn't find my shrits and they were mad and she said to me I am sorry I told her no problem and I also told him that if they could not find the two shirst that I could reorder two more and still go back for there services. To me It's like this why do I need to act like the big (N) word and jump up and down for nothing what point would that prove not a dam thing and my grandson said cool Posted by: Tim Scott \| June 13, 2007 05:01 PM Craig O, You are right-it is George Bush's fault. You see, Pearson applied for a U.S. attorney position but was rejected because his political views weren't in line with the current administration. This rejection led to his obvious mental health problems, and coincidentally, caused him to become a consumer advocate. Thus, you have the present lawsuit--all thanks to the President. Posted by: still \| June 13, 2007 05:01 PM Correction -- the only fees that would be awarded the Chungs would be those accruing after the offer was made. And can someone please stop the racist "affirmative action" messages? I mean, jeez, you think because an african american has a job he must have had help? Please go back to your hole in the wall, or please enter the 21st century. Posted by: Offer of judgment \| June 13, 2007 05:02 PM In response to Tim, I think the Griffin vs. Ocean Contractors might be a little different. I think the question in play isn't necessarily the formula, as to whether or not there is a violation at all. In the Griffin case there was a WRONGFUL discharge. Keyowrd WRONGFUL. And in that case, the formula that applies is not ridiculous because this is what he would have made had he still been employed in the first place ($400 x number of days working). This is similar to the economic worth or human life value lawyer will sue you for in a wrongful death suit I believe (dead person's income x working years?, something like that, I'm sure there's more to the calculation anyways). So that's the reasoning behind the formula. The question in this case seems to be whether or not the formula should even be applied? Don't forget this guy stated that he'd be paying himself at least $500,000.00 in attorney's fees if he won. Personally, I think Pearson is looking for a way to trample his personal debt by exploiting the law and others. Is was revealed in Chris Manning's cross examination that the dude was already in debt from a divorce (which he also sued for a ridiculous amount). It also called into question his view of logic or reason which is TOTALLY disjointed with the real world. Now in response to PERHAPS, and the notion that this guy is just an activist trying to save the world...$500,000 for attorney's fees (himself?), $15,000 for a car for the case? That is not activism, that's entitle ment. Posted by: Victor \| June 13, 2007 05:02 PM This is why we need "loser pays" reform to our tort system. Posted by: \| June 13, 2007 05:03 PM Even the judge (the good one) in this case told that idiot he had to stop saying "we" beacuse there is no "we" in this case. He is not suing for the consumer or making a statement, he wants the cash. End of story. Anyone who would use their own son to further this case is a sick bastard. Putting a wheelchair vet up there to be laughed at is even sicker. Knowing what he is doing to this family and continuing is the sign of a diseased mind. Posted by: Paul V. \| June 13, 2007 05:04 PM RL... Are you trying to impress us with your legal knowledge? Do you really think its necessary for the WP to "have assigned a reporter with a legal background instead of a gossip" for a case a groundbreaking and important as this one? Get a life man, we're in DC no one is impressed with your knowledge of the law. I bet you add esquire to the end of your name whenever possible. You don't you. RL Esquire. Posted by: WDC \| June 13, 2007 05:05 PM This is from WTOPNEWS.com: ------------------ The closing arguments are finished. The judge says she will issue a written ruling by the end of next week. ------------------ Why?!!?!!?!!? Posted by: Don \| June 13, 2007 05:06 PM The LOVE of money IS the root of all evil. NOT mention this guy is probably a pompous, arrogant, presumptuous fool. Posted by: mr. smith \| June 13, 2007 05:06 PM Offer of judgment . In this case YES. He didn't amke it on his own merits. Not a chance in hell. Posted by: God \| June 13, 2007 05:06 PM Ahhhh, finally people have made this into a political back an forth. I was wondering what took so long. God bless America! Posted by: Chris \| June 13, 2007 05:06 PM Fisher is offering his reporting and opinion. This is not straight news reporting. I might be wrong but fisher reporting has the feel of a blog. Also, you must be from the right.. only the right could conclude that offering facts without context is unbiased.. but facts with context is biased.. interesting.. so for example, according to the right.. this is an unbiased statement "the earth is getting warmer".. while this is a biased statement "Humans are a major factor in global warming". The first statement is useless (the earth is warming, so what?.. does that mean the sun is hotter?.. earth's orbit is closer to the sun?. a billion people in china all lit candles at the same time?).. even though statement 1 is useless, the right loves it cause it means nobody can do anything since there are no conclusions attached.. if you immediately put the statement in context (humans are causing global warming, not a hotter sun or earth's orbit or a billion people in china all lighting candles at the same time).. you are immediately labelled as biased. It's amazing that this country is still tops in science and technology. Wow, to do research or see something without the ability to offer context.. what insight!!! (sarcasm intended). Posted by: Hey all about the truth \| June 13, 2007 05:07 PM I guess the judge wants to make sure she gets this 100% right before she says anything. She doesn't want to give him any room to wiggle for an appeal. Ug. I hate waiting. Imagine how horrid this week will be for the Chungs. Posted by: Natalie \| June 13, 2007 05:08 PM How dare you all question my criticism of this frivolous gossip's trial coverage. I'll have you know that I went to Harvard Law School. Posted by: RL \| June 13, 2007 05:09 PM 4:56 p.m. Wednesday, June 13 The closing arguments are finished. The judge says she will issue a written ruling by the end of next week. Posted by: done for the day \| June 13, 2007 05:11 PM Joe maybe I'll sue you for assault if you ask me for my address again Posted by: perhaps \| June 13, 2007 05:11 PM Glad in a way that the judge is dotting the I's and crossing the T's rather than just blurting out a quicky verdict. She wants this buried for good. Hate having to wait. Posted by: Hatty \| June 13, 2007 05:12 PM perhaps. Oooooooooo scary! Still waiting. Posted by: Joe \| June 13, 2007 05:13 PM How does a Harvard Law graduate have time during the day to post so many time? Posted by: a peon \| June 13, 2007 05:13 PM Here's another reason this is all George Bush's fault: Pearson is actually an illegal immigrant and was granted amnesty under a "super secret amenesty for certain illegal immigrants whom we like" program, which was put in place to fight the war on terror and Iraq. If it wasn't for this program, he'd have been deported already. Posted by: still \| June 13, 2007 05:14 PM It's gonna suck for the defendants to wait til Friday (I guess?) But I think things went pretty well for them. Think about it for a second. These people could lose their business over 1 pair of pants. This could happen to ANYONE!!!!! I agree with whoever said we need to change to loser pays legal fees. I think they do that in the UK? Not sure, I know they do it somewhere. Posted by: Kathleen \| June 13, 2007 05:16 PM Would your mom drive you to my place or do your parents let you take the bus? Posted by: perhaps \| June 13, 2007 05:16 PM Wait, it seems that this guy gets paid a salary by the District but spends all his time going to the cleaners... Posted by: Julio Curotto \| June 13, 2007 05:17 PM I was watching the 700 Club and they say all bad things are the faults of feminists and lesbians. So there you go. Posted by: Hatty \| June 13, 2007 05:18 PM Oh man- I just realized that was debating with a child- I feel silly- Sorry Joe, I didn't know Posted by: perhaps \| June 13, 2007 05:18 PM Posted by: joe \| June 13, 2007 05:19 PM I believe the UK does have loser pays. The only problem with that formula would be for consumers suing large corporations. Who's going to be able to afford those fees. Drug companies would love that. Posted by: Chris \| June 13, 2007 05:19 PM Sounds like "No Pants" Pearson needed medication, not an alteration. I hope he loses the case but gets some professional help. Posted by: Martin Izing \| June 13, 2007 05:19 PM RL, obviously that moronic, arrogant clown Pearson rubbed off his ways on you. As the saying goes, birds of a..flock together. We all are better off without all knowing dirtbags like you. Heehehe. Posted by: \| June 13, 2007 05:21 PM Posted by: Benji \| June 13, 2007 05:21 PM 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW Washington, DC Posted by: perhaps \| June 13, 2007 05:21 PM How much money is/has of our money, of the city's money, of his money, and the Chung's money has this crackpot wasted by suing these poor people because he is mentally unstable?? Posted by: GoonieGooGoo \| June 13, 2007 05:22 PM your kidding me????? This guy is a DC judge, and they are allowing this NGR, to file charges and go to court on this BS law suit??????? What the heck is wrong with the DC govt, where is Fenty, why hasnt he stoped this shit???? or is he too busy with his new girlfriend Rhee?????I cant beleive that the DC govt has allowed this to continue and be the laughing stock of the United States, that the District would even allow this to happen. You go DC, no wonder your the cess pool of a city you are.!!!!! Posted by: pjl@yahoo.com \| June 13, 2007 05:22 PM To settle your differences, Perhaps should give his address to Joe. Joe can then rent a car at a rate of 50 dollars per day to go to Perhaps' place, and since there are 365 days in a year, he can multiply the cost of the car rental by 365. Then, multiply that by 10 years of potential dates to visit Perhaps. Then, multiply that by 1500 dollars. That works out to $273,750,000 for which Joe can sue Perhaps for forcing him to rent a car to go beat Perhaps up. Also, Joe should represent himself and sue for attorneys' fees. Since Joe probably isn't a lawyer, he can also sue for the anticipated cost of law school and bar exam expenses. And also Joe can sue Perhaps to toss in a pair of pants. Then, Perhaps can hire a lawyer at 400 dollars an hour to defend him against Joe's lawsuit in court, and even if Perhaps prevails, he'll be forced to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy to pay for his legal fees. The wheels of justice at work. Of course, as Perhaps would say, Joe would be justified in doing this because he is calling attention to a personal gripe in a well-executed manner. Posted by: Roy Pearson Is An Idiot \| June 13, 2007 05:22 PM "Oh man- I just realized that was debating with a child- I feel silly- Sorry Joe, I didn't know" -perhaps The words of a rhetorical genius. Posted by: Joe \| June 13, 2007 05:23 PM I would also like to drop my pants to this lawsuit. Posted by: Moon in VA \| June 13, 2007 05:24 PM and just hop the fence- i don't mind Posted by: perhaps \| June 13, 2007 05:24 PM I find it IMMENSELY amusing that he "had to" rent a car to go to another dry cleaners - they are EVERYWHERE in D.C.! Good grief. There are dry cleaning services he could have subscribed to that would have picked up his stuff for LESS THAN he paid for the car rental. The man truly is an idiot, and I hope he will not be able to continue employment as a judge. But then, if HE can be a judge, I know what job I'm applying to next! I can point to a precedent now!!! ; ) Posted by: Maritza \| June 13, 2007 05:25 PM Here's another way in which this is Bush's fault: By not supporting statehood for Washington D.C., he caused general anger and a more democrat-leaning city which caused more affirmative action programs which led to the hiring of Roy Pearson as an administrative law judge which caused him to get his pants altered which caused this whole mess. Posted by: bushsfault \| June 13, 2007 05:25 PM Pearson is insanse. The fact that he is seeking to publicy make a fool out of himself is proff positive. Think about it: what sane man sues for this kind of money over a lost pair of pants then cries like a girl-dog in court? Posted by: CEEAF \| June 13, 2007 05:25 PM Man, I'm laughing my pants off at this whole affair. It's leaving me in stitches! Posted by: Mr. D \| June 13, 2007 05:26 PM Posted by: Joe \| June 13, 2007 05:26 PM "Obviously the glove didn't fit" Posted by: jack \| June 13, 2007 05:27 PM I gave it to you already. Just buzz me at the gate. Posted by: perhaps \| June 13, 2007 05:28 PM PERHAPS, perhaps your schtick is getting painfully old. Are you really so weak that you can't drop it. Quit clogging up the board with your petty bullsh**. Posted by: Jennifer M. \| June 13, 2007 05:28 PM rhetorical ehh? was that a question? no, i didn't think so Posted by: perhaps \| Ju	Visit www.washingtonpost.com/.	8,911.5	0.5	0.5	high	low	abstractive
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/12/AR2007061202087.html	https://web.archive.org/web/2007061619id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/12/AR2007061202087.html	Bancrofts Warm to Murdoch's Offer	2007061619	If Rupert Murdoch can assure the family owners of Dow Jones that he will not meddle in the news coverage of the Wall Street Journal, the family will tell the company's board of directors it can start negotiating a sale price with the media mogul, a source said yesterday. A slim majority of the Bancroft family, which has controlling ownership of Dow Jones, which publishes the Journal, rejected Murdoch's $5 billion offer for the company about a month ago, one day after the offer was made public. Since then, however, market conditions and Murdoch's own appeals have helped the sometimes-fractious family see the merits of the bid, according to a source close to the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are ongoing. As early as today, the 35-member, three-generation Bancroft family plans to send a proposal to Murdoch's News Corp. that outlines requirements for a buffer guaranteeing that the Pulitzer Prize-winning Journal could continue to conduct reporting that is sometimes critical of Murdoch's media empire and business interests, the source said. The plan to send a proposal was reported in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. If Murdoch agrees to the terms of the proposal, the Bancrofts plan to tell the rest of the board that their concerns about editorial independence have been satisfied. The Bancrofts have four seats on the 16-member Dow Jones board and control 64 percent of the company's voting stock. The Bancrofts would then give the rest of the board the chance to review the structure of the proposed editorial buffer and permission to begin formal negotiations with News Corp. for its purchase of Dow Jones, the source said. News Corp. had no immediate comment yesterday. Murdoch installed an editorial buffer at the Times of London after he bought the paper in 1981. Some editors there, including Harold Evans, who wrote a book critical of Murdoch's ownership of the Times, said Murdoch did not honor the buffer. Murdoch has disputed that claim. Although specifics of the Bancrofts' proposal were not available, the family has reviewed the Times' buffer and did not find it structurally flawed, the source said. Instead, the family has come to think that the aggrieved editors may not have taken full advantage of avenues of redress when editorial disputes arose with Murdoch, the source said. Murdoch, 76, made his offer during an April breakfast meeting with Dow Jones chief executive Richard F. Zannino. The bid became public May 1, but it took one day for about 80 percent of the Bancrofts, representing 52 percent of Dow Jones votes, to reject the offer. Shortly after, current and former Journal reporters and Dow Jones executives inveighed against Murdoch, warning that the tabloid-owning press baron would use the Journal's global reach to further his business interests and to mute its criticism of companies and governments he deals with. Since then, two key rivals to Dow Jones's market-information business, Thomson Corp. and Reuters Group, agreed to merge, putting Dow Jones at a disadvantage. The Bancrofts also listened to analyses from Zannino and Merrill Lynch, which is advising the family, that concluded that Dow Jones would be in a stronger position after merging with a larger company, not necessarily News Corp., than remaining as a stand-alone firm. Murdoch wrote two letters to the family and had one meeting with them, bringing along his son, James, and two of his top executives, which made the Bancrofts more willing to entertain Murdoch's bid, the source said. On Monday, Dow Jones said advertising revenue at the Journal fell 3.4 percent in May as advertising volume dropped 7.3 percent. In particular, technology advertising, such as ads for computers and software, fell 31 percent. The ad decline is not likely to lead Murdoch to reduce or otherwise change his bid for Dow Jones, said a source familiar with Murdoch's thinking who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are ongoing. Murdoch has offered $60 per share for Dow Jones, a price that is well more than the share price of $36 just before his bid became public. Dow Jones closed yesterday at $59.03, down $1.18 per share.	If Rupert Murdoch can assure the family owners of Dow Jones that he will not meddle in the news coverage of the Wall Street Journal, the family will tell the company's board of directors it can start negotiating a sale price with the media mogul, a source said yesterday.	15.169811	1	53	low	high	extractive

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