url
stringlengths 36
564
| archive
stringlengths 78
537
| title
stringlengths 0
1.04k
| date
stringlengths 10
14
| text
stringlengths 0
629k
| summary
stringlengths 1
35.4k
| compression
float64 0
106k
| coverage
float64 0
1
| density
float64 0
1.14k
| compression_bin
stringclasses 3
values | coverage_bin
stringclasses 3
values | density_bin
stringclasses 3
values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902559.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902559.html
|
Upbeat on Trade, Hu Offers No New Fixes for Imbalance
|
2006042119
|
SEATTLE, April 19 -- Chinese President Hu Jintao conceded Wednesday that "some problems have occurred" in the business ties between his country and the United States, but offered few, if any, specifics for solving them.
On the second day of his visit to Washington state, Hu was effusive and optimistic about the importance of trade to the future of both countries. At the same time, though, he announced no new proposals for cutting his country's huge trade surplus with the United States, revaluing its currency or limiting China's oil purchases from rogue countries such as Iran.
"The common strategic interests that bind our two countries together have not decreased; they have increased," Hu said in luncheon remarks delivered before his flight to Washington, D.C., where he will meet with President Bush on Thursday. "The various areas for our cooperation have not narrowed; they have widened further."
He noted that "given the rapid growth, sheer size and wide scope of our business ties, it is hardly avoidable that some problems have occurred."
As for the most visible of those problems -- China's growing trade surplus, which soared to $202 billion last year -- Hu explained it as mostly the result of "different industrial restructuring of our two countries and the accelerated international division of labor driven by economic globalization." He noted that at least 90 percent of U.S. imports from China are goods that are no longer made in the United States.
China has "worked hard," he said, to cut the surplus by importing $6.7 billion in farm products from the United States last year and by committing to buy 210 Boeing Co. aircraft in the past two years.
Shortly before his speech -- in a visit that seemed a symbolic response to critics of China's trade surplus -- Hu toured a Boeing plant north of Seattle, where he told workers that they have built two-thirds of China's commercial airline fleet. He said China will need 2,000 more planes by 2020.
Many economists, the Bush administration and members of Congress from both parties blame much of the trade imbalance on what they say is China's refusal to let its currency rise to its real-world value.
Hu acknowledged no such refusal, saying that "China has taken a highly responsible attitude in deciding upon an exchange rate regime suitable to its national conditions." Having readjusted the exchange rate last year -- which raised its value by 3 percent against the U.S. dollar -- Hu said his government will now support its currency in a way that is "basically stable at an adaptive and equilibrium level."
As for the American concern about China's growing appetite for fossil fuel, Hu said that the Chinese are committed to alternative sources of energy, to conservation and to the "proper use of overseas energy." In his speech, he did not mention his country's long-term oil purchase agreements with Iran.
Hu noted, though, that China's per-capita consumption of energy is one-eighth that of the United States.
|
SEATTLE, April 19 -- Chinese President Hu Jintao conceded Wednesday that "some problems have occurred" in the business ties between his country and the United States, but offered few, if any, specifics for solving them.
| 14.02381 | 1 | 42 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902483.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902483.html
|
Conspiracy Against Assimilation
|
2006042119
|
It's all about assimilation -- or it should be. One of America's glories is that it has assimilated many waves of immigrants. Outsiders have become insiders. But it hasn't been easy. Every new group has struggled: Germans, Irish, Jews and Italians. All have encountered economic hardship, prejudice and discrimination. The story of U.S. immigration is often ugly. If today's wave of immigration does not end in assimilation, it will be a failure. By this standard, I think the major contending sides in the present bitter debate are leading us astray. Their proposals, if adopted, would frustrate assimilation.
On the one hand, we have the "cop" school. It adamantly opposes amnesty and would make being here illegally a felony, as opposed to a lesser crime. It toughens a variety of penalties against illegal immigrants. Elevating the seriousness of the crime would supposedly deprive them of jobs, and then illegal immigrants would return to Mexico, El Salvador or wherever. This is a pipe dream; the numbers are simply too large.
But it is a pipe dream that, if pursued, would inflict enormous social damage. The mere threat of a crackdown stigmatizes much of the Hispanic population -- whether they're legal or illegal immigrants, or whether they've been here for generations. (In 2004 there were 40 million Hispanics, says the Pew Hispanic Center; about 55 percent were estimated to be native-born, 25 percent legal immigrants and 20 percent illegal immigrants.) People feel threatened and insulted. Who wouldn't?
On the other hand we have the "guest worker" advocates. They want 400,000 or more new foreign workers annually. This would supposedly curtail illegal immigration -- people who now sneak into the country could get work permits -- and also cure "shortages" of unskilled American workers. Everyone wins. Not really.
For starters, the term is a misnomer. Whatever the rules, most guest workers would not leave. The pull of U.S. wages (on average, almost five times what can be earned in Mexico) is too great. Moreover, there's no general shortage of unskilled workers. In March, the unemployment rate of high school dropouts 25 years and older was 7 percent; since 1996, it has been below 6 percent in only two months. By contrast, the unemployment rate of college graduates in March was 2.2 percent. Given the glut of unskilled workers relative to demand, their wages often lag inflation. From 2002 to 2004, consumer prices rose 5.5 percent. Median wages rose 4.8 percent for janitors, 4.3 percent for landscapers and not at all for waitresses.
Advocates of guest workers don't acknowledge that poor, unskilled immigrants -- whether legal or illegal -- create huge social costs. Every year the Census Bureau issues a report on "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States." Here's what the 2004 report shows:
· Since 1990 the number of Hispanics with incomes below the government's poverty line has risen 52 percent; that's almost all (92 percent) of the increase in poor people.
· Among children, disparities are greater. Over the same period, Hispanic children in poverty are up 43 percent; meanwhile, the numbers of black and non-Hispanic white children in poverty declined 16.9 percent and 18.5 percent, respectively.
· Hispanics account for most (61 percent) of the increase of Americans without health insurance since 1990. The overall increase was 11.1 million; Hispanics, 6.7 million.
By most studies, poor immigrants pay less in taxes than they use in government services. As these social costs have risen, so has the backlash. Already, there's a coalition of Mayors and County Executives for Immigration Reform. It includes 63 cities, counties and towns, headed by Republicans and Democrats, ranging from Cook County, Illinois (population: 5.3 million) to Gilliam County, Oregon (population: 1,817). Coalition members want the federal government to reimburse their extra costs.
We have a conspiracy against assimilation. One side would offend and ostracize much of the Hispanic community. The other would encourage mounting social and economic costs. Either way we get a more polarized society.
On immigration, I am an optimist. We are basically a decent, open and tolerant nation. Americans respect hard work and achievement. That's why assimilation has ultimately triumphed. But I am not a foolish optimist. Assimilation requires time and the right conditions. It cannot succeed if we constantly flood the country with new, poor immigrants or embark on a vendetta against those already here.
I have argued that our policies should recognize these realities. Curb illegal immigration with true border barriers. Provide legal status (call it amnesty or whatever) -- first work permits, then citizenship -- for most illegal immigrants already here. Remove the job lure by imposing harsh fines against employers who hire new illegal immigrants. Reject big guest-worker programs.
It's sometimes said that today's Hispanics will resemble yesterday's Italians. Although they won't advance as rapidly as some other groups of more skilled immigrants, they'll still move into the mainstream. Many have -- and will. But the overall analogy is a stretch, according to a recent study, "Italians Then, Mexicans Now," by sociologist Joel Perlmann of Bard College. Since 1970 wages of Mexican immigrants compared with those of native whites have declined. By contrast, wages of Italians and Poles who arrived early in the last century rose over time. For the children of immigrants, gaps are also wide. Second-generation Italians and Poles typically earned 90 percent or more compared to native whites. For second-generation Mexican Americans, the similar figure is 75 percent.
One big difference between then and now: Immigration slowly halted during and after World War I. The Italians and Poles came mainly between 1890 and 1915. Older immigrants didn't always have to compete with newcomers who beat down their wages. There was time for outsiders and insiders to adapt to each other. We should heed history's lesson.
|
Assimilation requires the right conditions. If we flood the country with poor immigrants or embark on a vendetta against those already here, it will fail.
| 41.821429 | 0.964286 | 6.107143 |
high
|
high
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902480.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902480.html
|
Bush's Indian Ally
|
2006042119
|
NEW DELHI -- At a time when even friendly governments are quick to distance themselves from the United States and its pugnacious, embattled president, India is a strategic maverick. The former firebrand of the Non-Aligned Movement has chosen this moment to forge a close partnership with Washington and to speak up positively about American power in world affairs.
"This lack of nuclear cooperation is the last remaining cobweb from our old relationship, and we can now sweep it aside," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said with an expressive wave of his hand. "There are no other barriers to a more productive, more durable relationship with the United States. The potential is enormous for our two nations."
India is the new China in the eyes of the Bush administration, which has promised to help this once-slumbering Asian giant develop into one of the world's five or six major economic and political powers. That undertaking has instilled a new sense of security in the Indian capital and erased long-standing tensions.
Singh praised "the new thinking" in Washington during our conversation and easily skipped over renewed U.S. arms sales to Pakistan, American pressure for action on Iran and other topics that would have sunk most of his predecessors into bitter grumbling about neo-imperialism.
The Indian leader's impressively modest and precise manner sets a moderate tone for his remarks. A visitor quickly understands why he is trusted and respected by his peers in the rough-and-tumble world of Indian politics. That does not prevent him from being candid in his assessments:
"We recognize that the United States is the preeminent superpower in the world and that it is in India's interest to have good relations with the United States . . . as a very important partner in realizing our development ambitions," he acknowledged.
One way of helping with development and environmental protection, Singh quickly suggested, was for the U.S. Congress to approve legislative changes that clear the way for the United States to provide civilian nuclear technology and supplies to India after a 32-year ban triggered by India's development and testing of nuclear weapons.
Bush and Singh reached agreement last July on reciprocal steps for the resumption of nuclear energy cooperation outside the international Non-Proliferation Treaty. Singh has persuaded his left-wing allies in the coalition government he heads not "to wreck the boat" by opposing "an agreement that is in India's interest" because of their suspicion of Washington.
The administration hopes to move the legislative changes through Congress in May, giving Bush a badly needed foreign policy success as well as the first direct American influence over India's nuclear weapons program, which would be partially covered by new safeguards and inspections.
Singh would not speculate on the consequences of a refusal by Congress to accept the agreement. But in response to questions, he did identify two things that he does not expect to happen.
Asked if India would ever put all of its reactors under full-scope safeguards -- as some U.S. critics say Bush should have demanded -- he replied: "No. We would like the world to move toward universal nuclear disarmament. But given the circumstances, we need a strategic nuclear weapons program. In our neighborhood, China is a nuclear power and on our western frontier there is Pakistan, which developed its weapons through clandestine proliferation."
And he said he could not imagine circumstances that would require India to resume nuclear testing, an option that his Indian critics assert is a sovereign right. "Our scientists tell me they need no further tests. As for the distant future, I cannot predict forever, but our commitment is to continue our unilateral moratorium."
The conversation underscored for me that flaws in the nuclear draft agreement are heavily outweighed by the advantages it brings in cutting global pollution, easing pressure on oil markets and bringing a substantial part of India's nuclear program under international supervision.
Noting that Chinese President Hu Jintao was visiting the United States this week, Singh insisted that "we are not developing our relationship with the U.S. at the cost of our relationship with China, which is our neighbor and with which our trade is growing at a handsome rate. . . . President Bush told me this is a sensible way to proceed, and that America will remain engaged with China, too."
On Iran, he urged Washington to allow "the maximum scope for dialogue and discussions. The Iranian regime may need some time to settle down." But, he added, "we are very clear that we do not want another nuclear weapons power in the region."
India is moving from a past of shaking an angry finger in the American face to providing a helping hand for U.S. power in the future. The Senate and House should move expeditiously to set this transformation in motion.
|
India is moving from shaking an angry finger in the American face to providing a helping hand for U.S. power. Congress should support the transition.
| 34.185185 | 0.925926 | 10.259259 |
medium
|
medium
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041901967.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041901967.html
|
The Next Big Bailout?
|
2006042119
|
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is not a household name, but it should be. By protecting some individual pension beneficiaries it has become exposed to huge financial risks and has put all American taxpayers at risk.
The PBGC guarantees the financial obligations of companies for the liabilities of their defined benefit pension plans, just as the former FSLIC (Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation) guaranteed the obligations of savings and loans for their deposits.
In the 1980s, as the American public realized that many savings and loans were insolvent, they discovered that FSLIC, a government corporation, was itself insolvent. Now as the public is realizing that many pension plans are deeply underfunded and that companies obligated to remedy the underfunding can- and in a number of cases do- go bankrupt instead, they are also discovering that the PBGC is also insolvent.
Indeed, the PBGC's liabilities exceed its assets by $23 billion. The Center on Federal Financial Institutions projects this deficit is likely to grow to $78 billion.
The PBGC and FSLIC represent the same risky structure: open-ended government guarantees of liabilities dependent on financial performance, other peoples' financial risk decisions and the behavior of interest rates and asset prices. Both represent mandatory schemes designed by, and with non-market "insurance premiums" set by, the political processes of Congress.
The existence of the PBGC reflects conflicts inherent in defined benefit pension plans. Its origins go back to the end of the Packard Motor Car Company in 1958, the termination of its underfunded pension plan, and the loss of "vested" pensions by its employees. This made it plain that all employees of companies with defined benefit pension plans in fact have a large, concentrated credit risk exposure to the company. To the extent of any underfunding, they are unsecured lenders. Indeed, this risk runs a very long time- 30, 40 or 50 years- into the uncertain and unknowable future.
The risk is compounded by the fact that when a company is struggling or failing, putting its shrinking cash into the pension fund will always be a low priority compared to trying to save the enterprise. As a 1958 observer wrote, "When a pension plan is terminated, its funds are never better than inadequate."
This was a big problem for the United Auto Workers. In 1961, they came up with a brilliant idea to address it: get the government to guarantee the pensions just as it had done for government deposit insurance. Their idea ultimately became law in the pension reform of 1974.
Alas, one generation's reform is the next generation's problem. Having had vast, very long-term risk imposed upon it, the government's pension guarantor is now insolvent, too.
In the dynamic creative destruction of a market economy, companies which seem unassailable may in time fail, and credits which seem impeccable may in time turn out to default.
The biggest potential additional loss to the PBGC today is the threat that it would be forced to assume the liabilities of the General Motors pension fund, with constant media speculation that GM may in the end declare bankruptcy. But as the idea which became the PBGC was developed in the 1960s, it was reasonable to view GM as presenting virtually no risk.
Imagine a 20-year-old going to work for GM 40 years ago, in 1966. It was the preeminent industrial company in the world. It was #1 in both revenue and profit in the Fortune 500. Its bond rating was triple-A. Its U.S. market share was about 50%.
|
Defined benefit pension plans should remind us of the character Wimpy in old Popeye cartoons, whose motto was, "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."
| 20.727273 | 0.545455 | 1.090909 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2006/04/19/BL2006041902593.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2006/04/19/BL2006041902593.html
|
A Team in a Slump
|
2006042119
|
'Tis a pity George Bush did not own the New York Knicks instead of the Texas Rangers. History might have been different. His cocky approach to war in Iraq might have been tempered by the knowledge that money and power doesn't always guarantee victory. Sometimes, as Don Rumsfeld has memorably noted, things happen.
However the Texas Rangers might have done, the performance of the Knicks has been beyond imagination. The team has the highest payroll in the National Basketball Association ($125 million) but nonetheless will finish the year at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference. Its payroll is so rich that four players sitting out the Charlotte game the other night -- Quentin Richardson, Steve Francis, Jalen Rose and Stephon Marbury -- had contracts worth $53 million. That is one expensive bench.
I confess to not being much of a basketball fan. In fact, I am not much of a sports fan in general, having been disabused of fandom as a child when the Dodgers left Brooklyn (and me) for Los Angeles (and other people). Since then, I think of fans as I do cigarette smokers or lottery players -- suckers who are addicted to something that takes their money. Nonetheless, the game -- baseball, basketball, etc. -- still holds my occasional interest, and nothing holds my interest more than losing. Vince Lombardi was wrong: Winning is not the only thing.
The virtues of losing were driven home to me many years ago when the great Gil Hodges, first baseman of the aforementioned Dodgers, went into a prolonged slump. In the 1952 World Series (against the hated Yankees), he went 0 for 21 with five walks. This was extremely painful to watch. The sainted Hodges was a beloved figure, modest in the forgotten way of great athletes, immensely strong and genuinely gifted. When his gift left him -- suddenly, mysteriously -- it was like watching some proud animal brought low by a disease it could not come close to fathoming. The pain on Hodges' face was shared by (I thought) the whole world. "A public impotence," Roger Kahn called it in his classic, "The Boys of Summer."
"Packages arrived with rosary beads, rabbits' feet, mezuzahs, scapulars," wrote Kahn. A priest, Herbert Redmond of Brooklyn's St. Francis Roman Catholic Church, told his congregation one Sunday, "It's far too hot for a sermon. Keep the Commandments and say a prayer for Gil Hodges." In our own ways, we all did.
The mortification of the mighty Hodges was a lesson to a kid. This was not a case of some hot dog getting his comeuppance, but of the fates punishing a modest and good man for no apparent reason. It had a Job quality to it and, the Bible aside, it showed you what could happen in life. It showed you that, yes, things happen. This was not a lesson lost on Brooklyn, the quintessential working-class borough of the time. People there knew that life ain't fair. It ain't even logical. Sometimes two and two don't make four. The fans understood. Hodges, whose slump persisted through the next spring, was never booed.
It probably matters that the Knicks are owned by the son of the man who originally bought the team. It probably matters that Bush got to be president in sort of the same way. It definitely matters that all his lessons in life deceived him into thinking that money and connections and a cockeyed sense of destiny somehow added up to success. Bush did not know, as the Knicks now do and any Dodgers fan of old has never forgotten, that sometimes things just go wrong. You can, as we now know, put the greatest army the world has ever seen up against a ragtag bunch of Iraqis (led by a raving lunatic, incidentally) -- and still be there three years later. It's the Knicks all over again. The rich payroll produced nothing.
Henry Ford, not my favorite historical figure, was an ignoramus and a bigot, but besides being something of an industrial genius, he once said something very smart. After a harebrained scheme of his to end World War I came to naught, Ford said, "We learn more from our failures than from our successes." To hope this will be the case when it comes to the Knicks trivializes hope itself. Basketball, after all, is only a game. But Iraq is a war, fought by the modest and the brave. Still, as with the sorry Knicks, the lessons of defeat are clear: It's not the bench that needs to be replaced. It's the front office.
|
'Tis a pity George Bush did not own the New York Knicks instead of the Texas Rangers. History might have been different. His cocky approach to war in Iraq might have been tempered by the knowledge that money and power doesn't always guarantee victory. Sometimes, as Don Rumsfeld has memorably noted,...
| 15.491525 | 0.983051 | 57.016949 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041900897.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041900897.html
|
Rove Gives Up Policy Post in Shake-Up
|
2006042119
|
President Bush's new chief of staff accelerated his election-year White House shake-up yesterday as Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove surrendered the policy management duties he assumed last year and press secretary Scott McClellan resigned as the public face of an administration under fire.
Rove, who steered Bush to two national election victories, will retain his title but focus on broad strategy and politics, while Joel D. Kaplan takes over as deputy White House chief of staff running the day-to-day policy process. To replace McClellan, Republican strategists said the White House is considering Fox News radio host Tony Snow and former Iraq occupation spokesman Dan Senor.
The moves effectively diminished or eliminated the roles of the two presidential aides most familiar to the general public, as newly installed White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten seeks to rescue the remainder of Bush's presidency. Coupled with other changes already announced and still in the works, Bolten hopes to demonstrate to the public and the Republican-led Congress that it will no longer be business as usual in a White House afflicted by political defeats, an overseas war and shrinking public support.
At the same time, the changes made public so far mainly have moved around figures who have been inside the Bush orbit for years, and White House officials made clear yesterday that no major shifts in policy are envisioned. With midterm congressional elections looming, strategists said the main goal was to make public gestures that would restore faith in Bush's ability to lead.
"The decision isn't one looking back at past performance or judgment," said White House counselor Dan Bartlett. "It was one looking forward. Josh is reenergizing and rebuilding his staff for the next thousand days."
The reshuffling, the most significant of Bush's second term, got underway when the president appointed Bolten to replace Andrew H. Card Jr. as his chief aide. Bolten, who took over Friday afternoon, has moved quickly to restructure the West Wing. On Monday, he invited aides already thinking of leaving to submit resignations. On Tuesday, he installed U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman to take over his job as director of the Office of Management and Budget.
Aides said no further moves will be announced this week but anticipate more next week, hoping that stretching them out over time will provide momentum. "People have been watching this TV series for a long time, and it helps to plug in some new characters from time to time," said Bush political adviser Mark McKinnon. "Gets folks to tune back in and take a fresh look."
Bolten is still eyeing the White House legislative affairs office in hopes of improving relations with congressional Republicans. Bolten has privately expressed criticism to colleagues about the operation of chief White House lobbyist Candida Wolf, and it remained uncertain whether she would stay. The White House has also been interested in finding a replacement for Treasury Secretary John W. Snow.
A senior White House official said a lot of staff members remain uncertain. Bolten's call for resignations, the official said, has a lot of aides who had not been contemplating departing now planning to spend this weekend considering it. Bolten has said he will keep Card's schedule and structure until the middle of next week, and then put his own in place.
The biggest changes so far came with Rove's shift and McClellan's departure. Rove has been the driving force of the Bush presidency from its inception, and last year he added the title of deputy chief of staff for policy to his portfolio. But some Republicans saw it as a poor fit as the operation's vision man occupied himself with the trains-on-time responsibilities of the new job.
Among people close to the White House and in Republican circles around Washington, there remained debate whether the move should be regarded as a demotion or reassignment. The answer will remain unknown until Bolten's operation has more time to prove itself. But there was agreement that the move was a negative verdict on the status quo.
"He's the best thinker in our party, and in the last year he's been doing all the staffing memos and making sure the paperwork is done on time and all that," said a senior administration official glad to see Rove return to his strong suit.
|
President Bush's new chief of staff accelerated his election-year White House shake-up yesterday as Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove surrendered the policy management duties he assumed last year and press secretary Scott McClellan resigned as the public face of an administration under fire.
| 16.46 | 1 | 50 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902816.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902816.html
|
The Un-Spokesman
|
2006042119
|
He was painful to watch at times, gamely repeating the same stock phrases under a barrage of hostile media fire, grasping for new ways to deliver the same non-answers.
Two days after deflecting questions about his own future by stiffly insisting that "I never speculate about personnel matters," Scott McClellan resigned yesterday as White House press secretary amid warm words from President Bush but less than flattering reviews from the Fourth Estate.
The administration kept McClellan "on a short string," said ABC's Sam Donaldson, a longtime White House correspondent, "and it was reflected in his inability to tame the press corps and keep them in bounds. Scott didn't have that ability. He was probably ill-cast to be a press secretary."
Michael Wolff, who recently profiled McClellan for Vanity Fair, said the spokesman's appointment showed "a certain amount of contempt for the press on the part of the White House. . . . It was a comedy, a farce, actually. He could not do the job, bottom line. He came out every day and he couldn't talk through a sentence."
But former colleagues of McClellan, an affable Texan who has worked for Bush since he was governor, say he acquitted himself well in what has become an increasingly difficult and contentious job.
"There's so much more incoming to the briefing room and a more antagonistic relationship between the White House and the media," said former Pentagon spokeswoman Torie Clarke. "I think he did as good or a better job as anyone could have done. I'm sure it was frustrating for him, but he seldom let it show."
Ari Fleischer, who was McClellan's boss when Fleischer held the spokesman's job, said his successor enjoyed "the trust and confidence of the president" and "was flawless in his performance, especially when you read the transcripts." But asked about McClellan's apparent discomfort at the podium, Fleischer said: "Whether or not a press secretary thrives in the back-and-forth, pugilistic environment of the television age is always going to be an issue."
McClellan's tenure coincided with a rough reelection campaign and the lowest approval ratings of Bush's term in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Harriet Miers nomination and the continued carnage in Iraq. While Fleischer said McClellan would have preferred to stay on until year's end, his departure was engineered during a shake-up ordered by the new chief of staff, Josh Bolten. "I didn't need much encouragement to make this decision, even though you all kept tempting me," McClellan told reporters aboard Air Force One.
In a choreographed show of support, the president appeared with McClellan on the South Lawn and said that "he handled his assignment with class, integrity."
"I have given it my all, sir," said McClellan, who plans to stay another two to three weeks.
Senior administration officials, who declined to be named while discussing personnel matters, said two people affiliated with Fox News are being considered as replacements. One is Fox radio host Tony Snow, a former speechwriter for the first President Bush who went on to anchor "Fox News Sunday." Snow, who survived a bout with colon cancer last year, told listeners that it is "an honor to be considered" but that anyone in his position would have to weigh family, finances and personal health.
Dan Senor, a Fox News contributor and former spokesman for the U.S. civilian authority in Iraq, is also being considered. Senor married NBC anchor and correspondent Campbell Brown earlier this month.
|
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.
| 13.745098 | 0.392157 | 0.431373 |
low
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041901777.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041901777.html
|
Plenty of Embarrassment to Go Around
|
2006042119
|
The Metaphor Alert sounded at the White House at about 9:45 a.m.
Minutes earlier, press secretary Scott McClellan had announced his resignation on the South Lawn and hopped aboard Marine One for a trip to Andrews Air Force Base with President Bush. The helicopter doors closed, the rotors began to spin, and then stopped a minute later. The doors re-opened and the president exited with a shrug. He just can't gain altitude these days.
"We have an issue with the helicopter," reported Bush, as his staff hastily prepared a motorcade. "Everybody's safe."
Nobody's safe at the White House these days, as new Chief of Staff Josh Bolten swings his axe. Andy Card is gone, McClellan and senior Bush aide Jim Towey will soon be gone, and Karl Rove had to give up one of his jobs. There's a new director at OMB, a new deputy staff chief in the White House -- and plenty more shaking up still to come.
It must be a particularly difficult moment for McClellan -- and the malfunctioning helicopter is the least of his problems. It speaks volumes about McClellan's relationship with the press that he chose to announce his departure while the White House press corps was about 30,000 feet over Alabama.
The reporters were on a charter flight to Tuskegee, due to land at 10:05 a.m. for a Bush speech later in the day. McClellan broke the news at 9:39 a.m. to the few wire reporters and camera crews that had stayed behind at the White House.
McClellan had lost much of his credibility with the press when he vigorously asserted that neither Rove nor vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was involved in the CIA leak scandal -- and then refused to talk about it when his assertions were disproved. It put selfless loyalty to Bush above McClellan's own reputation. His reward: becoming the victim of a staff shakeup.
McClellan was fairly candid about the forced circumstances of his departure. "The White House is going through a period of transition; change can be helpful," he told Bush on the lawn. "I have given it my all, sir, and I've given you my all." The few witnesses reported him to be choked up.
Bush bestowed the dreaded "heckuva job" laurel on McClellan ("job well done" was today's version) and said: "I don't know whether or not the press corps realizes this, but his is a challenging assignment dealing with you all on a regular basis."
It was, of course, made particularly challenging by Bush himself, who undermined his press secretary by arming him with little information to share with the public.
Fortunately for McClellan, conversation in Washington quickly turned to his successor. The name of Fox News radio host Tony Snow was floated, leading to the inevitable wisecracks about whether he would be getting back pay for all the pro-Bush broadcasting he has done.
|
The Metaphor Alert sounded at the White House at about 9:45 a.m.
| 47.416667 | 1 | 12 |
high
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902617.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902617.html
|
Far-Flung Families Unite in Cyberspace -- And Kill Monsters
|
2006042119
|
The Holman family gets together practically every weeknight and most weekends these days, even though Jean is in Dupont Circle, her father and sister Susan are in Pennsylvania, and her uncle and cousin are in Texas.
Together, they're also in Tyria, the virtual world of a fantasy computer game called Guild Wars, where they form the "Jelo" team, fighting the undead and other groups of players as a family unit. Along the way, they also might plan vacations or share family gossip.
Although computer games have often been thought of as a pastime for the antisocial, communal online worlds such as the one in Guild Wars are the hottest things in games these days. The most popular title in this genre, World of Warcraft, has more than 5 million subscribers -- all text-chatting with their fellow players or using microphones and headsets to collaborate on the latest monster-killing mission.
Game companies don't track how many families play online games together, but they say the trend helps drive their popularity. Some families play games to maintain contact from far-flung towns; some parents play online games with their kids in the next room as a way of bonding with them. Game designer Jack Emmert, at Guild Wars publisher NCsoft Corp., played his own game, City of Heroes, to stay in touch when his brother was serving in the Army and based in Korea.
If games are sometimes used to preserve familial bonds, they also can create those bonds. The game designers at Mythic Entertainment Inc. in Fairfax were recently invited to a wedding taking place this fall; the bride and groom met inside the online world of Mythic's flagship title, Dark Age of Camelot.
Academics are just starting to dig in to the effects of computer and video games on players, and there isn't much consensus. Professor James Paul Gee, in the department of educational psychology at the University of Wisconsin and the author of books examining the educational aspects of video games, argues that games are more a social pastime than an antisocial one.
"The prediction that this was going to be an isolating technology turned out to be so thoroughly wrong," said Gee, who sees the worlds forming in these games as a new type of public space. Gee started studying video games five years ago and ended up with a World of Warcraft habit of his own -- he plays on a team with other professors and academics.
The Holman family formed its game squad after Christmas. On a recent rainy Saturday, Jean Holman is parked on her sofa with her dog, Scooter, and a bloody mary. On her laptop computer, team Jelo is fighting to clear out members of the Undead Army, which has taken over the Temple of Tolerance. There is a constant stream of conversation among the Holmans as they play, carried via a separate voice-chat program they installed on their computers.
Everybody on the team has a job. Jean, 34, who goes by the name Heather Greer in Guild Wars, is Jelo's "healer" -- a magical medic who patches up her teammates as they incur battle wounds from Grasping Ghouls and Skeleton Mesmers. A box on the right of the screen tells her which of her teammates' game characters are healthy and which are about to get killed; by clicking a few buttons on her keyboard and mouse, she's able to help keep her team alive by casting spells, though sometimes the magic runs low and they die.
As the mission progresses, sister Susan, 30, and Jean argue about who should get to set off certain events in the game or interact with some of the in-game characters. When the monsters are all safely dispatched, an hour or so later, Jean's dad takes his character down to a nearby beach for a swim. Jean's and Susan's characters run off and talk about the fashion choices they have made for their online personas.
"We fight; we get lost," is how Jean summarizes a typical session, which can run three or four hours. "In fact, it's identical to some of the summer vacations we've taken together." She plays the game so much, she's gotten behind on favorite her TV show, "Smallville," which she records on her TiVo. When Tom DeLay announced he would resign from Congress, the family heard the news from Mike, Jean's uncle, while they were online, playing the game.
In some ways, the Holmans replicate their real-world relationships in the game. It was Jean's dad, Pat, who got hooked on the game first, so his character, Rex Rexter, has the most money and experience points in this world. When Susan or Jean wants virtual money for a new virtual outfit, they turn to him. He's also the one who tries to dictate the family's strategy.
But there are other ways of playing these games, and some fans say they use them as a means of switching around or breaking down the roles they have in the real world.
Psychologist Roger Fouts, a professor at Central Washington University, plays World of Warcraft in an online team with his son, daughter and son-in-law. For Fouts, World of Warcraft was one way of getting to know his son-in-law, and he said the game reveals personality traits he might not have noticed otherwise. For example, his son-in-law is skilled at getting fellow players organized for a mission and for making new players feel welcome to the team.
"I was very impressed," Fouts said.
While they play, the family members can catch up on comings and goings. Recently, Fouts's son signed on to the game and let his dad know he was in the District for a conference, staying -- and playing World of Warcraft -- at the Mayflower Hotel.
For a family separated by the military, such games can be an intimate way of "being together" that goes beyond phone calls or e-mail. Rhonda Carswell lives in Florida, and her husband, Randy, is an Army National Guard medic stationed in Afghanistan, but they meet routinely in Paragon City of the superhero-themed game City of Heroes.
"It sounds silly to our non-gamer friends, but when I see his hero or villain, I feel like I am looking at him. . . . His choices of appearance and powers personify him perfectly," Rhonda said in an e-mail. The couple run missions together, and at the end of the day, they put their characters in yoga position in a "safe" part of the game's world and just talk.
Sometimes they run out of things to say; he can't talk about his duties, and she doesn't always have interesting news from home. But they always have the game and their favorite corners of the online world.
"Florida and Afghanistan may be half a world apart," she said, "but we can be together in Paragon City."
|
The Holman family gets together practically every weeknight and most weekends these days, even though Jean is in Dupont Circle, her father and sister Susan are in Pennsylvania, and her uncle and cousin are in Texas.
| 34.275 | 1 | 40 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902376.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902376.html
|
In Russia, Corporate Thugs Use Legal Guise
|
2006042119
|
MOSCOW -- The general director of the Na Ilyinke catering company was very much alive when his coffin arrived. "In memory of dear Alexei Alexeyevich Likhachev," read the message on a ribbon attached to an accompanying wreath. "We will never forget you."
The empty pine coffin, draped in red cloth, was delivered to the company's central Moscow office by a courier service. Soon the phones began to ring as shareholders, who had received telegrams inviting them to a memorial service, called about poor Alexei's unexpected passing.
For the owners of Na Ilyinke, the ghoulish stunt carried an unspoken message: Sell or else, according to Oleg Gubinsky, a shareholder and head of the company's legal team. "It was an opening move," Gubinsky said.
Na Ilyinke is the target of a new breed of Russian financial predator, one that hunts in lesser-known parts of the country's booming economy: small and medium-size companies. Often the goal is not the company itself, but the real estate it occupies, acquired in the privatizations of the early 1990s.
In those days, people wanting to take over a company often simply sent armed thugs to occupy it. The new raiders employ some of that old-style intimidation, but dress it up in legality by teaming with corrupt lawyers, accountants, judges, bureaucrats and police to exploit weaknesses in Russia's fledgling corporate legal system, Russian lawmakers and entrepreneurs say.
Typically the raiders are politically connected developers and their allies in the bureaucracy. Their activity is drawing attention at the highest levels of the government, where officials fear it undermines Russia's investment climate and adds to the sense that rule of law remains illusory in the country.
"Honest business people and property rights should be protected," President Vladimir Putin told an audience of prosecutors in February. He added that the criminal seizure of property was destabilizing the country.
In Soviet days, Na Ilyinke was the government-owned catering facility for the Moscow City Committee of the Communist Party. Located in downtown Moscow, it was also a center of social life and shopping for the party elite. Its basement held a supermarket carrying such hard-to-find products as Coca-Cola; senior party officials held wakes and receptions on its premises, which at one point had a tunnel to the nearby headquarters of the KGB.
During the waning days of the Soviet Union, Likhachev ran the place as a government employee. After the collapse of the communist state, he and a team of investors bought it and turned it into a private company, a hand-over similar to other privatization deals that took place all over Russia in the 1990s.
Today, its staff of 60 continues to run cafeterias in government buildings, including the former party building across the street that became the office of the presidential administration.
Na Ilyinke's prime fixed asset is its 130,000-square-foot headquarters. Given its choice location, real estate experts estimate it would fetch at least $35 million as is, and much more if refurbished and converted into luxury offices or apartments.
Gubinsky said he had suspicions as to who the raiders were, but no proof. He believes that the real estate value is what drew their interest; he and the other owners foresee rehabbing the building themselves but think the timing isn't quite right.
|
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.
| 14.086957 | 0.434783 | 0.434783 |
low
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041901422.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041901422.html
|
Moussaoui Gets Some Unusual Help
|
2006042119
|
Family members of those killed Sept. 11, 2001, again captivated jurors yesterday at the death penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. But this time, the bereaved testified for the terrorist.
It is rare for family members of murder victims to testify on behalf of the murderer, legal experts say. Almost always, families testify for the government.
Prosecutors had objected out of concern that some family members might speak against the death penalty for Moussaoui, but U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema allowed the testimony, sources close to the case said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because Brinkema's ruling is not public. During the testimony, the prosecution team did not object or conduct any cross-examination.
There was no talk of punishment from the witness stand, no hint of whether family members think Moussaoui should be executed for his role in the terror attacks. Defense lawyers were prohibited from even asking the question, and they would not comment afterward. But the defense is hoping that jurors got an implicit message from yesterday's testimony: that some victims think Moussaoui's life should be spared.
Robin Theurkauf, who testified about the loss of her husband, Tom, in the collapse of the World Trade Center, certainly does. In an interview later, Theurkauf said she indeed took the stand because she is a fervent death-penalty opponent who believes that "no good can come from executing this man, for any reason. We as Americans should be big enough to recognize that vengeance is never justice."
Theurkauf, a divinity student who formerly lectured on political science at Yale University, said Moussaoui's lawyers e-mailed her before the trial asking "if I needed anything." She responded by asking to testify for their client, even though, she said, he "clearly has no empathy and has been rejoicing in people's horrible deaths."
There was limited emotion, as well as a few tears, as the family members took the stand and told of their suffering but also spoke of their hope, describing how they have tried to move beyond grief and rage and get on with their lives. Their testimony was in stark contrast to the several dozen Sept. 11 family members who had testified for the prosecution, often sobbing from the stand as they described lives destroyed by grief.
Other family members who testified yesterday declined to comment as they left the federal courthouse in Alexandria. But sources said the 10 to 12 relatives who will testify approached defense lawyers, some after hearing that the lawyers had reached out to the relatives.
Their decision was especially striking because of the nature of the defendant. Moussaoui pleaded guilty last year to conspiring with al-Qaeda; the federal jury is considering whether he should be executed. When he testified last week, he vowed to kill Americans wherever he could and said the Sept. 11 family members who testified for the government were "disgusting."
Taking the stand yesterday, Donald Bane, whose son Michael Andrew died in the World Trade Center collapse, spoke in calm and measured tones about how he has tried to channel the "mixture of rage, murderous rage, and also deep feelings of sadness" he felt when he saw the hijacked plane crash into the tower on television.
"I had a choice of staying with these feelings or sort of nurturing them," Bane said. "I tried to think of ways I could learn more. I felt the need for bridges of understanding with people who could do this kind of thing." Bane eventually organized a Muslim-Christian dialogue in Delaware, where he now lives.
Orlando Rodriguez, who teaches criminology and sociology in New York, displayed a dry wit as he spoke of the loss of his son, Greg, an associate vice president at Cantor Fitzgerald, the brokerage firm on the 104th floor of the trade center that lost hundreds of employees.
|
Family members of those killed Sept. 11, 2001, again captivated jurors yesterday at the death penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. But this time, the bereaved testified for the terrorist.
| 21.882353 | 1 | 34 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902903.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902903.html
|
A 20-Ring Political Circus
|
2006042119
|
NEW ORLEANS -- It's hard to pinpoint the zaniest moment so far in this city's super-surreal mayoral election. More than 20 candidates -- including an out-of-work actor and a jailbird -- are scrambling for votes, not knowing exactly who their constituents are or what kind of city they will be running if they win.
The first round of the election is Saturday. If no candidate receives a clear majority, the top two vote-getters will clash in a runoff May 20. The top seven or so have been engaged in numerous debates this week. They travel through the city almost en masse, like a circus parade.
That wackiest moment may have come just before Monday night's nationally televised debate among the Select Seven, chosen somewhat subjectively by the local NBC affiliate as the top tier. The lineup included Mayor C. Ray Nagin, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu and Ron Forman, chairman of the Audubon Nature Institute, which oversees the city's zoo. As still photographers snapped their last shots before being kicked out of the television studio, someone yelled, "Everybody say 'chocolate!,' " a raucous reference to Nagin's promise to make New Orleans a "chocolate city" once again. Some candidates laughed; Nagin closed his eyes.
Or: Just about any time satiric candidate Manny "Chevrolet" Bruno, an unemployed actor and textbook clerk, opens his mouth. "If we want to be like Amsterdam with a state-of-the-art levee system," Bruno said, "we should legalize hashish bars and a red-light district to pay for it." He also suggested repopulating the city through polygamy and perhaps trying communism in city government.
Or: During another debate at Tulane University earlier this month, Landrieu left prematurely to attend a party of supporters. When time came for closing statements, Nagin slipped into Landrieu's empty chair, took his microphone and said, "Hi. I am Mitch Landrieu. And I really wanted to be governor."
Or: When candidate Kimberly Williamson Butler -- Nagin's first chief administrative officer in 2002 and then clerk of court in 2003 -- was cited for contempt of court because she refused to cooperate with an investigation. She went to jail for three days. Just before her incarceration, she announced that she was running for mayor.
The election "is pure chaos," says Steve Sabludowsky, founder of BayouBuzz.com, a popular online newsletter about state and local politics. New Orleans voters, he says, "are not getting straight answers from anybody." The city is operating in an "uncontrolled non-equilibrium. We don't know where we are going today. We are walking around like zombies when we ought to be fixing this place up."
Broken-down communications, vulnerable levees, widespread poverty, a history of racism and corruption, insurance woes, vanishing wetlands, shuttered schools, abandoned hospitals, demolished neighborhoods, a floundering economy based on tourism: Any one of these issues would be enough to overwhelm any mayoral candidate. But in right-now New Orleans, each one is "the" issue, deserving just as much attention as the next.
On top of that, tourists and conventions are not returning to the city in large enough numbers to save many businesses, and perhaps the city itself, from bankruptcy.
Oh, yeah, and the next hurricane season is right around the corner.
A Man With a Philosophy
Manny Bruno, 42, is pushing a green dolly of science textbooks to a shelf in the Tulane University student bookstore. He's a compact man with black hair. He is wearing an untucked brown shirt, khakis and yellow Converse sneakers.
With the blessing of his boss, he takes a break to sit on a metal and concrete slab in back of the building near a couple of dumpsters. He bums a light from a passing student and flares up a cigarette. He says he's not campaigning much because he has a wife and a small child. He has thrown a couple of parties and posted scores of signs around town. His campaign slogan: "A Troubled Man, for Troubled Times."
|
NEW ORLEANS -- It's hard to pinpoint the zaniest moment so far in this city's super-surreal mayoral election. More than 20 candidates -- including an out-of-work actor and a jailbird -- are scrambling for votes, not knowing exactly who their constituents are or what kind of city they will......
| 13.466667 | 0.983333 | 58.016667 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902922.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902922.html
|
In Shaw, Pews vs. Bar Stools
|
2006042119
|
It was like a scene out of "The People's Court" -- on one side the mostly white supporters of a gay-friendly bar, on the other the parishioners of a black church in Washington's historic Shaw neighborhood.
They all packed the hearing room of the city's Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration yesterday to make their case for or against the Be Bar, scheduled to open in June on Ninth Street NW.
"A bar ? Across from my church?" asked Barbara Campbell, who lives on Georgia Avenue NW and for three decades has gone to Scripture Cathedral in Shaw, where she works as a cook in the church's day-care center. "Don't they understand that there is a day-care center in the church?"
She and other parishioners opposed to the bar were seated in the small hearing room, their worries in their faces. Their pastor of more than 40 years, Bishop C.L. Long, was there, too, his staff in tow.
The bar's nearly two dozen supporters were mostly standing, light-blue ribbons pinned to their shirts. Michael Watson was busy handing out the ribbons. He's one of the bar's two owners, both of them D.C. residents, both of them gay.
"This fight here is really more than just about a liquor license, more than just about a bar," says Mark Lee, a 30-year District resident who now lives in Logan Circle. "This is about who gets to decide which establishments open where."
There's nothing new about fights over the location of a bar, gay or otherwise. It happens all the time. But the battle over Be Bar is unfolding in the midst of a wave of gentrification, where race, class and now sexual orientation get thrown into an already simmering pot.
Articles have been written in the gay press about the controversy. Lawyers were on hand yesterday to speak for their respective clients. And people from outside and inside Shaw have weighed in on the issue in recent weeks.
Yesterday ABRA dismissed a protest from the D.C. Black Church Initiative, partly because the group, in a letter to the board, didn't object to Be Bar on legal grounds but because it "will undermine the moral character" of Shaw and "only promote an alternative lifestyle that runs counter to the values" of the neighborhood.
Even Advisory Neighborhood Commissions are divided. Though the bar is within the bounds of ANC 2F, where the six commissioners (all white) have given their support, it's close enough to ANC 2C, where the four commissioners (one of whom is Latino, the rest black) voted 3 to 1 last month to protest the bar's liquor license.
The law states that no liquor license shall be issued to establishments "within 400 feet of a primary, elementary or high school," says Jeff Coudriet, an ABRA spokesman, but the proximity of an establishment to a day-care center "is an additional consideration."
On May 3, ABRA will decide if a group of Scripture parishioners and ANC 2C have legal standing to oppose the bar's license.
|
It was like a scene out of "The People's Court" -- on one side the mostly white supporters of a gay-friendly bar, on the other the parishioners of a black church in Washington's historic Shaw neighborhood.
| 13.818182 | 1 | 44 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902315.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902315.html
|
NFL Teams Will Look At GMU's Lewis Today
|
2006042119
|
George Mason senior forward Jai Lewis will take another step toward what he hopes will be a career in pro football this afternoon, auditioning for at least eight NFL teams at an Alexandria training center.
As of yesterday evening, the New York Giants, New York Jets, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers, Philadelphia Eagles, Cincinnati Bengals, Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins planned to send representatives to Lewis's one-man combine at Velocity Sports Performance, where Lewis has been training for the past week.
The 6-foot-5, 290-pound Lewis hired Jeff Jankovich of Capital Football Associates last Thursday, and representatives from the agency have been shuttling him from classes and exams to his workouts and back. He has spent four days training with Walt Cline , Velocity's director of athlete development, and Leonard Stephens , the former Redskins and Detroit Lions tight end. Yesterday, while being shadowed by an ESPN crew, they spent 40 minutes analyzing and tweaking the first few strides of Lewis's 40-yard dash, and another hour on agility and flexibility drills.
This morning, Lewis will fill out paperwork and take written tests, including the Wonderlic. In the afternoon, he will be weighed and measured; will be tested in the 40-yard dash, vertical jump and standing broad jump; and will perform agility and position drills for tight ends and linemen. Afterward, he is expected to go to Cincinnati to work out for the Bengals.
"It's a job interview," said Lewis, who helped lead George Mason to the Final Four before deciding to pursue an NFL career. "I'm going out there with a shirt and tie on and a smile on my face, going out there to get a job."
Lewis has not yet started a weightlifting regimen, but he has altered his diet. He is in the habit of eating just one large meal a day. Yesterday, it was a bowl of cereal.
Both Cline and Jankovich said that after just four days of training, their client's times this afternoon are less important than his potential, with the NFL draft set for April 29-30.
"It's tough to teach a guy to be 6-5, 280 or 290 pounds and to move like that," Cline said. "I'll never have enough time to prepare him, but we're just doing as much as we can in a short time."
|
George Mason senior forward Jai Lewis will audition for at least seven NFL teams, including the Redskins, at an Alexandria training center on Thursday.
| 15.862069 | 0.862069 | 3.482759 |
medium
|
medium
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/14/DI2006041400971.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/14/DI2006041400971.html
|
National Security and Intelligence
|
2006042119
|
Washington Post intelligence reporter Dana Priest was online Thursday, April 20, at 11:30 p.m. ET to discuss the latest developments in national security and intelligence.
Priest was awarded a Pulitzer Prize this week for Beat Reporting .
Dana Priest covers intelligence and wrote " The Mission: Waging War and Keeping Peace With America's Military " (W.W. Norton). The book chronicles the increasing frequency with which the military is called upon to solve political and economic problems.
Dana Priest: Hello everyone. Coming to you from New York City today. Let's begin!
Winnipeg, Canada: Congratulations on your Pulitzer. You reporting is the kind that is vial for a thriving democracy. How do you respond to people who have said you should be tried for treason instead?
Dana Priest: Well, calmly most of the time. Just because something is classified does not make it automatically something that the world shouldn't know about. We take the issue of national security damage very seriously and, in particular, in the secret prison stories, Len Downie, the executive editor, held back on naming the countries.
Boston, Mass.: Kudos to you, Dana. I can imagine it is not always comfortable or easy doing the kind of investigative reporting you do where the pressure is most likely to drop it than pursue it, at least from representatives of the government, perhaps some of your sources and, heaven forbid, The Post editorial/publisher side itself.
Readers like myself, however, greatly appreciate the intellect, meticulous sourcing and follow through that you do. Where would a free press be without great journalists. The Pulitzer folks knew what they were doing!
I do have a question--let's say that the dust settles on the present administration and that the Congress is more of a brake on certain activities (like using foreign bases to do to prisoners what we cannot do here). Has the national security apparatus and the international alliances been shifted enough that a change in U.S. administrations is unlikely to change, truly, how we now do business? Or could a differently principled President or Congress actually put an end to the current shenanigans?
Dana Priest: I certainly think any change will bring a reassessment of the what I think of as some of the more controversial elements of the CIA"s war on terrorism. Not the fact that they've successfully established deeper intel relationships with countries around the world to hunt/disrupt terrorists and their support networks, but certainly on the issue of secret prisons and interrogation techniques. If nothing else, I would think the new prez would want to assess the effectiveness of such things on actually gaining any new and valuable information and also the cost, in terms of the US strategic aims, of a decline in the standing of the US around the world--which has certainly occurred in the last several years, in part because of some of these methods.
Honolulu, Hawaii: How effective has the new national intelligence director and his staff been?
Dana Priest: Well, I have less than perfect knowledge on this for sure but I think sooo much time is still spent moving the bureaucratic boxes around and making people cooperate. I'd like to see some actual examples of the positive but I haven't been able to unearth them yet....hope springs eternal.
Arlington, Va.: The I. L. Libby assertion that the President declassified a document so that Libby could leak it doesn't bother me too much on the declassification issue (the more out there the better), but that they leaked it to one reporter rather than distribute it to all.
Dana Priest: Not only that, but it apparently remained classified for other reporters who were asking about things in the same area.
Charlottesville, Va.: Way to go, Dana!
My question has to do with military officers. I recently read that high level officers would give their lives for their country, but not their careers. A confrontation with a superior is a way for an officer to get an unfavorable review that forever dims his/her chances of advancement. I understand that questioning of a superior is especially against the grain in the military, yet everybody has run into instances where higher-ranking people have made mistakes. Do you see any signs that active-duty officers are finding ways to speak without being punished? Have people talked with you about changes to the rating system that would make this less of a problem?
Dana Priest: I think there are ways to speak out -- anonymously through the news media is one way -- and some have done that from the very beginning. This is a tricky subject. I don't think you really want to make it much easier because the rule that the military are subordinate to civilian commanders is a golden rule that is not healthy to overturn. I believe many commanders spoke out within their military chain of commands. We just don't know about all of that.
Arlington, Va.: No doubt about it, a free media is critical in a democratic system. However, it is not the media's job to determine whether or not information is classified. There are legal processes for declassifying documents. And Congress, as the overseer of the intelligence community (residing in the executive branch), has the responsibility to deal with issues of excessive government secrecy, or not enough secrecy. When the media decides for itself whether or not documents should be declassified, they are breaking the law and should be prosecuted.
Dana Priest: Well, actually, the media is not breaking the law by publishing classified information. That's still a safeguard we have in the law. The person/s who turn it over are breaking the law, technically. But the courts and the body politic have always looked at this as the cost of democracy and that is one huge reason why reporters have not be pursued previously. It's the trade off for having a free press. The alternative is prior censorship and government control of the media, a la Israel, China, Iran, etc.
Bedford, Mass.: Based on your discussions with politicians and your knowledge of the pragmatic realities of national security, do you think Gitmo will still exist in the summer of 2009? I.e., will an incoming administration begrudgingly accept it as a necessary evil, or is it more likely that even a more moderate Republican will find it inimical to American values?
Dana Priest: If it does, it will be much, much smaller. Perhaps holding several dozen people only and those people will have gone through some credible system of justice.
Washington, D.C.: I am a Marine Corps officer and have great respect for the work you have done and continue to do. That said, do you think that the administration believes it has the credibility to sell the American public on the idea that Iran is a threat? Do you yourself think that Iran is a threat to global stability and our national security? I'm not convinced Iran it is a threat and am concerned that Iran is the new "bogeyman" to incite fear in the public.
Dana Priest: First, check out Andrea Mitchell's recent interview with DNI Negroponte. He seemed very cautious about Iran being an imminent threat of any kind. Maybe we can find the link for you here. Iran has not actually carried out any attacks on US interests for years and then it has been very much focused on issues in their own backyard. Hezollah has basically come to agreements with Israel on when and why it will launch terrorist attacks. So it has been, in this bizarre way, a more constrained actor than the current rhetoric would suggest. On the other hand, things could change, especially with Ahmadinejad. If they change, of course, Iran could unleash Hezbollah and its other agents and do great damage. All this speaks to trying hard to maintain a non-belligerent relationship with Iran while somehow working to moderate the regime and to eventually help Iranians to get out from underneath the rule of the mullahs.
CQ Transcripts Wire Apr 20, 2006 10:51 NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR NEGROPONTE IS INTERVIEWED ON NBC'S "TODAY SHOW" APRIL 20, 2006
SPEAKERS: AMBASSADOR JOHN NEGROPONTE, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE
CURRY: It has been a year since John Negroponte was tapped to become the U.S. intelligence chief. Well, NBC's Andrea Mitchell sat down with Negroponte, who is facing criticism from both sides of the aisle; accused of not doing enough to protect the United States.
MITCHELL (voice-over): Has the U.S. fixed intelligence mistakes that contributed to 9/11 and misjudged Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction? A year after 16 separate intelligence agencies were merged into one, a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, intelligence czar John Negroponte says the U.S. intelligence effort is more vigilant.
NEGROPONTE: We're really on this case 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And in that sense, I think we are certainly safer than we were before 9/11.
MITCHELL: To improve communication, Negroponte's team just moved to this Air Force base seven miles from the White House. The agency is trying harder to verify sources, after debacles like the flawed case for Iraq's WMD. And it is making sure the president gets dissenting opinions on intelligence. But U.S. intelligence has still not found Osama bin Laden. (on camera): Why, after all these years, don't we have a better idea of where he might be?
NEGROPONTE: I think he's operating from a narrower and narrower corner of space in that Pakistan-Afghanistan border area.
MITCHELL: What do you worry about most?
NEGROPONTE: It's the international terrorists. It's Al Qaida. What is it that we don't know?
MITCHELL (voice-over): By far, the biggest question. Andrea Mitchell, NBC News, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) END .ETX Apr 20, 2006 10:51 ET .EOF Source: CQ TranscriptionsC°06, Congressional Quarterly Inc., All Rights Reserved
Mashpee, Mass.: When the editor prevented the naming of the countries involved in the secret prisons, doesn't that say that Americans have the right to know what their country is doing, but not the citizens in the countries where the prisons are? Isn't that a double standard?
Dana Priest: It was a tough call for certain and especially tough because we really are not in the business of withholding information. But as the story pointed out at the time, the administration made that case (which Downie thought was credible) that the individual countries might be subject to terrorist retaliation and that they might, I stress might, stop cooperating on other counterterrorism matters that are productive. It was a judgment call and on the other side was exactly what you state.
I am a Psychology student embarking on a Terrorism elective. Our first assignment is to research definitions of "terrorism". There are many as I have learned and very confusing I would add. The question I have for you is, "what is your definition of "terrorism"". Thank you in advance for your response.
Dana Priest: Terrorism is really a tactic--one that is aimed at terrorizing a population to achieve a particular political end (it could be the collapse of the country's political/economic structure; could be giving in on some particular smaller political goal) Most importantly, it seeks to terrorize the civilian, rather than military, population.
Fort Collins, Colo.: Congratulations on your Pulitzer, which is so well deserved. I hope that you also realize that while the recognition of the award is wonderful, it is only the tip of the iceberg of the gratitude that so many of us feel for the tremendous investigative work that you have done. Thank you.
Perhaps this is a stupid question, but why exactly is it unacceptable for Iran to get a nuclear weapon? Yes, Ahmadinejad's comments are outrageous, but Israel has enough nuclear weapons to wipe the last vestiges of the Persian 'Empire' from the face of the Earth. And the U.S. would probably help. (I am not trying to make light of a serious issue. They are rightfully proud of their heritage and do not want to commit national suicide.) Is it that Iran having a bomb would start an arms race in the middle east? An arms race between Sunni and Shia nations? Between Persians and Arabs?
Dana Priest: Thank you, and the rest of you who are writing in with congratulations!
Several reasons: Iran is not now a nuclear power and increasing that group increases the likelihood that nuclear weapons will be used one day; second, Iran does not recognize Israel's right to exist and is constantly threatening to wipe out a sovereign country and its people; third, the reason you state; and fourth, the instability of the regime and its hostility toward other countries, particularly the US. Is that a double standard? technically yes. I still think it's worth trying to keep Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The big question is, how far should we and other countries go. To war?
Valley Forge, Pa.: Hi Dana,
The Iran options that are being discussed since Hersh's article don't include sabotage that looks like an industrial accident. While it probably wouldn't stop Iran, couldn't some well placed and well timed incidents slow them down quite a bit, like a fire in the centrifuge plant or some type of contamination? How likely do you think this option is and are we capable enough to make these accidents happen?
Dana Priest: I would think that would be a preferred route but that it would be extremely difficult, probably impossible, to carry out without detection.
Alexandria, Va.: Do the national security agencies see U.S. strategic interests changing vis-a-vis Israel in light of either the battle for hearts and minds in the Muslim world or the need to secure cooperation from regimes with viscerally anti-Israel publics? Do you see any decline in trust between the U.S. national security community and Israel (or those who are associated with it)?
Dana Priest: No I don't.
San Jose, Calif.: Congratulations on your prize. The Psychology student might be interested to know that the United Nations spent five years trying to come up with a legal definition for terrorism, then shelved it as too difficult. Their idea was to make it illegal (under international law), but it was too difficult to differentiate from tactics used by what could be a legitimate rebellion and from other acts of war.
Dana Priest: here you go. some fodder for the thesis.
Washington, D.C.: Congratulations on the big prize! Maybe now you have a Pulitzer The Post will do away with the annoying flying pizza advert that ran across the screen at the beginning of your chat...
Dana Priest: Don't hold your breath!
Washington, D.C.: Congratulations on your Pulitzer. I also understand you are a St. Pete Times alumni. Always good to hear.
My question is what was your reaction when you learned that President Bush met with Len Downie to try and kill your story? Not sure if you were in the meeting, but maybe you can talk a little bit about your conversation with editors about this. Thanks.
Dana Priest: Unfortunately I cannot comment on any of that except to say that the Post took the issues presented very seriously and there was long and spirited and detailed discussions before Len made any decisions.
It appears that the structure of our national security apparatus is woefully inadequate to address the challenges of the current geopolitical environment. We have war fighters tasked with peacekeeping and reconstruction and that doesn't seem to make sense. It's clear that it is resulting in huge costs, with little visible result. Is it time to revisit the National Security Act of 1947 and restructure how U.S. foreign policy and national defense are linked?
Dana Priest: I said in my book, published in 2003, and many other people have called for: a much better integration of the national security elements along the lines of what Goldwater Nichols did for the services. The military is still overburdened with things they are not trained to do.
Washington, D.C.: Much has been said about the possible decline of Western Europe as an economic powerhouse with the reporting around the French riots. Though reversible with sound economic policies lets entertain a negative hypothesis that this does happen. With political and military influence tied to economics, how would the U.S. deal with the increased security burden and military commitments? Or would we? Do you feel Russia and China would wield a freer hand in their spheres of influence? Would we become unilateral as the only powerful advocate of democracy not because of bad diplomacy but due to default? Your comments would be welcome, and of course CONGRATULATIONS!
Dana Priest: I agree with the direction of your questions. A weakened Europe is not good for the United States in any way. The US-European alliance is so deep and so important. Yes, the US would find itself having to bear more of the burden (NATO is now in Afghan for example but would that continue?) and, yes, Russia and certainly China will fill the vacuum. they already are trying hard to do that over the Iran issue and their positions will become even more important if there's a severe split between the US and Europe over that.
Dayton, Md.: Dana, regarding the question of Iran's possible desire to have nuclear weapons, haven't we and the other western countries contributed to a potential nuclear arms race in the Middle East by turning a blind eye when Israel developed its nuclear weapons? Can't we understand that by allowing Israel to have nuclear weapons, Muslim countries in the area would have an argument to develop their own nuclear capability, much the same as happened with Pakistan after India developed a nuclear capability? Do you think we would ever attempt to get Israel to give up its nuclear weapons as part of an initiative to keep the entire area nuclear free.
Dana Priest: Double standards abound. I do believe Israeli's nuclear status contributes mightily to the nuclear arms race in the Middle East. I do not think there is any way Israel will give up that capability. No nation that has acquired nukes has. Why would they? It vastly increases their power and standing in the world. That's the irony.
Rockville, Md.: Congrats on the Pulitzer. Do you agree with Bill Bennett's claim that you and others writing on matters of national security using leaked material from anonymous sources should be jailed for your work?
Baltimore, Md.: As a Pulitzer-prize winning investigative reporter, do you have any comment on the news that the FBI is trying to obtain Jack Anderson's files?
Dana Priest: Outrageous. But I'll give them credit for one thing: they knew enough to wait until he died because now he can't fight back personally-- and we all know how strongly he would have.
Washington, D.C.: Congratulations on the Pulitzer! How did you find out? What did you think of the selection?
Dana Priest: Thank you. Don Graham called me up to his office and told me, with Len Downie, Phil Bennett (managing editor) and Liz Spayd (national editor) present. It was a greeaaat moment. Lots of hugs. What really made it feel like Christmas, though, was that my other great friends and colleagues won as well. As for the other prize-winners, they and so many of the finalists are such a testament to the powerful work that can be done by newspapers these days. You should go to the Pulitzer Web site and check it out. It's amazing work.
Dana Priest: Well, the Big Apple calls....thank you all for joining me and for your many nice comments which I did not post. Until next week....
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.
|
Washington Post staff writer Dana Priest discusses the latest developments in national security and intelligence.
| 244.25 | 0.875 | 5.625 |
high
|
medium
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902302.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902302.html
|
Special Agent Has Tunnel Vision
|
2006042119
|
SAN DIEGO -- Sometime in January, one of the men who works for Miguel "Mike" Unzueta, special agent in charge of the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau in this salubrious southern Californian border city, got a tip. It seemed that drug smugglers had bored a tunnel from Tijuana across the border.
As with much of the intelligence generated by Unzueta's team of investigators, this tip provided specific information about what was going on in Mexico but scant detail about what was happening on the U.S. side of the line. "We were hearing rumors. The tom-toms started beating. People started talking, 'There's a tunnel.' The difficulty was to find it, to corroborate the rumor," Unzueta recalled.
By Jan. 23, Unzueta's agents had pinpointed the site of the tunnel in Tijuana, and Unzueta had passed on the information to Mexican counterparts. After a 36-hour wait for Mexican authorities to issue a search warrant, Mexican and U.S. lawmen entered the tunnel in Tijuana and, guns drawn, slid 80 feet below the surface of the earth and then groped their way 2,400 feet north only to pop out into the middle of a 50,000-square-foot warehouse in Otay Mesa, a suburb of San Diego.
The tunnel is known to the men and women of the ICE bureau in San Diego as "El Grande." Dug through a composite of clay and decomposing granite -- perfect for tunneling -- the shaft had electricity, a ventilation system, pumps to remove groundwater, concrete flooring for traction in steep areas, and wood roofing to bolster the walls and ceiling.
On the Mexican side of the line, authorities discovered two tons of marijuana. In the United States, agents found 300 pounds. Work had begun on a cold storage facility in the U.S. warehouse. Apparently the smugglers were planning to move narcotics around the United States in fruit and vegetable trucks. In subsequent weeks, Unzueta's agents arrested a Mexican man in connection with the warehouse and are seeking two others.
The uncovering of "El Grande," the longest and most sophisticated of the 21 underground passageways linking the United States and Mexico that have been discovered since Sept. 11, 2001, was another success in the career of Unzueta, 45, the grandson of Mexican migrant workers and a longtime federal agent.
Unzueta grew up in Santa Barbara, Calif., and started his career straight out of college with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. He was posted to Spokane, Wash., in 1983 at the height of the Aryan Brotherhood and Nazi movements. In an area awash with explosives from the mining and timber industries, bombings were frequent and Unzueta learned to love the investigations, especially, he said, post-bombing reconstructions.
"I found that fascinating," he said in an interview at his office -- a round room on the seventh floor of a nondescript office building in downtown San Diego. "Back then, I would have done this job for free. Now I'm glad I get paid."
White supremacists bombed the house of a Catholic priest and set off four bombs at once in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, hoping to divert law enforcement's attention so they could raid the national armory there. (The plan failed.)
Despite the fun, Unzueta angled to return to California after a few years. Customs was hiring and Unzueta, with his fluent Spanish and law enforcement background, landed a job in 1987. Once in San Diego, he was assigned to Operation Alliance, a multi-agency narcotics task force. He spent the first three years mostly working undercover, buying stolen cars, guns and heroin in a storefront operation in the barrios of east San Diego.
He had shoulder-length hair, no love life to speak of, worked six days a week and loved it. For his undercover identity, he took the name Miguel Castaneda, a tip of the hat to Carlos Castaneda, the late Peruvian-born, peyote-munching bestselling author.
"For some reason, I had a knack for buying heroin," Unzueta said. "People just trusted me."
|
Get the latest US government news on recent federal affairs. Up-to-date information and analysis of federal legislation and contracts. Search for government job openings and career information.
| 22.083333 | 0.611111 | 0.611111 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902375.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902375.html
|
Annan Presses Syria and Iran Over Hezbollah
|
2006042119
|
UNITED NATIONS, April 19 -- U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan stepped up pressure on Syria and Iran to try to persuade the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to put down its arms and transform itself into a peaceful political party.
Annan's message reflected mounting concern that Tehran and Damascus, Hezbollah's chief foreign sponsors, are continuing to back the Lebanese militia despite U.N. calls to end foreign interference in Lebanon's internal affairs. It follows a series of meetings in Damascus between Hezbollah Secretary General Hasan Nasrallah and senior Syrian and Iranian officials.
"The carrying of arms outside the official armed forces is impossible to reconcile with the participation in power and in government in a democracy," Annan said in the 23-page report, which was written by his special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen. "I also urgently call on all parties who have the ability to influence Hezbollah and other militias" to support their disarmament.
A Hezbollah lawmaker, Ali Ammar, told a Lebanon television station the militia will not disband. He charged Terje Roed-Larsen with trying "to meet the demands of the Israeli agenda through the Lebanese gate," Reuters reported.
John R. Bolton, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said Annan's report "is an important step forward in demonstrating the importance of Iranian interference in Lebanese internal affairs. And I think by saying specifically that Syria and Iran have to be involved in ceasing their internal disruption in Lebanon is an important step forward."
In September 2004, the Security Council passed Resolution 1559, which called on foreign forces, primarily Syria, to withdraw from Lebanon, and demanded that militias, including Hezbollah and smaller armed Palestinian factions, disband and disarm. The resolution was adopted after Syria threatened Lebanese lawmakers to try to force them to alter the country's constitution to let Lebanon's pro-Syrian president, Emile Lahoud, to stay in power.
Syria last year yielded its 29-year-long political and military domination of Lebanon's political life after the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri and 22 others. The Valentine's Day bomb attack triggered massive protests in Lebanon against Syria, which is suspected of ordering the killings. Syria has denied involvement.
Annan said that arms have been smuggled from Syria into Lebanon over the past six months. He noted that Hezbollah in February received an illegal shipment from Syria of 12 trucks carrying ammunition, Katyusha rockets and other weapons.
Lebanon's armed forces approved the arms transfer on the grounds that Hezbollah is a legitimate resistance movement. But Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora assured the United Nations that he would prevent further shipments and that none "have occurred since."
For the first time, Annan singled out Iran by name, noting that Hezbollah "maintains close ties, with frequent contacts and regular communication," with Tehran.
Annan also pressed Syria to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon and to resolve border disputes that undercut efforts to stem the flow of arms into Lebanon. "A united Lebanon has offered an outstretched hand to Syria," he said. "I call on Syria to accept this offer and undertake measures, in particular, to establish embassies and delineate the border between Syria and Lebanon."
|
UNITED NATIONS, April 19 -- U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan stepped up pressure on Syria and Iran to try to persuade the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah to put down its arms and transform itself into a peaceful political party.
| 14.878049 | 1 | 41 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902554.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902554.html
|
Inspector General Investigating President's Salary, Transcripts
|
2006042119
|
The D.C. Inspector General's office is investigating a Northeast Washington charter school's decision to pay a $100,000 salary to a board member who served as school president and allegations that the principal attempted to alter transcripts to improve the school's overall grade-point average, an official said yesterday.
Deputy Inspector General Austin A. Andersen said his office has launched a probe of New School for Enterprise and Development, which the D.C. Public Charter School Board is closing June 30 for failing to meet a range of academic goals and to submit timely financial audits. Over its six years of existence, the 441-student school has operated on about $30 million of city money. All public charter schools receive city funds based on enrollment.
"I can confirm there is an investigation underway," Andersen said.
The inspector general's inquiry is the second investigation of the entrepreneurial high school's fiscal and academic operations. The charter board has a team poring through the school's transcripts and has stationed one of its staff members there to monitor instruction.
Charter board officials said they are especially interested in the New School's payment arrangement with school President Charles Tate. They said it is unusual, though not illegal, for a trustee to work as an administrator at a charter school and to receive pay.
They especially are interested in a contract the board of trustees signed with Tate that promises him $500,500 for the time he spent establishing the school and working on its behalf before he began receiving a $100,000 annual salary last year. An audit of the school, prepared by an outside accounting firm and turned over to the charter board last month, questioned the arrangement. The audit, however, said that the trustees have not yet approved any payments.
Thomas Nida, chairman of the charter board, said that in light of the school's financial troubles -- the principal laid off six workers, citing a $100,000 shortfall -- he wants to ensure that trustees are not allowed to pay Tate the $500,500. Nida, blaming the school's problems on the trustees, said he will seek legislation to give his board and the D.C. Board of Education, the second chartering agency, authority to remove board members at charter schools for "justifiable circumstances."
"We're going to look very carefully to see if they make the payments, particularly if this payment takes priority over other payments in the school," Nida said. "We have the revocation hammer, but sometimes that doesn't address the real situation."
Albert "Butch" Hopkins Jr., chairman of the New School's board of trustees, defended Tate's salary and contract. Though the school has been unable to cover the back pay because it has been short of funds, Hopkins said trustees intend to make good on the contract.
"There were a number of years Mr. Tate worked for the school and was not compensated," Hopkins said. "Whatever final obligations we have, we'll live up to them."
He said that until now, the charter board has never questioned why Tate was serving on the board and getting paid to run the school.
"If they had told us [this was wrong], we would have taken him off the board," Hopkins said.
Meanwhile, Nida said that during yesterday's visit, the team began looking through transcripts. He said the team's initial impression was that some of the transcripts were not current. And in her monitoring of teachers, Jacqueline Scott-English, the board's school support team leader, observed that some teachers were not instructing students, Nida said. Scott-English, who initially was planning a one- or two-day visit, will remain at the school indefinitely, he said.
"A teacher seemed to be on a cellphone talking when Jackie got in, and when she saw her, she quickly got off the phone," Nida said, adding that students were not doing any work. "We're going to be present as long as we need to be to encourage the right behavior."
|
The D.C. Inspector General's office is investigating a Northeast Washington charter school's decision to pay a $100,000 salary to a board member who served as school president and allegations that the principal attempted to alter transcripts to improve the school's overall grade-point average, an...
| 15.076923 | 0.980769 | 50.019231 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801643.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801643.html
|
Principal Loses Job for Assisting Students on Test
|
2006042119
|
The Charles County school board yesterday accepted the resignation of an elementary school principal who was found to have given her students answers, extra time and coaching on state-mandated tests administered last month.
The school system also released the results of its six-day investigation of Linda M. Jones, who had been principal at Dr. Gustavus Brown Elementary School in Waldorf since 2000. Jones handed in her resignation letter April 10.
Charles County Superintendent James E. Richmond said that Jones walked through several classrooms March 14, improperly helping students while they were taking the mathematics part of the Maryland School Assessment Test.
Because of the violations, 45 fourth- and fifth-grade students were forced to retake the test later in the month. Those students were given pizza and meals from McDonald's for having to take the test again, Acting Principal Lisa J. Peters said at a recent parent-teacher conference.
Teachers and administrators at Brown Elementary had spent months preparing students in third through eighth grades to take the tests. The school's March newsletter included a tip sheet for last-minute preparations as well as a personal plea from Jones to parents to "talk each day with your child about what they are doing in class that day, and encourage them to do their best each day."
Parents, who met with Peters in the school library this month, criticized the pressure of high-stakes testing under the federal No Child Left Behind law and its impact on educators. "Can't we put less stress on the children?" asked Dorothy Hatch, whose daughter had to retake the test. "My 10-year-old daughter was almost worried sick she was going to get her teacher fired if she didn't do well."
Yesterday, Richmond cautioned against drawing conclusions from what he said was an isolated incident.
"Did it happen because of high-pressure tests? Maybe, maybe not. I can't say," he said.
The results of the county-level investigation were forwarded to state school officials, who will decide what action to take against Jones. "It could be anything from asking for further investigation to recommending sanctions like suspending or revoking the license," said William Reinhard, spokesman for the State Department of Education.
|
The Charles County school board yesterday accepted the resignation of an elementary school principal who was found to have given her students answers, extra time and coaching on state-mandated tests administered last month.
| 11.702703 | 1 | 37 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902453.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902453.html
|
McCarrick Says Retirement Appears Near
|
2006042119
|
Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick said yesterday that he expects to retire soon as archbishop of Washington, a post in which he has been a prolific fundraiser, helped shape the church's response to the sex abuse crisis and taken a nonconfrontational approach to Roman Catholic politicians who support abortion rights.
McCarrick submitted his resignation when he turned 75 in July, as required by church law. But he will remain in the job, overseeing an archdiocese of 560,000 Catholics and 115 parochial schools in the District and Maryland, until Pope Benedict XVI formally accepts it.
Although the Vatican has not announced a date for his departure or given any clues to who his successor might be, McCarrick said, "I am getting the sense that this is going to happen soon."
Benedict, who marked his first anniversary as pope yesterday, earned a reputation during 23 years as the Vatican's guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy for strictly adhering to church rules, large and small. Unlike his predecessor John Paul II, who allowed some bishops to remain in their posts long after reaching 75, Benedict is expected to stick more closely to the official retirement age.
In a wide-ranging interview yesterday over lunch with Washington Post editors and reporters, McCarrick discussed his achievements and regrets, his concerns about a decline of civility in U.S. politics and his hopes for his successor.
McCarrick took over the Washington archdiocese five years ago. He previously had served as archbishop of Newark from 1986 to 2000 and as bishop of Metuchen, N.J., from 1982 to 1986.
He indicated that he is ready to retire, noting that although bishops sometimes ask the pope in their resignation letters for time to finish particular projects, he did not. "I'll be just as happy to go," he said.
McCarrick, speaking in a soft voice, said he felt at peace because he accomplished several goals. The archdiocese will ordain 12 priests next month, he noted, the highest number since 1973. It also completed a three-year, $185 million capital fundraising campaign in 2005. Although three U.S. dioceses are in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and the Boston archdiocese said yesterday that it is running a $46 million deficit, the Washington archdiocese is solvent.
But McCarrick said he wished he had engaged earlier in an effort to build up leadership among lay people. "I'm not the ideal archbishop," he said.
When McCarrick steps down, he will remain a cardinal. He said he plans to divide most of his time between Catholic Relief Services, of which he is a board member, and the Papal Foundation, a charity he helped establish. He said he also wants to learn Arabic, his sixth language.
At the height of the scandal over sexual abuse of minors by priests that erupted in Boston in 2002, McCarrick was among the first prelates to call publicly for the "zero tolerance" policy toward abusers that the U.S. bishops adopted in Dallas that June.
He also was at the center of controversy during the 2004 presidential race over whether the Democratic nominee, Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), should be denied Communion because of his support for abortion rights. The cardinal said the church should speak clearly and unequivocally against abortion but should avoid turning the issue into a "confrontation at the altar" -- a stand that drew fire from some antiabortion activists but was supported by a majority of bishops.
McCarrick said yesterday that "the life issues are primary." But he said he worries about a "loss of civility" in politics and rising stridency among religious leaders in telling politicians, and even voters, how they must act, not just on broad moral issues but on particular legislation or in particular races.
"I'm afraid there are a lot more people in the church who think that things are black and white," he said. "No one can really read another person's conscience. . . . I hope it is not cowardice, I hope it is prudence -- we must always give people the benefit of the doubt."
McCarrick declined to speculate on his successor but set a high bar. "The fellow who comes should be a great leader. He should not be afraid of you people," he said, referring to the news media. "He should be a holy man. He should be a great teacher, and he should teach more by example than with words. And he should be funny."
|
Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick said yesterday that he expects to retire soon as archbishop of Washington, a post in which he has been a prolific fundraiser, helped shape the church's response to the sex abuse crisis and taken a nonconfrontational approach to Roman Catholic politicians who support...
| 16.784314 | 0.980392 | 49.019608 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801478.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/18/AR2006041801478.html
|
Pope's 1st Year Lacks An Ideological Edge
|
2006042119
|
One year ago, when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger stepped onto a balcony of St. Peter's Basilica as the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI, conservative Catholics rejoiced and liberals sulked.
Today, as Benedict marks his first anniversary as pope, the liberals are still unhappy. But so are some conservative activists.
"Among those who greatly admired Cardinal Ratzinger and were elated by his election as pope, there is a palpable uneasiness," the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus, an influential conservative, wrote recently in the journal he edits, First Things.
Based on Ratzinger's 23-year record as a vociferous defender of orthodoxy as head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Catholics on both sides of the debates over celibacy, homosexuality and the role of the laity expected him to lead a forced march toward ideological purity.
There has been a taste of that, most notably in Benedict's approval of a document saying men with "deep-seated homosexual tendencies" should not be ordained as priests. But, on the whole, the first year of his papacy has been surprisingly mild.
"He has not turned out to be the pope that many progressives feared and many conservatives cheered," said Christopher M. Bellitto, a church historian at Kean University in New Jersey.
· His first encyclical -- often considered a guide to the direction a pope intends to take -- was a gentle reflection on "God Is Love."
· Benedict has merged a few offices, but he has not undertaken a housecleaning of the Vatican bureaucracy, which is probably the fastest way for a pope to reshape the church.
· To the puzzlement of conservatives, Benedict chose the pragmatic archbishop of San Francisco, William J. Levada, as his successor at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Then, he named Bishop George H. Niederauer of Salt Lake City to succeed Levada in California, drawing howls from conservatives who believe that Niederauer is too "gay friendly," in Neuhaus's words.
"It's not just a question of what [Benedict] has done. It's a question of expectations, and here we are a year in and what he hasn't done," said Philip F. Lawler, editor of Catholic World News, a conservative news service. "When he was elected, there was an expectation from Catholics on all sides that he would be more of an activist, and that hasn't happened."
Those expectations mounted again last week as rumors circulated that the pope would allow priests to celebrate more frequently the Tridentine Mass, the centuries-old Latin liturgy that was replaced by Pope Paul VI during the Second Vatican Council of 1962 to 1965.
|
One year ago, when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger stepped onto a balcony of St. Peter's Basilica as the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI, conservative Catholics rejoiced and liberals sulked.
| 16.09375 | 1 | 32 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/18/DI2006041801359.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/18/DI2006041801359.html
|
On Pope Benedict XVI
|
2006042119
|
One year ago, when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger stepped onto a balcony of St. Peter's Basilica as the newly elected Pope Benedict XVI, conservative Catholics rejoiced and liberals sulked.
Today, as Benedict marks his first anniversary as pope, the liberals are still unhappy. But so are some conservative activists. (Read More.)
Washington Post staff writer Alan Cooperman was online Wednesday, April 19, at 11 a.m. ET to examine the pope's 1st year in office.
Alan Cooperman: Hello, welcome to the Washington Post online chat about the first year of Benedict XVI's papacy. Let your questions rip.
Chicago, Ill.: I have heard rumors that Benedict is planning an internal shake-up in the Vatican -- re-organizing offices and replacing top staff. Have you heard anything along those lines?
Alan Cooperman: A thorough shakeup of the curia is one of the actions that many Vaticanistas, experts, have expected from Benedict. Because of his long years at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, there is no doubt that Benedict knows the inner workings very well, and probably knows exactly what he wants to do. So it has come as a surprise that he has moved relatively slowly so far. For example, Cardinal Sodano is still secretary of state. Benedict has made a few changes -- a new No.2 official at the Congregation for Divine Worship, which is in charge of liturgy, for example. And he has merged four curial offices into two, effectively eliminating the Council for Interreligious Dialogue and transferring its head, Archbishop Fitzgerald. This is widely seen as a reflection of his desire to demand more "reciprocity" from Islamic countries on matters of religious freedom; Fitzgerald was viewed, correctly or incorrectly, as being relatively accommodationist toward Islam. But so far, Benedict has NOT undertaken a thorough housecleaning of the Vatican bureaucracy.
Gaithersburg, Md.: I have to wonder if this so-called disappointment of liberal and conservative Catholics isn't purely an American thing. Liberals were worried from the beginning, particularly those who want female priests and more tolerance for divorced Catholics and homosexuals. Conservatives are disappointed that Benedict XVI hasn't been more forceful in the statement on gay priests and that the Tridentine mass hasn't made a comeback. I would wonder if the vast majority of the Catholic Church, which is not American, has the same concerns. I suspect not or at least not nearly as much as we in America do. So is this another case of us Americans being caught up with being American rather than with being part of the much larger world?
Alan Cooperman: Wonderful, perceptive question. Yes, I think that American Catholics have certain concerns that are probably shared to a high degree by fellow Catholics in Europe and Australia, but that are not of high concern in places like Asia and Africa. However, the expectation that Benedict would be a doctrinally conservative pope, focused to a greater degree than John Paul II on the inner workings of the church -- a pope "ad intra" in Latin, as opposed to JPII's "ad extra" papacy -- was widely shared around the world. And so, bottom line, I think Catholics everywhere who are paying careful attention are probably surprised that Benedict is moving so slowly. And, as I pointed out in today's article, the intriguing thing is that at the one-year mark, the disappointment, or concern, or "palpable uneasiness" -- in the words of the Rev. Richard John Neuhaus -- is coming from some notable conservatives.
Washington, D.C.: From the pews it isn't apparent that the new pope has done anything yet. That he is more of a caretaker than a groundbreaker. What am I missing behind the scenes?
Alan Cooperman: No, you aren't missing anything. That's the point -- relatively little has happened yet. Almost everyone I know who read the first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est, "God is Love," thought it was lovely and highly readable, a refreshing change, quite frankly, from some of the dense philosophy penned by John Paul II. But there was little or nothing in the encyclical that was news, theologically or doctrinally. Now, that certainly does not mean that Benedict will turn out to be a caretaker pope. It does suggest that if he is going to break ground, he is going to do it slowly. That makes sense, because this is a man who has written in the past very critically of certain changes that he thought were "ruptures" with the past -- such as the switch to the Novus Ordo (the new Mass) from the Tridentine liturgy that had been in use from 1570 until the 1960s. He might turn out to be a gradualist groundbreaker, if that makes any sense.
Accident, Md.: Pope John Paul II had the ability to reach people worldwide on a personal level. Few can forget his rejoinder to the crowd that "JPII, he loves you".
This is characteristic of the kind of papacy that seems most effective for the church. How does Pope Benedict measure up with his ability, albeit desire to make the connection with Catholics worldwide?
Alan Cooperman: Tough to say. It's early yet. Benedict may have a big advantage in the fact that expectations for charisma are low, so when he turns on the charm, people are electrified. There are reports that this has happened a few times already. George Weigel tells me that the crowds coming to see Benedict in St. Peter's Square are larger than those drawn on a weekly basis by John Paul II -- but that may be deceiving, because the crowds are still coming partly to mourn JPII. One intriguing thing about Benedict, stylistically, is that he has pulled some garments out of the Vatican wardrobe that had not been seen in decades, maybe centuries -- such as a larger pallium, and a particular hat, and the red shoes. Some people say this shows a touch of vanity. Others say it reflects an artistic sensibility -- he is, after all, an accomplished pianist. Either way, I think his desire and ability to connect with people has been underrated, and may turn out to be a big surprise in the years ahead.
Springfield, Va.: Is there any indication that Benedict is planning a swing to a more-liberal Catholic church?
There is one intriguing thing -- his dropping the title of "Patriarch of the West." As you probably know, the pope has many titles -- successor of Peter, bishop of Rome, prince of apostles, etc. Anyway, when he dropped "Patriarch of the West" in March, there was a lot of clucking and headscratching -- what does it mean? And based on at least one snippet from Cardinal Ratzinger's voluminous writings, some scholars suggested there was a faint possibility that he intended to leave room for the creation of new patriarchates in the West, a way to give greater authority and independence to conference of bishops in places like, well, America. If that were true, it could have turned out to be a dramatic, far-reaching, possibly even deeply liberalizing step. But when the Vatican finally explained the dropping of the title, it said nothing of the kind. It essentially said that the pope wanted to stress that he is the head of the universal church, not the equivalent of the Orthodox patriachs who head the Eastern churches.
Philadelphia, Pa.: Does Pope Benedict seem to show any concern for the sexual abuse problems in the Catholic Church? For now, sexual abuse is on the back burner, but aren't we likely to see further shocking revelations in the future? Is he going to address this problem or ignore it?
Alan Cooperman: Yes, Benedict has shown concern for the sex abuse issue. The clearest sign was his appointment of Archbishop William Levada of San Francisco to be his successor at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. The CDF, as it is known, exercises oversight over the handling of every allegation of sex abuse by priests worldwide. It may not decide each case -- it may allow local (diocesan) bishops and heads of religious orders to decide whether the allegation is true and what to do about the priest -- but the CDF "reserves" to itself the final say over the procedures to be followed. So the naming of an American to that post, while unexpected, was I think a reflection of the new pope's deep personal understanding of how complex this situation is for the church. As for "future shocking revelations," count me a skeptic. Everyone -- including the president of the US Conference of Bishops -- says there will be more cases of abuse. But it's hard to imagine how ordinary Catholics, or reporters like me who have been writing about the sex abuse issue for several years, could be deeply shocked anymore. Read the Philadelphia district attorney's report on decades of abuse in the Philadelphia archdiocese and its handling by not one, but two cardinals, and tell me what could be more shocking. Maybe I lack imagination.
Washington, D.C.: Any thoughts on the Pope's health status? I noticed that he looks tired in his recent audiences and also at the end of the Holy Week period.
Alan Cooperman: Benedict appears to be in remarkably good health for a 79-year-old man who is working very long days, and has for years. Heart disease is the main concern. Cardinal George of Chicago told me that when Benedict was elected, he told the college of cardinals that he was taking the name Benedict in honor of Saint Benedict, who evangelized Europe, and of Benedict XV, who tried to stop World War I. And, according to George, Benedict's words were: "In my short time as pope, I hope to be a man of peace as well." So if that is accurate, Benedict himself has predicted a short papacy.
Washington, D.C.: Can you explain why liberals are disturbed with this Pope? All he seems to be doing is reaffirming the steadfast moral values that the church is based on -- and have been based on for ages. Why are liberals so upset with this?
Alan Cooperman: First of all, when I speak of liberals and conservatives in this context, I'm talking about the spectrum of views on issues WITHIN the Catholic Church, not about liberals and conservatives as we understand them in American politics.
And I'm using the words in the common modern understanding of them. Liberals in the church context are those who, generally, want change. Conservatives are those who, generally, oppose change -- unless it's a restoration of tradition or more ardent enforcement of existing discipline and doctrine.
In terms of specifics, liberal Catholics may want change, or at least more open discussion of change, on a number of fronts, auch as: rethinking whether a monogamous same-sex relationship is sinful; allowing married priests; applauding the "inculturation" of the Mass (drumming and dancing in Africa, gospel singing in America, etc); giving the laity in general and women in particular a larger role in the governance of the church. The list goes on, of course. Some of these may indeed challenge the "steadfast moral values" of the church, as you put it. But others -- such as the question of whether to allow married men to become priests -- are widely understood by Catholics to be matters of "discipline," not doctrine. There already are married priests in the Eastern Catholic churches and, through the "pastoral provision," a few former Lutherans and Episcopalians who are married in the Western church. So just to take that (priestly celibacy) as an example, it is not so clearly a challenge to moral values. It's a challenge to tradition. The same could be said for issues of liturgy and governance in the church.
Baltimore MD: It should be no surprise that this pope who waited one year to quietly reveal his hidden agenda at the Ishtar -Easter- feast. The College of Cardinals chose these last two pontiffs who have come from the two countries than sought to annihilate the Jewish people. In the midst of the revelation that the "Gospel of Judas" casts Judas as one initiating the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of mankind (Isaiah 53), Benedict on the contrary, has determined that Judas (Hebrew: Yehuda, "Jew") is this ultimate betrayer.
Benedict said, "For Judas -Jew-, only power and success are real; love does not count. And he is greedy; Money is more important than communion with Jesus, more important than God and his love. He also becomes a liar, a double-crosser who breaks with the truth. He hardens, becoming incapable of conversion ... and throws away his destroyed life."
Benedict XVI, wishes to carry on the vision of his personal hero, Benedict XV, who in his 1917 Seven Point Peace Plan stated "occupied territories -Israel- must be evacuated". The Church sees one great obstacle in its concept of world peace: the existence of the -Jewish- State of Israel, which it refuses to acknowledge as the Land given to Abraham (Genesis 12), mocking the Words of G-d by calling it "Palestine" instead.
Alan Cooperman: There has been both enormous warming, and some continuing tension, in the relationship between the Holy See and the State of Israel. But there is NO evidence whatsoever that Benedict is bent on the elimination of Israel. I think that's just plain nutty. And the efforts made by his predecessor, John Paul II, to improve relations with the Jewish people are well known. They were courageous and pathbreaking.
Alexandria, Va.: Based on you comments, do you think part of the conservatives problems is that Pope Benedict is adverse to change? In other words even if he thinks a current Church position is too liberal, he is hesitant to change it.
Alan Cooperman: It's not so much a matter of the pope thinking that current church "positions" are too liberal. The question for many conservatives is whether the pope will enforce the existing positions. Will he, for example, tolerate bishops who take a flexible interpretation of the recent Vatican instruction against admission to seminaries, or to ordination as priests, of men who have "deep-seated homosexual tendencies"? Will he give further leeway for priests to use the Tridentine liturgy? Will he revamp the curia? Those are some of the things that conservatives have hoped for, and expected from Benedict, and that have not happened -- at least, yet.
Alan Cooperman: Folks, many thanks for your good questions. I look forward to another chat in the not too distant future. And thanks for reading the Post.
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.
|
Washington Post staff writer Alan Cooperman examined the 1st year anniversary Wednesday of Pope Benedict XVI time in office.
| 145.25 | 0.95 | 3.15 |
high
|
high
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041400561.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041400561.html
|
Tipping and Travel: It's No Easy Equation
|
2006042119
|
If ever there was a good time to show off, it was then.
Joe Feldman of the District had just walked into a South Beach restaurant to celebrate a friend's 40th birthday, and in the height of coincidence, who should be at a nearby table but his soon-to-be-ex-wife and her soon-to-be-next husband. Feldman made what he thought was an important point by buying his party a magnum of Dom Perignon.
"I was still okay with it until the check came, and then I suddenly felt horrified by the thought of a $75 or $100 tip merely to open a bottle and pour. What is an appropriate tip at that point?"
Ah, the angst of tipping. When we invited readers to tell us their tipping dilemmas and stories, in they poured.
Okay, so most people know that 15 to 20 percent of the bill before tax is the accepted standard in the United States for tipping a waiter. But what about a sommelier who only uncorks and pours your wine? The question takes on more urgency the more expensive the beverage.
And what about the free breakfast buffet included in a hotel charge? Or the free shuttle service? Or the guy who delivers a free toothbrush to your room? And what if both food and service are awful but it's clearly the kitchen's fault, not the waiter's?
Complications and ethical concerns simply multiply overseas. Customs vary not only by country, but more recently, by city. Even if you know the customary percentage, figuring out a foreign currency on the fly can be maddening.
Take Romania, for example, which is in the process of converting to a new currency but still has the old one floating around. One new leu (it's also called lei) equals about 34 cents in U.S. currency, and equals 10,000 old leu. So quickly: your cab fare is 16 new leu. You're tipping in old leu. How much do you give?
For Dragos Mandruleanu of Reston, a miscalculation resulted, he later realized, in his giving a $55 tip for a $5.50 cab ride.
We also heard from people who had been chased down the street because they'd tipped too little -- or even across the desert, in the case of a woman who apparently gave too little to an Egyptian boy on a donkey who'd posed for a picture.
Travelers who have forgotten much of an overseas trip still remember their tipping debacles. Lee Austin of Chapel Hill, N.C., recalls guessing at the appropriate tip in a Paris cafe shortly after arriving in France as a foreign student in 1947. She can still visualize the haughty look on the face of the waiter who returned her tip, saying, "You must need this, Mademoiselle, more than I do."
How much to tip is just the start -- what about the "who?"
|
Knowing when and how to tip can be confusing. This guide helps travelers do the math.
| 31.666667 | 0.722222 | 0.944444 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041400565.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006042119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/14/AR2006041400565.html
|
In Bangkok, 32 Rooms That Pop
|
2006042119
|
Those who've always wanted to throw a slumber party in Pee-wee's Playhouse will feel right at home at Reflections in Bangkok.
The Thai hotel in Soi Aree, a northwestern city area near the airport, is a pop-art gallery with sleepover privileges. Each of the property's 32 rooms was designed by a different artist with a distinct theme or vision. But don't go expecting, say, a Monet Water Lilies Room or a Sistine Chapel Suite.
"It's like they've created this hotel where a lot of fantasies come out," said Amit Mody, a 35-year-old visitor from Singapore. "It works with the idea of escaping, of going on an offbeat holiday."
The hotel, completed in October 2004, is a rarity in the industry: No two rooms are alike. Moreover, the artists had few restrictions. That, in part, is what draws the young, unconventional, international guests who care more about daring decor than high thread count. The other attraction: low rates.
"The concept is to have design in the foreground, not function," says Marcel Georg Muller, the flamboyant Swiss artist who conjured "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Room No. 307), which has a romantic gypsy aesthetic. "The idea is to create a little center of art, but not some intellectual avant-garde scene."
Look no further than Room 402, the "Post Industrial" space by Thaiwijit Peungkasemsomboon that has a condemned-building look: stripped concrete and brick walls, a bed sunk in a leather box, robes hanging from an old bathtub evocative of Duchamp's "Fountain." And "Disco Room" (No. 201) by Pilanthana Suktrakan, which feels like Studio 54 after the drugs have run out. Even the "Single Mom" room (No. 403, by Dhiranan Sukwibul) has a fanciful, fairy-tale mural and neon-hued curtains.
The only room that had to be artistically censored was Jitsing Somboon's "Stage of Life" (No. 410). The Thai menswear designer's original concept included videotaping the room's inhabitants. And while the guests could keep the tape as a memento, the idea still was deemed too risque.
"Some people sleep in a room that has no light, or sometimes no shower curtain, or they come downstairs to use the bathroom because theirs doesn't have a door," said hotel owner Anusorn "Nong" Ngernyuang. "Art doesn't always work."
Ngernyuang, a 44-year-old Thai exporter-importer, bought the apartment complex in part as a gift to his artist friends. Residents from the working-class neighborhood, where many government offices are located, gawked at the unveiling: a lipstick-pink building with an irreverent streak.
Take the lobby, for example. It's delightfully assaulting, with vibrantly clashing colors and floral patterns on the walls and furniture, Virgin Mary pillows on the couch and a mannequin with bug-eyed Bono glasses voguing by the check-in desk. Outside, plastic cows float in the pool. The campy aesthetic flows into the two-story restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating, the third-floor spa and the karaoke bar, where guests and locals down large bottles of Asian beer and sing Thai tunes off-key.
"It should feel like a second home," said Ngernyuang, who had just returned from a shopping spree in Bangladesh. "Kitschy, happy, colorful."
Most homes -- much less hotels -- don't have heart-shaped shags at their front doors and disco lights in the shower. However, if you covet such eye-popping decor, nearly everything at Reflections is for sale (Ngernyuang also sells his wares to Urban Outfitters). The Lucite table where you ate your whole snakefish dinner, yes -- with add-on chairs. The cloned-Elvis painting behind the lobby bar, yes -- for $8,000. The velvet Mao piggy bank -- pink or red? Only the original art in the guest rooms and the fixed furniture (e.g., the toilets) are off the market.
Yet when necessary, the hotel can keep its kitsch in check. Charles and Apple Gittelsons, an artistic couple living in Bangkok, chose Reflections for their wedding reception and honeymoon night. The couple and their friends celebrated around the cow-less pool. After the party dispersed, the newlyweds repaired to their room, where they spent their first night of marriage in "Bohemian Rhapsody."
Rooms at Reflections (81 Soi Ari, Phaholyothin 7 Rd., Samsennai, Phayathai, 011-66-2-270-3344,http://www.reflections-thai.com) cost about $65 for a studio and $82 for a superior room, including breakfast.
|
Those who've always wanted to throw a slumber party in Pee-wee's Playhouse will feel right at home at Reflections in Bangkok.
| 35.653846 | 1 | 26 |
high
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701273.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701273.html
|
Screening Boom
|
2006041919
|
Orlando Sellers found out he had high blood pressure while posing as a patient for a videotape being made by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
"I didn't know. But when the doctor took my blood pressure, it was extremely high -- 189 over 112," said Sellers, a 58-year-old human resources specialist at the VA Medical Center in Washington. "He said, 'That's high, let me check it again.' It was the same."
Despite strong evidence that tests like a blood pressure check every two years are worthwhile, barely 50 percent of U.S. adults receive the diagnostic and preventive screenings that many medical experts recommend. Several factors explain why many Americans remain unaware that they have hypertension, colorectal cancer, high cholesterol and other lethal conditions: the proliferation of recommended tests, doubts about the value of some once-standard exams and time demands that keep many doctors from performing systematic screening.
What to do? Experts say people should find a doctor who will schedule screenings as they become due -- or they should take over the scheduling themselves.
Too Much of a Good Thing?
The merits of early detection and prevention of disease became especially clear in the 1950s and '60s, when childhood immunizations nearly eradicated a number of diseases, including measles.
This success has had an ironic side effect: "As we have more entrenched screening, the risks seem less imminent, less of an immediate threat," said Amy Compton-Phillips, Kaiser Permanente's physician director for care management in Rockville. As a result, "it's harder to convince healthy patients that a screening is important."
Today's physicians are encouraged to screen patients for literally hundreds of conditions and diseases. This advice comes from specialists, from groups such as the American Cancer Society and from such respected standard-setters as the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a panel of experts that evaluates many components of primary care. The American Academy of Family Physicians endorses most of the task force's 20 or so screening recommendations -- and adds about 30 more. (For details, see http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstf/uspstopics.htm and http://www.aafp.org/x24996.xml .)
A further complication: The task force sometimes downplays screenings -- like breast self-exams and the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test for prostate cancer -- that the medical establishment once supported enthusiastically.
The annual physical, long associated with a standard battery of tests that almost always produced a bill of good health, has fallen from favor in an era of managed care, evidence-based medicine and too-too busy physicians.
When David Sobel, a Kaiser Permanente physician, started practicing medicine 25 years ago, the routine exam was, well, routine. "Patients were tested annually -- chest X-ray, EKG, blood tests," he says. "But what it did was falsely reassured people and distracted them from the real things, much bigger things that have an impact on health, like stopping smoking."
Kaiser Permanente now stresses a preventive medicine package that varies based on each patient's age and sex. People with chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension get extra monitoring. "The notion that one size fits all is not appropriate," Sobel said.
This individualized approach calls for patients to play a larger role in their own care. Since learning of his high blood pressure, Orlando Sellers has enrolled in a pilot version of My HealtheVet, an Internet-dependent program that allows him to react quickly when he senses he may have eaten too much chocolate, fried food or soda.
|
Orlando Sellers found out he had high blood pressure while posing as a patient for a videotape being made by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The merits of early detection and prevention of disease became especially clear in the 1950s and '60s, when childhood immunizations nearly eradicated...
| 13.411765 | 0.980392 | 24.54902 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701275.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701275.html
|
An Abundance of Care
|
2006041919
|
Ernestine Brown, 89, sits in a chair in a sunny hallway at Greenspring Retirement Community in Springfield, lifting a five-pound dumbbell to her chest. Fitness specialist Bill Verneer is conducting a simple assessment, counting how many arm curls Brown can do in half a minute.
"This is the longest 30 seconds," she jokes as the weight appears to grow heavier.
Verneer next asks Brown to see how many times she can stand up from a seated position in 30 seconds, without using her arms to help her rise. "That's the one I'll fail," she says.
"There is no failing," he assures her. "We'll use the results to help make a plan for you."
Verneer and Brown review her scores. She has done well on the arm curls, scoring in the 75th percentile of older people nationwide. But as she predicted, she didn't do so well on the sit-to-stand exercise. "You're in the range where you don't want to lose any functional ability," Verneer tells her. "We'll work on endurance."
While Brown tackles that goal, the people behind Greenspring are working to show that delivering abundant, comprehensive and coordinated care in a busy, upscale setting can be medically, socially and financially successful. Although their overall model is not yet proven to improve health, many elements of what they offer residents -- regular walking and other exercise, social support and easy access to medical services -- have been shown to benefit older people. Whether everyone would be happy in such a large setting, though, remains a question.
Greenspring is among 17 Erickson retirement communities in 10 states. Each is a continuing care retirement community (CCRC), offering a range of housing and health care options, from independent apartments to assisted living and nursing home care. Nationally, 600,000 people live in 2,240 licensed CCRCs, according to the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging. Residents pay a hefty entrance fee and monthly service charges in exchange for lifelong care.
Greenspring has room for about 2,000 people, most of them in apartments; about 100 occupy assisted-living rooms, and another 180 can be accommodated in a nursing home setting.
The entry payment ranges from $99,000 for a studio to $503,000 for a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment; monthly fees of $1,312 to $2,238 cover rent, one meal a day, utilities and cable TV.
The Washington area, where many seniors can draw on ample equity from the sale of their homes, is prime turf for CCRCs. In addition to Greenspring, the region has more than 20, including another Erickson project, Riderwood in Silver Spring.
What sets the Erickson properties apart is their cornucopia of medical and wellness services. Greenspring -- where 85 percent of the residents use the medical center rather than off-campus physicians -- has five full-time geriatricians on staff, as well as regular office hours for nine consulting specialists. A podiatrist, audiologist, optometrist, dentist and mental health nurse are onsite, as is an X-ray lab.
"We do education about diet and nutrition, we discuss exercise, and we review and perform a falls-risk questionnaire," said Matt Narrett, chief medical officer for the Erickson communities.
|
Ernestine Brown, 89, sits in a chair in a sunny hallway at Greenspring Retirement Community in Springfield, lifting a five-pound dumbbell to her chest. Fitness specialist Bill Verneer is conducting a simple assessment, counting how many arm curls Brown can do in half a minute. What sets the......
| 11.350877 | 0.982456 | 49.438596 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701563.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701563.html
|
Internet Visionaries Betting On Green Technology Boom
|
2006041919
|
Bill Gates, John Doerr and Steve Case believed in the Internet long before Wall Street did. Now, they're betting on the next great "disruptive" technology: alternative fuels and other environmentally friendly products, but this time other investors aren't far behind.
Last year, AOL LLC founder Case launched Revolution LLC, which has invested in companies such as car-sharing service Flexcar that promote sustainable lifestyles. In November, Microsoft Inc. founder Gates committed $84 million to a California company to finance the construction of five ethanol bio-refineries. And last month, Doerr, the venture capitalist who invested early in Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., set up a $100 million fund to invest in "green technology."
To be sure, the investments don't make up a large proportion of their portfolios, and even with oil at $70 a barrel, alternative energy sources are still at the margins of the market. Gates, one of the world's richest men, has committed far more to developing low-cost drugs for impoverished countries. And while Case has committed around $500 million of his own money to Revolution, some of that is going to fund health care and spa investments. But just as two decades ago they saw the Internet as a way to make money and change the world, they now think green technology is poised to make a difference of its own.
"Greentech could be the largest economic opportunity of the 21st century," Doerr said in a February press release announcing that Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the investment fund that helped underwrite many prominent tech start-ups, would raise $100 million for the green technology fund.
In addition to Case, Gates and Doerr, Sun Microsystems Inc. chief executive Scott McNealy last fall played a prominent role in a Business Roundtable task force on sustainable growth strategies.
Sun founder Vinod Khosla has started his own fund to invest in clean tech companies. And Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen is financing a Seattle company that is trying to turn canola oil into diesel fuel.
"The green, sustainability movement is going mainstream," Case told The Washington Post last year, and "we want to ride that wave."
"Clean technology" in particular is a small but growing area of investment that has attracted tech billionaires. Before 1999, those businesses attracted less than 1 percent of venture capital investment. In the past two years, that has risen to between 5 and 8 percent, said Diana Propper de Callejon, general partner at Expansion Capital Partners LLC, which manages money for wealthy families.
By 2009, the Cleantech Venture Network estimates that clean technology companies will need about $3.4 billion in capital investment, said Craig Cuddeback, the network's senior vice president.
In some ways, having made their fortunes, Internet pioneers are just like other wealthy individuals looking to park their money somewhere. Unlike the early days of the dot.com boom, these entrepreneurs already have company in clean tech investing, including pension funds, investment adviser Piper Jaffray, country singer Willie Nelson, and Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin family of businesses.
High oil prices alone are not the reason for the spike in interest. Low corn prices and technological advances have made ethanol a potentially cost-effective alternative to fossil fuels, said Elif Acar, an energy analyst with Standard & Poor's. An energy bill that passed Congress last year has also accelerated the adoption of ethanol by forcing oil companies to eliminate a popular gasoline additive, and it mandates that more biofuel be mixed with gasoline.
There are some parallels between clean tech and the early days of the Internet, Propper de Callejon said. It is starting from a relatively small base, driven by technological innovation and underinvested relative to the size of the potential market.
In the case of Sun Microsystems, the company became interested in energy conservation because of the increasing electricity demands of more powerful computers. Sun Microsystems began to overhaul its servers to use less power after customers said energy costs were rising, said company spokeswoman Stephanie Hess.
Case, who has invested in a diverse range of businesses that promote sustainable lifestyles, is part of a larger trend in socially responsible investing, said David Berge, president of Underdog Ventures LLC. Until recently, so-called socially conscious investors have emphasized where they don't want their money to go, such as tobacco or companies doing business with South Africa during apartheid.
"Today, more people who have the ability to make choices are leaning toward affirmative streams," Berge said. Clients come to him and ask, "What could you do for us for environmental investing?"
The impact of tech dollars is being felt already. Until recently, the ethanol industry has been the province of large agribusinesses and farmer cooperatives. Today, Neil Koehler, who relied on one angel investor to finance his first ethanol company, took his latest venture public and received financing from Gates.
Gates's involvement in Pacific Ethanol "has helped propel our public position," Koehler said.
|
Bill Gates, John Doerr and Steve Case believed in the Internet long before Wall Street did. Now, they're betting on the next great "disruptive" technology: alternative fuels and other environmentally friendly products, but this time other investors aren't far behind.
| 19.46 | 1 | 50 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701758.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701758.html
|
Who Put The Y'all In 'Idol'?
|
2006041919
|
What is it with this Southern thing on "American Idol," anyway?
Here we go, a national singing competition. It's lousy with Juilliard proteges, Hollywood High sensations, right? Top-notch overachievers, best-that-money-can-buy training?
For five years, the most wildly popular talent contest on American television has been dominated -- thoroughly, totally and completely -- by kids from Southern Hicksville, USA. Seven of the eight top-two finishers in the first four years were from states that once formed the Confederacy, and five of the seven remaining finalists this season are, too.
Home towns of winners and runners-up: Burleson, Tex. Columbus and Snellville, Ga. Birmingham and Huntsville, Ala. Chapel Hill and High Point, N.C. The lone outsider in the top tier, last year's winner, Carrie Underwood, only emphasizes the point -- she hails from Checotah, Okla. (pop. 3,400). This is Merle Haggard, "Okie From Muskogee" territory. We say that in the good sense.
But how is this even possible? Can't anybody in Detroit sing anymore? Can no one in Gotham knock out a show tune better than Clay Aiken? Dialing L.A . . . Hello? Hello?
To emphasize Southern Idol, consider: Alabama, Georgia and North Carolina have less than 10 percent of the national population but have produced 75 percent of the top pairs. This season, those states have four of the seven finalists.
It is tempting to draw the cultural connection here. Southern kids grow up singing in churches and small-town festivals in a region that emphasizes the voice, whether in storytelling or song, and thus are possessors of raw cultural gifts.
It is true that so many American forms of music -- jazz, blues, country, gospel -- are Southern creations, born by or because of the long-time interactions between blacks and whites in rural isolation. Drive from Memphis to New Orleans on fabled Highway 61, toss in a side trip to the Grand Ole Opry, and you've essentially got the core of American musical history.
But let's not get carried away. "Idol" is just a quirky television show, and while we'll consider cultural influence in just a moment, there's no reason to get into some sort of moonlight-and-magnolias, barefoot Suthun kids picking the git-tar down by the riverbank mythology.
|
What is it with this Southern thing on "American Idol," anyway?
| 31.533333 | 1 | 15 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701774.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701774.html
|
Arts Pulitzers Make History the Big Winner
|
2006041919
|
Washington writers Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin have won the Pulitzer Prize for biography for "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer" on a day when historical topics dominated the Pulitzer awards for letters.
Geraldine Brooks won the fiction prize for her historical novel "March," which is set during the Civil War. Harvard historian Caroline Elkins won the general nonfiction award for "Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya." University of Texas historian David M. Oshinsky's "Polio: An American Story" won in the category specifically designated for history.
The poetry award went to a work of personal history, Claudia Emerson's "Late Wife."
The Pulitzer Prize in music went to "Piano Concerto: 'Chiavi in Mano' " by Yehudi Wyner. No award was made this year in the drama category.
Sherwin has been working on the Oppenheimer biography for a quarter of a century. "It doesn't seem so long right now -- only 25 years!," Sherwin said yesterday from Bird's house on Biltmore Street NW, where the collaborators were celebrating.
"I'm grateful Marty convinced me to come aboard," said Bird, who joined the project in 2000 and got so caught up he found himself dreaming of Oppenheimer at night. "Writers always talk about how hard it is to write, but this was such a fun book."
As director of the Manhattan Project during World War II, Oppenheimer oversaw the development of the atomic bomb, and his life "is just amazingly relevant today," Bird said. He went on to mention Oppenheimer's warnings about nuclear proliferation, "the news about Iran," and government wiretapping of Oppenheimer's telephones.
Elkins, reached at her Harvard office, pronounced herself "overwhelmed" by the award for her Kenya book. "Imperial Reckoning" began as research for her senior thesis, she said, when she came across some records from detention camps the British set up in Kenya -- then still a British colony -- during the post-World War II uprising that became known as the Mau Mau rebellion.
British officials exaggerated the threat, Elkins said, and the name "Mau Mau" came to connote "the most bestial, savage thing that ever happened." In fact, only 32 white settlers were killed in the rebellion. According to official records, 11,000 Kenyans died in the detention camps, but Elkins's research showed that the true number was likely far higher.
Elkins interviewed hundreds of survivors of the camps. "The British tried to sweep this under the rug," she said, adding that the Pulitzer triumph "is not about me -- it's about these men and women who had their histories taken from them."
Oshinsky said by phone from Austin that his research on polio brought back memories from his childhood. "Polio was a very visual disease," he explained, "and it was incredibly frightening to us growing up."
A historian who has also written on the Cold War crusade against domestic communism, Oshinsky called the drive for a polio vaccine "a far better crusade." It revolutionized philanthropy, he said, because it was funded not by a few rich people, but by "millions of common people giving dimes and quarters" to the March of Dimes.
|
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.
| 12.666667 | 0.45098 | 0.45098 |
low
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041700524.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041700524.html
|
The Sound of Music, Cut Short
|
2006041919
|
The Coachella festival may not have the name recognition of, say, a Lollapalooza or a Vans Warped Tour. But in the indie rock world, it's considered the queen mother of music shows, a free-wheeling, two-day concert held each year in Indio, Calif., that showcases the best artists on the alternative, electronica, hip-hop and reggae scenes.
This year's Coachella fest takes place April 29 and 30, which makes this week's release of the concert film "Coachella" on DVD a timely one. Featuring interviews with fans and snippets of performances by Bjork, Bright Eyes, the Flaming Lips, Belle & Sebastian, the Stooges, the Pixies and many others, it's a beautifully photographed, kaleidoscopic overview of the energetic musical celebration's six-year history.
But as pretty as "Coachella" looks, the DVD ultimately disappoints. Uninsightful interviews with the throngs of concert-goers who camp out every year -- giving the concert the much-ballyhooed vibe of a modern-day Woodstock -- provide little context for the Coachella-clueless.
Musically, several of the performances soar, particularly the Arcade Fire's spirited version of "Rebellion (Lies)" and the Flaming Lips' typically trippy take on "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots." But with six years' worth of stellar line-ups, there should be more concert footage to relish. The list of superb bands omitted from the DVD -- Wilco, Jane's Addiction, the Roots, Beck, Doves -- goes on and on. Clearly it would be impossible to include them all in a two-hour movie. But the second disc of bonus material seems like the perfect place to add the songs and sets that had to be cut. And yet, astonishingly, the extras don't include a single minute of music; instead, we get additional interview snippets, photos and that's it.
With several concert movies breaking new ground in theaters -- "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" and the Beastie Boys' "Awesome; I ... Shot That!" among them -- it's a shame "Coachallea" doesn't continue the trend on the small screen. As a member of the Latino funk band Kinky says during one of the bonus interviews, "The people who come here really come for the music, not for all the bull----." Amen, my brother.
Most Unsettling Bonus Point: "The Art of Recycling" snippet, found on the bonus disc, allows viewers to peek at an exhibit of elaborately decorated recycling bins displayed at last year's Coachella festival. The most disturbing contribution comes from the late Hunter S. Thompson, who committed suicide last February. His bin is indented in several spots by pellets shot from a BB gun, a bizarre precursor to the gunshot wound he would eventually inflict upon himself.
Also on DVD This Week: "Hostel," "Mrs. Henderson Presents and more.
For more on new DVDs, visit washingtonpost.com's DVD section.
|
Search Washington, DC area movie listings, reviews and locations from the Washington Post. Features DC, Virginia and Maryland entertainment listings for movies and movie guide. Visit http://eg.washingtonpost.com/section/movies today.
| 17 | 0.470588 | 0.529412 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301720.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301720.html
|
Poet's Choice
|
2006041919
|
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Poet's Choice on our pages. The column was hatched, appropriately we think, at a family birthday party in September of 1995. My sister was celebrating a round, stately number of years, and her colleagues -- English professors at Howard University -- had gathered in my house to raise a glass. One professor, Alinda Sumers, approached me and suggested that Book World feature a column by the current Poet Laureate. I was flabbergasted. Why hadn't we thought of that ourselves? We invited Robert Hass to lunch and the rest, as they say, is poetry.
Book World is very proud to publish this ongoing tribute to verse and versifiers; the column is simply unparalleled in any other American newspaper. Over the years, it has featured ancient as well as contemporary masters, the famous and the virtually unknown, the homegrown and the foreign, and it has seen republication in two books by the same name. This coming Thursday, we'll celebrate the 10th anniversary in a special event here at The Washington Post. To honor the distinguished writers who have hosted Poet's Choice, three of whom are former U.S. Poet Laureates, we offer here a bouquet of excerpts -- a representative smattering of writing by them and about them in Book World through the years.
From Robert Hass's inaugural column:
So, I was sitting in my new office in the attic of the Jefferson Library, watching the October sun through a handsome open window glisten on the Capitol dome and wondering what a poet laureate could usefully do.
It is difficult to get the news from poemsyet men die miserably every dayfor lackof what is found there --
William Carlos Williams wrote. These are lines that poets know. They help us to remember that what we do matters, especially when we are feeling that the world has not fathomed its importance. But on this particular morning, I remembered that Williams had spent his professional life practicing family medicine in Rutherford, N.J. His lines were a prescription. What I needed to do was apply Dr. Williams's dose to the body politic. In a form, of course -- this is a free country -- in which people could take it or leave it.
Poetry appeared in newspapers almost as soon as the newspapers themselves appeared in the young American republic. There are famous instances. Our national anthem saw the dawn light as a poem entitled "The Defence of Fort McHenry," published in the Baltimore American in September of 1814, and Clement Moore, a professor of Hebrew at the Columbia Theological Union, wandered from his scholarly chores to publish "A Visit from St. Nicholas" -- the one American poem, I've read, that almost everyone can recite a little of -- in the Troy Sentinel on the night before Christmas in 1823. Abraham Lincoln first saw print as a poet in a newspaper, and the few poems Emily Dickinson published in her lifetime appeared in the Springfield Register, touched up by the editor for popular consumption, and Henry David Thoreau wrote aphoristic couplets for a country paper. Toward the end of the century another widely loved American poem, Ernest Lawrence Thayer's "Casey at the Bat," was printed in the new paper of his college classmate William Randolph Hearst, the San Francisco Examiner.
This chorus of voices -- "so many uttering tongues," Walt Whitman wrote -- gave a shared language to American readers all through the 19th century. And in Whitman himself, a newspaperman from his teens, there is an attitude toward reading and toward poetry that is hard even to imagine in the last years of the 20th century.
RITA DOVE ON ROBERT HASS
For many years, Robert Hass has buoyed our spirits with a weekly tonic of poetry: Syndicated in newspapers across the country, "Poet's Choice" has become a national respite. I have met lawyers, tennis players and cashiers who read "Poet's Choice" and ask my opinion on the poems selected. Just recently a woman in my ballroom dance class stopped in the middle of a syncopated waltz turn to say how much she enjoyed opening The Washington Post Book World each Sunday for her "little surprise," like biting into a chocolate without knowing which delicious filling -- raspberry cream, nougat, coconut? -- she'd discover.
Of course, the catch-22 of writing such a column is that we have never been treated to a poem by Robert Hass. A pity, because his is a distinguished literary career: In addition to publishing four volumes of his own poems, he has been an essayist ( Twentieth Century Pleasures ) as well as an editor (of poetry collections by the late Californian Robinson Jeffers and the Swedish poet Tomas Transtromer, and of the charming "wedding anthology" Into the Garden ). We've been treated to selections from his recent haiku translations ( The Essential Haiku: Versions of Basho, Buson and Issa ); as the primary translator of Nobel Laureate Czeslaw Milosz, he continues to perform a incalculable service to world literature.
High time to rectify this omission. To bookend the conclusion of the old year and the flowering of the new, here's a sampling of Robert Hass's poetry. . . . the beginning to his marvelous poem-within-a-poem, "January" ( Human Wishes , Ecco):
|
Search Washington, DC area books events, reviews and bookstores from the Washington Post. Features DC, Virginia and Maryland entertainment listings for bookstores and books events. Visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/print/bookworld today.
| 30 | 0.529412 | 0.882353 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301740.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301740.html
|
Poetry On Audio
|
2006041919
|
This issue of Book World marks the 10th anniversary not only of the "Poet's Choice" column but also of National Poetry Month itself. It was inaugurated by the American Academy of Poets, which hoped to lessen the effect of T.S. Eliot's having dubbed April "the cruelest month." The Academy is generous with offerings for those of us who would like to listen to poets giving voice to their own creations. The Academy's excellent Web site (www.poets.org) incorporates audio clips drawn from its archives, while full readings by more than 60 poets are available on CD at $12 each from the Poetry Store (www.poets.org/store). This month's audio events include the launching of poetry podcasts, as well as the publication of the Academy's "Audio Archive Anthology, Volume III" ($12), which includes more than 20 poets reading from their own works in recordings made over the last 50 years. The anthology's selection is diverse, to say the least, encompassing Gwendolyn Brooks, Allen Ginsberg, Anthony Hecht and Robert Pinsky, to mention only a few.
Poetry on Record: 98 Poets Read Their Work, 1888-2006 (Shout! Factory, 5 hours, 4 CDs, $48.98, www.shoutfactory.com) begins with Alfred, Lord Tennyson whaling away at "The Charge of the Light Brigade" on one of Edison's wax cylinders. It tumbles along sounding like hoofbeats, firing off volleys of static, while in the midst of the fray we hear Tennyson chanting something like, "Half a leg, Half a leg,/Half a leg onward,/All with the bully of death. . . ." The bellicose stylus of circa 1890 seems to have intruded its own formulations, but you can still hear and marvel at the pompous cadence with which the great man delivers the goods. Robert Browning, up next, pits himself against an even more alarming racket and is "tebbly sorry" that he "cawn't remembah" something or other. Then comes Walt Whitman. His old-fashioned American accent and slightly hammy manner are oddly reminiscent of Oliver Hardy, while his stirring words from "America," are set against the chug of what sounds like a mighty steam engine.
With William Butler Yeats, recording quality achieves the relative clarity of the 1930s. Known for his incantatory delivery and criticized for it, Yeats seems a little put out, saying that the poems he will read gave him "a devil of a lot of trouble to get into verse . . . and that is why I will not read them as if they were prose." That's for sure: He spares no tremolo or Celtic sonority in bringing forth from the inner oracle "The Lake Isle of Innisfree" and "The Song of the Old Mother."
With the passage of years, the poets begin to climb down off their high bardic horses, and a conversational mode of uttering poetry begins to prevail -- well, not with Dylan Thomas, perhaps, or Allen Ginsberg, or Lawrence Ferlinghetti on "Underwear," or Theodore Roethke, who sounds as if he'd like to pop someone in the kisser, or John Berryman, who is scary and might be on the outside of a couple of shots. Some of the modern poets are quietly conversational. A good deal of noise enters the picture as we enter the 1980s and people start carrying on with musical accompaniment. Anne Waldman, who sings, makes a big rumpus; Carl Hancock Rux has a whole band and chorus. Juan Felipe Herrera, though accompanied by a guitar, is quiet and eloquent.
Listening to the voices of these characters is endlessly absorbing. Ezra Pound actually does sound a bit crazy and H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) a little upset. Gertrude Stein's voice is determined and genteel -- in that order -- delivering no-nonsense nonsense that you wouldn't want to question to her face. Edna St. Vincent Millay sounds happy and high-stepping when she announces that "We were very tired./We were very merry." Elizabeth Bishop has a fragile voice, while her friend Robert Lowell's is a little querulous.
There are innumerable small revelations in the manner in which the poets speak their own words, sometimes in an intensifying of sensation, as when Seamus Heaney says "warm thick slobber of frogspawn" in "The Death of a Naturalist" or, in an unexpected stress or lack of it, as when James Weldon Johnson reads "The Creation." The passages that tell of God's astonishing deeds come out in a great voice, but when God says to himself, "That's good!," it is with an air of quiet satisfaction rather than triumph -- as one would expect from a being who, "toiling over a lump of clay" to create man, is "like a mammy bending over her baby."
According to Mary Oliver, a "poem is meant to be given away, best of all by the spoken presentation of it; then the work is complete." To this end, she has come up with "At Blackwater Pond: Mary Oliver Reads Mary Oliver" (Beacon Press, 1 hour, 1 CD, $19.95, www.beacon.org ), her first-ever recording. The CD is housed in an elegant little cloth-bound book that comes with a short essay and a yellow satin ribbon to mark your place if you're a very slow reader. Oliver reads 40 poems, all about nature and its wonderful creatures, in a sweet, neat, compact voice. "The ear bone," she says in "Bone," "is the portion that lasts longest/in any of us. . . ." This little collection, resonant with her voice, is a tribute to it. ·
Katherine A. Powers, who regularly reviews audio books for Book World, writes a literary column for the Boston Globe.
|
This issue of Book World marks the 10th anniversary not only of the "Poet's Choice" column but also of National Poetry Month itself. It was inaugurated by the American Academy of Poets, which hoped to lessen the effect of T.S. Eliot's having dubbed April "the cruelest month." The Academy is.........
| 18.75 | 0.983333 | 58.016667 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701047.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701047.html
|
Md. Man Gets to Say, 'Daddy Does Love You'
|
2006041919
|
WILMINGTON, Del., April 17 -- The plainclothes police officers knocked on the door of a gray brick rowhouse, but no one came out. Then, finally, they were able to coax the teenage girl and her grandmother to take a ride to the police station. As the two headed for the unmarked police sedan, they covered their faces with jackets to avoid the media cameras.
Carl Dodd was waiting nervously Monday at the police station less than a mile away, preparing himself for a moment he had long dreamed about: the reunion with his long-missing daughter. He had last seen her in Southeast Washington nearly 13 years ago, when she was 4, before she disappeared in a custody dispute.
Dodd didn't know what 17-year-old Marilyn Byrd would look like or how she would react. When she walked in the door of the meeting room at the police station, he saw the resemblance. She has his nose, his lips.
But the teenager he once called "Daddy's little girl" was guarded and wary. A social worker said that even a simple hug would be too much to expect in their one-hour meeting.
"When I look back at her, that's Daddy's little girl, still," Dodd said. "But she's a grown woman, basically."
And after so much time away, she really doesn't know her father.
"There is still a lot of hurt in her heart," Dodd said at a news conference after the visit. "We've got a lot of work to do. I think she's willing, but it's going to take time."
Dodd, 39, a track worker for Metro, is patient and persistent. Aided by police and federal marshals, he never gave up in the search for his only child. On Wednesday, U.S. marshals finally found her, on her birthday, living with her mother and grandmother in this city 100 miles northeast of Washington.
Mary Jane Byrd, 35, was arrested on a felony charge of kidnapping by parent, and she is being held in a D.C. halfway house. She and Dodd were not married.
Dodd hoped Monday to take Marilyn back to Prince George's County, where he lives with his wife, Paula, in Fort Washington. But the teenager is not ready for that, he said, and she will remain with her grandmother, Mary Byrd, in the rowhouse here where the family has lived for the past year.
"I'm disappointed. At the same time, I can't be selfish. She wanted to stay with her grandmother right now," Dodd said. He was determined, he added, not to pressure her, partly because of the stress of the moment and because he had no idea what she had been told about him all these years away.
During the custody fight, Mary Jane Byrd had made allegations of sexual and physical abuse against Dodd, but he denied the accusations and a D.C. Superior Court judge found them without merit. Finding that Dodd was a caring parent, the judge granted Dodd full custody in December 1993, several months after the mother and daughter disappeared. Dodd later led a push to tighten the District's laws on parental abductions.
|
WILMINGTON, Del., April 17 -- The plainclothes police officers knocked on the door of a gray brick rowhouse, but no one came out. Then, finally, they were able to coax the teenage girl and her grandmother to take a ride to the police station. As the two headed for the unmarked police sedan, they...
| 10.047619 | 0.984127 | 61.015873 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/17/DI2006041700303.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/17/DI2006041700303.html
|
Book World Live - washingtonpost.com
|
2006041919
|
Robert Pinsky , who was featured in Book World's annual Poet's Choice issue, was online Tuesday, April 18, at 3 p.m. ET to field questions and comments about his work and the state of poetry in this country.
The author of six books of poetry, Robert Pinsky teaches in the graduate writing program at Boston University and is the poetry editor at Slate . Pinsky served as the United States Poet Laureate between 1997 and 2000.
Join Book World Live each Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET for a discussion based on a story or review in each Sunday's Book World section.
In your opinion, what makes a poem a good poem? Of all the good poetry out there, what are the characteristics of a truly sublime poem? Many thanks.
Robert Pinsky: If I say Dickinson's "Further in Summer Than the Birds" or Williams' "Fine Work with Pitch and Copper" or Keats' "To Autumn" over to myself, even in a muttered undertone, I feel inhabited by a great work of art.
It's a physical sensation, the play of the cononants and vowels and sentence-shapes, as well as an emotional and intellectual sensation.
That feeling of engaging the mind and the body at once, and maybe especially where ideas turn into speech, that mind-body connection, where the sounds of the poem become meaning.
New Paltz, NY: They are certainly different art forms, but do you listen to much popular music? are there any songwriters that strike you as writing lyrics that could stand on their own as great poetry?
Robert Pinsky: By definition, good song lyrics are meant to go with music. Cole Porter, Bob Dylan, Mitchell Parrish, etc.-- the words are meant to be sung.
The defining thing about poetry, for me, is that the words sound wonderful, the "music" is there, in any reader's actual or imagined voice.
There are some sixteenth century poems-- in John Dowland's Book of Airs, for instance, or by Campion-- that also sound great with tunes.
Gaithersburg, Md: Am I just too stupid to understand, or do all poems nowadays just seem to be prose? I don't understand the difference. For instance, a poem in the Post article can be written like this without line breaks:
She wanted a little room for thinking: but she saw diapers steaming on the line, a doll slumped behind the door. So she lugged a chair behind the garage to sit out the children's naps.
Does this mean that poetry == line breaks?
Robert Pinsky: Try saying it out loud,
Try to hear what "diaper" has in common with "line" (a vowel) and "doll" (a consonant.
The rhythm of "steaming on the line" is the same as the rhytm of "slumped behind the door." Does that have any effect?
Most poems are not very interesting in rhythm-- so called "free" verse or not.
All we can do is try to listen.
Ovid, NY: I'm sure you are asked this all the time, but do you have recommendations for good books to improve a person's literacy in poetry?
Robert Pinsky: I'm inclined to say "The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats" or "The Collected Poems of Emily Dickinson" or "English Renaissance Poetry," edited by John Williams (U. of Arkansas Press).
Everybody is different, but I think general, how-to books ae less useful that starting with something you already love-- even if it is one poem by, say, Robert Frost or Allen Ginsberg or W. C. Williams-- and reading more by that author. If it is say, Sylvia Plath, try to find a second and third poem by her you like.
Then, find out what she read, what did she admire?
Listen to the music, shoot some baskets, play with the piano keyboard, taste the food, look at the pictures--- those things seem more important, or more primary, than a General Approach.
And, try reading aloud. Try typing out or writing out the words of a poem that interests you.
Arlington, Va : I want to read more poetry, and be well versed in it -- but I don't know where to start. Any suggestions?
Robert Pinsky: My anthology "An Invitation to Poetry," published by Norton, comes with a DVD that shows "ordinary" people reading aloud poems they love, and saying why they love them. Construction worker reading Whitman, etc.
Forgive me for advancing my own product but I think those videos, the comments on the poems in the anthology by readers-- provide a good introduction to the art. (cf www.favoritepoem.org )
Washington, D.C.: How is the Poet Laureate chosen? You are certainly the perfect choice. You served for three years. Is there a term of office with this title? How does this position operate?
Robert Pinsky: The person is appointed by the Librarian of Congress.
It should be an honor recognizing excellence as an artist. I sometimes worry that Rita Dove, Bob Hass and I ruined the position by making it seem that the Laureate must be active and extroverted or public.
Shy people like Elizabeth Bishop, older people like Stanley Kunitz, private people like Louise Gluck, have brought honor to the post.
Such poets should never be excluded, or the position would be diminished.
Arlington, Va: What was it like doing a Simpsons episode? What did you think of how they treated 'Impossible to Tell"?
Robert Pinsky: I am delighted that Lisa Simpson knows and appreciates my work.
It was a pleasure to work with those brilliant actors, and an honor to have my poem-- a poem that contains jokes-- treated as an enjoyable work on this unusually literate, intelligent TV show, surely one of the smartest, best-written programs in the history of television.
And those drunken fans changing "Basho"!
Seattle, Wash.: having read your book sounds of poetry, i am interested in your perspective on the state of poetry education in America. it seemed like in that book you were trying to get away from a lot of the jargon and such that may intimidate or just throw off readers who are not poetry scholars. is that right?
Robert Pinsky: Yes, I don't much like jargon or pedantic categories. Sometimes special terms are necessary, but people tend to fall in love with them as covert substitutes for actual knowledge, actual pleasure.
I thinnk of that book, The Sounds of Poetry, as quite demanding, despite the absence of jargon: it demands that the reader LISTEN. That is the point of the Invitation to Poetry, FPP videos as well: the art is vocal. (Though not necessarily performative.)
Knowledge is good. Hearing is primary. (This is probably true of dancing, as well as poetry.)
Oxford, Miss: I've just discovered Frank O'Hara and have completely fallen in love with his poems. What effect do you think he had on the world of poetry? He seems to intertwine the sacred and the profane more than anyone I've read and even more than many people writing forty years after his death. Is he considered a Great or just another american poet?
Robert Pinsky: Depends on who you ask. I think O'Hara is a great poet-- the True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island, for example. Many poets (including me, I hope) have learned from his way of putting a poem together. (Mark Halliday, David Rivard, Dean Young, Tony Hoagland occur to me.)
Bishop and O'Hara are examples of poets whose recognition (generated by other, younger poets) has increased after their death. It is a process in which critics seem to be followers, not generators.
Washington, DC: Just wanted to say thanks from a former student. You always taught us to "notice" something about a poem. It was good training not just for poetry but for life.
Robert Pinsky: Paying attention-- noticing-- does seem to be an ethical as well as an aesthetic principle. It's possible to panic as you get older to realize how limited one's capacity for noticing can be, despite a lifetime of effort!
Falls Church, Va: It seems to me that much modern poetry is purposely really obscure, or difficult to understand or parse, so that the impression is given that to enjoy modern poetry, one has to be a member of an inner circle of literati. Is this a fair impression?
Robert Pinsky: Difficulty is desirable: look at the kids with their GameBoys and Xboxes, look at the people on the golf course: they are pursuing canned, reliable difficulty.
Is Milton's Paradise lost "easy"? Would we value it if it was?
Inner circles and trends and schools are contemptible, and MERE difficulty is nothing. But a _worthy_ difficulty, the difficulty of Milton or Dickinson or Wallace Stevens, is a great source of pleasure and light.
Too much writing and entertainment is too easy.
Too much political discourse is too easy.
I find most of the newspaper harder to understand than Stevens or Hart Crane . . . and often less worth understanding!
A worthy difficulty about a difficult matter is a great, valuable gift.
South Bend, Ind.: do you find it hard to write serious poems about light-hearted, funny, or silly topics? do you need to be dour to write a good poem?
Robert Pinsky: Most comic verse seems complacent or stupid to me.
But there is wonderful comic writing it is true: W. S. Gilbert, Edward Lear, Kenneth Koch, Ben Jonson in the plays. Stevie Smith.
But when I think about it, each of those writers was a goad to complacency-- Lewis Carroll in the Alice books is very aware of death, Lear is melancholy, Koch rather savage toward bourgeois self-satisfaction in himself and others.
Twain, our greatest American comic writer, is full of anger and sadness.
Sweet comedy like Buster Keaton's is possible in poetry -- I sense it in Bishop and O'Hara at times. But most of the most successful, enduring "light-heartedness" in all art acknowedges the shadow.
The art of Stevie Smith seems likely to outlive that of Ogden Nash.
Bethesda, Md: In your opinion how does Shakespeare rate as a poet?
Robert Pinsky: He is a great, great poet in the plays and in certain of the sonnets-- as great as they get-- and parts of sonnets . . . but the sonnets are a bit over-rated.
Ben Jonsons elegy on him is a shrewd, great poem.
Alexandria, Va: From your perspective as a writer and literary artist, what arguments would you make for someone entering college to seek a liberal arts education today? There are so many different messages about the value of such education.
Robert Pinsky: Learn Greek and Latin, learn to play an instrument well, learn a couple of modern foreign languages, learn a little math and physics--
-- and is there anything you couldn't learn if you needed to?
If I were a potential employer, or a potential partner, and I knew you had learned those things, I would be inclined to pursue you.
Your own confidence would be high, too, perhaps?
New York, N.Y.: When I was in high school, teachers introduced us to poetry through such narrative poems as "My Last Duchess," thinking that lyrical poetry was too difficult. "Duchess" bored me to tears, but when I accidentally came upon "Windhover," I was hooked on poetry. What are your thoughts on how poetry ought to be taught to young people?
Robert Pinsky: The teacher must read aloud to the students and the students must read aloud to one another.
The teacher must teach poems he or she admires, and the students must be encouraged to find poems they admire.
cf AN INVITATION TO POETRY, pub. Norton.
Arlington, Va: Any thoughts on interpreting poetry?
Robert Pinsky: Read it aloud several times, attending to the sounds of the words and sentences, only very gradually, on the fifth or sixth reading, beginning to think about "interpretation."
Washington, D.C.: Why do you think the market for poetry is so small? It seems as if so few people read poetry, and so few poets can make a living.
Robert Pinsky: They are still selling copies of my INFERNO OF DANTE in numbers that surprise me, and I bet the same is true of Seamus Heaney's BEOWULF. The anthology AMERICANS' FAVORITE POEMS is now in its seventeenth printing.
The poets I know are aware that they make a product more like exquisite goat cheese than it is like velveeta. And most of them have day jobs. But they also have readers.
There is no reason to compare the art to pop music. It is more like jazz, I guess, to abandon the cheese metaphor.
Charlottesville, Va: I have recently started writing a lot of different kinds of poems. Do you have any advice for young poets still looking for "their" style?
Robert Pinsky: Find something you love to read and get it by heart.
Try to increase the list of things you love. Poems, poets, but also writing of every kind, film, music, etc.
Washington, D.C.: What do you make of the recent reports that "Having poetry books around is actively harmful" to a child's academic achievement? I'm not making this up. The Post had a report on it last week.
Robert Pinsky: This may explain why I was in the dumb class in the eighth grade, and have never found "academic acheivement" to be my metier.
But I would not give up my Keats and Jonson and Stevens and Moore and Blake for all the "A"s in the world.
Maybe we need to re-evaluate "academic achievment." "A" sometimes means something, but often not much, eh?
Mexico City, Mexico: How immediately graspable should a poem's "meaning" be to be good or enjoyable? To read Eliot and other high modernists, for example, one practically needs glosses in the margins. On the other hand, poetry that is too direct just doesn't seem like poetry. It lacks the kind of startling metaphors that make us see ordinary things in a different light. What do you think?
Robert Pinsky: Lovers of Opera, rap music, rock, would be disappointed, I think, if they felt they understood everything on the first or second hearing of a work. Or the tenth.
Well-meaning teaching has given people the idea that a poem is first of all a challenge to say something smart about its meaning. Meaning is good, I approve of it. (My last book contains an Ode to it!) Ditto smart things.
But what should be "immediately graspable" about a poem is that it is a work of art, with all the appeal and command and pleasure and fear that the notion of art implies.
Ben Jonson is direct, Paul Celan is oblique, you could argue. And both are very great artists.
San Diego, Calif: Did your appearance on the Simpsons help the popularity of poetry?
Robert Pinsky: I am not as yellow in complexion as my appearance on The Simpsons (which had no effect on the popularity of poetry, I would say).
Washington, D.C.: What literary journals do you like to read? Which are publishing the best poetry, in your opinion?
Robert Pinsky: The Threepenny Review, published in California, is really extraordinary-- I read every word of it, poetry and prose. Poems by Frank Bidart, Louise Gluck, Seamus Heaney, quite often.
I also subscribe to Salmagundi, Agni and the revivified Poetry. The first issue of the newly revived Poetry Northwest is very impressive.
Washington, D.C.: What criteria do you use to select the weekly poem for Slate? Also, do you ever monitor the comments made on Slate's Poetry Forum about your selections--and are you ever tempted to "enter the Fray"?
Robert Pinsky: I check the Fray on Slate every few weeks, and there are often very thoughtful, interesting letters and poems there. Also, some rudeness by posters to one another and to the poets published in Slate-- pretty clearly, sometimes, written by someone whose poems have been rejected.
As a fan of the Web, I'll add a word about a shadow-side of it.
The anonymity of the Web sometimes fosters something like the bad manners we display in our cars; on the grocery line, in physical proximity, we are more courteous to one another than from behind the windshield or an internet monicker.
Washington, D.C.: Who were some of your earliest favorite authors?
Robert Pinsky: I'll interpret "earliest" literally.
I read the Alice books over and over. Dickens. Science fiction writers like Robert Heinlein, A. A. Van Vogt, Isaac Asimov. Twain, perhaps the Connecticut Yankee especially. Stevenson's _A Child's Garden of Verses._ His Treasure Island and Kidnapped. The Walter Scott novels, which I now find unreadable-- unlike Stevenson's prose, Scott's now seems thick and ponderous, but I used to devour it!
Washington, DC: How do you feel about the usage of metaphor in poetry?
Washington, DC: Do you think that modern poetry will ever again undertake the epic poems that previous times generated?
Robert Pinsky: Every time is different. The Greek and Roman epics were about killers: a man with a sword.
Dante called his poem a Comedy (not Divine, others added that adjective), perhaps because his hero was himself: a man with a pen!
Pound defines an epic as "a poem containing history." By that definition, I consider James McMichael's book _Four Good Things_ a great modern epic.
Falls Church, Va: I submitted the earlier question about modern poetry seeming to be purposely obscure and difficult to understand. You said difficulty is good, "easy" not necessarily a benefit. It's not that I shy away from "difficult" literature (for example, I absolutely adore "The Iliad" and read it in several translations) but a lot of modern poetry is such a struggle to understand even with multiple readings that I think a lot of laypeople get turned off.
Robert Pinsky: There is a lof of bad, plausible or fake writing around. Always has been, but the garbage of antiquity was thrown out long ago.
So I am sympathetic to your pursuit.
Wallace Stevens once seemed difficult; now his ideas about art and meaning feel perhaps more familiar? William Carlos Williams once seemed jagged and barbaric; he might be disppointed to learn that he has become canonical and is much-imitated!
If you want to know what I recommend, look at my books about poetry.
Washington, D.C.: Is the Favorite Poem Project still receiving new submissions? Also, are there any plans to create new video documentaries, which for me are the crown jewels of the project?
Robert Pinsky: We are receiving submissions by email through the site at www.favoritepoem.org-- but I no longer have the staff to open actual envelopes!
Video production had to cease after making the fifty videos on the East and West coasts. I wanted to make more, knew who we would film, in the Midwest and Southeast and Southwest . . . but I never managed to raise the money for that.
It's an honor to be able to ask a question of you. As I'm sure you know, poetry contests are under intense scrutiny these days. I wonder if you would comment on book contests in general, and also answer a question: Why is it that many poets of your stature are quite outspoken about social justice issues, but few are willing to speak out against the corruption documented on websites like foetry.com?
Robert Pinsky: I can't speak for "poets of . . stature" but possibly "social justice issues" seem more important to them?
This was fun! Apologies re the Q's I could not get to in our hour.
Thank you all, and goodbye.
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.
|
In celebration of National Poetry Month, poet Robert Pinsky will field questions and comments about his work and the state of poetry in this country.
| 150.740741 | 0.888889 | 9.851852 |
high
|
medium
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/05/DI2006040501844.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/05/DI2006040501844.html
|
Renters' Rights
|
2006041919
|
Kim Kendrick is the Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity for the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) agency. She is tasked with administering federal fair housing laws and establishing national policies that mandate all Americans have equal access to the housing of their choice. Prior to that, Kendrick was the former Senior Counselor to HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson. In that position, she advised and represented Secretary Jackson on a wide variety of HUD programs, policies and strategies.
Kendrick is a Pittsburgh native and received her bachelor of arts in sociology from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. She then received her law degree from the University of Pittsburgh Law School.
She was online to answer your questions about renters' rights and fair housing laws.
For more advice on apartment searching, check out our special feature: Think Smart: Apartment Hunting Made Easy .
Boston, Mass.: We recently moved into downtown Boston from the D.C. area. We expected things to be old and not updated, but the place we are in suffers from absentee owner neglect (oven clean setting and indicator lights broken, exposed wiring in bathroom, moldy bathtub lining, and unexplained "smell" downstairs). We attempted to contact the owner with no luck. He finally contacted us, but only to ask where the rent check was. We said we had some issues and he told us to email him, which we have done, twice. No response. We thought about withholding the rent to get his attention again, but honestly, we just want out. Is there any way for us to get out of our lease based on his lack of response and the horrible condition of the condo? Can we call the Department of Health? We are attempting to sublet but nobody seems to want it, I don't blame them.
Kim Kendrick: Thank you for submitting your question, however, the specific concern you have does not fall under the Fair Housing Act. You should contact your local Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Office. Thank you.
Washington, D.C.: I moved into a rented condo in Columbia Heights in January and the building's fire alarm has continually beeped since then. I've called the fire marshal, who put my building on a 24-hour watch as well as writing to all members of D.C. City Council. As it's still beeping, although at least, they moved the beeping from early morning to afternoon, is there anything I can do?
Kim Kendrick: Thank you for submitting your question, however, the specific concern you have does not fall under the Fair Housing Act. I suggest you contact your landlord. Thank you.
Washington, D.C.: The refrigerator in my apartment is old and does not cool well and causes many of my vegetables to spoil. In addition, it is missing one of the side shelves, making it difficult to store items in the fridge. I have told my landlord about this problem, but he will not fix the fridge, find a replacement shelf, or do anything about it at all. Is he required to do something? I pay my rent in full every month and am an excellent tenant.
Kim Kendrick: Thank you for submitting your question, however, the specific concern you have does not fall under the Fair Housing Act. I suggest you contact your landlord. Thank you.
Marin County, Calif.: Recently I received a "90-Day Notice of Termination of Tenancy" at the end of my lease on June 30, 2006.
That date will constitute the culmination of four problematic years, not of my making, at this location.
The apparent reason for this action is based on a differing pricing opinion between Section 8 housing and my third and current landlord at the same location.
I came to this location after an accident and on-going recovery. After paying my life's savings for rent and medical expenses, I was lucky and grateful to get HUD housing.
But my experience with landlords, particularly at this location, is that they have lied, cheated, harassed, manipulated, and generally failed to solve problems.
On the other hand, my attorney friends here get immediate attention.
My list of misrepresentation from this landlord is long. What can I do to get some dignity and sense of self-respect back? Especially after the harmful stress produced by poor treatment?
Kim Kendrick: Thank you for submitting your question,however,the specific concern you raised does not fall under the protections of the Fair Housing Act. I suggest you contact your nearest HUD office for further assistance. Thank you.
Chicago, Ill.: In 1995, you left HUD to become the General Counsel for the District of Columbia Housing Authority. In your sworn testimony before the House Banking and Urban Affairs Committee (2005), you described your (attorney) duties as defending the Housing Authority from fair housing complaints by public housing residents and HUD. In that same testimony, you suggested the Fair Housing enforcement procedures be amended to make the complaint process more "complainant friendly and quick." You even suggested a new process with less paperwork that could operate "without the involvement of lawyers and the inevitable delays (they) can bring". Since then, the GAO has issued a very critical report about the HUD Fair Housing complaint process. Will HUD's response to the GAO report result in more paperwork or do you still plan to make the system less "friendly and quick?"
Kim Kendrick: Yes, we want to provide prompt and user-friendly customer service to the public. We are exploring various ways to achieve that.
Question from a landlord: If I rent out my second home, myself (no property manager) how picky can I get with potential renters? What is a legitimate turndown versus not legitimate?
I'm pretty strict about no pets, no kids, no "huge families camping out in the house even though only one person signed the lease." It's a brand spanking new house and I don't want it trashed.
As an owner, do I actually have to rent it to ANYONE who happens to be able to come up with three months rent (my stipulation) and doesn't have bad credit?
Kim Kendrick: The Fair Housing Act does not prescribe what reasons landlords must use in making their business decisions; it only says that you CANNOT discriminate on an unlawful basis in making those decisions. For example, you cannot decide not to rent to someone because they have kids. However, the Fair Housing Act's general provisions do not apply to landlords who own only three single-family houses. Still, the law says you cannot discriminate when you place an advertisement to rent that house. You can't say "no kids" in an ad, or tell people that when they come to apply.
Orono, Maine: HUD has recently sued newspapers and some online list services including the popular Craigslist for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act in the wording of classified advertisements for rental housing. The ads weren't overtly discriminatory in most cases. In fact, Craigslist says that it got into trouble because of ads that listed apartments in "nice neighborhoods" or "near a church."
Can you explain HUD's rationale for bringing these lawsuits? Is there a list of words or phrases that is prohibited for use in advertisements under the Fair Housing Act?
Kim Kendrick: First, thanks for that question. I want to be clear: HUD has not sued Craigslist. There is, at least, one private lawsuit against Craigslist for discriminatory advertising. HUD has also received some complaints from individuals alleging discriminatory ads on Craigslist and other web sites. I can't speak for the private lawsuit, but the complaints with us, against a variety of Web sites, allege ads where people say they don't want to rent to "blacks," "Muslims," or "kids." HUD does not put out lists of "words or phrases" that violate the law; there are no bright lines, but you certainly can't say "no blacks" or "no kids." We look at each ad in context.
Washington, D.C.: "We want to provide prompt and user-friendly customer service to the public. We are exploring various ways to achieve that."
But you keep giving the same non-answer to every question posted here. This chat was billed as being about renters' rights in general, not just FHA-specific complaints. Can you please address the issues these posters have raised?
Kim Kendrick: I wish I could answer questions on all renters' rights, but most of your rights are the province of state and local laws. The federal government has an obligation to make sure that no one faces unlawful discrimination--for those reasons prohibited under the Fair Housing Act (race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability). I would like to answer any questions you have along those lines. Sorry for the confusion.
Arlington, Va.: Can a lessor permissibly limit the number of tenants living in a rental property?
Kim Kendrick: Good question! A landlord can limit the number of people living in an apartment, provided that he/she does not discriminate on an illegal basis (i.e., national origin, or against families with children). HUD has issued guidance where we say, as a rule of thumb, a standard that limits two person per bedroom is reasonable. If it's a large house with large rooms, however, an exception may be warranted. That guidance is on our web page at www.hud.gov/fairhousing.
Washington, D.C.: How do communities for the elderly permissibly exclude younger persons and families with children?
Kim Kendrick: I'd be happy to answer that! The Fair Housing Act does say it's unlawful to discriminate against families with children, but it makes an exception for "housing for older persons." There are three kinds of "senior" housing that may exclude families with children: (1) housing where everyone is 62 or older; (2) housing where 80% of the households have at least one occupant 55 and older (where the provider also verifies ages); and (3) housing operated under State or federal programs that the HUD Secretary has determined constitutes "elderly" housing. There is detailed guidance on our Web site at www.hud.gov/fairhousing
Baltimore, Md.: 1st Where can I find the fair housing laws for renters?
Can a previous landlord continue to discredit the renter who is applying to another apartment complex? There was an eviction due to miss communications. The landlord received the rent payment late but communications were crossed on the day of the eviction?
Kim Kendrick: The Fair Housing Act, the law I enforce, does apply to renters. You can learn all about it on our Web site at www.hud.gov/fairhousing. The issue you describe, however, sounds like a landlord-tenant issue, and not one of "fair housing" in the sense that the Fair Housing Act addresses discrimination on the basis of race, religion, etc. Notwithstanding, I encourage you to review the information on our site and see if it applies to your situation.
washingtonpost.com: Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (HUD)
Herndon, Va.: I live in a very nice community (or least it used to be). Most of us are single with no children. Recently a family (a very large family) moved into a small two bedroom apartment. The impact has been enormous.
Their children climb cars, fight, run around all hours of the night, yell, scream, blast their music with opened windows, and say very crude things to people.
If an apartment manager thinks that a family's behavior would not be consistent with the communities desires, can the manager just say no to the applicant?
Kim Kendrick: Thanks for that question. I hear this one a lot. Landlords can enforce reasonable rules on tenant behavior. Landlords cannot, however, have a blanket policy of discrimination against families with children. For example, a landlord can't just look at a family with children and say, "No, you won't fit here."
Arlington, Va.: Thank you for all your helpful information about what the Fair Housing Act does NOT cover in answering the majority of the questions posted so far. How about you tell chatters what the Act DOES cover so they can ask more informed questions?
Kim Kendrick: Certainly, and sorry for the confusion. The Fair Housing Act deals with discrimination in housing. You cannot discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, familial status, or disability. Whatever your policy, you cannot make your decisions based on one of these factors.
Virginia: "Familial status" is one of the protected grounds, but it sounds like a double-edged sword. Why can't you say "no kids" but you can say "no cousins, aunts, uncles," etc. Why can you have Mom, Dad and 6 kids move in, but not Mr. and Mrs. Childless Tenant and their two nieces who are attending GWU? Blood is blood, after all, and I'd much rather have the adult nieces rather than 6 rowdy kids, either as a landlord renting the house or as a neighbor.
Kim Kendrick: Congress passes the laws, and said discrimination against families with children shall be unlawful. You're correct they did not address adults.
Silver Spring, Md.: I was approved for an apartment over a week, I was told by the property manager that after I submitted all the paperwork with my employment verification (pay stubs and letter from my part-time job) I could move in. It's been over a week and now I'm being told that it's going to be another week before know if I can move in. My question is in this day and time as fast as everything is, I feel like I'm being discriminated against and just prolonging the process, Who can I talk to?
Kim Kendrick: You say you encountered discrimination. On what basis did they treat you differently? The Fair Housing Act makes it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and familial status (families with children). There are many housing practices that you may consider "unfair" that wouldn't violate the Fair Housing Act. But if you believe you have experienced discrimination on one of the bases described above, please call us at our toll-free number: 1-800-669-9777. We are also on the Web at www.hud.gov/fairhousing. You can file a complaint online.
washingtonpost.com: Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (HUD)
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.
|
HUD Assistant Secretary Kim Kendrick will be online to discuss renters' rights and fair housing laws.
| 162.388889 | 0.944444 | 4.388889 |
high
|
high
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041700743.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041700743.html
|
Post Wins 4 Pulitzer Prizes; 2 Go to New Orleans Paper
|
2006041919
|
The Washington Post won four Pulitzer Prizes yesterday, including awards for breaking open the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and disclosing the existence of secret CIA prisons overseas, in a year when as many prizes were given for coverage of Washington scandals as for chronicling the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
The New York Times won three Pulitzers, one of them for disclosing President Bush's domestic eavesdropping program, and the San Diego Union-Tribune and Copley News Service were honored for exposing the bribery that led to the conviction of former representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Calif.). The New Orleans Times-Picayune took two awards for its Katrina coverage.
At The Post, which captured the biggest one-year number of prizes in its history, Susan Schmidt, James V. Grimaldi and R. Jeffrey Smith won the Pulitzer for investigative reporting for uncovering abuses by Abramoff, a former Republican lobbyist who has been sentenced to nearly six years in prison for fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy.
Dana Priest won the beat reporting award for revealing that the CIA was using secret prisons in Eastern Europe to interrogate terrorism suspects. David Finkel won the explanatory reporting prize for tracking the failure of a U.S.-funded program to export democracy to Yemen. Robin Givhan won the award for criticism for her sometimes unorthodox writing about fashion.
Strikingly, the Pulitzer board honored two reports -- on the secret prisons and domestic surveillance -- that President Bush personally urged the editors not to publish.
Schmidt began writing about Abramoff in early 2004 and said that "a lot of our sources" have been Republicans and lobbyists. "They thought what was happening was way over the line and wanted to purge the system of something they thought was wildly corrupt," she said.
Once she began digging into Abramoff's ties to then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) and other lawmakers and their staff members, Schmidt said, she questioned whether the stories "could be told in a newspaper in a readable way because they were so complicated."
Schmidt, who drew frequent criticism from liberals during her reporting on the scandals surrounding President Bill Clinton, said: "I don't live off leaks, and I never have. I've always tried to be fair. I am not ideological."
Priest's reporting on secret prisons has prompted leak investigations by the CIA and Justice Department. She said national security reporting is difficult because she cannot tell editors or colleagues most of what she is doing.
"It's more lonely than any other kind of reporting, and it has to be," she said. "You don't want to expose other people to things that could later come back to haunt them."
Bush tried to persuade The Post not to publish Priest's report in a meeting with Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr., and the paper drew criticism from the left for withholding the location of the prisons. Priest, a Pulitzer finalist for the third straight year, said that controversy "faded soon afterward."
"What was left was people taking the issue seriously, especially overseas, but also human rights organizations here and some members of Congress," she said.
|
The Washington Post won four Pulitzer Prizes yesterday, including awards for breaking open the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and disclosing the existence of secret CIA prisons overseas, in a year when as many prizes were given for coverage of Washington scandals as for chronicling the devastation...
| 12.510204 | 0.979592 | 47.020408 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701295.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701295.html
|
Archives Pledges to End Secret Agreements
|
2006041919
|
The National Archives will no longer enter into secret agreements with federal agencies that want to withdraw records from public access on Archives shelves and will do more to disclose when documents are removed for national security reasons.
The new policy cannot guarantee full disclosure, however, because in some cases federal regulations limit the Archives' ability to reveal which agency is reviewing records and why, said Susan Cooper, a spokeswoman for the Archives.
"What we're striving for is transparency here on our part," Cooper said. "We can't control the agencies."
Allen Weinstein, the archivist of the United States, announced the policy change yesterday after the release of a second secret classified memorandum, this one between the CIA and the Archives. In it Archives officials agreed in 2001 to conceal official CIA efforts to withdraw thousands of historical documents from the Archives, even though the records had been declassified.
The memo, similar to a 2002 agreement with the Air Force, spelled out procedures the CIA and Archives staff would follow in withdrawing records that the CIA believed may have been improperly declassified. In a background paper yesterday, Archives officials said they sought that agreement because a CIA and State Department review of 56 boxes in 1999 "resulted in a significant mishandling of the records, such that the order of the documents in many boxes was lost."
In return for stricter handling, however, the Archives agreed to help the CIA and the Air Force keep the public in the dark. That was a mistake, said Weinstein, who became the archivist in 2005.
"Classified agreements are the antithesis of our reason for being," he said in a written statement yesterday. ". . . If records must be removed for reasons of national security, the American people will always, at the very least, know when it occurs and how many records are affected."
Independent historian Matthew M. Aid uncovered the reclassification program last summer when his requests for formerly available documents were delayed or denied. In February, the Archives acknowledged that about 9,500 records totaling more than 55,000 pages had been withdrawn and reclassified as secret since 1999.
The program dates to the Clinton administration, when the CIA and other agencies began recalling documents they believed were improperly released under a 1995 executive order requiring declassification of many historical records at least 25 years old. The pace of removals picked up after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Last month Weinstein imposed a moratorium on withdrawing documents until Archives officials complete an audit of the removed material. Results are expected April 26.
One possible change, Cooper said, is a central tracking system that would include more detailed notices in the Archives files to indicate whether a document had been removed for national security reasons. But the executive order governing the review of such documents permits agencies to conceal their identities without the Archives' consent if revealing them could pose a threat to national security, she said.
"There is some wiggle room for us here, but not a lot," she said.
Nevertheless, the Archives' decision to shun secret agreements is a step forward, said Thomas S. Blanton, executive director of the National Security Archive, a nonprofit research library in Washington. "For the National Archives to go into cahoots with the CIA and Air Force to mislead researchers about what was going on was over the top, and a strong signal of a secrecy system that is genuinely broken," he said.
|
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.
| 22.166667 | 0.6 | 0.933333 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701297.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701297.html
|
A Democratic Dark Horse Who Isn't Afraid to Take the Lead
|
2006041919
|
Mike Gravel has a lovely view of the Mall from his Rosslyn high-rise, which is about as close as he's likely to get to living in the White House. But a guy can dream, can't he?
"I am the front-runner!" the former Democratic senator from Alaska proclaimed in his apartment yesterday, hours after announcing his presidential candidacy. "I'm the guy to beat."
In a technical sense, Gravel is correct. The more plausible candidates for the Democratic nomination -- Hillary Clinton, Mark Warner, John Edwards and other big names -- haven't formally announced their candidacies. Gravel's announcement makes him the first, excluding the usual jokesters, nobodies and also-rans who have already filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Gravel joins the proud tradition of dark-horse candidates, such as Dennis Kucinich, Gary Bauer and Alan Keyes. "And Al Sharpton," the former senator adds, helpfully.
He'll be using the same gadfly playbook. Try to get on a lot of ballots and in all the debates. If lightning strikes, which it never does, you win. At worst, you get free media attention for your pet causes, in Gravel's case, nationwide ballot initiatives and a federal sales tax. "That's about the size of it," the candidate admits with a smile. The goal: "to capitalize on the celebrity nature of the presidential campaign."
If Mike Gravel, 1970s-era senator, held a news conference about ballot initiatives, nobody would show up. But as Mike Gravel, presidential candidate, he lured 50 people to his news conference, drew 30 interview requests, and landed on the Drudge Report, "Hannity & Colmes" and C-SPAN.
It's surprisingly cheap to exploit the media's presidential obsession: Gravel spent about $1,500 to rent a room and microphone at the National Press Club and to get U.S. Newswire to send out his press releases. His grandkids drew up some campaign posters. And he had a glamour photo done with the requisite pose of the open-collared candidate viewing a distant horizon (although in this case the studio lights are reflected in the candidate's eyes).
It's early in the 2008 campaign, of course, but there was little evidence of a groundswell at yesterday's Gravel kickoff. "I'm sure some of you have some questions," the candidate said after he finished his announcement speech. Nobody raised a hand. "Who has the first question?" he repeated. Nobody did. "I think there are some press people in the room, aren't there?"
Finally, a man from the Associated Press took pity on Gravel and asked a question about ballot initiatives. Gravel gave a lengthy answer that involved Lord Acton. "I took a long time because they're not coming at me very fast," he explained. "I can give another speech if you like."
The AP guy put up his hand again. "You're all alone," the candidate observed. "Go ahead." Finally, a few others joined in the questioning.
"I thought there'd be more questions," Gravel said after it had all finished. It's probably not the last rude surprise for Gravel's '08 campaign -- unless, of course, he can produce some surprises of his own.
Before the event, The Washington Post's Zachary Goldfarb overheard a cameraman puzzling over the host of the news conference: "I think he was a senator for one term." A friend of Gravel's informed the cameraman that Gravel served two terms, thank you very much, and his name is pronounced the French way: Gra-VEL.
|
Mike Gravel has a lovely view of the Mall from his Rosslyn high-rise, which is about as close as he's likely to get to living in the White House. But a guy can dream, can't he?
| 16.522727 | 1 | 44 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701042.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041919id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041701042.html
|
On Soggy Day, a Cluster of Rainbows
|
2006041919
|
They waited in line overnight Friday, then slogged their eight highly polished shoes through muddy grass yesterday, all to roll some Easter eggs on the White House lawn.
But for the Gri-Mott family of Oakton, every mucky, cranky minute was worth it. In addition to their four perfectly pressed pairs of pants, four starched collars, four ties and those shoes, the quartet of two fathers and two sons wore rainbow-colored leis. And Daniel Gri and James Mott believe that by doing that, they helped change America a little bit.
Gri and Mott were two of about 200 gay and lesbian parents who came with about 100 children to the traditional Easter Egg Roll, along with about 16,000 other families. Gri, Mott and their boys wore the colorful garlands to show that "we are everywhere," Mott said.
The couple said that they ran into co-workers who hadn't known they were gay and that they were approached by White House staff members who quietly shook their hands and thanked them for coming.
Their sons, Caleb, 8, and Alfred, 6, said they had a great time.
A half-dozen protesters stood outside the South Lawn gates with large signs and a bullhorn. They yelled at all the families, telling the heterosexual parents that their children would be punished with colds for coming to an event that included gay men and lesbians. They also compared gay families to the Easter Bunny and Santa Claus, saying that all three are make-believe.
Some of the gay and lesbian parents and their children were disappointed that they didn't get to see the president and first lady, who were there when the bell was rung to signal the beginning of the egg roll. Even though the group had gotten in line for the first-come, first-served tickets the night before they were distributed, they were too late to get tickets for an early time slot -- the line had started forming 12 hours earlier.
But once inside the White House gates, the families said they had a joyous time, despite the dreary drizzle.
"I think people really got to see the variety of what an American family can look like," said Mary Hunt of Silver Spring, who came to the event with her partner, Diann Neu, and their 5-year-old daughter, Min. "In the end, everybody watched their kids have a good time, everybody got wet. If anything, it was an educational event, not a political one."
The en masse attendance, organized by gay rights groups, had been planned for months. In that time, the parents debated how they would call attention to themselves. They said they settled on leis rather than T-shirts or slogans because they didn't want to shift the focus from the children and the festivities.
"I thought this was a very subtle, nonviolent, lovely, pleasant way to identify ourselves," Hunt said.
The protesters camped out for nearly six hours near the South Lawn, where hundreds of parents leaving the event passed by.
One of the demonstrators, Ruben Israel, 43, said he had flown from Los Angeles for the event. He wore a tool belt holding a well-worn Bible and two small extension cords. He took out the cords and poked the two pronged ends together.
"See, it doesn't work. Two men don't make a baby," he said to the sopping wet passersby who would listen.
Most of the gay and lesbian parents put their heads down and kept walking. But some of the other families yelled back at the protesters, telling them to go home.
"That's great, let's blow it for the kids," Jennifer Batten, 30, of Annapolis said as the protesters accused her of shielding her children from "the Biblical truth." She rushed her 9-year-old daughter past the men and wheeled her 2-year-old in his stroller. Then she stopped, turned around and said, "It's my choice how and when I want to teach my children about this. It's not your place."
Grandmothers tugged at children who tried to read the large, explicitly worded signs. Wives yelled at husbands who lost their temper and cursed at the protesters.
One soldier who strode by gave the demonstrators a quiet thumbs-up. And a man with his son on his shoulders told them, "You're doing the right thing."
|
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.
| 20.714286 | 0.452381 | 0.547619 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/13/DI2006041301003.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/13/DI2006041301003.html
|
Critiquing the Press
|
2006041719
|
Howard Kurtz was online Monday, April 17, at noon ET to discuss the press and his latest columns.
Read today's Media Notes: Gossip from Gotham to Georgetown , ( Post, April 17, 2006 )
Crystal City, Va.: Has a reporter from The Post or any other publication asked any of these generals who are critical of Rumsfeld why, if things were so bad, they did not resign?
Howard Kurtz: I don't know. It's a perfectly good question.
Bethesda, Md.: Why do I have to go to the Washington Times to learn that several retired generals have come to Rumsfeld's defense?
Howard Kurtz: We do have a wire story on that on Page 9 today. I think we should have done more. But occasionally reporters here do take days off.
Avon Park, Fla.: Will Meredith Vieira take over the Today Show as soon as Katie Couric steps down or will she wait a couple of months like Couric will? Also, what will happen to the syndication of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Will Vieira continue to host it?
Howard Kurtz: Vieira will start in September, or three months after Ms. Couric's last show at the end of May. Millionaire wants to keep her for the remaining two years of her contract, but that issue has not been resolved. Awfully hard to do both, in my view.
From the online homepage on Saturday (I don't get the print edition, so I don't know if it was there):
The Left, Online and Outraged: Maryscott O'Connor and a growing cadre of liberal bloggers are taking inflammatory rhetoric long favored by the right in a new direction.
This is a perfect example of liberal bias. "Inflammatory rhetoric long favored by the right" implies that it's only a recent thing for the left, which any conservative will tell you is complete hogwash: the left has been just as inflammatory as the right, for just as long. That headline and deck, obviously, was written from a left-wing perspective. I can't see any other explanation. Can you?
Howard Kurtz: The piece was an attempt to profile and analyze the motivations of one liberal blogger. I would have written it differently, but I believe there was no ideological agenda other than to look at anti-Bush rage of some (and by no means all) bloggers on the left. I will say, though, that the passion and in some cases anger among liberals, mainly toward Bush and the war, is far more intense than anything I can remember in the past, and certainly in contrast to the Clinton years, when the anti-administration fire was on the right. To make an obvious point, political anger tends to flourish when you strongly disagree with a president or his policies but your side controls none of the levers of government to do anything about it.
Somerdale, N.J.: Howie, just when I thought I couldn't have a lower opinion of the Cable/TV news, I find out that the "Military Analyst" ex-military pundits have been receiving talking points-I mean "Fact Sheets" from the Pentagon.
I mean either the Cable/TV news shows were willing participants or were duped into giving these Pentagon puppets airtime to spout the Pentagon propaganda while being passed off as unbiased military analysts.
At the very least there should be a disclaimer pointing out that the "Military Analysts" may be using a Pentagon approved script.
Howard Kurtz: But EVERYONE puts out talking points these days. Not all guests use them, of course, but the RNC, DNC and similar groups flood their supporters with e-mails and information to use in televised debate. I would agree, though, that it seems, I don't know, strange coming from the Pentagon.
N. Virginia: Any chance we'll be able to read the Plame case testimony of Bush and Cheney, as they always speak the truth, and have such a profound need to share that truth with the American public? Can we assume Bush and Cheney admitted releasing classified documents, or do you think they played innocent of any knowledge of the leaks?
Howard Kurtz: It depends on whether there is a trial, where such testimony would likely become public.
Whittier, Calif.: RE: the article by David Finkel about the angry blogger--If he wanted to do some real journalism that would contribute to public understanding- or at least delineating an important problem- instead of contributing to one- he could have written about how the public has become so very polarized and then profiled the blogger he did AND also an equally rabid blogger from the right. In this case, he is leaving your readers with the impression that the blogosphere is completely filled with Bush-haters and no one else.
washingtonpost.com: washingtonpost.com:The Left, Online and Outraged ( Post, April 15 )
Howard Kurtz: I honestly doubt that any readers drew that conclusion. Anyone old enough to read a newspaper knows there are plenty of conservatives, and many different kinds of voices, online.
Bethesda, Md.: One of the latest General critics turned down a 3rd star rather than continue to work for Rumsfeld. So, which ones should we ask this "interesting question"? Remember Shinseki? He got fired for dissenting so he didn't have to worry about retiring. I suggest we make up a list of questions to discredit military critics. We can start with have you ever voted for democrat? Are just mad at Rumsfeld for some other reason? Do you hate freedom? This certainly makes more sense that just assuming they are honest people who see a mess in Iraq and dissent.
Howard Kurtz: Did you major in sarcasm at college?
Anonymous: Do you think it would be wise for people to shift their impeachment hopes away from Bush and directly onto Cheney, who has continually lied to the American public over the case for war in Iraq?
Howard Kurtz: I think the likelihood of either Bush or Cheney being impeached is remote. Not only do Republicans control both houses of Congress, but Russ Feingold couldn't get more than a couple of other Democrats to support even a censure resolution.
Great piece in today's print edition and on line. It has seemed rather obvious in recent years that certain columnists are tied to an ideological point of view and perhaps even to candidates, "Eleanor Rodham ....." as an example. Most of these columnists find their work on the op-ed page which seems appropriate. My concern and I don't know if you share it comes when news articles closer to the front several pages of the paper contain the same slant. Is this problem growing or largely in my imagination?
Howard Kurtz: It would help if you could give me some specifics.
Baltimore, Md.: Re the question from Crystal City: If you watched the News Hour on Friday, you would know that General Batiste, a two star general, refused an offered promotion to three star because he simply could not serve under the current civilian leadership any longer. He quit precisely so he could take on the SecDef. (The amount of money and prestige Batiste sacrificed by going out with two stars, not three, is enormous.)
Howard Kurtz: Then he stands in contrast to others who now admit they went along with war policies they opposed and did not speak out about it until retiring.
New York, N.Y.: Howard, thanks for your column, I always learn something interesting and new. For example, today I learned that the news publication that "breaks the story" is not the first media publication to publish the story (which is what I had originally thought - my mistake), but in reality you "break the story" when you are the SECOND publication to publish the story! (You wrote, in your item on Waas: "Waas broke the story of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby saying President Bush had authorized him to leak classified information about Iraq in 2003. (Waas got a tip that prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald had revealed the information in a late-night court filing; the New York Sun beat him online by a few hours.)")
That's a great bit of info - I'll have to remember it.
Howard Kurtz: Another graduate of Sarcasm U. I regarded that one as essentially a tie, since both reporters were working on the story at the same time, and worthy of mention because of the other undeniable scoops that Murray Waas has compiled in the last year or so.
Louisville, Ky.: I'm surprised conservatives didn't like Finkel's piece. It presented much of the left side of the blogosphere as angry, obscene, and a bit off-kilter. Those are the characteristics conservative mouthpieces love using about the left. I'm not quite sure why the disenchantment with Finkel's piece.
Howard Kurtz: But it didn't present the "left side of the blogosphere" as anything. It explored the background and thinking of one liberal blogger, Maryscott O'Connor. Obviously we see such passion in some of the postings on Kos and other lefty sites, but there are plenty of left-leaning bloggers whose style is cool and analytical.
Philadelphia, Pa.: "...that the passion and in some cases anger among liberals, mainly toward Bush and the war, is far more intense than anything I can remember in the past, and certainly in contrast to the Clinton years, when the anti-administration fire was on the right."
Liberals aren't angry, they are right and the President has been wrong on nearly everything he has done since 2001. The Clinton years was pure hatred for a successful President and agenda.
This isn't just the liberals' turn to be anti whatever. They have legitimate concerns that have also penetrated middle America like distrust of why we went to war, distrust of policies that benefit business and millionaires...
Howard Kurtz: You say that liberals are "right." I would simply note that the last two presidential elections suggest that half the country doesn't agree. And keep in mind there are some liberal columnists and editorialists who initially supported the Iraq war, some of whom have changed their views and some of whom have not. So it's a mistake to present the liberal side as some kind of monolith.
Baltimore, Md.: Fox has been widely branded as a heavily biased to the right, largely because of the clearly right-leaning O'Reilly and Hannity. But it seems that the heaviest bias on TV is from MSNBC, where Matthews and Olbermann are further to the left than even O'Reilly and Hannity are to the right. So why isn't MSNBC labeled as a liberal lapdog to the same extent as Fox is a conservative mouthpiece?
Howard Kurtz: Well, I've written about Keith Olbermann and how "Countdown" has become increasingly aggressive against the administration. But while Chris Matthews is a former Democratic operative, I keep reading on liberal blogs and hearing on liberal talk radio that he has moved egregiously to the right. So I don't think he's the libs' poster boy at the moment.
Boston, Mass.: It seems every week you get a message about how The Post isn't covering some issue or other because of bias then you immediately link to the article where The Post covered the issue. How do you deal with these obnoxious and ill informed posters? Do you think actually seeing and reading the article changes there minds about this made up bias? or do they just move on to the next rant?
Howard Kurtz: I just try facts. It's a novel concept.
Washington, D.C.: Re: "I honestly doubt that any readers drew that conclusion. Anyone old enough to read a newspaper knows there are plenty of conservatives, and many different kinds of voices, online."
I respectfully disagree. My husband who is extremely right wing (agrees with Bill O'Reilly totally), used this article to point out to me, a lefty, how totally out of control and irrational the left is becoming. He felt it affirmed everything he thinks about the left.
Howard Kurtz: Sorry, marriage counseling is not part of my mission here.
Braemar, Va.: Howie, I'm a conservative, and I would have to say it's a pleasure to read the Maryscott story. It balances out years ago, when the Post wrote about "Clinton haters" with "unusually passionate" hate. It all balances out over the decades...
Howard Kurtz: Ah, someone with a historical memory of what life was like before 1/20/01. The Post (and other papers) ran endless pieces about the Clinton haters.
It is always good to take a few moments each year to reflect on the truly amazing -- and, in some cases, courageous -- reporting and photography which the true Fourth Estate offers.
Journalists can always do better; today we honor the best.
Howard Kurtz: If the Pulitzer board didn't insist on delaying the announcement until 3 p.m. every year, we could honor them right now.
Alexandria, Va.: Would it have killed ya to note that Murray Waas is a leftist, a partisan journalist? All his "scoops" run in one direction. And Byron York said since the NY Sun beat Waas, did he really "break" the story you mentioned?
Howard Kurtz: Again, a history lesson is in order. In the late '90s, Waas broke a number of stories against Clinton from Ken Starr's side, and wrote that in his opinion Clinton was unfit to be president (though he also slammed Clinton's accusers). So he is not someone who just goes after Republicans.
Silver Spring, Md.: I've noticed numerous divisive 'us versus them' articles in recent Washington Post. Today's young folk living at home versus others; Prince William County life/schools versus PG County; and many others.
Howard Kurtz: Groupthink among editors.
Jersey City, N.J.: Hi Howard: I'm sure you're being inundated with "Generals" questions today, so I apologize in advance but this is really only tangential to the issue so maybe I can get an answer. What I've seen too many times during this debate, and frankly, in others as well, is the dismissive comment about someone's point of view, "Well he has a book out." This is not limited to one side; both Zinni and Franks were dismissed this way. I don't want to know whether this is an appropriate comment, what I'm asking is: Wouldn't (or shouldn't) the questioner's immediate follow up to a comment like this be, "Ok he has a book out. Does that mean that his comments have no merit?" or something like that. I'm finding that too many TV interviewers let the book comment stand as a complete rebuttal to any comments the author may have made.
Howard Kurtz: It's fair enough to note that someone has a book coming out, but sure, it hardly settles the argument. (We went through this with Richard Clarke among many others.) Sometimes people with books coming out also have a very strong case to make.
Washington, D.C.: Thanks for the takeout piece on journalists today. I especially liked the part where you started with specific evils committed by specific journalists, then pulled out the broad brush and went after who knows how many nameless folks with generic accusations. You're dangerously close to enlisting with those who would discredit journalists and marginalize journalism, and frankly I wonder if there are many in the business who are particularly interested in calling you a "colleague" now.
If you're disgusted with journalists, tell us who and why -- that's educational and valuable. Columns like today's should be the stock in trade of partisan bloggers.
washingtonpost.com: washingtonpost.com:Reporters In Glass Houses ( Post, April 17 )
Howard Kurtz: May I suggest getting a sense of humor, or at least renting one? My column today was largely tongue-in-cheek, while attempting to be provocative in exploring the reporter-source relationships among Washington reporters as well as snarky gossip writers.
Huron, Ohio: Howard: Is Maureen Dowd a celebrity, or a columnist? She is in Vanity Fair again, all glammed up at the Academy Awards party.
When a top op-ed columnist from the NY Times takes to celebrity journalism, then there is no hope for the future.
Howard Kurtz: She's a columnist, obviously -- a Pultizer-winning one at that-- but one who has become famous. I've never been to an Oscars party myself (not sufficiently A-list, I guess), but I understand that if you go, you generally get pretty dressed up.
Washington, D.C.: Last week, The Post's front page found "Immigration Bill Fallout May Hurt House GOP." Today, The Post's front page found "Anger at Bush May Hurt GOP At Polls." I thought the news business was about telling us what happened yesterday, not guessing about tomorrow. And doesn't it begin to sound like wishful thinking if this theme keeps appearing?
Howard Kurtz: Well, I'll defend it by noting that this has been a tough year for Republicans, the president's approval ratings are at the lowest level of his tenure, and even GOP strategists -- even Newt, for cryin' out loud -- are worried about a debacle at the polls this fall. But I do think that many journalists, including some at The Post, spend too much time trying to gauge the public mood vis a vis elections that are many months away, and (as I've written) this is especially hard to do in a midterm campaign where local factors have a huge impact on how folks vote.
My friends and I always come for your chats; not to read you so much, but to read the questions that are submitted to you. You have easily the surliest readers at the washingtonpost.com on-line. I commend you for putting up with their total bs. I'd have flipped out long ago.
Howard Kurtz: You mean they're nice and polite during other people's chats???
Anonymous: "I would simply note that the last two presidential elections suggest that half the country doesn't agree."
Come on Howard, Bush only got 48% in 2000 and even the Post said Gore got hurt more by the uncounted votes in Florida than Bush. Without the perfect storm of events that happened for in 2000 that allowed a loser to win would a Republican would have won in 2004? Or would it have been four in a row for the Democrats?
Howard Kurtz: But you're missing my point entirely. Whether Bush deserved to win in 2000 or 2004, these were very close elections. Whether he got 48 or 49 or 50.1 percent, it shows that a significant chunk of the country does not agree that "liberals are right," as the original questioner put it. And that an equally large chunk does not believe that conservatives are right.
Rochester, N.Y.: I really enjoy your show Reliable Sources on CNN. I especially liked your debate between Jonah Goldberg and John Aravosis this weekend, not because I agree with either politically, but because they weren't spouting the usual Beltway pundit cliches. Why don't more shows have a more varied lists of guests? When Russert has his panel on, I turn off the TV because the discussions are so predictable (and not all that different, I imagine, from what I might hear at a Georgetown cocktail party). Do you think that viewer frustration with predictable panels will eventually lead to more varied guests on these shows? I certainly hope so.
Howard Kurtz: I don't know. But I do know that I favor guests who don't just spout partisan talking points and who have the capacity to surprise by occasionally disagreeing with their "side." I like that quality in columnists and bloggers, too.
Seattle, Wash.: I noticed on a recent trip north to Vancouver, BC, that they don't censor the Middle East news as much as we do here - in fact, they even have free-flowing discussions on the subject?
Do you think this is a media company imposed restriction of what's really going on in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran, or is just the Beltway pressure on the media firms that's causing this to occur?
Howard Kurtz: I'm unaware of what Middle East news is being "censored," so it's hard to respond to such a sweeping generalization.
One of the misconceptions that we continue to hear in the media is that the war in Iraq once garnered the support of a majority of Americans. While this is technically true, I wish that someone would present a more nuanced analysis. If a reporter were to assess popular opinion in the run-up to previous wars involving the U.S. (obviously Afghanistan, even Vietnam), I'm certain that she would find that advance support of these wars was in the 80-90 percent range. It was NEVER this high for Iraq, which explains part of the current problem....there simply wasn't much of a reservoir of good will to "use up" when things went south. The message should be: no President should take the US into a war unless popular support is nearly unanimous; slim majorities simply will not do.
Howard Kurtz: It was certainly never that high for Iraq, but there is a certain rally-round-the-president effect in time of war, and when American troops are being put in harm's way, that I believe prompted some people to swallow their reservations over the arguments that Bush was making. And, of course, most people, not to mention intelligence analysis, believed that Saddam probably did have WMD, so the debate was very different than today's.
Washington, D.C.: I definitely think McCain is in danger of losing prior supporters. If he got the GOP nomination, there was a chance I would vote for him previously, but now I am pretty sure I would not. Once I read about him going for the Jerry Falwell and similar types, I lost a lot of the respect I had for him. Of any of the potential 08 GOP nominees right now, I think McCain would have been the only one I would have considered voting for... well maybe Giuliani (or however you spell that).
Howard Kurtz: Well, that's precisely the debate about McCain taking place now, and which I wrote about in last Monday's column. By making more of an effort to court religious and other conservatives than he did in 2000, does McCain risk rupturing his reputation as a straight talker and alienating swing voters who otherwise might have supported him even though they disagree with him on some issues?
Valparaiso, Ind.: Howard, on this passage in the ombudsman's latest column: "Some readers think it's a scandal when two parts of the newspaper appear to be in conflict with each other, but it's not that unusual that reporting -- particularly in news and editorial -- will depend on different sources. It happened again last week when an editorial and a story gave different estimates for how long it might take Iran to build a nuclear bomb." Do The Post's editorial writers have their own reporting staff? Why would editorial writers, who must cover a range of subjects, believe that their sources are better than The Post's reporters, who concentrate on a single beat? I'm sorry, but I found this explanation just plain bizarre. Can you offer any insight?
Howard Kurtz: The Post's editorial writers do their own research and reporting, and of course they engage in plenty of interpretation, as do all opinion writers.
Falls Church, Va.: David Finkel's piece on the "angry liberal bloggers" ignored both the vast number of liberal bloggers who are substantive AND the universe of right-wing blogs that spew little but vitriol and hate (Free Republic just to name one.) Is it really so surprising that more and more people are becoming convinced that The Post is in the tank for the right wing?
Howard Kurtz: Had I written the piece, I would have included a little more of a survey of bloggers on both the left and right. But the article as written certainly doesn't amount to being "in the tank." You seem to conclude that the piece was done to make Maryscott O'Connor look bad, or all liberal bloggers look bad, and I don't think that was the case by a long shot.
Re: Waas Breaks the Mold: Okay, Kurtz -- did you do a story on Waas when he was pro-Starr??
Howard Kurtz: Actually, I did. He was one of three reporters I profiled under the headline "Whitewater Mud Hits the Messengers; Online Magazine's Staff Caught in the Swirl Of Conspiracy Theorists." So your point was...?
(I'm not saying he was pro-Starr, by the way, just that he reported extensively on the Clinton scandals.)
Princeton, N.J.: Howard, I'm concerned about the paucity of investigative reporting in MSM. Occasionally the Post or the Times gets a good expose mainly on foreign affairs, but mostly you guys seem too cowed by the Rather affair and the viciousness of the Administration to go after obvious targets. Here are some topics off the top of my head:
Examine how the 75 year projections on Social Security are produced and how reliable they are.
Find out if malpractice tort reform would lower medical costs significantly. (Look at David Morris' article in Minneapolis Star Tribune, January 10, 2005 to see how these things are done).
See if there are any economic studies that show the Bush tax cuts have increased or decreased tax revenue.
See if there are any working farms that have had to be sold to pay Estate Tax.
Show how the whole marriage tax penalty issue was a fraud and how the bill which was to provide relief did nothing of the kind.
How about a big feature comparing the US health care system with those of other countries with careful estimates of cost and waste.
Howard Kurtz: I'm not sure what you mean by the "paucity" of investigative reporting; there is plenty in newspapers, as the Pulitzers are about to remind us. But I REALLY don't get how you conclude that journalists are too "cowed by the Rather affair" to do such reporting, unless you define investigative reporting as reporting that goes after Bush. Some of the topics you suggested have been done, by the way, especially on tort reform and health care.
Thanks for the chat, folks.
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.
| 128.536585 | 0.658537 | 0.95122 |
high
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041700462.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041700462.html
|
Skilling's Credibility Is on the Stand
|
2006041719
|
HOUSTON, April 17 -- Telling former Enron Corp. chief executive Jeffrey K. Skilling that "the most important thing the jury has to rely on is your word," prosecutor Sean M. Berkowitz attacked Skilling's credibility in six hours of cross-examination designed to cast him as a liar who made use of selective memory.
Skilling, who developed a reputation in Enron's heyday for being volatile, maintained his composure Monday, although he sometimes talked over the prosecutor and suggested that the jury see alternative documents. At one point, Berkowitz interjected, "This'll probably work a little better if we do this the way I want to do it, Mr. Skilling, okay?" Later, he cautioned Skilling not to make "speeches."
The primary focus of the government's attack was not the maze of complex business partnerships for which Enron has become infamous but something far simpler: a $15 million stock sale by Skilling shortly after he left the Houston energy company. The sale occurred just three months before Enron filed for bankruptcy protection, costing thousands of employees their jobs and retirement savings.
Skilling stands accused of 28 criminal charges, including insider-trading, fraud and conspiracy counts that could send him to prison for more than a decade if he is convicted.
Skilling previously testified that he did not recall a Sept. 6, 2001, attempt to sell 200,000 shares of Enron stock, what prosecutors call his single biggest trade at the time. The trade was aborted for technical reasons, but shortly thereafter, Skilling took steps that would give him clearance to sell without notifying company insiders about the details. He ultimately sold 500,000 shares Sept. 17, 2001.
For the first time in the 12-week-old case, prosecutors played an audiotape of Skilling telling securities regulators in December 2001 that "there is no other reason other than September 11 that I sold Enron," adding, "Oh, I agonized over it." Government lawyers reminded the jury Monday about his Sept. 6 attempt and implied that he used the terror attacks as a cover story to unload stock before the public became aware of Enron's mounting financial problems.
Berkowitz also highlighted what he called an unusual pattern of sales by the Skilling family in 2000.
Skilling's former wife sold 225,000 shares in October 2000, reaping $14 million, and his then-girlfriend, Rebecca Carter, now his wife, sold 21,000 Enron shares the following month, netting $1.65 million. Neither woman appeared in court Monday. Skilling said the sales were a coincidence.
The exchange produced one of the more intense moments of cross-examination, which could consume most of the week.
"In fact, I was talking to my brothers at the break and they said, 'You didn't tell us to sell,' " Skilling testified shortly after a 15-minute recess.
Berkowitz pounced on the opportunity, asking Skilling to identify another person with whom he had conferred: jury consultant Reiko Hasuike, who presumably offered advice about how to better persuade the eight-woman, four-man jury. Several jurors looked at each other, then Hasuike, who has regularly visited in the courtroom since the case began, with surprise. Some of them continued casting glances at her as the day progressed.
Skilling's lead defense lawyer, Daniel M. Petrocelli, tried to deflect the moment by consenting to Hasuike's Web site being admitted as evidence, "assuming there's no objection to my offering his jury consultant's Web site." Unlike Hasuike, prosecution consultant Jo-Ellan Dimitrius, best known for working with the defense in the O.J. Simpson criminal case, has appeared only once, Jan. 30, to assist prosecutors with jury selection.
Berkowitz also raised questions about Skilling's memory, pointing out that he told securities regulators under oath in 2001 that an Internet start-up in which he invested did about $3,000 of business with Enron. Prosecutors said, in all, the company did $450,000 worth of business with Enron, one of its three biggest customers. Skilling said Monday that he poured about $60,000 into the start-up. The prosecutor followed up, showing jurors a total of $180,000 in checks that Skilling had invested in the venture, operated by a woman whom Skilling said he had once dated. Skilling testified that he did not take the issue to the board, even though such a step may have been required under Enron's conflict-of-interest policy.
"I vaguely remember," Skilling testified. "This was a relatively small investment, so I don't know that I spent a lot of time on it."
Prosecutors spent more than two hours questioning Skilling about Enron's troubled international assets, a pet project of fellow defendant and former chairman Kenneth L. Lay, who is likely to take the witness stand as early as next week. Government lawyers contend that both men failed to tell investors about more than $5 billion in losses within the international divisions.
"It would be bad for you on the stand, in this case for you and Mr. Lay, if there were billions of dollars in losses that had not been disclosed," Berkowitz asserted.
Skilling, however, said he had been clear with analysts about his concerns. "I think the market knew the nature of our balance sheet," he said.
|
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.
| 22.304348 | 0.478261 | 0.478261 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600858.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600858.html
|
Pink Is the New Red
|
2006041719
|
It seems that only yesterday American politics appeared to have found its true colors: Republican Red and Democratic Blue, the visual shorthand for an electorate that most thought had become immutably divided by geography and partisanship into red states and blue.
But political fashions quickly changed, and so have the colors of this year's political map.
States that were once reliably red are turning pink. Some are no longer red but a sort of powder blue. In fact, a solid majority of residents in states that President Bush carried in 2004 now disapprove of the job he is doing as president. Views of the GOP have also soured in those Republican red states.
According to the latest Post-ABC News poll, Bush's overall job approval rating now averages 43 percent in the states where he beat Democratic nominee John Kerry two years ago, while 57 percent disapprove of his performance.
Bush is even marginally unpopular, at least on average, in states where he beat Kerry with relative ease. The poll data suggest that in states where the president's victory margin was greater than five percentage points, his average job approval currently stands at 47 percent. Red? Hardly. A watery pink at best.
And in states where the president's victory margin was five percentage points or less, a clear majority of residents now disapprove of his performance. Color them light blue.
More ominously for Republicans, their party also has lost standing with the public. Residents of states Bush won in 2004 say they trust the Democrats (48 percent) more than the Republicans (42 percent) to deal with the country's biggest problems.
Those humbling numbers for Republicans are a far cry from the results of surveys taken immediately before the 2004 election. Back then, red states were bright red: Bush's overall job approval rating stood 13 points higher, at 56 percent in states that he eventually won. And throughout Bush's first term it was the GOP and not the Democrats whom voters in these states trusted to deal with the country's biggest problems, sometimes by double-digit margins.
Blue states are still blue -- but it is a deeper, bolder and angrier blue, the latest Post-ABC poll suggests. Across states where Kerry defeated Bush two years ago, barely a third -- 33 percent -- currently approve of the president's overall performance, while 65 percent disapprove. That's a 12-point drop in this group of states from a Post-ABC survey conducted before the presidential vote.
Taken together, these findings underscore the fact that Bush's fall from public grace isn't just occurring in states that were colored blue after the last presidential election. And they once again prove that change is inevitable in politics and that last year's received wisdom has a way of becoming this year's political myth.
To see if the political palette has changed, I divided the 1,027 survey respondents in our latest poll into four groups on the basis of how their states voted in the 2004 presidential election. Those who lived in states where Bush won by more than five percentage points were aggregated together. So were those in states where Bush beat Kerry by a smaller margin. Residents of states that went for Kerry were split into two groups using the same five-percentage-point rule to differentiate big Kerry wins from more modest victories.
Of course some states are still dependably Republican. But even these are not quite as red as they were a few years ago. For example, Utah residents showered Bush with 72 percent of their votes in 2004, his biggest win that year. But the latest statewide poll by the Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV suggests that 61 percent approve of the job Bush is doing as president, a double-digit drop in approval since June. "Bush is dragging down every Republican officeholder in the nation, even here," pollster Dan Jones, a political science professor at the University of Utah, told the Morning News.
Other recent state polls confirm the broad findings of the aggregate analysis. In Iowa, Bush beat Kerry by a single percentage point -- 50 percent to 49 percent -- and before the election, residents were equally divided over his overall job performance. Not so now: Bush's approval rating had sunk to 37 percent in a Des Moines Register poll conducted in January, his worst showing ever.
Closer to home, Bush easily carried Virginia, by eight percentage points, two years ago. But a Post survey two weeks before last November's gubernatorial election found that Bush's job approval rating among likely voters in the commonwealth had fallen to 44 percent, while 55 percent disapproved of his performance.
That's one big reason Republican gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore behaved so oddly toward Bush late in his campaign last year, first deciding to be conspicuously absent when the president came calling in Norfolk only to invite him to a big election-eve rally a week later. The president may expect similar ambivalence from GOP office-seekers in tight races as this year's campaign unfolds.
The writer is The Post's director of polling.
|
As President Bush's popularity falls, the nation's political color divide is adding hues that don't look particularly good for the GOP.
| 37.615385 | 0.653846 | 1.038462 |
high
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600860.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600860.html
|
No Need to Feel Threatened
|
2006041719
|
This week's visit from Chinese President Hu Jintao will inflame two kinds of economic pessimism. The first holds that China is forcing a race to the bottom: Its legions of poor workers are driving down U.S. wages. The second claims that China is racing to the top: It's spending ever more on science and engineering. Both sorts of pessimism are only half right. Both miss the real source of U.S. economic dynamism.
It's true that American wages are stagnant and that they cry out for progressive tax and social policies. But it's crazy to argue that stagnant wages are the main explanation for the success of American business. Just because Detroit's carmakers are fighting to cut union benefits, it doesn't follow that constraining pay is the top issue for most companies.
Consider a firm such as Wal-Mart, an alleged front-runner in the race to the bottom. Wal-Mart's employees get market wages, otherwise they wouldn't stay there. But even if its army of 1 million-plus hourly workers got a 20 percent raise, that extra cost would wipe out only about a third of Wal-Mart's 2005 profit. The retailer's success lies in something other than low wages.
Likewise, it's true that China is striving to catch up in science, hiring Western professors and pressing its researchers to publish in international journals. But there is no straight-line connection between scientific progress and economic advance. What matters is how companies deploy technology. Americans are good at that.
Again, consider Wal-Mart. Its real genius lies in analyzing consumers and foreseeing what they'll want; it can predict how many yellow crew-neck T-shirts will sell in each region of the country, so it doesn't waste gasoline delivering stocks to outlets that won't sell them. Wal-Mart achieves this with the help of a data warehouse that stores more information than all the fixed pages on the Internet combined. It's rolling out a new generation of miniature devices that attach to its goods, enabling it to computerize and track inventory.
What's true for Wal-Mart is also true for other companies: The most striking business successes have little to do with low wages or pure science. Google wouldn't be worth anything if it had only perfected search technology; its business genius is that it's become an ad agency. Mattel wouldn't be worth anything if it merely manufactured Barbies using cheap Chinese workers; its triumph lies in design, advertising, packaging -- and in those insidious deals that put Barbie on your daughter's bike helmet. Or take an example that has almost no connection whatsoever to technology or low pay. Starbucks has created one of the world's least probable brands, turning a commodity crop into a high-margin business.
Now consider the instructive case of DreamWorks. To create movies such as "Shrek 2" and "Madagascar," DreamWorks brings together artists and storytellers with software writers and even anatomy experts -- and manages this cauldron of talent so well that it's created a new benchmark for the industry. Innovation often springs from this interdisciplinary fusion. It depends on neither low wages nor science. It's not about a lone inventor in a lab. It's really about teamwork.
For one reason or another, American business excels at this. Our much-maligned education system seems to encourage people to think across categories and take risks. Our freewheeling and undeferential culture is good for interdisciplinary cooperation. And then there is the role played by U.S. business schools, which increasingly focus on the skills that make this teamwork possible.
The Harvard MBA curriculum used to teach the nuts and bolts of management, with an emphasis on accounting and financial skills. Now its faculty aspires to teach "leadership." At Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, about half the grades are handed out for work that's done in teams; members of each team provide one another with anonymous feedback, and the school has hired counselors to help students absorb the lessons from this criticism. "In the past, you could go through business school and nobody would say you were coming across as a jerk," says Paul Danos, dean of the Tuck School. "But that might have been the most important factor in your future success as a manager."
China's spectacular rise causes understandable alarm, and it probably has harmed pay for low-skilled U.S. workers. But the right answers to stagnant wages include Head Start, school choice and a fix for the regressive payroll tax; they should not include a national descent into xenophobic paranoia. American business is in a golden phase right now because its imaginative culture fits the challenges of the post-industrial age. A low-wage economy that crams on science is not going to take that away from us.
|
China's spectacular rise causes understandable alarm, but the U.S. response should not include a national descent into xenophobic paranoia.
| 42.227273 | 0.954545 | 7.681818 |
high
|
high
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600685.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600685.html
|
Tax Gimmickry
|
2006041719
|
MUCH TO THE chagrin of the White House and the GOP leadership, lawmakers didn't get a new round of tax cuts done in time for tax day today. But when Congress comes back from its recess, it's expected to take up a deal to extend President Bush's capital gains and dividend tax cuts. To make their budget-busting tax policy appear less costly than it is, the lawmakers are resorting to a gimmick that is even more egregious than their usual tactics.
This one would, as usual, hide the cost of tax cuts that primarily benefit upper-income Americans. But it would accomplish that budgetary smoke and mirrors with a new tax provision, involving retirement savings accounts, that also benefits the well-to-do. And, to top things off, this new tax provision, while masking the cost of the tax cuts by bringing in more revenue in the short term, would in the long run worsen the fiscal situation by piling on more debt. No one who's serious about controlling the deficit -- whatever one's position on extending the tax cuts -- could support this dishonest approach.
The gimmick is intended to get around a Senate rule that requires 60 votes to approve a tax bill if it's going to deepen the deficit more than five years down the road; if it won't have that long-term impact, a simple majority could suffice for passage. Unfortunately for Senate leaders, a two-year extension of the capital gains and dividend tax cuts, now set to expire in 2008, would cost $20 billion over the next five years -- but $30 billion more in the five years after that. Taxpayers will scramble to take advantage of the lower rates now, thereby lessening tax revenue later. So to pass the cuts with only 51 votes, legislators have to find some way to offset that second five-year revenue loss.
Enter the retirement savings gimmick. As it's being discussed behind the scenes, this would let wealthier Americans use savings plans known as Roth IRAs. With traditional IRAs, taxpayers get to deduct the contributions they make from their income for that year; they pay taxes on the savings once they are withdrawn. Roth IRAs flip that arrangement around: Contributors pay taxes on the income they put into the accounts, but their savings then grow tax-free. So letting more people put money into Roth IRAs would increase tax revenue for a while -- offsetting, at least in theory, the cost of the capital gains cuts. But the Roth change would cost money down the road, as revenue once subject to taxation would grow tax-free.
Bottom line: A Senate rule designed to make it harder to increase the deficit would be circumvented with a maneuver that would end up increasing the deficit. And a tax cut for wealthier Americans that would cost $50 billion over 10 years would be "paid for" in part by another tax cut for the well-off, which would end up costing billions more. That's amazing -- even from this Congress.
|
Republican lawmakers plan to "pay for" a tax cut for wealthier Americans with another tax cut for the well-off. That's amazing -- even from this Congress.
| 17.235294 | 0.882353 | 5.588235 |
medium
|
medium
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600648.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600648.html
|
Anger at Bush May Hurt GOP At Polls
|
2006041719
|
Intense and widespread opposition to President Bush is likely to be a sharp spur driving voters to the polls in this fall's midterm elections, according to strategists in both parties, a phenomenon that could give Democrats a turnout advantage over Republicans for the first time in recent years.
Polls have reflected voter discontent with Bush for many months, but as the election nears, operatives are paying special attention to one subset of the numbers. It is the wide disparity between the number of people who are passionate in their dislike of Bush vs. those who support him with equal fervor.
Lately, there have been a lot more of the former -- and even Republicans acknowledge that could spell trouble in closely contested congressional races.
"Angry voters turn out and vote their anger," said Glen Bolger, a pollster for several Republican congressional candidates. "Democrats will have an easier time of getting out their vote because of their intense disapproval of the president. That means we Republicans are going to have to bring our 'A' turnout game in November."
The latest Washington Post-ABC News poll showed 47 percent of voters "strongly" disapprove of Bush's job performance, vs. 20 percent who said they "strongly approve."
In the recent past, this perennial truism of politics -- emotion equals turnout -- has worked more to the Republican advantage. Several weeks before the 2002 midterm elections, Bush had 42 percent of voters strongly approving of him, compared with 18 percent in strong opposition. Democrats were stunned on election night when Republicans defied historical patterns and made gains in the House and Senate. The president's party usually loses seats during the first midterm elections after he takes office.
The premise behind the Democrats' hopes this year is simple, though not easy to quantify: People impassioned by anger or other sentiments are more likely to vote -- even in bad weather and in relatively low-profile races -- than are those who are demoralized or less emotional.
"In a midterm election, motivation is the biggest factor," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), head of his party's House campaign efforts this year.
Whether anti-Bush sentiments portend a political tidal wave in November is much debated, but Democrats hope they are hearing early echoes of 1974 and 1994. There was massive turnover of congressional seats in those midterm elections, as fired-up voters first punished Republicans for Watergate, and later turned on Democrats because of President Bill Clinton's failed health-care initiative and because of anger over House ethics abuses.
The intense opposition to Bush is larger than any faced by Clinton. For all the polarization the 42nd president inspired, Clinton's strong disapproval never got above 37 percent in Post-ABC polls during his presidency.
Democratic pollster Geoff Garin said GOP House candidates have reason to worry. His surveys find that 82 percent of Americans who say they voted for Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) in 2004 plan to vote for a Democrat for the House this year. But only 65 percent who voted for Bush say they will vote for a Republican House nominee, Garin said. The remaining 35 percent say they are open to voting for a Democrat or staying home.
"We get a large chunk of Bush voters who are not motivated to go out and vote for Republicans this fall," Garin said. "That puts a lot of red districts into play."
|
Intense and widespread opposition to President Bush is likely to be a sharp spur driving voters to the polls in this fall's midterm elections, according to strategists in both parties, a phenomenon that could give Democrats a turnout advantage over Republicans for the first time in recent years.
| 12.730769 | 1 | 52 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600803.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600803.html
|
Boeing Parts and Rules Bent, Whistle-Blowers Say
|
2006041719
|
Jeannine Prewitt knew there was a problem when the holes wouldn't line up.
On a Boeing Co. assembly line in Kansas in 2000, Prewitt saw workers drilling extra holes in the long aluminum ribs that make up the skeleton of a jetliner's fuselage. That was the only way the workers could attach the pieces, because some of their pre-drilled holes didn't match those on the airframe.
Prewitt was a parts buyer, the third generation of her family to work at the sprawling Boeing factory on the outskirts of Wichita. She believed that pieces going into one of the world's most advanced and popular airliners, the Boeing 737, should fit like a glove.
The assembly workers Prewitt observed were not the only ones who noted problems with parts from a key Boeing supplier, AHF Ducommun of Los Angeles. Other workers told her that many pieces had to be shoved or hammered into place. And documents reviewed by The Washington Post show that quality managers reported numerous problems at Ducommun in memos recorded in Boeing's system for monitoring its suppliers.
Whether questionable parts ended up in hundreds of Boeing 737s is the subject of a bitter dispute between the aerospace company and Prewitt and two other whistle-blowers. The two sides also have enormously different views on what that could mean for the safety of the jets.
The whistle-blower lawsuit is in U.S. District Court in Wichita. No matter how it is resolved, it has exposed gaps in the way government regulators investigated the alleged problems in aircraft manufacturing, according to documents and interviews.
Boeing said that the lawsuit is without merit and that there is no safety issue. Even if faulty parts landed on the assembly line, the company said, none could have slipped through Boeing's controls and gotten into the jetliners. The whistle-blowers "are not intimately familiar with Boeing's quality management system," said Cindy Wall, a company spokeswoman. "Our planes are safe."
The three whistle-blowers, however, contend that Boeing officials knew from their own audits about thousands of parts that did not meet specifications, allowed them to be installed and retaliated against people who raised questions. They say the parts, manufactured from 1994 to 2002, fit the Federal Aviation Administration's definition of "unapproved" because they lack documentation proving that they are airworthy. Moreover, they say, forcing a part into place could shorten its lifespan.
Under the U.S. False Claims Act, plaintiffs who prove the government was defrauded -- more than two dozen jets went to the U.S. military -- could receive monetary damages along with the government.
After the whistle-blowers notified federal authorities in 2002, the FAA and the Pentagon looked into their charges. Each said its investigation cleared the airplane parts and found no reports of problems from military or civilian operators of Boeing jets. The Department of Transportation's inspector general also dismissed the charges.
The Post's review, however, found that the FAA did not assess many of the whistle-blowers' key allegations. FAA inspectors examined only a small number of parts in the plants and did not visit any airplanes to inspect the roughly 200 types of parts questioned by the whistle-blowers.
The Pentagon and Transportation Department, in turn, relied on the FAA's work, documents show.
|
Jeannine Prewitt knew there was a problem when the holes wouldn't line up. For nearly 40 years, the airframe for the Boeing 737 has been assembled in Wichita, loaded on trains, and hauled to the Pacific Northwest to get its wings, tail and engines. Boeing sold the plant in 2005 to a Canadian......
| 10.377049 | 0.688525 | 4.295082 |
low
|
low
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600607.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600607.html
|
Lobbyists Say DeLay Could Be One of Them
|
2006041719
|
Tom DeLay was the elephant in the room at a recent lobbyists' dinner -- and not because of his political party.
The Texas Republican had announced his resignation from Congress the day before the event. He was compelled to that decision in large part because of his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and the actions of two former aides, who pleaded guilty to their own misdeeds.
In response, the watchword of the evening was "integrity." Congressman-turned-lobbyist Vic Fazio (D-Calif.) asked the audience to "rededicate" itself "to integrity." Other speakers at the Bryce Harlow Foundation dinner used the term as well.
But what was happening outside the room showed how complicated living up to that word can be. While dinner participants were praising the many good deeds they do, other lobbyists around town were expressing their eagerness to hire DeLay.
As long as he isn't forced to wear an orange jumpsuit (and possibly even then), those lobbyists said, DeLay could easily become a lobbyist himself and make a lot of money.
That isn't exactly what you'd call the gold standard of integrity.
For a few hours before the dinner, I called top lobbyists and asked a simple question, "Could Tom DeLay become a lobbyist now that he's leaving government?"
The answer was a resounding "Yes." DeLay may have found himself on the wrong end of several ethics committee reports, they said. He may have been too radioactive a few years ago to run for speaker of the House. He may even have been too tainted by his ties to convicted felons to be reelected to Congress this year.
But he could still make a bundle on K Street, they concurred. Leaders of law and lobbying firms made it clear that they would happily hire him, especially if federal prosecutors don't indict him as part of the Abramoff affair.
"He would be very valuable to any firm if the legal cloud is lifted from him," said Charles R. Black Jr., chairman of BKSH & Associates, a lobbying firm. "He could come over here and be my boss if he wanted to be."
The reasons have everything to do with his ability to manipulate the system, a specialty much-prized among lobbyists. "Tom DeLay has been the greatest strategist for getting legislation through the House in his generation in addition to having a lot of great relationships with Republicans in the House and Senate," Black said. "His strategic insight on how to get things done up there is unsurpassed. And for clients, that's absolutely needed. There are 30,000 workaday lobbyists but very few who have the strategic insight and an understanding of the tactical process of getting something through Congress like he does."
Wayne L. Berman, chairman of the Federalist Group LLC, another lobbying firm, agreed. "He would be an enormously successful lobbyist. I can't think of anybody who has more friends on Capitol Hill or, more important, more understanding of the process and the rules on Capitol Hill.
"If he wanted to, he could be a very successful lobbyist, political strategist," Berman said. "Washington and politics is replete with second chances."
"Tom would find a lot of places where he would be quite sought after downtown," said former representative Vin Weber (R-Minn.), now a lobbyist with Clark & Weinstock. "There would certainly be a few where he wouldn't because of partisanship or fear that he might be radioactive. But he understands the system better than anybody. He's beloved by the House Republicans. If he wanted to do it, he would find a lot of people interested in hiring him."
It isn't known whether DeLay aspires to be a lobbyist (though I suspect he might, given his long association with many of them through the years). Nor is it certain that he will beat his indictment in Texas on campaign financing charges or avoid prosecution at the federal level.
Still, his future seems assured. A longtime Washingtonian who knows DeLay well said the Texas Republican is likely to get plenty of paid speaking engagements and a book deal. He also would be open to "strategic consulting" arrangements with corporate interests, but not "registered lobbying" because of the press coverage that type of disclosure would attract.
All of which would put DeLay, who denies that he has done anything wrong, on what has become a familiar -- and lucrative -- career path for fallen politicians. Take the cases of two once-prominent congressional tax-writers whom I know and like: former representative Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) and former senator Robert Packwood (R-Ore.).
Rostenkowski was defeated for reelection in 1994 after 36 years in office and went to jail on charges of mail fraud. Packwood resigned the next year after the Senate ethics committee recommended expelling him for sexual misconduct.
Both veteran lawmakers went on to do quite well, however. They have lobbied or consulted for large fees, and Rostenkowski even became a TV pundit in Chicago. Their expertise (read: their ability to make money for companies that have an interest in legislation) far outweighed the liability of their offenses.
Which brings us back to DeLay. His behavior, while perhaps not criminal, was so controversial that he decided he couldn't face the voters in November.
Can the lobbying industry welcome him with open arms and still pursue the Bryce Harlow Foundation's drive for integrity? Even some lobbyists see a problem.
"If we want to hold ourselves up to be a premier profession, we need to have higher standards," said Paul A. Miller, president of the American League of Lobbyists. But he conceded: "We do have our struggles [with] how to get a better name."
If the case of Tom DeLay is any indication, lobbyists risk losing their battle for respectability.
Jeffrey Birnbaum writes about the intersection of government and business every other Monday. His e-mail address iskstreetconfidential@washpost.com. He will be online to discuss lobbying, lawmaking, and Tom DeLay at 1 p.m. today athttp://www.washingtonpost.com.
|
Tom DeLay was the elephant in the room at a recent lobbyists' dinner -- and not because of his political party.
| 52.043478 | 1 | 23 |
high
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041601023.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041601023.html
|
Stevenson's 'Treasure Island': Still Avast Delight
|
2006041719
|
An occasional series in which The Post's book critic reconsiders notable and/or neglected books from the past.
By the early 1880s the Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson had, as he recalled more than a decade later, "written little books and little essays and short stories, and had got patted on the back and paid for them." He had "quite a reputation," yet he was frustrated and unhappy, puzzled "that I should spend a man's energy upon this business, and yet could not earn a livelihood."
He was "the head of a family" and "had lost my health" to the tuberculosis that finally killed him at age 44 in 1894, and he "was indeed very close on despair," when in this darkest of moments an astonishing thing happened. Back in Scotland after sojourns to southern climes in search of weather that would restore his health, he fell in with a schoolboy who was doing boyish drawings and, in the spirit of things, Stevenson "made the map of an island" the shape of which "took my fancy beyond expression." The child "ticketed my performance 'Treasure Island,' " and the rest -- in this case the old saw is absolutely true -- is history.
The novel that this map inspired was first called "Sea Cook" and, when it was published in serial form in 1881 and 1882, aroused no particular attention. But after Stevenson revised it for book publication in 1883 and retitled it, everything changed. "Treasure Island" almost immediately found innumerable readers, and ever since has been one of the world's most beloved books. It has been translated into heaven knows how many languages, has been adapted heaven knows how many times for films, the stage and television, and generally has worked its way into the public consciousness to a degree achieved by few other books. It is at once a thrilling adventure story and an acute psychological study of men in groups; it can be read with pleasure and profit at many levels.
Thus this reconsideration of "Treasure Island" can scarcely be called a rediscovery, because "Treasure Island" has never been lost. Still, it is now 125 years old, and it has been more than half a century since I first read it. Even the best and most beloved of books lose some of their steam over the years, as their stories become universally familiar and as their language gradually comes to seem dated and stilted. We know intimately the story of "Treasure Island" and its characters -- Jim Hawkins, Billy Bones, Captain Smollett and, most especially, Long John Silver -- but have the story and its people become so Disneyfied over the years that the book itself has vanished?
A rereading of Stevenson's novel after all those years says nothing to me so much as that good books -- and "Treasure Island" is a very good book -- really have lives of their own, entirely apart from movies and other adaptations of them. Some of the adaptations of the book are very good, but none is as good as the book itself. "Treasure Island" is a genuine classic that still somehow retains its power to surprise, to amuse and -- even though we all know how it ends -- to raise the reader's blood pressure.
Over the years "Treasure Island" frequently has been pigeonholed, and dismissed, as a book for boys. To be sure, Stevenson had boys in mind as he wrote it, but many girls have gotten great pleasure out of it and so, for that matter, have many adults, this one included. If we insist on literary categorization, then someone really must invent a category into which could be fit all those books -- Booth Tarkington's "Penrod" novels, Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer," Johanna Spyri's "Heidi" -- that are routinely filed in the children's section yet are often read by adults, and for that matter all those books that are rated "adult" yet can, and should, be read by children of a certain age: Russell Baker's "Growing Up," Richard Wright's "Native Son," Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde."
"Treasure Island" is an adventure story but it is also a fantasy; it has "the dreamlike quality of a fairy tale," according to the Penguin Classics edition, and though book-jacket copy generally should be discounted, that is a fair assessment. Set on a small, distant island in an unidentified part of the world -- John Seelye, in his introduction to the Penguin edition, makes an interesting argument that it is off the coast of California -- the story rises above time and place to achieve what Penguin calls "the power of myth." By Stevenson's own ready admission he was heavily influenced by Daniel Defoe, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving and others, to the extent that one almost senses great swaths of the world's literature being gathered into this relatively slender book that then rises above all of them. From the moment young Jim Hawkins first glimpses the island, the reader is transported into a world that is at once of and apart from our own:
"The place was entirely land-locked, buried in woods, the trees coming right down to high-water mark, the shores mostly flat, and the hilltops standing round at a distance in a sort of amphitheatre, one here, one there. Two little rivers, or, rather, two swamps, emptied out into this pond, as you might call it; and the foliage round that part of the shore had a kind of poisonous brightness. From the ship, we could see nothing of the house or stockade, for they were quite buried among trees; and if it had not been for the chart on the companion, we might have been the first that had ever anchored there since the island arose out of the seas."
The crew of the Hispaniola knows that there are structures on the island because they are indicated on the map that has guided them there. But this is not the same map that inspired Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesey to undertake the mission. It is a copy of the original, with an important omission: It does not include the exact site of the treasure buried by the legendary pirate Captain Flint, or the precise written directions to the site. The original map (removed from the cantankerous old Billy Bones's sea chest after his death) is carefully hidden from the crew by the squire and the captain, at first out of the officers' natural suspicion of the motives of their crews, but then they go on full alert when Jim inadvertently discovers that Long John Silver is preparing to lead a mutiny, seize the map and take the treasure for the mutineers.
The book has many splendidly realized characters, but two stand out. The first is Jim, who narrates most of the story (Livesey takes over the narrative for three important chapters) and who is boyishness incarnate, or, perhaps more accurate, romantic ideals of boyishness incarnate. He is still in his teens, bereft at the death of his father (complicated relationships of fathers and sons being a theme to which Stevenson returned over and over again), yet "full of sea dreams and the most charming anticipations of strange islands and adventures." He is independent and resourceful -- "a noticing lad," as Livesey puts it -- and even when he knows he shouldn't be doing what he has in mind, he does it anyway: "I was only a boy, and I had made my mind up."
The other is of course Long John Silver, that utterly amoral scoundrel with a heart of, well, not gold, but not lead, either. He has a peg leg and a parrot (in his reminiscence of the novel's creation, Stevenson writes with wry gratitude to Defoe, "No doubt the parrot once belonged to Robinson Crusoe") and he is so jolly with Jim when first they meet that the boy imagines him "one of the best of possible shipmates." Then Jim hears Silver muttering mutiny, and sees him in a far darker light: "I had, by this time, taken such a horror of his cruelty, duplicity, and power, that I could scarce conceal a shudder when he laid his hand upon my arm." Yet after the mutiny begins and the island is swept by violence, Silver saves Jim's life. As the old pirate sleeps, Jim regards him with something close to affection: "my heart was sore for him, wicked as he was, to think on the dark perils that environed, and the shameful gibbet that awaited him."
Ah yes, "environed" and "the shameful gibbet." Here we come to the problem of language. In Stevenson's day, environed meant "encircled." As to the gibbet, not many of today's readers will know that it is the gallows. "Gibbet" has gone the way of the gallows itself, and probably more than a few readers will be drawn up short when they encounter it now. Some of the dialogue also will slow them down. Here for example is Silver talking down a mutiny within the mutiny: "Did any of you gentlemen want to have it out with me? . . . Him that wants shall get it. Have I lived this many years, and a son of a rum puncheon cock his hat athwart my hawse at the latter end of it? You know the way; you're all gentlemen o' fortune, by your account. Well, I'm ready. Take a cutlass, him that dares, and I'll see the colour of his inside, crutch and all, before that pipe's empty."
Quaint, to be sure, but is it really very hard to figure out that Silver is challenging his men to pick a fight with him? No, it isn't, and it isn't hard to figure out that none of these guys will get the best of the one-legged rascal. Nor is it a surprise that, in the end, Stevenson can't bring himself to send Silver to the gibbet; he's come to love the old crook too much, and so has the reader.
A century and a quarter after its publication, "Treasure Island" apparently still is finding plenty of readers. Many different editions of it are available, some (like the Penguin) with scholarly apparatus and appendices, others unadorned and aimed, obviously, at younger readers. This reader, no spring chicken, has no doubt that they will enjoy it as much as he did when he was their age -- and that their parents will, too.
Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson (Penguin Classics, $7.)
Jonathan Yardley's e-mail address isyardleyj@washpost.com.
|
An occasional series in which The Post's book critic reconsiders notable and/or neglected books from the past.
| 111.263158 | 1 | 19 |
high
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/11/AR2006041101256.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/11/AR2006041101256.html
|
Among Us
|
2006041719
|
As coyotes settle into the Washington suburbs, they provoke awe, anxiety and a fundamental question: Do they have to adapt to us, or we to them?
In the meticulously planned community of Fallsgrove, there are six homeowners associations to gavel through disputes over fence heights and the proper color for window shutters. A property management company oversees most of the raking and mowing. Nature has been trimmed and shaped into a tidy border for narrow streets of tall townhouses and cluster homes. Most days, the only sign of wildlife is the squirrels that race around the community pool.
So it was with some astonishment that Cheryl Hays looked out her kitchen window at about 8 one morning last fall and saw what looked to be a large dog in the yard, about five feet from the back door. For a moment, still groggy with sleep, she thought: "Why is that dog in my back yard?" Then she remembered. Three weeks earlier, at about 6 a.m., she'd heard barking and looked out her bedroom window to see a pair of coyotes trotting purposefully down the middle of Long Trail Terrace, toward Jersey Lane. "They were walking up people's driveways, sniffing around the houses!" Hays said. She heard a third coyote barking from a grove of trees on the other side of the house, and when she ran to look there, she saw not one but three coyotes. That meant there were at least three, and possibly five, coyotes sniffing around her house that morning. "They were in driveways, front yards and brazenly on the street!" she e-mailed a neighbor.
As most of Fallsgrove already knew, coyotes were afoot in Rockville. A trapper hired by the Fallsgrove property management company had already caught and killed at least 12, and possibly 14, around the 252-acre subdivision before a lawsuit by the Humane Society of Montgomery County temporarily shut him down. Two more coyotes had been hit by cars nearby.
And, although coyotes had not attacked anyone, their mere presence had provoked volleys of alarmed e-mail among community residents. Coyotes had circled one prominent Fallsgrove homeowner, J. Thomas Manger, the county's chief of police, and his kids on a walking path. (Since confirming the incident, the chief has declined further public comment about it.) One of Hays's neighbors phoned her to report that she, too, had been followed by coyotes, while walking her toddler and two border collies.
Hays, a real estate agent with a determined air, petitioned her homeowners association to raise the fence height limit from four to six feet, arguing that the extra two feet might make it harder for the coyotes to move around. She called the trapper to ask if he planned to return. (He didn't.) And she called the Rockville city manager to request that the city encircle an eight-acre green space in the middle of the development known as the Preserve with something even higher -- an eight-foot cast-iron fence.
Neither the city nor the homeowners association thought drastic fencing measures were needed. "The homeowners association seems to think that I am the only concerned person in the neighborhood," she e-mailed a neighbor. "It is appalling to me that the homeowners association and the city refuse to acknowledge the public safety issue to family and pets." Instead, Hays complained, local officialdom seemed set on a wait-and-see approach.
Hays, 34, stood in her tiny side yard on a recent evening and peered out into the dark corridor of grass between her house and the one next door. "They come through here and head to the shopping center dumpster," she said of the coyotes. "It's just like they're commuting!" Eight-and-a-half months pregnant with her second child, Hays wondered out loud how she was supposed to share her world with wild coyotes. "It's crazy! These are the most expensive homes in Rockville, and we're like hostages! We bought here for the walking paths. Well, how am I going to deal with a coyote on the path when I'm out there with an infant in a stroller, a toddler and a dog on a leash?"
Hays shook her head. "I don't think people should kill them -- I'm an animal lover. But it's just frightening."
A few blocks away, one of Hays's neighbors was having similar misgivings, but from the opposite point of view. Aubrey Bursch, a 27-year-old accountant and multimedia specialist, a newlywed who spends her spare time volunteering at a wildlife hospital, was less worried about the coyotes than about her neighbors' reaction to them. Things already seemed so charged -- trapping, the lawsuit and more than a dozen dead coyotes. And the coyotes hadn't even attacked anyone. Eyewitness reports of coyote encounters were sketchy and adrenaline-tinged. The fact was that no one in Fallsgrove, none of her neighbors, and not Bursch herself, knew very much about coyotes. The trapper had retreated angrily to his house on Maryland's Eastern Shore and wasn't talking publicly.
Bursch had joined the Humane Society lawsuit that put a temporary stop to the trapping. To her, the trapping seemed something of a rush to judgment. Everyone knew that Fallsgrove, only a few years old, had been built on the old Thomas Farm, a rare large parcel of agricultural land in the lower county. It was not far from two parks. Which made Bursch and others wonder: Wasn't it possible that Fallsgrove, not the coyotes, was the intruder? Wasn't it possible that Fallsgrove owed the coyotes some degree of accommodation? Or at least a thorough investigation of the problem before eradication began?
And what about the rats? Everyone in Fallsgrove knew there was a rat problem in some sections of the development. People stepped over them getting out of their cars. Wasn't it possible that this rat buffet had something to do with the proliferation of coyotes at Fallsgrove? And, if so, didn't it make sense to clean up the rat problem before wholesale killing of coyotes began?
|
As coyotes settle into the Washington suburbs, they provoke awe, anxiety and a fundamental question: Do they have to adapt to us, or we to them?
| 38.580645 | 1 | 31 |
high
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041601005.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041601005.html
|
She's a Riding Giant
|
2006041719
|
Jockey agent John Faltynski, who works with 18-year old Anna Rose Napravnik, recalled a recent post position draw in the Laurel Park racing office for one seven-horse field that turned comical. The officials began matching the posts with the entries, and nearly every trainer had his Napravnik named to ride.
"In a seven-horse field it was, 'Number two, Napravnik; number four, Napravnik.' Now, everybody's saying I'm in trouble," Faltynski recalled, laughing. " 'Number three, Napravnik; number six, Napravnik; number one, Napravnik.' She was named on five of the seven horses. The next day, I said to Rosie, 'Who do you want to ride?' She said, 'That's what I pay you the big bucks for, fella,' and walked out."
In less than a year, Napravnik has harnessed a running current of poise, natural talent and a voracious appetite for hard work to become the most successful female jockey in the country. Since winning on her very first mount, a horse named Ringofdiamonds last June at Pimlico, Napravnik went from an unknown to the seventh-winningest jockey in the United States, 24th in earnings and the only female jockey in the nation's top 100.
Last Thursday, about an hour before the first race at Laurel, Napravnik was shuffling around slowly in thick, white socks under flip-flops, her head of wiry red hair bunched tightly inside a stretchy do-rag, dark rings under her tired eyes.
A week after missing two days of riding with the flu, Napravnik was back taking mounts as the leading jockey in Maryland, only now suffering from strep throat.
"It doesn't really affect my riding," she said, wearily speaking low, trying to conserve her voice. "I'm a little bit stronger when I'm healthy, but it doesn't matter as soon as the gates open."
A hacking case of strep throat wasn't going to keep her off her horses and possibly allow another rider to get on them and win.
"She's smart," said veteran Maryland trainer Eddie Gaudet. "Very, very smart."
In the Laurel Park winter meet that ended Saturday, Napravnik towered over her fellow Maryland riders, winning 99 races in 72 days on mounts earning $1,662,940. Runner-up Erick Rodriguez won 56 races and $1,087,630.
Riders such as Napravnik, who are still serving their apprenticeship, rarely get calls to ride in stakes races because they lose the benefit of their weight allowance. Jockeys are considered apprentices for one year after their fifth victory and while competing in non-stakes races are permitted to carry up to 10 pounds less than journeymen jockeys in the same race.
After Napravnik won the Harrison Johnson Memorial Handicap on March 18, however, then came back the next week aboard Our Peaks to score an electrifying win in the Private Terms Stakes at odds of 74-1, nobody cared any longer what she weighed.
|
Get sports news, schedules, rosters for Washington Redskins, Wizards, Orioles, United, Mystics, Nationals. Features Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland high school/college teams, Wilbon and Kornheiser from The Washington Post.
| 14.02381 | 0.47619 | 0.47619 |
low
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600695.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600695.html
|
U.S. Solicits Border Surveillance Technology Proposals
|
2006041719
|
The long-awaited request for proposals for the Department of Homeland Security's Secure Border Initiative-Net was released last week, marking the start of competition for a contract worth an estimated $2 billion.
The contract will be used to develop and install surveillance technology along U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico. It is the technology element of the broader Secure Border Initiative, or SBI.
"Adding agents at the border is insufficient unless we also can give them the technology they need and unless we contain and remove the aliens they catch," the department's request for proposals says. Under the contract, the system must detect entries when they occur, identify who has entered, classify the level of threat and "effectively and efficiently respond to the entry," the statement says.
But key members of Congress have said they will not approve funding for the initiative until they are convinced it won't become what one called "another money pit."
The SBI-Net contract will have performance-based task and delivery orders. It will be for a three-year base period with three one-year options.
Three federal contractors -- Ericsson Inc., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co. -- have confirmed that DHS has qualified them to bid on the SBI-Net contract. Northrop Grumman Corp. also has confirmed its interest in the contract. Boeing Co., which has been considered a potential bidder, has declined to comment.
The department is working to meet a congressional request to prepare an overall strategy for immigration policy enforcement and border security by the end of April. Once the strategy is complete, the agency in June will begin to create an operational plan, Gregory Giddens, SBI-Net program manager, told the House Appropriations subcommittee on homeland security on April 6. It should all be done by September, when DHS intends to award the SBI-Net contract, he said.
"We have been charged with creating a strategy . . . but it does not stop there," Giddens said. "We have to take that strategy and turn that into programs and tasks and metrics and milestones, so that we can have accountability."
The subcommittee is considering the Bush administration's fiscal 2007 request for $1.3 billion for the SBI, which includes $100 million toward the SBI-Net technology component.
But Rep. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.), who chairs the subcommittee, said in an April 7 hearing that he wants to see a strategic plan for the SBI before approving the funding.
"How do you know that items such as $100 million in technology and $51 million in desert tactical infrastructure are needed, when you have yet to put into place an SBI resource plan or award the primary SBI contract?" Rogers asked. "Without seeing your strategic plan, how do we know that this $1.3 billion is the right investment and not just another money pit? When presented with questions like this, we apply a simple formula: No plan equals no money."
Rogers said the government has spent millions on "elaborate border technology that, eventually, has proven to be ineffective and wasteful," such as the Integrated Surveillance Intelligence System and America Shield Initiative. "How is the SBI not just another three-letter acronym for failure?" he asked.
Rep. Martin O. Sabo (D-Minn.), the subcommittee's ranking minority member, said he wants more strategic information about how the SBI would operate and how it would avoid the contracting problems of the past.
"Money isn't the only issue. There are complex policy and technical issues here that require expert leadership and well-thought programs on top of significant resources," Sabo said, adding that the budget request may be "just a drop in the bucket compared to what will be needed."
Alice Lipowicz is a staff writer with Washington Technology. For information on this and other contracts, go tohttp://www.washingtontechnology.com.
|
The long-awaited request for proposals for the Department of Homeland Security's Secure Border Initiative-Net was released last week, marking the start of competition for a contract worth an estimated $2 billion.
| 19.589744 | 1 | 39 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/17/DI2006041700307.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/17/DI2006041700307.html
|
Blowing the Whistle on Boeing
|
2006041719
|
Washington Post reporter Sara Kehaulani Goo and Florence Graves, director of the Brandeis University Institute for Investigative Journalism, were online Monday, April 17, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss alleged problems in aircraft manufacturing reported by three whistleblowers.
An article in today's Washington Post examines the case.
Sara Kehaulani Goo: Welcome everyone. Thank you for joining us and we look forward to your questions!
Oklahoma City, Okla.: Great article...what kind of follow-up can we expect?? Hope you don't just drop it here...this is just the first chapter...How can we resolve this problem...sounds to me like the government and Boeing are both playing plausible deniability and CYA games and putting up a lot of smoke to obscure some very serious issues.
Florence Graves: It's always impossible to know how an investigative story's findings will play out. Often, it is the constituencies affected by the story who push forward for the truth. In this case, the whistle-blower's have a lawsuit in play. If the lawsuit moves forwardthey are awaiting a ruling by a federal judge in Wichitathe case could lead to some bottom-line answers from Boeing and the FAA. In the case of the FAA, some people have told me it is up to Congress to get involved and demand answers to resolve issues such as these.
Oklahoma City, Okla.: Where were the FAA Certification inspectors when all these parts were being put into aircraft? Isn't this basically a failure of the FAA in its oversight of certificated manufacturers?
Florence Graves: Several aviation experts have asked us the same questions. They have told us there is an FAA system in place that should have caught and documented these problems well before parts were installed on planes. In responses to our questions, the FAA never offered any information or documentation saying these parts were found to be approved by FAA inspectors as part of their oversight function prior to their being installed on airplanes or prior to the whistle-blowers bringing the questions to the FAA's attention. In fact, the FAA told us that the first time they heard about any problems was when the whistle-blowers told them about them in Spring 2002.
Arlington, Va.: If the 737s are being "phased out," how soon will they be completely out of use? Is this something consumers who frequently travel in 737s should be concerned about?
Florence Graves: Boeing is now focusing its production on the Next Generation of 737s -- the 737NGs -- which are the 737-600s and above. The parts questioned by the whistleblowers were installed on several hundred 737NGs.
The previous generation of 737s -- known as the Classics -- are numbered 737-300s, 400s, and 500s -- continue to be flown in the U.S. and especially in foreign countries all over the world. No one we interviewed has said they know for certain that there is any immediate safety concern. Engineers have told us it is not possible to make that determination without more information about how the parts were made combined with an analysis of where they were installed. Several experts told us that given the seriousness of the allegations, they believe the FAA should do a more thorough investigation.
They have told us that the public should be concerned that the FAA did not follow its own procedures to determine whether the parts were "approved" to be installed on airplanes.
Anonymous: Did the parts comply with the original certification basis as to function? Do the parts comply with Boeing approved (by FAA) quality control standards? Have any airworthiness issues been documented by the FAA under the continued airworthiness reporting standards?
Florence Graves: The main point of our investigation is that FAA did not look at the thousands of parts reported by the whistleblowers as suspected unapproved parts. The whistleblowers say that because of the manufacturing problems they observed and reported to Boeing as key participants in a Boeing sponsored audit, they don't believe the parts at issue installed on airplanes met quality control standards. Again, your questions are questions the FAA should answer definitively.
The FAA has issued a number of Airworthiness Directives, the most serious form of warning issued by the FAA, related to a number of the same types of parts reported by the whistleblowers. However, the Airworthiness Directives were on 737 planes of the previous generation called the Classic -- 737-300, 400, 500. The whistleblowers say the parts they know about were installed on the Next Generation 737 or 737NG -- the 600s and above.
Laurel, Md.: Since Boeing has almost no directly comparable competitors, do we know whether these practices would be standard and accepted in the industry, if there was a "rest of the industry" to compare Boeing to?
Sara Kehaulani Goo: That's a great question. It's true that Boeing does not have any direct US competitors but it does compete globally with Airbus, which is based in France. Airbus must meet FAA specifications for its planes to be certified to fly here. And smaller US aviation manufacturers such as Cessna, must also meet FAA requirements for manufacturing. The FAA rules are clear that manufacturers must outline certain design and manufacturing specifications that their suppliers must meet and if they don't, then they have to have a process in place to review a part that is not built according to design. That part is pretty standard across aviation from what we understand.
Falls Church, Va.: Thank you for a very good article. Can you give any more details on which particular military aircrafts supposedly received faulty parts?
Florence Graves: Military planes questioned by the whistleblowers include 10 U.S. Navy planes --9 C40As and one C40B
19 U.S. Air Force planes--including C 40Cs,C40Bs C40B/Cs, C33, C32-As, AWACS
Also, the lawsuit names 17 planes sold to foreign militaries under the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program to countries such as Australia, Saudi Air Force, United Arab Emirates, Equatorial Guinea Government, Jordanian government, Pakistan, Royal Malaysian Air Force, South African Air Force, Taiwan Air Force, Yemen government, Italian Air Force, and Zazakhstan Government.
Wary Traveler: I will miss the chat, so I'm submitting early. I am stunned that the plaintiffs had to hire an investigator because the FAA did not do its job.
Has the FAA responded to that? How does the timing & action match with Boeing moving its headquarters to the House Speaker's home state of Illinois?
Florence Graves: In our interviews, the FAA consistently maintained that no matter what others said, their investigation was complete.
Harrisburg, Pa.: Is there any means that a random sample of these planes could be inspected to see whether or not they were improperly constructed?
Florence Graves: That is a question best answered by aviation safety engineers. As you read, our investigation found that FAA never fully looked into the reliability or safety of the thousands of parts questioned by the whistle-blowers.
Raleigh, N.C.: As a shareholder of both companies, I follow DCO and BA closely. I am curious as to why you did not mention the 2/28/06 action by District Judge Wesley Brown? He threw out the case .... isn't that a critical issue to the point you are making in the article?
Sara Kehaulani Goo: Good point. The recent decision by the District Court in Kansas threw out several of the whistleblower's claims based on a lack of evidence for meeting requirements for the Federal False Claims Act. But the judge did not throw out the retaliation claims and he made very clear that his decision was not based on the merits of the case. The whistleblowers have refiled their claim with new evidence and we can't pretend to guess how the case will go forward (or not.) Regardless of whether the case moves ahead legally, we thought there was an important and compelling story to tell here about the manufacturing process.
Florence Graves: : I don't believe that the judge's rulings so far have made any statements on the actual substance of the allegations about thousands of unapproved parts installed on airplanes. The whistle-blowers' attorneys filed a second amended complaint a few weeks ago, supplying some of the information the judge requested. The lawsuit is still active.
Los Angeles, Calif.: So let me get this straight: A company whose very survival depends on the quality and safety of its product (let's face it -- there's a MUCH higher penalty for Boeing if one of its products fails than just about any other manufacturer) says there's no technical problem.
The Department of Justice, the FAA, the NTSB all say, "Nope. No safety problem here." The case has been thrown out of court twice and reduced a third time.
And yet the Post hires a raft of outside consultants to chase this story?
I don't get it. Even the story itself has a certain subtext here of "Um. There's not a problem. But we already hired these consultants...."
Florence Graves: One major finding of our investigation is that the Federal Aviation Administration and its Suspected Unapproved Parts office, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Transportation Inspector General never looked at the thousands of parts and some 200 part types questioned by the whistleblowers.
Wichita, Kan.: How did you become interested in this subject?
Florence Graves: Another journalist I know who couldn't do the story alerted me to it.
Washington, D.C.: OK, ummm, does this mean a plane could fall out of the sky and how could Boeing be so careless??? Who do we call/sue/complain to?
Sara Kehaulani Goo: No, planes will not fall out of the sky! We wanted to be clear NOT to say that. In fact, there is a bit of debate based on safety experts we talked to about how serious the safety implications are for the jets. Some said it is hard to tell without looking at the parts installed on the planes and it seems there might be an issue of potential cracking areas as the plane ages. Others said they doubted there was much to be concerned about. What we hope the story does is provide an insight into the manufacturer's complicated process for building a plane and overseeing suppliers and the government's important role in overseeing both.
Alexandria, Va.: Have any mechanical issues (there haven't been crashes, as your article states, but perhaps turnarounds, repairs, etc.) have been linked to this problem, if any?
Sara Kehaulani Goo: No. We talked to several carriers who fly a lot of the 737 NGs and they report no problems.
Florence Graves: In this story, we were addressing these suspected unapproved parts questioned by these whistleblowers, so we didn't have space to go into other background issues. We did mention that a Boeing Special Technical Audit of the Puget Sound area plants (conducted December 1, 1999 through February 11, 2000) revealed very serious systemic problems in a host of areas, including Boeing's manufacturing, supplier oversight, engineering procedures, and unapproved parts entering the system.
You could look for possible follow ups in the future at http://www.brandeis.edu/investigate--the website for The Brandeis Institute for Investigative Journalism which I direct. On Tuesday, we will post the Executive Summary of the Boeing Special Technical audit that was made public in August 2000.
Sara Kehaulani Goo: Sorry for the delay. We are having technical problems here.
Crownsville, Md.: The Bush administration has a history of hiring people who used to work in the industries they are now regulating and tend to bend over backwards to help those industries. Was there any evidence in your investigation that the FAA officials and other government officials involved in the investigation of these claims may have had a bias towards protecting Boeing?
Sara Kehaulani Goo: No, we have not found anything like that.
Philadelphia, PA: As a follow up to your article, you need a better understanding of metal fatigue on aircraft. A small company near Seattle -- Fatigue Technology -- specializes in preventing metal fatigue in aircraft. It would be worth your while to contact their engineering department.
All metals fatigue and crack as a result of the cycling airplanes go through. So how many cycles are the planes compromised as a result of the imperfect holes? Hairline fractures begin at the edge of the holes, not somewhere in the middle of the metal. Once the cracks grow long enough they can act like a zipper. Certain things can add to the possibility of a crack initiating in fewer cycles, such as: making the holes larger than necessary, holes not being round, and holes not being properly reamed.
A number of years ago Aloha Airlines suddenly lost the top of its cabin during a flight from this type of metal fatigue.
Inspecting holes for hairline cracks is very much an art as opposed to a science. There are repairs which can extend the fatigue life of the metal, such as split sleeve cold expansion. Again, as part of a follow up piece, some of these details may be useful.
Florence Graves: Thank you so much for this important follow-up information.
washingtonpost.com: Sorry for the delay folks, we're trying to work out some technical glitches.
washingtonpost.com: Because of the technical issues, Sara and Florence will stick around for a bit beyond noon to take your questions. Thanks for your patience.
Washington, D.C.: I have heard that FAA designates aircraft manufacturer employees to "act for FAA" in aircraft certification. Your story has allegations that Boeing pressured its employees to be quiet. Should there be more FAA inspectors employed by the agency or, as I've heard, FAA can't afford to hire people with the requisite expertise and has to use manufacturer employees?
Sara Kehaulani Goo: Good question. Yes, the FAA "designates" many people to certify the "airworthiness" or maintenence on its behalf. Many of these "designees" work directly for aviation manufacturers. So you can see that you would have to be very independent and respected within a company to stand up and say "No" on occasion to the company that writes your paycheck. We found that many of these designees were well respected in their field. On top of that, the FAA directly employs several hundred inspectors and they do regular checks on manufacturers and air carriers. There have been several government reports showing that these employees are increasingly stretched and shorthanded.
Eagle River, Alaska: Hi, living in a state where you virtually have to fly anywhere this really upsets me. How many times have planes crashed because of some part they didn't think was significant? I can't imagine there is a part that's not significant or they wouldn't put it on a plane in the first place. I would hate to see airplane go down and then have everyone come back and say " oh we never new this would cause a problem." This is crazy by the way how much is a human life going for these days? It all comes down to money. It's sad.
Port Wentworth, Ga.: Did you review any data supporting the allegations and are there defective parts on the airplanes?
Sara Kehaulani Goo: Yes, we reviewed many, many documents that supported the allegations that there were manufacturing problems with the parts that Ducommun was making for Boeing during the 1999-2000 time frame. We know there are many Ducommun parts on Boeing planes. As to whether they are defective, that is something that we could not detemine even if we could look at them. We are not engineers and from what we understand, an engineer would have to look at it and compare it to the original design and assess the safety impact if it is not built according to design.
Florence Graves: Yes, we reviewed a lot of information. Some data is in the whistle-blowers' complaint -- excerpts from Boeing Supplier Evaluation reports -- indicating serious problems at the manufacturer and at Boeing during 1999 and 2000. In the documents released to us under the Freedom of Information Act about the FAA's suspected unapproved parts report -- the FAA made no mention of these reports about problems reported by Boeing quality people at the time they were finding them.
Neither the FAA nor Boeing would say whether or how they squared these reports with determinations there were no problems with the parts questioned by the whistleblowers.
As our story said, the FAA has opened another investigation and will have another opportunity to determine whether the parts on planes questioned by the whistleblowers are both approved and safe.
Arlington, Va.: Early in the 1970's, I worked side by side with engineers from Boeing. Great group of people. I learned alot from them about high quality engineering and manufacturing. One of the jokes they liked to tell was about how they dealt with faulty parts. "Cut to form, hammer to fit and paint to match." It sounds like there was more to this joke than I realized!
Sara Kehaulani Goo: Wow! Thanks for sharing.
Florence Graves: In my interviews, I heard many compliments about the quality of Boeing engineers--especially in the days before these manufacturing issues were occurring. A number of people told us that almost all Boeing employees were under tremendous pressure to keep the production line moving so that more planes could be produced in a shorter amount of time.
Springfield, Va.: In your article, I think that someone claimed that an airplance would have to be torn open to check for problems with some of the suspected unapproved parts. But aren't there forms of nondestructive testing, like X-rays and ultrasound, that are used routinely to detect fatigue cracks which could be used to examine at least samples of the suspected parts without disassembling large sections of an aircraft?
Sara Kehaulani Goo: Many of these parts are installed on the inner part of the fuselage structure that are not easily accessible in a passenger jet. I am aware of the testing techniques you mention and I don't know if they could have used them. It's a great question.
Wilmington, N.C.: I am interested the psychology of the whistle-blowers. You mentioned in the article that one was "appalled" by what she saw. Did you ask the whistle-blowers any questions regarding their motivations to report these instances, even after they started receiving demotions, pay cuts, and received little support from the DOJ?
Florence Graves: The three whistleblowers--Jeannine Prewitt, Taylor Smith and James Ailes--each told us they felt they had a moral and ethical obligation to surface their allegations. They were terribly concerned and felt the quality and potential safety questions they raised about the thousands of parts needed to be thoroughly addressed by qualified personnel.
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.
|
Reporter Sara Kehaulani Goo and Florence Graves, director of the Brandeis University Institute for Investigative Journalism, will be online to discuss alleged problems in aircraft manufacturing reported by three whistleblowers.
| 108.029412 | 0.941176 | 9.764706 |
high
|
medium
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/03/02/DI2006030201196.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/03/02/DI2006030201196.html
|
Apartment Life Live
|
2006041719
|
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.
Check out our special feature: Think Smart: Apartment Hunting Made Easy .
Read Sara's latest Read Sara's latestApartment Life column.
Sara Gebhardt: Hello, everyone. Thanks for joining me on a special day to talk about apartment hunting and any other renting-related issues you may have.
Looking for new digs? Check out Think Smart: Apartment Hunting Made Easy located in the Rentals section at washingtonpost.com. It's full of tips and advice for apartment hunters.
Sara Gebhardt: Also, thank you to those who sent in submissions for the story.
Washington, D.C.: All the advice is good, but come on, the real problem in D.C. is money. There are a lot of nonprofit organizations in this town and those of us who work at them would like to be able to afford a one-bedroom apartment in the city and can't. Yes, we can get roommates, but that gets a little old when you are in your mid-thirties. A friend of mine owned her home in Miami and sold it for a tidy profit when she left for D.C. last year, and now finds she can neither afford to buy here, nor to rent a one-bedroom in the city in a neighborhood with basic amenities. Understandably, in my opinion, she is not willing to be an urban pioneer and live in a neighborhood that is considered unsafe (according to D.C. police stats -- not stereotypes). Any thoughts?
Sara Gebhardt: Sure, I have plenty of thoughts on this, many of which have nothing to do with renting and everything to do with the professions our society sometimes unfairly devalues. Living in the metro area is indeed very expensive and difficult to manage on certain kinds of salaries, which in turn influence people's career and/or location choices. I still contend, however, that people can find "deals" (which doesn't mean "cheap") with a lot of hard work. There are programs, such as in Montgomery County, that gives incentives to people below a certain salary bracket. I have heard of at least one apartment communities that lowers rent prices for teachers. And there are private landlords with whom negotiating is possible. Obviously, there is also skilled budgeting, which will allow you to live larger in this city if you make some other sacrifices.
Rockville, Md.: I really like my apartment, but the lease is running out in August. What is the best way to continue: another lease or month to month. I expect to stay and don't want the rent to go up all that much. Is there a way to manage this? Would it be another lease? Or do most people go month-to-month?
Sara Gebhardt: It really depends on your landlord. Some will want you to sign on for another month and others would rather have you on a month-to-month lease. More likely although not necessarily, negotiating to sign a lease for twelve months will help you keep your rent from going up too much. On a month-to-month, your landlords will have more opportunity to raise your rent. On a twelve month, he or she could decide to increase it a lot or not and would be stuck with that price for the long haul. Besides rent price, a twelve month lease does allow for much more stability.
Washington, D.C.: If someone pays their rent late (after the fifth or tenth every now and then), will this prevent them from renting from other property management companies in the future?
Sara Gebhardt: It depends on whether your landlord now mentions this to your next landlord. If you've established a pattern, it's safe to say it will not go unnoticed.
Northwest D.C.: Sara, four years ago, my two roommates and I found an apartment building that we liked but it didn't have any available three bedroom units. The manager mentioned that we could "build a wall" between the den and dining room (turning it into a third bedroom) and told us that their contractors would build it if we paid $2,500. She assured us that because their contractors were building it, it would become their problem when we moved as it would be part of the unit at that point. We gladly forked over the money and love the setup. Since then, it's become more common and a significant number of units in our building have taken this route since the building is so expensive.
However, we just found out that the building has since determined that tenants would have to find their own contractors and then the wall would have to be the tenants responsibility upon vacating the apartment (i.e., the tenant would have to pay to take it down, etc.). Well, four building managers later, we are thinking of moving out next year and have no "proof" of this oral agreement with the original manager that we don't have to worry about the wall or any proof that their contractors built it. Is there anything we can do? It seems pretty clear if you look at our units compared to others that it was an inside job, but we're really worried as the current property manager doesn't seem to believe us. Thanks for your advice.
Sara Gebhardt: And now we have yet another example of the dangers of oral agreements. What you should do is gather other residents and photograph or inventory other apartments who have done this and begin a group effort to convince your property manager of the former management's policies. If you can contact that management company and contractors as well and get somebody to vouch for you, its word will go a long way. Do what you can to gather enough evidence, present it to your management both verbally and in writing, and if that fails, you may need to seek legal advice. Or you can learn the art of demolition or just surrender your security deposit. If you do get management to concede, make sure you have that in writing as well.
Arlington, Va.: I have researched the rent in Maryland (Prince George's County) for some time now. Seems safe enough at this point the rent is more reasonable than any of the surrounding areas.
Rent is so expensive where I'm at now. Have you heard any more about the decrease in crime? What do you think? Is it safe yet?
Sara Gebhardt: Is what "safe yet"? No need to disparage Prince George's County... there are plenty of "nice" neighborhoods in the area and there have been for a long time. I've used quotations only to alert you that there are good and bad areas in every county and region, and the designation is subjective. Only you know what you consider unsafe, and the best way to figure out whether an area meets your standards for safety is to look at crime statistics, spend time there both during the day and at night to gauge your comfort level, and find out as much as you can about communities you're interested in.
Dupont Circle, D.C.: FYI: Apartmentratings.com is a good resource. Some of the posters may be a little bonkers, but I used the ratings and reviews with a grain of salt as part of my overall apartment search when I moved here three years ago. It was helpful to read what actual residents of the buildings had to say.
Sara Gebhardt: Thanks for the tip!
Washington, D.C.: Hello chatters. I just moved to Georgetown last fall (granted I don't have as much money as those old blue hairs with their Federal townhomes and stuffy cocktail parties, etc.). I try to dress appropriately despite my relative penury, but the fact is I have been known to wear sweat pants, although only to get the newspaper or let out the dog. For this, however, my neighbors constantly scoff at me, sometimes openly mock my clothes even when I am not wearing sweat pants but the area's signature clam diggers. I have in fact become something of a pariah within our row of townhouses. Do you think this is based on a legitimate gripe, or are they only trying to give me the heave-ho?
Sara Gebhardt: Do you think those old Blue hairs might be making the same kind of assumptions you're making about them? Are you sure it's your sweat pants that have made you a pariah? I suggest at the very least having a big "dress down" bash for your neighbors at your house, so you can forge bonds and find out if something else is going on.
Maryland: Whether ones agrees or not, the cost of rent is not driven by what one does for a living, but what one does for a living is often driven by the cost of rent. To think otherwise will ensure yourself of a constant source of frustration.
It's not just not-for-profits folks, either. Police officers, firefighters, teachers, etc., -- all noble professions, but most people in them won't get rich doing it.
Sara Gebhardt: Thanks for the comment. I'd put journalists on that list too.
D.C.: I live in a big building in Adams Morgan and have been plagued by mice for the past two weeks -- middle of the night scurrying and everything. Landlord has set glue traps but mice keep returning. I am fairly clean. Any ideas? Should I move?
Sara Gebhardt: Read my most recent column, from this past Saturday. It gives tips on how to ward off mice on your own. You don't have to move, you just have to be aggressive.
Washington, D.C.: I'm new to D.C. and want to move to another apartment by August. I've been told by D.C. veterans that one shouldn't start looking until one month in advance of the move-in date. Is this accurate?
Sara Gebhardt: You can start looking as early as you want, but generally you don't need more than two months to really find a place in the area. The best thing to do before you have to commit to one place is to begin figuring out where you would like to live and what's generally available.
Washington, D.C.: A question for the chatters and Sara: I'm a landlord to a tenant who's great in all ways except one -- paying on time. I have a fee in the lease for paying after the fifth of the month, and recently added a larger one (in addition to the first one) for payment after the 15th. I'd set-up the larger fee in hopes that it would be a deterrent to paying late, but it hasn't stopped our tenant. Now, on one hand, I feel guilty that I may be exacerbating our tenant's financial woes, but on the other hand, this is a business and we're not being paid fairly.
My thought is that it's time for a conversation about whether she can really afford my rent anymore (it's only increased three percent per year in three years, outside of these fees). Is this awkward? We don't want to lose an otherwise-good tenant, but we're being taken advantage of. Thoughts?
Sara Gebhardt: Here's proof that late rent payment may not put you in the category of "bad renter." If late rent payments are negatively impacting the way you run your business, then you should talk to the renter. Discussions about money are almost always awkward for landlords and tenants, but it's the only way that will help you resolve this dilemma.
Montgomery County, Md.: My parents have an awful tenant renting a single family home. Awful as in he not only consistently pays rent late, but takes it upon himself to unilaterally deduct money from the rent for repairs (in the nearly two years he and his family have lived in the house, he has paid full rent less than 10 times, sometimes sending checks for less than half the amount of the rent), despite my parents repeated requests -- orally and in writing -- that he contact them first if he needs any repair work done so that they can arrange it. Furthermore, he seldom provides receipts for this so-called repair work, but takes violent offense when my parents ask for the same. Short of going through the process of actually evicting the tenant, or seeking other legal remedy (my parents wish to remain on good terms, especially as this tenant has a five-year lease thanks to a pushy realtor, and they are afraid he might damage the property if they try to take action), is there anything at all they can do?
Sara Gebhardt: I'm getting a lot of landlord questions today. Ask yourself why your parents should put up with this kind of tenant for another 2+ years and then take the most logical action you can think of. Deciding not to evict because you fear retaliation may not be the best strategy, but I am not a lawyer.
Virginia: Have you ever heard of a place in D.C. that would allow you to pay rent with credit card? I like earning points with everything I pay for.
Sara Gebhardt: I believe the big companies are starting to do this, possibly Archstone-Smith.
Alexandria, Va.: My landlord owns my three-bedroom place that I share with one person (and looking to fill the third room) but he doesn't have us sign leases (he used to live in the unit). He's had two different tenants in the third room in the last six months, and hasn't found a new one yet. I'm worried he's going to sell the place, and I really don't want to move for the third time in two years. Any advice on how I can stay put?
Sara Gebhardt: Have you asked him if he's going to sell the place? That is your first move so that you save yourself the speculative worry.
RE: Lease up: About three months prior to my lease being up, my complex sent me a letter saying I could renew by a specific date (one and a half months prior to renewal) and keep the same rent. If I chose not to sign, I would pay "full price" or month-to-month.
Sara Gebhardt: Different landlords have different strategies and incentives to keep their current tenants. Thanks for sharing.
Washington, D.C.: I'm moving into a condo and the condo imposes a hefty moving fee. Is my landlord responsible for paying it or am I?
Sara Gebhardt: It depends on what your lease says.
D.C.: I have to concur with the postings regarding the outrageous rents being charged in this area. I recently moved here from Chicago and I am frustrated not only by the high cost of living but the lack of housing options for renters in D.C. I think the real problem is a lack of supply. For all the talk of a construction boom in D.C. I see plenty of empty lots that are sitting there undeveloped. I think if there was more attention to the supply side there would be some relief for renters in this area.
Sara Gebhardt: Thanks for contributing to our discussion.
Adams Morgan mice ... again: OK, so I've read your article -- very helpful information, by the way. My landlord says they couldn't find any holes where mice could come in. Is there no recourse a tenant should have. I just really wish there was more they were willing to do. Yes I keep it clean, but it's not my fault if the building is infested.
This is giving me the heebie-jeebies.
Sara Gebhardt: Ask your landlord to check for holes again (as the article states, around plumbing and electrical piping especially). Mice are very small, so most apartments will have spaces that fit these creatures. Also, try to trap them yourself for a while.
In reality, a landlord has to keep your place sanitary, so you do have recourse if the infestation continues. Wait to see their response, and if it's not adequate, then you can attempt to break the lease.
Bethesda, Md.: Be very careful, readers, about who/what you let into your house. I didn't screen properly enough and I got an individual who not only trashed my house but punched a hole in the wall (house belongs to owner, I'm the only one on lease and only one who stands to lose deposit for damages).
Went to court and the jerk stated that he didn't make the injury to the house. Judge didn't find photo evidence to be strong enough.
This individual had the nerve to say that I did it myself.
Woe be to you if don't check and double-check references! (Or at least it was to me.) I've had to waste time in court, and Maryland laws are liberal.
Thanks for the listen. Any advice would be appreciated, but I've studied the law, gone to Montgomery County housing authority. Now all that's left is to hire (an expensive) attorney.
Sara Gebhardt: I'm not really sure what this is about, but everybody needs to vent sometime. Obviously, don't let people into your homes or apartments if you don't know them well. As a renter, you will be liable for your guests' damages.
Maryland - Rent Withholding: Chances are the tenant isn't following proper procedure for this. In every state I'm aware of, it's a very tricky business and cannot be done unilaterally without prior written notice to the landlord (and even when it is allowed, it's usually a very small amount per year).
The poster's parents really need to address lease termination and should talk with a local real estate attorney.
Sara Gebhardt: Yes, thanks for this advice. I can't vouch for it, but I'll post it.
RE: Three-bedroom: "Have you asked if he's going to sell the place?"
Well, he hinted he was thinking about it if he couldn't fill the room. I think he'd be more likely to find a reliable tenant if he offered lease terms. Hopefully if I mention that to him he'll agree, and I can sign one too and stay put!
Sara Gebhardt: Yes, be proactive. Finding a tenant and selling a condo are very different affairs. While you talk to him about offering lease terms, offer to help find a tenant too if you really want to stay.
Washington, D.C.: Are landlords faced with the same requirements of keeping units sanitary when it comes to roach control? Thank you!
Sara Gebhardt: Yes, roaches--i.e. serious infestations--also are a danger to your health and thus landlords must do something to keep them away.
Sara Gebhardt: Well, my time is up for the day, folks. Thanks for joining in. As usual, please keep comments and questions coming to aptlife@gmail.com. I'll be back to my regular chat time next month, the first Thursday of May. See you then!
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.
|
Welcome to Apartment Life, an online discussion of the Washington area rental market. Post columnist Sara Gebhardt discusses rental issues and lifestyle matters.
| 147.423077 | 1 | 10.076923 |
high
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600638.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600638.html
|
Repeat of Quake Of 1906 Could Be Even More Deadly
|
2006041719
|
Timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the catastrophic 1906 San Francisco earthquake this week, researchers have calculated the possible death and destruction that could occur if another temblor of equal strength struck the Bay Area today.
The worst-case scenario? As many as 3,400 dead, mostly crushed by buildings; up to 700,000 people displaced or homeless; 130,000 structures extensively damaged or destroyed; and immediate losses exceeding $125 billion -- a forecast that rivals the mayhem unleashed by Hurricane Katrina and the breaching of the New Orleans levees.
The new study, titled "When the Big One Strikes Again," uses the best estimates of the size and strength of the April 18, 1906, event, a magnitude-7.9 quake and ensuing firestorm that killed more than 3,000 people and destroyed vast swaths of San Francisco.
The computer simulation study, to be released today in San Francisco at the beginning of the largest-ever conference about earthquakes, concludes that a repeat of the 1906 quake could be more devastating than the original because the region is now more densely settled, the value of the real estate is much higher and the population is 10 times larger.
The 1906 earthquake ran along 300 miles of the San Andreas Fault and was felt in an area that today has 10 million residents and 3.5 million buildings valued at $1 trillion. Most of the people and property are within 25 miles of the fault line.
Mary Lou Zoback, a senior research scientist with the United States Geological Survey in Menlo Park, Calif., reviewed the study and endorses its forecast. She says what leaps out at her is how vulnerable the urban core of the Bay Area is -- the cities of San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland -- because so many of the residents live in apartments and houses built before building codes were tightened in 1970. (And because many units are rent-controlled apartments, she says, landlords have few incentives to seismic retrofit.)
"When you're talking, potentially, about 400,000 to 700,000 people homeless," Zoback said, "where are they going to go, when roads will be impassable, when the major north-south freeways are damaged, when the east-west tunnels are closed due to landslides? When, even if the bridges stand up, you may not be able to get to them?"
The study was conducted by structural engineer Charles Kircher and his colleagues, using 2,000 census tracts, which detail the types of buildings; their age, size and value; and the population in each tract. The team also tried to identify how many of the buildings were built with the most vulnerable materials and weaker construction methods, such as unreinforced masonry and "tuck under" garage apartments, which Kircher called "killer buildings."
Perhaps for good reason. A building's ability to withstand violent shaking is fairly well understood by engineers. Although the dangerous structures represent only 5 percent of the region's building stock, their collapse during the simulated Big One accounted for half of the death toll.
Kircher and his team ran computer models simulating the ground motion of the 1906 earthquake occurring today at 2 a.m. and 2 p.m. A daytime quake is considered more deadly because more people would be at work around the killer buildings, whereas during a nighttime event people would be at home in their beds. The simulation predicts between 800 and 3,400 deaths, depending on time and other variables. The model does not identify which individual buildings might fall, but instead gives averages over a census tract of the likely extent of the damage.
"I feel confident that our estimates are within the ballpark," said Kircher, whose study was sponsored by several scientific societies and the 100th Anniversary Earthquake Conference. For a comparison, Kircher said, the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan, killed more than 5,000 people, and most deaths were building-related. But Kircher cautions that his study is just computer models, not destiny.
The semi-apocalyptic scenario sounds about right to Richard Eisner, coastal regional administrator for California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's Office of Emergency Services.
"In 1906, San Francisco was the largest city west of the Rockies. We had 400,000 people in the city," Eisner said. "Today we have 7 million in the Bay Area. And the consequences of a disaster of this magnitude in an urban area are significant."
Eisner's office focuses less on the short-term survival of residents in a massive earthquake -- that's the province of local governments -- and more on the long-term consequences of a disaster.
"The recovery of 1906 lasted for a decade," he points out. "We are, all of us, observing and participating in the recovery of the Gulf Coast. And the level of complexity of that recovery is what we need to be preparing for."
Seismologists generally agree that a repeat of a 1906-size earthquake is inevitable, though when and where along the fault are unknown. In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey reported a 62 percent chance of a magnitude-6.7 earthquake or greater hitting the Bay Area within 30 years. That would be about the size of the 1994 Northridge quake in Los Angeles, which killed 57 people and caused $20 billion in damage. An earthquake the size of the 1906 event would be far more destructive, but researchers say such quakes are relatively rare. Zoback of the Geological Survey says a Big One appears to occur every 200 to 250 years.
Chris Poland, chairman of the 100th Anniversary Earthquake Conference, sees the centennial as a good opportunity for San Franciscans to evaluate what preparations they could still make for a severe quake. It's all too easy, he says, to put one's head in the sand.
"I've got to confess to you, I hear about bird flu and I think, am I going to worry about bird flu? I don't think so," Poland said. "That's how we deal with low-probability, high-consequence events."
"It's sobering to think of 250,000 people out of their homes. Some will be out permanently," Poland said. "There hasn't been a lot of concern given to the condition of the buildings themselves after the earthquake. Building officials are responsible only for public safety, not for protecting assets," so many homes that do not collapse immediately will still be uninhabitable, he says.
As for those buildings that engineers already know will collapse, "that's really where the danger is," he said, yet many people underestimate their risk. "You know if you're behind the levee," Poland said, referring to the New Orleans flooding. "I really think people need to know what kind of condition their building is in."
And where would a few hundred thousand people go, if they could not reenter their homes? Poland would also like to see officials focus on evacuation plans.
"How do we take care of vulnerable populations who can't move themselves? Emergency services is working on that," Poland said. "I hope it's going to be better than just getting a bunch of buses and shipping them out across the western United States."
Staff writer Sonya Geis contributed to this report.
|
Complete Coverage on Hurricane Katrina and Rita including video, photos and blogs. Get up-to-date news on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Rita, news from New Orleans and more.
| 36.815789 | 0.631579 | 1.105263 |
high
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600737.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600737.html
|
Photo-Op Frames a Shot at Iran
|
2006041719
|
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will do whatever it takes to smack the nuke-happy Iranians around.
Last week, reporters were told there would be no remarks -- thus no reason to stake out -- a meeting she was having Wednesday with Equatorial Guinean President Teodoro Obiang Nguema.
Obiang, a somewhat unsavory and corrupt character who seized power in a 1979 coup, runs a regime regularly condemned by the State Department for human rights violations, including torture, beatings, abuse and deaths of prisoners and suspects. He's gotten as much as 97 percent of the vote in recent elections, he told CBS's "60 Minutes" a while back, but that was because "there is no one left in the opposition."
Human rights groups and, we hear, folks inside the State Department, were beside themselves that Rice would meet with what one advocate called "one of the most brutal, most corrupt and unreconstructed dictators in the world." (We would opt for the lunatic Kim Jong Il, but let's not quibble.)
Well, at least the meeting wouldn't attract all that much press attention, given that there was only to be a photo-op.
But then Iran announced it had begun enriching uranium and Rice needed a forum -- though perhaps not one specifically arranged to make the United States appear to be scrambling -- to respond.
So reporters were alerted to stand by at the Obiang meeting. Rice appeared with our pal Obiang, even called him "a good friend," then said she would take "one question" from reporters. Of course that question would be about Iran, giving Rice the opening to take a whack at Tehran.
And Obiang certainly went home happy.
Envoy to Indonesia Rails Against Contractor
In the Loop Consumer Corner . . .
Giant services contractor Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), which works in some tough places around the world, has its share of unhappy customers. The latest is B. Lynn Pascoe , ambassador to Indonesia, who is seriously upset with KBR's efforts on the island of Nias, off the northern Sumatran coast, a surfer paradise that got hammered by the tsunami and then earthquakes.
KBR, a subsidiary of Vice President Cheney's former company, Halliburton, was working on building two elementary schools and two bridges in the "first official U.S. military-Indonesian military" project since "normalization of relations . . . in November 2005," Pascoe wrote in an April 6 letter to Rear Adm. Gary Engle, who runs the Naval Facilities Engineering Command for the Pacific. Relations soured after Indonesian army atrocities in East Timor.
"KBR sold itself as having the ability to work in austere environments providing materials and sub-contract support" for the projects, Pascoe wrote. "Time and again however . . . KBR clearly showed a lack of this ability." The projects were finished "through a number of workarounds," he wrote, but "KBR caused considerable embarrassment to [this government] and left a negative impression on" the Indonesian military and local folks.
|
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will do whatever it takes to smack the nuke-happy Iranians around. In the Loop Consumer Corner . . . The Canadian government's three-week subway poster campaign to remind Americans of our northern cousins' military efforts in Afghanistan has been a success,......
| 10.781818 | 0.763636 | 8 |
low
|
low
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600883.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041719id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/16/AR2006041600883.html
|
Arrests Don't End Wage Protests
|
2006041719
|
The arrests Saturday evening of 17 University of Virginia students who had occupied a campus building for four days to protest the wages paid to university employees did nothing to deter a crowd of demonstrators yesterday, as students continued to call for higher pay.
If anything, the arrests on the Charlottesville campus seemed to fuel the passion of the student activists, several said in telephone interviews. Dozens of activists attended an afternoon rally outside the administration building where the 17 students had sat since Wednesday morning until their arrests on trespassing charges. And a vigil was planned for last night.
Today, the students said, the demonstrations will continue outside the Albemarle County Courthouse in support of the detained students, who are scheduled to go before a judge at 8:30 a.m.
Another afternoon rally will feature author Barbara Ehrenreich, whose book about poverty-level wages, "Nickel and Dimed," has encouraged the nationwide campaign to raise salaries for minimum-wage earners.
Across the United States in recent years, students at universities, including Harvard, the University of Texas and Stanford, have taken up the cause of campus employees whom they viewed as underpaid. Last year at Georgetown University, for example, students staged a hunger strike that lasted nine days. University officials agreed to raise hourly wages to $14, from $11.33.
At U-Va., the campaign to pay a so-called living wage to non-faculty employees, such as custodians, food workers and landscapers, has been going on since 1998.
"The big-picture message here is that the living wage movement is only growing stronger," said Abby Bellows, a fourth-year student from Fairfax County and one of several organizers of the campus's Living Wage Campaign. "The university is being irresponsible in its treatment of workers . . . forcing some of them to rely on food stamps and second jobs."
Until last month, the lowest hourly wage at the university had been $8.88. It was increased to $9.37 after several campus rallies and discussions between university officials and the student organizers, officials said.
Still, it's less than the $10.72 that students say is the minimum required to take care of a family.
In a letter to the student group that was posted Wednesday on the university's Web site, President John T. Casteen III wrote that officials believe "our schedules are fair, that they do not constitute what you have represented to the public as poverty wages."
The $10.72 figure, Bellows said, was determined using factors outlined by the Economic Policy Institute, which calculates the cost of living for communities across the country and defines a living wage as the basic amount needed to subsist. It includes money for housing, transportation, health care, child care, taxes and other necessities.
In Charlottesville, Bellows said, that total is just under $11 each for two working parents and two children.
|
The arrests Saturday evening of 17 University of Virginia students who had occupied a campus building for four days to protest the wages paid to university employees did nothing to deter a crowd of demonstrators yesterday, as students continued to call for higher pay.
| 12.26087 | 1 | 46 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/06/DI2006040601068.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041519id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/06/DI2006040601068.html
|
Animal Week: Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin
|
2006041519
|
Watch for Corwin's upcoming special, "Corwin's Quest: Realm of the Yeti," , which airs Saturday, April 15, at 8 p.m. ET and examines the legend of the Abominable Snowman, also known as the Yeti, in a remote region of Nepal. Yeti is believed to be an ape-like creature inhabiting high altitudes in the Himalayas, and the continuing legend has led to conservation of virtually untouched pieces of land.
Jeff Corwin is a wildlife biologist and Emmy-winning TV host. "The Jeff Corwin Experience" airs nightly on Animal Planet, and Corwin is also author of "Living on the Edge: Amazing Relationships in the Natural World." He frequently lectures on ecology and conservation.
View the photos in washingtonpost.com's Animal Galleries
Fairfax, Va.: I watch both you and Steve Irwin and notice the Croc Hunter doesn't grab snakes by the back of the head and you do. Is there any difference?
Jeff Corwin: I have my style and my own way of working with animals and my goal when I work with a snake is to only do hands on if I need to and when I do hold a snake, my focus is to keep it safe and secure as well as myself safe and secure so I am comfortable and the snake is comfortable. When I hold the snake's head I am doing so to keep the head immobile. The thing to keep in mind if that when I am doing this it is by no means a lesson on how to handle snakes for people watching the show.
Alexandria, Va. (UMass Alumn): Jeff,
Besides searching for the Yeti, what's the most interesting and rare animal you've seen that you would consider your best find?
Jeff Corwin: Probably with a team of scientists from Conservation International, it was very exciting when we discovered a new species and genus of frog.
Falls Church, Va.: What is the most dangerous place and most beautiful place you've ever visited?
Jeff Corwin: The most beautiful place to me is where I live in New England on a small island that I love very much. Probably the most dangerous place would be in a war zone.
Fairfax, Va.: Can you talk a little about your background? Specifically, college, major and the path you took to become the world's most beloved herpitologist? ... if I even spelled that correctly.
Jeff Corwin: My undergraduate degree is in biology and anthropology and my graduate work is in conservation biology and basically that, mixed with life experience, is how I became the person I am.
Fairfax, Va.: Jeff, Huge fan and I seriously watch your show all the time.
Question: Which animal has come the closest to snatching the life right out of you?
Jeff Corwin: Probably being bitten by a coral snake when I was in graduate school. It was very very serious and I nearly died from the bite.
Bowie, Md.: Do you think the Tasmanian Tiger is extinct or still exists?
Jeff Corwin: I believe it is extremely unlikely that the Tasmanian Tiger still exists, tragically.
Arlington, Va.: OK, so maybe my cockatiel isn't THE most exotic bird on the planet, but, man, can she scream and for no apparent reason. Any idea why?
Jeff Corwin: She wants attention.
Washington, D.C.: Hi Jeff,I love Animal Planet! It's great that the Discovery Channel is located so close to here. Do you think they are gearing away from hosted shows such as your own? Where is the format headed? Whatever they do I hope the format isn't changed to feature more celebrities (like CourtTV did). Thanks for the adventures!
Jeff Corwin: I think like anything it evolves, and there's always a challenge to stay fresh and new and offer a new product to your audience. I focus in on that and I am continually tweaking the stuff I do to meet the needs of a constantly changing audience. But the essence of who I am isn't going to change. I am still very active doing cool stuff. And we've got some very exciting surprises coming up over the next year.
Bangalore, India: Question about King Cobras. How long does it take after it bites a human being of say 160 lbs, before death occurs?
Jeff Corwin: It really depends on the health of the person, it depends on how big the snake was, and how much venom was injected into the victim. But death can occur on a scale of anywhere from minutes to a couple of hours.
Reston, Va.: Jeff, your TV show is amazing to watch. I can't believe how you can just jump into the Amazon and chase a boa. Aren't you ever scared that you might land on a croc or something dark and nasty down there? It's the whole 'Jaws' fear of the unknown effect, to me. Your cameramen must be tough as nails too.
Jeff Corwin: There's a risk to anything you do in life but we just try to calculate those risks and be as safe as possible. At any one time we have two to four cameramen with us.
An avian problem, Washington, D.C.: I have an interesting situation. A pigeon has built a nest in my bicycle where the pedals and gear chains meet (the bike hangs upside down on the balcony rafters). How do I go about getting the bird, nest and presumably egg out of my bike without harming any of the above? I want to get my bike down and go riding, but really don't want to get attacked by a deranged pigeon guarding her nest in the process.
Jeff Corwin: If you can be patient and wait, and wait a few weeks you will get your bike back. But there is no way to intervene without harming the pigeon.
Rockville, Md.: I am a recent zoology graduate and am having trouble deciding what I want to do. I love working with and learning about all types of animals. I have worked in zoos, aquariums, and vet clinics, but do not see myself doing any of those forever. Do you have any advice for me on where to go from here? By the way I love all of your shows!
Jeff Corwin: Sounds like you might be interested in research and you might want to focus in on a particular creature or study or discipline and think about going to graduate school.
North Hollywood, Calif.: I have seen you lots of time shown at the Animal Planet film at Universal as well as your TV show. You are great and thank you for being here today. I am wondering if you recall how long ago you filmed the Universal film, what you thought when you were asked to do it and are you aware it continues playing to this day?
Jeff Corwin: We filmed it a few years ago and I'm not aware of what it's status is now.
Centreville, Va.: First, my family loves your programs!
Are you afraid of any type of animal (including land/air/water creatures)? You appear to fearless in the face of these guys.
Jeff Corwin: I wouldn't say that I'm fearless. I'm not fearless. But I understand my limitations with whatever creature of environment I work with. I base whatever my interactions are on my limitations. I try to find the fine line that allows me to conserve life and limb.
People might consider you crazy for some of the risks you seem to take in approaching and dealing with wild animals. How do you prepare for your encounters? Do you feel as though you have a special rapport with the animals? Any war stories about plans that didn't work out?
Jeff Corwin: I do lots of research. We plan out all of our work. I think the reality is that I'm a lot more stable and focused and less risky than people may perceive when they watch a show.
East Lansing, Mich.: Jeff,I admire your work and your efforts to share your experiences. Your show has always captivated my attention.
Question: I am a 51-year-old person who would like to travel and see some of the wonders you have shown us. Are there travel companies whom you might recommend who are closely attuned to your philosophy on wildlife? I don't need particularly cushy environs but prefer not to "tent" it either. Thanks!
Jeff Corwin: I'm not aware of specific companies out there, but there is a lot going on. What you should do is focus in on what you want to do and where you want to go, and have a destination be the driving force and the focus to find the company that is best suited to your needs.
Minneapolis, Minn.: Hi Jeff! I could easily say you're my favorite TV host. I'm a longtime softie for animals, especially pachyderms. I always have mixed feelings about zoos -- I know they help educate (and excite) children about animals and species they'd only see in books. But the animals always look so lost and bored. I imagine creating habitats for the guys has come along way, but how can we make children excited about wildlife without it seeming to be at the expense of the wildlife?
Jeff Corwin: Zoos serve a variety of purposes and have a variety of missions. For example, zoos are places of conservation based research, places where injured wildlife can get a second lease on life, are often actively involved in breeding endangered species, and are involved in many field conservation programs that take place outside of the actual zoo environment. And perhaps the biggest thing is that zoos help educate people on the natural world, especially people that don't have access to it. In that way zoos are very important. It is a continuous struggle for zoos to keep things fresh for the animals and stay focused. Then there's a whole part of the zoo industry where they focus on habitat quality and life experience for the creatures living in the zoo.
Wichita, Kans.: Dear Mr. Corwin -- You are known for being absolutely fearless in your handling of venomous snakes; however, when we saw the episode that shows you unwilling or unable to hand grab that monster King Cobra -- in which you slipped and fell as you were retreating OMG -- that snake was eye-level with you when you were standing! Truly a hair-raising moment caught on film -- so how long was that bad boy? Thanks for being totally crazy!
Jeff Corwin: That Cobra was pushing ten feet in length.
Washington, D.C.: I'm also a UMass alum like the other poster. How did you end up on Animal Planet? What was your path there like? Thanks so much!
Jeff Corwin: Beside my education I've always been involved with animals since my youth, and I knew what I wanted to do and focused in on it and made it happen. This was my dream to do the job I have. So like anything you work at it. It doesn't happen accidentally.
New York, N.Y.: Looking forward to the Saturday show. In their harsh habitat, what would be the Yeti's main diet?
Jeff Corwin: The Yeti, given that it lives in a very extreme environment, the secret to success for this creature is to adapt and be a generalist versus a specialist and capitalizing on all available resources.
Arlington, Va.: What animal always makes you say or think something like "awwwwww how cute"?
Jeff Corwin: Anything small, furry, and cuddly.
Gaithersburg, Md.: Jeff --Love the show!How come around dangerous animals such as venomous snakes, you don't seem afraid, but around primates you are?
Jeff Corwin: I just always try to maintain a healthy respect for primates because they are so smart and adaptable, and because I am one.
Washington, D.C.: You are obviously really passionate about the conservation of our planet's biodiversity. You talk a lot about it on your show, but couldn't you use your fame to motivate others and make a bigger impact?
Jeff Corwin: Beyond my work in television, I am very active in policy development and community programs. I work with a lot of non-profit organizations that are conservation based and I try to have my interest in conservation and wildlife be a part of every aspect of my life.
Bangalore, India: For some reason, I am fascinated by snakes (especially King Cobras). Can a KC have enough venom to kill a full-grown elephant? Also, is it true that KC is the only snake that can attack unprovoked? (I promise to now shut up about King Cobras)
Jeff Corwin: It is feasible that a large King Cobra could kill an elephant. And King Cobras do not attack human beings unprovoked. But there is a fine line to provoking a King Cobra that you don't want to cross.
Arlington, Va.: You said on the Today show that you did find this mythical creature, the Yeti. What was it and what did it look like? How did you know where to look? Did the locals point you in the right direction?
Jeff Corwin: Tune in tomorrow night and you shall find out....
Burtonsville, Md.: Hi Jeff,I love your program. Although you are a serious biologist, it is your sense of humor that really keeps me watching. How did you become so funny? Also, what other biologists would you list as your major influences/heroes? Thanks!
Jeff Corwin: E.O. Wilson, Aldo Leopold, Charles Darwin, Alfred Wallace and John Muir.
Philadelphia, Pa.: What are some of the scariest things you've ever had to do?
Jeff Corwin: Surprisingly less to do with animals and more about risky human situations such as political unrest, problems with vehicles, airplanes, hot air balloons, etc. Those I find more unnerving than wildlife.
Alexandria, Va.: This is a little gross and maybe not that exotic, but why does my male golden retriever search for underwear or socks of mine to chew on while my husband and I are, um, intimate? We leave the door open to our bedroom -- otherwise, he barks at us, which is bad because we live in a condo.
Jeff Corwin: Sounds like he wants attention.
Oakton, Va.: Hi! I'll parrot everyone else and say that I love watching you on TV. I'm curious what, if any, pets you have at home. Thanks!
Jeff Corwin: Surprisingly all that we have in our house is a cat because I am very leery and have issues with people keeping exotics as pets.
Gaithersburg, Md.: Love your shows! My sons and I often watch together ... we get a big kick out of it.
Question: Do you believe there is any sort of "global warming" effect on animals? Does this have anything to do the impact on amphibians, for example?
Jeff Corwin: Absolutely. Global warming is a very real thing, it is a real thing that is happening and animals are being greatly impacted. Over the next few decades we will see extinction take place as a result of global warming if we do not start changing out behavior.
Jeff Corwin: It was great to have everyone on. Thanks for participating and I look forward to hearing your responses from tomorrow's special, Realm of the Yeti, Saturday from 8-10 on Animal Planet.
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.
| 75.414634 | 0.585366 | 0.682927 |
high
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/07/DI2006040701263.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041519id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/07/DI2006040701263.html
|
On TV
|
2006041519
|
Post TV Columnist Lisa de Moraes takes a look at what's on the tube in a fast-paced give and take about reality, non-reality, cable and you name it. Lisa was online Friday, April 14, at 1 p.m. ET to discuss the latest on TV.
This week: the molestation of "Queen" songs on American Idol, and another South Park brouhaha over the use of images of the Prophet Muhammad.
Recent columns: Comedy Central Again Steals 'South Park' Thunder , ( Post, April 14, 2006 )
We Watch . . . So You Don't Have To , ( Post, April 13, 2006 )
De Moraes has written "The TV Column" for The Post since 1998. She served as the TV editor for the entertainment industry trade publication the "Hollywood Reporter" for almost a decade.
Washington, D.C.: Re: South Park
As a fan of this show, I must say I appreciate their political commentary and satire. But I would appreciate it more, if they were funny. I watch TV to be entertained; not preached to.
That said, I do understand their point regarding Jesus and Mohammed. And I do love the reaction of the Religious Right, who so don't get it.
Lisa de Moraes: Hi. I agree, it seems that organization totally did not get the point..But, unlike you, I enjoy this season's preaching/entertainment combo on "South Park." Nice to see one show on TV that's not afraid to take on hot topics -- even if their network is. In fairness, Comedy Central gets some credit for not just pulling the whole two parter. On the other hand, if they had, it would have totally destroyed that whole bad-boy brand thing they've worked so hard to cultivate over the years. As it is they're looking pretty sissy-girl this season.
Los Angeles, Calif.: Are we to assume that you have not written of or commented on "The Apprentice" this season because it is terrible and/or because it has fallen in the ratings? After the next L.A.-based season, can we expect NBC to push it off the Santa Monica pier?
Lisa de Moraes: It just seemed so cruel to keep on kicking The Donald when he's down..Won't it be fun when NBC announces its fall plans to advertisers next month to see what they have to say about plans to resuscitate "The Apprentice."
Have you watched the Bedford Diaries? I love Milo Ventimiglia, so had high hopes, but think that the show is awful. How's it doing?
Lisa de Moraes: Awful. Don't get attached. It won't be back, WB won't be back. Sigh.
Washington, D.C.: Interesting about Comedy Central pulling the Muhammad bit. I didn't know that going into last night's episode and it seemed the screen going to black was built into the script, but now I'm mad. Given Kyle's "gay little speech" about the slippery slope of censorship, do you think Stone and Parker think CC is about ready to pack them up and ship them off the air? If so, what the hockey is CC thinking? Doesn't their winning a Peabody for satire justify Stone and Parker's position?
Lisa de Moraes: I think it was built into the script, because Matt and Trey had been told by Comedy Central that the network would not allow them to show an image of Muhammad..You can still be mad.
Niles, Mich.: Any chance that Chris Daughtry of IDOL fame might walk away from the show (causing a furor where the show didn't have voting results to drop a contestant) as did Mario Vasquez (also a superior performer) two years ago?
Lisa de Moraes: No, he's in too deep now....
Re: Commander and Chief: Do you think ABC has learned any lessons from their own destruction of this show?
Lisa de Moraes: ...um, don't hire Rod Lurie as a showrunner? I am was not a fan of this show, but it's wicked how badly this show was handled...
Washington, D.C.: I'm a little embarrassed to admit it but I LOVE Deal or No Deal!! Do you think it will suffer the same overexposure as Regis' Millionaire did?
Lisa de Moraes: Yes, if NBC is not really careful, it will. For now, NBC is just wallowing in the good ratings and appears not to be thinking too much about the long haul. Like that grasshopper. Or was it the ants....
Astoria, N.Y.: Why is it that almost every story I read quoted William Donohue (regarding the South Park episode in your column this week)? Was he the only one that would talk about it? Does he have some higher understanding of the universe that we should all pay attention to? I mean, come on, he obviously didn't watch the episodes or watch them seriously, otherwise he would have realized the whole point was that Comedy Central would allow Jesus but not Muhammad. It showed the hypocrisy of Comedy Central. There was no "shot at Jesus," instead it was a shot at Comedy Central. Thanks,
Lisa de Moraes: Donohue had objected to "South Park's" Bloody Mary episode and Comedy Central pulled the rerun on that one. He has a history with this show....
The Unit: Why is it when I see Scott Foley in the Unit I just think he must still be bitter about Jennifer Garner?
Lisa de Moraes: Because you are having trouble letting go? Because the tabloids haven't hooked him up with anyone else hotter yet? You'll have to put this one to Hax. I'm in way over my head here...
Re: Deal or No Deal: Why is NBC pulling a "Millionaire" with this show? They should learn from Fox how to cultivate a program (as with Idol) and only show it once a year.
Lisa de Moraes: This is a different type of show than "Idol." The "Millionaire" comparison is more apt. NBC could run it all year, but runs a risk putting it on so many times each week....
Harrisburg, Pa.: Will you please do me a favor if you ever get this chance? For years, I always said if I met Henry Winkler, I would ask him this; "when you were jumping the shark, did you feel you were jumping the shark?" I always wondered if he agreed the show had stretched its line of credibility too far during the filming of that scene. Fortunately, I had the chance to ask him. He spoke at a fund raiser for a children's program outside Harrisburg. He was a great speaker and very funny and entertaining, and very insightful into the discussion of dyslexia (with which, when you read my mixed-up questions you have probably realized I also struggle with). Afterwards, he signed copies of his books and we had a few seconds to talk. I was all set to ask my question when, of course, my time was taken by one of his people asking him if he wanted anything. When they were done, it was time for me to move along and I never got to ask my question. So, not that you really have to do this, but if you ever get to interview Mr. Winkler, I hope you will consider adding that question to your list of questions. Thank you.
Lisa de Moraes: I will be sure to do that if I run into him any time soon....
Washington, D.C.: Okay, so I admit it. I don't watch House. but I was curious about a comment in your column this week -- he's on drugs? Really?
Lisa de Moraes: Dr. House pops painkillers regularly to handle the hurt coming from his leg, and also his head, his heart, etc...Women are suckers for men who are messed up -- but you probably already knew that. Really, you should watch. Or, you're just making fun of me...I get that a lot over this show.
Re: TomKat: Tom Cruise is getting to be more and more like Michael Jackson. I expect to hear in a few years (when he and Katie are no longer together) that he paid her to have his child. I find it creepy that he talks about their sex life as if he needs to prove to the world that he is capable of doing it. Why do the top interviewers want to interview him (like Diane Sawyer)?
Lisa de Moraes: Because they believe an interview with Cruise will do a big number and, in the TV news business today, it's all about ratings and only about ratings. With everything that's going on in the world today (oh god, now I sound like my mother)you'd think Sawyer would have something more important to report on than the latest bit of strangeness emanating from the Church of Cruise. But, ABC News wanted The Reporters Who Cover Television to be sure to know, Di is getting a "rare" opportunity to fly on Tom Cruise's private jet during tonight's "interview." Golly!
Arlington, Va.: During the summer months, when there isn't much going on with TV, do you have to do something to supplement your income? Like sell real estate or something?
Lisa de Moraes: "...when there isn't much going with TV"???What are you smoking, child? Summertime hops in TV-industry since, oh, about the turn of the century...
Baltimore, Md.: I know you are a partisan of Hugh Laurie and an expert on the machinations of television, so you are the perfect person to ask this question. When House was being developed, how did the producers happen to cast Laurie in the first place? I mean, he's fabulous in the role, but he was most known in the U.S. (if known at all) for the Jeeves and Wooster series on PBS and for his role in Stuart Little. He seems like the last guy you would think of to play a brilliant, drug addicted, physically debilitated American diagnostician. Thanks.
Lisa de Moraes: Credit goes to Gail Berman, who was head of programming for the Fox network at the time the show was being developed. Gail has a theater background. Don't know why I said that except by way of pointing out that she knows something about something beyond Hollywood. Not sure if she was familiar with his work, but she at least had an open mind when the casting person suggested it and didn't say "no way am I buying this unless you get me Kieffer Sutherland" or something.
Pickler's Prom Dress: Not ... that ... innocent! (have you seen the pictures?) AI Lightning Round: (1) Has this anyone-can-win season not turned into the most ho-hum season now? (2) Why no love for Taylor anymore? I thought you were sticking to your guns? (3) What were they thinking with Pickler's hideous look for Bohemian Rhapsody--did stylists think she would pull that off "on paper"???
Lisa de Moraes: Hey, Pickler's hideous look worked big time. Read MTV's review of the night, for instance. All they could talk about was how great she was, which, if you kept reading, was really all about how "hot" she looked...I'm sick of the over-costuming of Idol contestants. Notice how all of the Bottom Three Dwellers did a much better job of their songs the next night when they weren't all dolled up in corsets and eyeliner?
I remember that: Did we ever find out -why- Mario quit?
Lisa de Moraes: ..moving on to his brilliant career I think was the answer...
Washington, D.C.: So what do you think of Tori Spelling's new show So NoTorious on VH1? I saw an episode last weekend for the first time where she lost her cell phone and found myself laughing a fair amount...enough that I will probably tune in again. What do you think?
Lisa de Moraes: love, love, love it.
Reviving Apprentice: How about taking a new tack on the show like bringing in a group of young people who each analyze what's wrong with the Donald and the show itself, then the viewers get to vote for who has the best ideas ?
Lisa de Moraes: Notice how Mark Burnett's revamping of "The Apprentice", aka "The Lot" or "On the Lot" or whatever, has viewers voting, not the judges. Oh, in case you're one of those chatters standing on your hind legs and barking for an explanation of what the heck I'm talking about, Burnett sold a new reality series to Fox called "The Lot" or "On the Lot" or whatever, in which wanna be filmmakers are brought to Hollywood, divided into teams and each week they have to produce a short film...zzzzzzz... huh? Oh, where was I. each week some judges diss the product -- a critic, a director, etc. -- but the voting on which film bites the dust will be done by viewers and that week's director from that team will automatically get the hook. It's like an "Idol-ized" "Apprentice."
Harrison, N.Y.: Hey Lisa. Just a comment- how annoying is Tony Soprano's wheezing and panting on every one of his lines? It's been going on for awhile now. Is Gandolfini that out of shape? Gosh, I hope it's not a character choice.
Lisa de Moraes: I like to think he's that out of shape...makes you wonder if he'll get through the episode. Riveting television, gotta say.
Washington, D.C.: Tell the truth, how many votes did you cast for Ace the other night?
Is awesome Elliot the next to go?
Lisa de Moraes: Sadly, I am not allowed to vote. Something about journalist integrity and yes, because I know you're wondering, the TV column is considered "journalism." And, if I could vote, it certainly would NOT be for Boy-Band wonder Ace, she added, sniffily....
Seattle, Wash.: New twist on the requisite Idol question. Not "who do you want to win" but, if you were the person in charge of marketing the winner and would share in the profits, who would you want to win? As we've seen, talent and marketability don't necessarily go hand in hand.
Lisa de Moraes: Mandisa -- but then she's gone. She was most marketable, by far...
Annapolis, Md.: Ok, What I want to know is, is someone trying to mess with all of our minds and schedules?
I cannot keep track of my favorite shows with all this jumping around. Medium, Las Vegas, Commander in Chief, L&O, heist, Conviction, the list goes on - sometimes they're on at their normal times, sometimes, it's back-to-back Donald for no good reason.
I could understand the craziness when the Olympics were on, but what the heck? Are they just trying to drive viewers away? Even if I had Tivo, I would never know when to set it anymore, because everything's all messed up! Or is it just me?
Lisa de Moraes: It's called Panic Scheduling. Happens frequently to a network that's plunged into ratings depths...sorry I can't be more helpful...
Alexandria: Here's an idea . . . The 2006 Miss USA Pageant is in Baltimore next weekend. Why don't you attend the pageant LIVE, then watch it on TV and tell us about how it's different. Come on, doesn't FOUR HOURS of the Miss USA pageant sound like a great weekend of entertainment??
Lisa de Moraes: That's actually a good idea, I'm sorry to say. Hopefully my editors won't be reading this chat....
WB?: THE WB ISN'T COMING BACK?? What happened to the merger that was supposed to keep all the great shows????
Lisa de Moraes: You say "merger" I say "not coming back." Some of the great shows are staying, but let's face it, the whole WB-ness will be gone, never ever to return. (Choke, sob)
Baltimore, Md.: I've noticed you don't answer a lot of questions about LOST. Do you not get many? Is it not as popular as I think it is? What do you think is going on with the island? Do the writers even know what's going on?
Lisa de Moraes: I don't get a lot of questions. Actually I do, but it's the same question over and over again. I do not think the writers even know what's going on. But that does not seem to affect the writing. It's like "24" in that it doesn't seem to matter. Fans are along for the ride, no matter what. Which is okay...
Chantilly, Va.: Lisa: What are the chances we'll see Jack Bauer personally take down President Logan?
And by take down I mean ice him, not arrest him.
Or will the lovely and talented Jean Smart get to do the deed? Or the vengeful Wayne Palmer? Or the gallant and patriotic Aaron Pierce? Or the opportunistic Vice Prez Gardner? Or the wacky yet loveable Chloe O'Brien? Or the wrongfully smeared Bill Buchanan?
Lisa de Moraes: Of course you mean ice him, not arrest him. Who would bother watching POTUS being arrested? I'm sure it's in Kieffer's contract that he gets to whack the Really Big Bad Guy each season. Only room for one Super Hero on that show. I'm anxiously awaiting the season finale.
Alexandria, Va.: Pookster, when is "The Office" coming back with new episodes? I hate Teachers--it makes me puke a little in my mouth. Thanks!
Lisa de Moraes: Yes, "Teachers" is possibly as bad as "Modern Men" and "Modern Men" is the worst excuse for a sitcom that has ever been created....Good news is everyone seems to hate "Teachers."
Orono, Maine: Is there any more information on how the votes on American Idol are tallied and verified? It seems to me that information is vital to the integrity of the show. So why are the powers-that-be so reluctant to release it?
AI would be greatly improved, in my view, by some sort of scoreboard feature that would show clearly how many votes each person got. You could also keep a running total.
On a side note, I'm having a really hard time swallowing some of the vote counts that we are being fed this year. In one case, Ryan Seacrest claimed that there were 35 million votes cast. That may be true. But it seems awfully high, and with -apparently] no independent verification system, those numbers could be pure fiction, for all we know.
Lisa de Moraes: Well, with about 28 million watching and some viewers casting multiple votes, it's actually not hard to get to 35 million..
Washington, D.C.: Are you being sarcastic when you sob over the loss of the WB? You are, aren't you?
Lisa de Moraes: No, but then I cry over commercials with little puppies in them.. it's one of my least endearing traits...
Washington, D.C.: Not sure if you are permitted to disclose this information. I'm looking into a TiVO or other means of recording shows. What do you use since you can't watch more than one show at a time (or can you??).
Lisa de Moraes: I can, and I do! This is a difficult job and requires a very special skills set.
Arlington, Va.: "is getting a 'rare' opportunity to fly on Tom Cruise's private jet during tonight's 'interview'". Is it too late to hope . . . well, you know?
Lisa de Moraes: Shut up bad person in my head! It is too late to hope; it would have been the lead story on Entertainment Tonight by now, or Ryan Seacrest's "newscast" on E!, dontcha think?
Washington, D.C.: So, what do you think? Mandisa: homophobe or misunderstood? And did you notice that Paris cries when EVERYONE gets the boot, but didn't cry for Mandisa? I may be spending too much time dissecting AI....
Lisa de Moraes: Mandisa: a little homophobe, a little misunderstood. Her choice of words and her choice of "her own personal American Idol" were unfortunate if she wanted to succeed in this competition.
Towson, Md.: Pookie, are you being sarcastic when you say you "cry over commercials with little puppies in them.. it's one of my least endearing traits..." because that poster was too dense to see that you're being sarcastic about sobbing over the loss of the WB? You are, aren't you?
Lisa de Moraes: No, no, no! I confess, I weep openly at the thought of no more WB upfront presentation to attend. It was the only chance I had all year to find out, for instance, what was the new black. One year I found out that beige was the new black and had to completely re-do my wardrobe. WB also had the very best day at the press tour every six months, starting with their publicist Keith Marder's 2 minute standup routine in which he savaged everyone at every network. The bad men at CBS have shipped Keith off to do PR for their sports cable operation, instead of putting him in PR at the new CW, so he can't upstage their non-funny bits at the press tour. Honestly it's like the end of Camelot - so sad I could cry.
But Mandisa could sing!: You said you thought Mandisa would have been most marketable. To what market? I can't see the MTV crowd going with her, she doesn't do country, and those are the big markets. Her musical choices seem to channel Clay, Ruben, and Fantasia, and none of them proved durable the way Kelly did, and Kelly is absolutely MTV-friendly. So what market am I missing? Or could Mandisa have become a big seller when pitched the right way?
Lisa de Moraes: She was like a new Aretha-Lite. Given the right song choices, she could've been great. That said, I don't notice the Idol folks coming up with particularly good song choices for their "Idol" winners' debut albums. So, nevermind....
Pepper Dennis: I like it! Tell me it will stay on after the merger!!!!
Lisa de Moraes: It's cute, no? Hope you're right, but the ratings suggest otherwise. On the other hand, they promoted it all wrong and it's on a network that people have already checked out of because it's already been cancelled and is running reruns all over the place...
Arlington, Va.: Did Comedy Central really pull the Scientology episode because of Tom Cruise? If not, why don't they just re air it to show that they aren't being controlled by the couch-jumper?
Lisa de Moraes: Didn't you hear? They pulled it so they could instead run an episode that was a tribute to Chef since Isaac Hayes had quit the show. Didn't you buy that explanation?
Diane Sawyer: Shouldn't ABC have pulled the trigger, stole the Couric-to-CBS thunder and made DS the first solo woman network anchor?
I'm not DS's agent or anything, but don't you feel that SHE leaked those stories about her pining for the WNT job, while publicly postering for Charlie to get the gig?
It would have made more sense for the 1st woman on 60 Minutes to be the first to front a network news shop. She has more hard news chops than Katie, but now what's left for her? Daytime TV talk show to supplant Oprah and one-up Jane Pauley?
Lisa de Moraes: That would've just smacked of desperation, since there had been rumblings for months that CBS was going to land Katie. (notice how I have successfully spelled "desparate" for months now?) And if by "hard news chops" you mean that time Di interviewed the pet supply dotcom company's sock puppet dog without mentioning that ABC parent Disney had recently bought a stake in the firm, or the time she interviewed Michael Jackson and his bride, Elvis Spawn, without grilling him about the whole kiddie thing, etc., etc., etc. -- yes, I guess she has more hard news chops. I'm guessing she's going to be about as hard tonight on Tom Cruise as Ryan Seacrest was during "Idol" when he asked Kellie Mae:
Ryan: Are you really as dumb as you seem on this show cause there's a rumor afoot that it's all an act.
Kellie Mae: Nope, I really am this dumb.
Ryan: Well! Glad we cleared that up.
Which is along, convoluted, too-much-caffeinated way of saying, it's hard to think of any of the people on those morning shows as having ever had hard-news chops.
When this "Pookie" thing started, you used to call us Pookie. Now people call you Pookie.
Who is Pookie ? You or us ?
Lisa de Moraes: Everyone's a pookie in my world....
Washington, D.C.: Hi Lisa, why aren't there more shows about chefs that solve murders in their restaurants? Seems like a home run to me. Whaddya think?
Re: Pulled Scientology Episode: If Cruise has that much control, it makes you think that these big world conspiracies hyped by the weirdo conspiracy theorists might actually be true. Scary...
Lisa de Moraes: Not that scary: Cruise is promoting "Mission Impossible III." "Mission Impossible III" cost the studio as much as the GNP of several smaller nations. That studio is Viacom. Viacom does not want Tom Cruise to be unhappy. Viacom also owns Comedy Central...
All sarcasm aside...: Do you like the WB or not? I didn't understand your comment about the upfront presentation.
Lisa de Moraes: Okay, since I don't want anyone to leave the chat confused: I love the whole WB-ness of WB. It was like the junior high school clique I was not allowed into, because I had an overbite and wore lace up shoes...
WB-UPN merger: I like a lot of the night-time programming on both these channels, especially "Sex & The City" (even censored, it's good) on WB and "Girlfriends" on UPN -- of course, scheduled opposite each other. Any idea if the best of both channels might survive -- or is it likelier that only the worst will continue? Anything we can do?
Lisa de Moraes: Both channels (you mean the actual stations, right?) will survive and since the late night programming to which you refer is syndicated, and therefore bought directly by the station, or the company that owns the station, that lineup won't necessarily change. The merger of the two networks affects primetime, mostly....
Washington, D.C.: With all the interest in reality shows, why do you suppose more people don't watch the news? It is the most awesome reality show. Your insight is appreciated.
Lisa de Moraes: Maybe they should make the news more interactive. Seriously.
Washington, D.C.: Hi Ms. de Moraes, why didn't at least one American Idol cover "Fat Bottomed Girls" this week. It would have been awesome.
Lisa de Moraes: huh? One did. Bucky. He's gone. You're kidding right? So hard to tell on these chats...
In the minority: I'm one of those progressives who thinks that we westerners shouldn't inflame Muslim sensibilities by depicting The Prophet. I understand the whole free speech argument, but that's us putting our culture on them (just like trying to make Iraq into a democracy of our vision). If it's against their religion to depict Muhammad, doesn't respecting their religion suggest we should not show his visage?
Having said that, I do think Matt and Trey are total geniuses; I just don't agree with the Western rush to depict Muhammad.
Lisa de Moraes: I didn't know that was "progressive." I happen to agree with Kyle. Either it's all okay, or none of it is okay.
Washington, D.C.: Hi Lisa, what happened to "Love Monkey?" I thought it was a pretty good show. I think I may have been the only one. What gives?
Lisa de Moraes: Ratings were terrible, because it was totally on the wrong network and CBS pulled it....
Washington, D.C.: Is Scrubs coming back next year?
Lisa de Moraes: I suspect yes, since NBC has so many bigger problems on its lineup.....
Re: Mario: Haven't you heard, he signed with babyface and has a CD coming out soon.
Seems to me he did the right thing, for him.
Lisa de Moraes: bully for him...
Top Chef trainwreck: Hi Pookie!
I know you aren't a fan of cooking shows but Mrs. Joel positively SUCKS as a host.
Remember Monica Lewinsky in Mr. Personality? This woman is worse.
So now that the show seems to be doing OK for Bravo, I have to wonder.... Do you bring back the trainwreck or actually get a host with some personality and speaking skills?
What would you do and what do you think they will do?
Lisa de Moraes: I think they will look at the numbers and make a decision purely based on ratings....
Washington, D.C.: Can you help Gene Weingarten determine whether the Ratboy episode of the old show, "Scare Tactics" was scripted? His poll question this week asks if that episode was funny and he argues that it wasn't because their treatment of the poor patsy was abusive.
Lisa de Moraes: Gene should leave TV to the experts....
Washington, D.C.: I wanted someone to cover Bicycle Race on AI... BICYCLE! BICYCLE! I want to ride my bicycle...
Lisa de Moraes: yeah, right.
Can we talk about Top Model?: It just gets better and better!
Lisa de Moraes: Okay. I'll bite. UPN's biggest success, and yes, the tweaking they do to this show makes it better, though I missed Janice...
Greencastle, Ind.: I have never watched Survivor, The Apprentice, or American Idol.
I just wanted to brag.
I actually enjoy a show like The Sopranos, which makes sure that just when you start finding some of the characters likeable, they slam them by having them perform brutal acts more in line with their occupations.
Lisa de Moraes: wow. that sounds just like "The Apprentice." You should watch.
Gaithersburg, Md.: The Office, Scrubs and My Name is Earl are the funniest sitcoms on TV...agree or disagree?
It seems like NBC is the only network trying to bring back great sitcoms like we had in the 80's.
Lisa de Moraes: Scrubs is much better/sillier this year. But I'd add 2.5 Men...and I assume you're confining yourself to broadcast; if not you have to add shows like "South Park," etc....
So don't watch!: If you're in the U.S. and Muslim and feel it's inappropriate to show the Prophet, don't watch the show. How hard is that? And it's not like we're transmitting it to the Middle East. They'd have to come looking for it. Sheesh.
Lisa de Moraes: I assume this is in response to the "progressive" person....
Washington, D.C.: I'm relatively new to your chat, so forgive me if this has been asked/answered a million times: what do you think of this season's Gilmore Girls? I think the whole Luke/Lorelai thing has been handled poorly. Same with the storyline about April, which had some promise.
Lisa de Moraes: I think Gilmore Girls lost its way, which often happens to shows that are this old. Hopefully, the new programming chief at CW, who had been running UPN rather than WB, will help inject some new life into this one, because it's a show worth saving...
Columbus, Ohio: The last five unaired episodes of Love Monkey are going to be on VH1 Tuesdays at 9 p.m. starting this Tuesday (4/18).
Lisa de Moraes: Here you go, Love Monkey fans. I'm out of time. Bye.
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.
|
Post TV Columnist Lisa de Moraes takes a look at what's on TV in a fast-paced give-and-take about reality, non-reality, cable and everything else that's on the tube.
| 160.414634 | 1 | 7.926829 |
high
|
high
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041302116.html%20
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041519id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041302116.html
|
Dying for Water in Somalia's Drought
|
2006041519
|
RABDORE, Somalia -- Villagers call it the "War of the Well," a battle that erupted between two clans over control of a watering hole in this dusty, drought-stricken trading town.
By the time it ended two years later, 250 men were dead. Now there are well widows, well warlords and well warriors.
"We call them the 'warlords of water,' " Fatuma Ali Mahmood, 35, said in a raspy voice about the armed men who control access to water sources.
One day last year, Mahmood's husband went out in search of water. Two days later, he was found dead, she said as an infant on her back cried and nine other children tugged at her torn dress. He was shot when an angry crowd began fighting over the well, she said.
"His body was bloodied, swollen and just lying there with the other dead by the well, left in disgrace. The shame. We'd never seen conflict at this level of violence," she explained, shielding her eyes from a dust storm that was swirling in the heat under a blue sky. "Thirst forces men to this horror of war."
In Somalia, a well is as precious as a town bank, controlled by warlords and guarded with weapons. During the region's relentless three-year drought, water has become a resource worth fighting and dying over.
The drought has affected an estimated 11 million people across East Africa and killed large numbers of livestock, leaving carcasses of cows, goats and even hearty camels rotting in the sun. The governments of Kenya and Ethiopia have mediated dozens of conflicts over water in their countries, even sending in police and the army to quell disputes around wells.
The effects of the drought are most pronounced in Somalia, which has lacked an effective government and central planning, including irrigation projects, since the government of Mohamed Siad Barre collapsed in 1991. Since then, a hodgepodge of warlords and their armies have taken control of informal taxation systems, crops, markets and access to water.
Amid the anarchy and water scarcity, most of the country's almost 9 million people scratch out a living.
The U.N. World Food Program hires heavily armed men to help protect villagers as they pick up water, cooking oil and sorghum. Still, gunmen sometimes force women to give up their water or food as they walk back to their villages.
"Even when local people are good and plan out water catchment systems, warlords just take it over. That's why we have so many people drinking horrible water with worms and dirt and getting very ill," said Abdul Rashid, a Somali nurse in Rabdore who works with the International Medical Corps, a nonprofit relief group. "It's like the start of the water wars right here in Somalia."
The drought has resulted in the worst harvest in 10 years, leading the United Nations to ask donor countries, including the United States, for $327 million to fund food aid and water trucking programs for Somalia. If the so-called Gu rains do not arrive in the April-June rainy season, thousands of Somalis could die each month without aid, according to U.N. officials.
|
RABDORE, Somalia -- Villagers call it the "War of the Well," a battle that erupted between two clans over control of a watering hole in this dusty, drought-stricken trading town.
| 16.447368 | 1 | 38 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301238.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041519id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301238.html
|
Replace Rumsfeld
|
2006041519
|
With luck, Iraq will make a fresh start soon with the formation of a new government. The Bush administration should do the same thing by replacing Donald Rumsfeld as defense secretary.
Rumsfeld has lost the support of the uniformed military officers who work for him. Make no mistake: The retired generals who are speaking out against Rumsfeld in interviews and op-ed pieces express the views of hundreds of other officers on active duty. When I recently asked an Army officer with extensive Iraq combat experience how many of his colleagues wanted Rumsfeld out, he guessed 75 percent. Based on my own conversations with senior officers over the past three years, I suspect that figure may be low.
But that isn't the reason he should be replaced. Military officers often dislike the civilians they work for, but in our system strong civilian control is essential. On some of the issues over which he has tangled with the military brass, Rumsfeld has been right. The Pentagon is a hidebound place, and it has needed the "transformation" ethic Rumsfeld brought to his job. I'm dubious about the Pentagon conventional wisdom that we needed 500,000 American troops in Iraq. More troops were necessary, but they should have been Iraqi troops from an army that wasn't disbanded.
Rumsfeld should resign because the Bush administration is losing the war on the home front. As bad as things are in Baghdad, America won't be defeated there militarily. But it may be forced into a hasty and chaotic retreat by mounting domestic opposition to its policy. Much of the American public has simply stopped believing the administration's arguments about Iraq, and Rumsfeld is a symbol of that credibility gap. He is a spent force, reduced to squabbling with the secretary of state about whether "tactical errors" were made in the war's conduct.
The Bush administration has rightly been insisting that the Iraqis put unity first and that in forming a permanent government they remove ineffectual and divisive leaders and replace them with people who can pull the country together. The administration should heed its own advice. America needs leadership that can speak to the whole country, not just the people who already agree with the president.
Rumsfeld's replacement should be someone who can help restore a bipartisan consensus for a sensible Iraq policy. One obvious candidate would be the centrist Democrat Sen. Joe Lieberman. Another would be a centrist Republican with military experience, such as Sen. Chuck Hagel or Sen. John McCain. The administration would have to swallow its pride to take any of them on board, but that's the point: Without bold moves from the White House, support for the war will continue to slip away.
It now seems clear that President Bush can't erase the Iraq credibility gap on his own. He has been trying to rebuild consensus for the war for months, in a series of speeches and strategy papers. But the poll numbers keep going down. His job approval ratings have fallen below 40 percent in all the latest polls, with Post-ABC News at 38 percent, CNN-USA Today-Gallup at 37 percent and Fox-Opinion Dynamics at 36 percent. Support for the war has crumbled even more sharply. The latest Post-ABC poll found that 58 percent of the country now feels the war wasn't worth fighting, compared with 27 percent back in April 2003.
If the Iraqis can form a unity government -- and that's certainly a big "if" -- they will need America's help in pulling the country back from civil war. America now has a better military strategy for Iraq, one that puts more responsibility on Iraqi forces and emphasizes counterinsurgency tactics. And it has a political strategy that is at last reaching out to all the different Iraqi communities -- Sunni, Shiite and Kurd -- rather than to a handful of former exile leaders. This political-military strategy may fail, but it's too soon to make that call. To buy some time, the administration needs a new political base. If it continues with the same team, it will get the same result.
Rumsfeld is a stubborn man, and I suspect the parade of retired generals calling for his head has only made him more determined to hold on. But by staying in his job, Rumsfeld is hurting the cause he presumably cares most about. The president, even more stubborn than his Pentagon chief, is said to have rejected his offer to resign. If that's so, it's time for Rumsfeld to take the matter out of Bush's hands.
The administration needs to look this one clearly in the eye: Without changes that shore up public support in America, it risks losing the war in Iraq.
|
Now more than ever a symbol of the public's distrust of the Bush administration, Rumsfeld should go or we risk losing the war in Iraq.
| 32.071429 | 0.857143 | 2.357143 |
medium
|
medium
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301265.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041519id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301265.html
|
My Immigration Solution
|
2006041519
|
I've written several columns arguing that our society should welcome the current influx of immigrants, not brand them as felons or build a fortress wall along the Mexican border. Quite a few readers have written to ask, often not quite this politely, "Okay, so what's your solution?" That's a fair question, so I'll try to answer it.
The easy part, for me, is how to deal with the estimated 12 million undocumented immigrants already in the country. I think the thing to do is put them on track to citizenship -- all those who want to become citizens, at least, and whose only crime is being here without the required documents. The word "amnesty" is politically radioactive, so we can call it something else, but at the end of the day that's what it's going to be.
After all, we invited these people to come here and pick our strawberries, clean our offices, pluck our chickens, bus our tables, wash our cars and perform a host of other jobs for which our society no longer wants to shell out working-class wages and reasonable benefits such as health insurance. By "invited" I mean that we left the Mexican border essentially open, gave employers the luxury of no-questions-asked hiring without any credible threat of sanctions, and failed to make clear who was supposed to enforce the immigration laws and how. That adds up to an invitation.
The economic counterargument that gets made is that undocumented immigrants depress wages for all low-skilled labor. But I don't hear the claim that there's an actual glut of unskilled workers -- just that the undocumented, because of their precarious position, will work cheap. Shouldn't it follow, then, that wages will rise when these workers are legitimized, enfranchised and unionized?
Some readers have written to argue that the amnesty, whatever it's euphemistically called, would "reward illegal behavior." Let's be real: We're talking about behavior that our society has encouraged and exploited. It would be like a police officer who flags you down, says it's an emergency, asks you to drive him across town as fast as possible and then writes you a ticket for speeding.
Now for the hard part: What to do about the border?
The U.S.-Mexico border is not like most frontiers. It's true that in satellite photos you can see the line in some places where the world's richest country ends and its less affluent neighbor begins -- one side is lit up like a Christmas tree, the other is in shadow. But from ground level, the border is less a line than a zone extending many miles north and south. The border between the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico has always been transcended by family ties, common economic interests and cultural kinship. Cleaving these linkages apart with an impenetrable wall would be a radical step, and ultimately self-defeating.
So I don't want to see an Adobe Curtain, with watchtowers and Dobermans. I also don't want to see would-be migrants used, abused and sometimes left for dead in the desert by ruthless coyotes -- the people-smugglers who are the only unalloyed villains in this whole affair.
The alternative I'm left with, then, is sanctioning enough of a flow of Mexican immigrants across the border to change the current incentive equation. At present, it makes more sense to thousands of people each month to risk their lives with the coyotes than to "get in line" to come in legally. People wouldn't take that risk if they had the realistic hope of being able to enter someday, say within a year or two, by air-conditioned bus.
I don't have a specific number for "enough," but it would meet the demand. You could set the limit comfortably below the numbers now crossing illegally and still expect the border "crisis" to shrink back into a manageable "issue," since fewer people would choose a perilous dash through the desert. We wouldn't need a new wall.
It does not diminish America's sovereignty to decide to let more immigrants come in legally. Border cities would need some federal help to fulfill their role as welcome centers. Some migrants would eventually go home, some would stay and become Americans, some would go back and forth. It would be just like what happens now, only without the drama.
We should give the migrants some sort of official status so they can participate in the economy -- and so it would be harder for unscrupulous employers to take advantage of them. But don't call them "guest workers," which sounds Orwellian. Call them by their names.
|
I've written several columns arguing that our society should welcome the current influx of immigrants, not brand them as felons or build a fortress wall along the Mexican border. Quite a few readers have written to ask, often not quite this politely, "Okay, so what's your solution?"
| 16.035088 | 1 | 57 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/12/AR2006041201583.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041519id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/12/AR2006041201583.html
|
Working To Fix Our Fiscal Woes
|
2006041519
|
Work may be a four-letter word to some citizens in slow-growing Western European economies, but Americans know better. So do Frenchmen ranging from de Tocqueville to France's current interior minister, who have both touted the U.S. work ethic.
Ironically, projections about how much Americans will work are now at the heart of worries about emerging crises in U.S. public finances -- whether government deficits or imbalances in Social Security's bankbook. The latter, for instance, are largely a work-related fiscal woe, as the number of workers supporting each retiree falls by an estimated one-third over the next 30 years.
What makes our work habits suddenly so important? For starters, a postwar boom in the U.S. labor force is just now ending. Since around 1950, the percentage of adults who worked rose almost every year except in recessions. But now the great swell of working boomers is starting to retire, and most of the gain in female labor force participation is over. If Americans keep retiring at the same ages they do today, the share of adults who are working will fall markedly. The effect on the economy will be roughly equivalent to increasing the unemployment rate by 3/10 of 1 percent every year for 20 years straight starting in 2008. That means a lower rate of growth for workers, goods, services, and government revenues.
But what if we played to our strength -- a strong and flexible labor market -- by working a little longer? For workers who hang in there, their lifetime income obviously would increase, but their greater reward would be bigger nest eggs to spend down over fewer years of retirement. Even an extra year or two of work reduces the risk that too few Americans face up to when they retire -- that rising costs, especially for health care, make what appears adequate near retirement seem paltry in later years. Since a typical 62-year-old couple today is likely to have at least one spouse who lives another 25 years, most couples need to line up resources for 30 years or more to play it safe.
In short, the most important financial decision facing most people in their 60s is when to retire. Which stocks or bonds to buy -- a typical focus of financial magazines -- is usually far less consequential.
Working longer helps the nation, too. Additional time on the job increases national income, while boosting the revenues needed to float government programs, including those serving the elderly.
Now let's look ahead. Research that Barbara Butrica, Karen Smith, and I did on the effects of working longer show that annual household retirement income, including Social Security, would typically increase by about 6 to 10 percent for each additional year of work. Workers on average would have an annual income 55 percent higher if they retired for five fewer years, saved some of their additional earnings, and delayed receipt of Social Security benefits.
The percentage increases in annual income for additional work would usually be higher for households with lower lifetime earnings. After five additional years of work, the bottom three-fifths of retirees -- which include seniors well into the middle class -- would see gains ranging from 61 to almost 100 percent.
From a national perspective, it's useful to look out about four decades, when fiscal and Social Security problems are projected to be the most severe. One additional year of work would generate additional earnings to individuals about equal to the entire shortfall between benefits and taxes in the old age insurance portion of Social Security. Five more years of work would generate more in additional taxes to the government (including Social Security and income taxes) than the amount of the shortfall. That same five years would produce enough additional Social Security taxes alone to cover half of the shortfall, if benefits were kept constant.
Obviously just working longer won't solve the nation's fiscal mess or the tangle of old age issues. Not all are well enough to work to later ages, even though life expectancy is increasing and ever fewer jobs are physically demanding. But extra years of work would allow most Americans to live better in retirement and government to provide higher levels of both Social Security and non-elderly program benefits at any given tax rate.
The United States is lucky. It has a flexible and vigorous labor market to which many Western Europeans turn as an example of how to deal with their stagnant employment and economies. Let's not turn in the opposite direction by ignoring work's potential role in solving our own fiscal problems.
C. Eugene Steuerle is a senior fellow at the Urban Institute and co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. He is the author of "Contemporary U.S. Tax Policy" (Urban Institute Press, 2004). The opinions are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its sponsors.
|
As Baby Boomers begin to retire, the effect on the economy will be roughly equivalent to the unemployment rate rising by 3/10 to 1 percent every year for 20 straight years. With Social Security nearly insolvent the answer to America's fiscal woes lies in its work ethic--not necessarily how hard we work, but how long.
| 15.048387 | 0.83871 | 3.193548 |
low
|
medium
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301917.html%20
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041519id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301917.html
|
A Republican on the Edge
|
2006041519
|
EXETER, R.I. -- Lincoln Chafee was cleaning a horse stall on his well-manicured farm one recent early morning, describing his latest encounter with hostile home-state Republicans.
The GOP senator had appeared the previous night before the Scituate Republican Town Committee to seek the endorsement of the small but influential group. In his halting, soft-spoken way, Chafee defended his opposition to the war in Iraq, domestic wiretapping and the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. as the principled positions of an old-school conservative.
Chafee, 53, once could count on voters in Rhode Island to tolerate his maverick ways, but this time the response was blank stares. "Nobody listened to my reasoning," Chafee recounted as he piled hay into a wheelbarrow. "They support the president on everything."
Few paths to victory are more convoluted than the one Chafee must travel to win election to a second term this year in this strongly Democratic state. Chafee will face Cranston Mayor Stephen Laffey, a conservative, in the Sept. 12 GOP primary, and he must convince voters that he is "Republican enough," despite his numerous defections from the party and President Bush. If he survives the primary, Chafee then must hope that he can hold the Republican vote while wooing moderate Democrats and independents to stave off what is sure to be a strong Democratic challenge.
"I'm running for opposite constituencies," Chafee said. "It's impossible."
There are 15 Republican-held Senate seats up for election this fall, and Chafee's is one of seven that Democrats believe are vulnerable. The GOP holds 55 of the 100 seats, which means Democrats would have to win practically all of the competitive seats without losing any of their own seats in order to take back control of the Senate. Political analysts describe that as an unlikely scenario absent some cataclysmic political shake-up.
A recent Brown University survey showed Chafee narrowly leading both his prospective Democratic opponents -- former state attorney general Sheldon Whitehouse and Secretary of State Matt Brown -- while Laffey trailed both Whitehouse and Brown by significant margins. But the Chafee-Laffey contest is difficult to gauge. That's because there are so few Republicans in the state -- only about 25,000 vote in GOP primaries -- and because unaffiliated voters, who make up about half the electorate, can show up and vote on primary day.
"This isn't your grandmother's Republican primary," said Jennifer Duffy, who tracks Senate races for the nonpartisan Cook Political Report and who grew up in Rhode Island. "It's hard to figure who's even going to vote in it."
Tiny Rhode Island is one of the most Democratic states in the country. It provided overwhelming three-fifths majorities to Democrats Al Gore and Sen. John F. Kerry in the past two presidential elections. Voters here like local politicians who are scrappy and colorful, but they prefer that their senators be more dignified. That pantheon of senators includes Democrats Claiborne Pell, who created the Pell college grant program, and John O. Pastore, who played an important role in passing civil rights legislation.
Another revered figure is Chafee's father, Sen. John Chafee, a moderate Republican who died in 1999 near the end of his fourth term, and whom Lincoln Chafee replaced by appointment until he was elected to a full six-year term in 2000.
The son has one of the oddest résumés in Congress. Born to one of the "five families" that originally settled Rhode Island, Chafee majored in classics at Brown University and then headed west to learn horseshoeing in Montana. He spent seven years working at racetracks in the United States and Canada and then returned to Rhode Island and worked in manufacturing. In 1986 he was elected to the Warwick City Council, and in 1992 he became mayor of that city, the state's second largest, after Providence.
In 1999, a day after his father announced he would retire from the Senate after four terms, Chafee announced he wanted to replace him. When his father died in October, Chafee was named by Gov. Lincoln Almond to complete the term. The appointment provided a critical boost. Chafee had admitted a few months earlier that he once used cocaine. He was known as an affable fellow, but some worried that he lacked his father's gravitas.
|
EXETER, R.I. -- Lincoln Chafee was cleaning a horse stall on his well-manicured farm one recent early morning, describing his latest encounter with hostile home-state Republicans.
| 25.272727 | 1 | 33 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301886.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041519id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301886.html
|
Asians Decry Adidas Shoe as a Misstep
|
2006041519
|
A new, limited-edition shoe from Adidas-Salomon AG, part of the "Yellow Series" and decorated with the face of a character who has buck teeth, a bowl haircut and slanted eyes, has provoked a heated debate about the lines dividing racism, art and commerce.
The character on the shoe is the creation of a San Francisco graffiti artist, Barry McGee, who is half Chinese. McGee, who calls the character Ray Fong after an uncle who died, said the image is based on how the artist looked as an 8-year-old.
"You have to look at it as a piece of artwork," said McGee, 40, who used Ray Fong as a graffiti tag in the late 1990s and later in art installations and catalogue covers. "The way we put it all together, it becomes a collectible as art."
The shoe was released April 1, with 1,000 pairs on sale at a dozen boutiques in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London, Tokyo, Hamburg and Denmark. It retails for $250 and comes with a graffiti art fanzine.
Since then, several blogs and message boards have been consumed with fervid debate over the shoe, and Asian American organizations have said it evokes damaging and long-standing stereotypes.
"You're kidding me, right?" read an entry on the Web site Angry Asian Man. " That's racist! "
Others point out that McGee's mother is Chinese and that he often uses art to explode stereotypes of Asians. On the blog AdJab, Adam Finley wrote, "My theory . . . is that Adidas is trying to target a younger, hipper demographic that is already familiar with the underground art world and the images can seem controversial when not seen in the proper context."
The Organization of Chinese Americans, which is based in the District, has received about 40 complaints from its members, according to communication director Anh Phan. The organization has sent a formal letter of complaint to Adidas, asking for removal of the shoe from the market.
"We initially didn't think it would become that big of a deal, but our members seem to think otherwise," said Phan. "Taken in context with all the mentions of yellow, it's upsetting. We want people to be mindful of that when trying to promote their products."
Dorothy Wong, the group's executive director, said such images define Asians as foreigners. "And it fuels an anti-immigrant sentiment that has been coming to the fore lately," she said.
McGee's role as an artist and his ethnic background have confused the issue for some.
Still, said Frank H. Wu, dean of the Wayne State University Law School and author of the book "Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White," the images have an effect that cannot be ignored.
|
A new, limited-edition shoe from Adidas-Salomon AG, part of the "Yellow Series" and decorated with the face of a character who has buck teeth, a bowl haircut and slanted eyes, has provoked a heated debate about the lines dividing racism, art and commerce.
| 10.254545 | 1 | 55 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041300729.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041519id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041300729.html
|
Gas Prices Rise Before Holiday Weekend
|
2006041519
|
Gasoline prices continue to climb today, heading into the holiday weekend, with a gallon of regular unleaded selling for $2.79, on average, in the Washington region, up 21 percent since the beginning of March, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.
The new data is in line with an Energy Department prediction Tuesday that gas prices will rise 10 cents to 15 cents a gallon over the next few weeks before leveling off in May.
In the Washington region, gas prices have risen 5 percent during the past week.
Prices are highest today in the District, where a gallon of regular is selling for $2.87, on average, compared with $2.75 in Maryland and $2.72 in Virginia.
Gas prices have been rising steadily this spring as crude oil prices have jumped in response to tensions in oil-producing Iran and Nigeria, analysts say.
The price of regular gas in the Washington area has jumped to $2.79 from $2.34 a month ago and $2.27 on March 1, according to AAA.
"The analysts have lots of explanations for the price increases but all of these reasons together should not constitute a 50 cents a gallon increase," AAA spokesman John B. Townsend said this morning. "I think a lot of this is driven by the oil companies' profit motives."
The American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group, says oil companies earn eight or nine cents on a gallon of regular, which, according to AAA, averages $2.72 across the United States today.
|
Gasoline prices continue to climb today, heading into the holiday weekend, with a gallon of regular unleaded selling for $2.79, on average, in the Washington region, up 21 percent since the beginning of March, according to AAA Mid-Atlantic.
| 6.104167 | 1 | 48 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301689.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041519id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301689.html
|
White House Defends Rumsfeld's Tenure
|
2006041519
|
The White House came to the aid of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld yesterday, rebuffing calls from several retired generals for his resignation and crediting him with leading the Pentagon through two wars and a transformation of the military.
"The president believes Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a very fine job during a challenging period in our nation's history," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said at a briefing. He went on to read long quotations from the nation's top military officer, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, praising Rumsfeld's dedication and patriotism.
The defense of Rumsfeld is a perennial exercise for the White House whenever a fresh round of Rumsfeld-must-go demands arise on Capitol Hill or elsewhere in Washington. The difference this time is that those insisting that the secretary should step down are recently retired flag officers who appear to reflect widespread sentiment among people still in uniform.
Retired Army Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who commanded a division in Iraq, on Wednesday became the latest former top commander to speak out against what he and others call the secretary's authoritarian style. The others include retired Marine Lt. Gen. Gregory Newbold, who was director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff; retired Army Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton, who oversaw the training of Iraqi troops; and retired Marine Gen. Anthony C. Zinni, who was chief of the U.S. Central Command, which oversees Iraq.
President Bush made no comment on Rumsfeld yesterday, and he tried to direct Washington's focus to his economic program. In a speech to a small-business conference, he called on Congress to renew his tax cuts, pass his health-care plans and give him a line-item veto over spending.
He also renewed his attack on Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), accusing him of blocking a Senate compromise on immigration last week with "a procedural gimmick that meant he was single-handedly thwarting the will of the American people." Bush added: "It's time to set aside needless partisan politics and focus on what's right for the United States."
Reid has blamed a raft of what he calls punitive amendments offered by conservative Republicans. "President Bush has as much credibility on immigration as he does on Iraq and national security," Reid said yesterday. He called on Bush to find "the backbone to stop the extreme elements of the Republican Party from blocking improvements to America's security."
|
The White House came to the aid of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld yesterday, rebuffing calls from several retired generals for his resignation and crediting him with leading the Pentagon through two wars and a transformation of the military.
| 11.487805 | 1 | 41 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301911.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041519id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301911.html
|
Gangs in Md. Throw Rivals A Cyberpunch
|
2006041519
|
The threat from the Washington area gang Street Thug Criminals was very clear: "We swore we were going to get the *bleep* that did this and we are. RIP Antonio."
It was delivered the way almost everything seems to be these days: on a Web page.
The Street Thug Criminals have an Internet page, and they used it to warn a rival Langley Park gang that Antonio's death would be avenged.
Police call it "cyberbanging" -- gang members openly bragging about affiliations, skipping school, getting high and battling rival gangs.
Many postings deal with Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a Latino gang that has been spreading quickly across the Washington region in recent years.
There is no way to know for certain whether these cyberbangers are gang members, but it's not likely that they are phonies, said Sgt. George Norris, a Prince George's County police officer who heads a 16-member regional gang task force.
"If you portray yourself as being MS-13 and you're not, when they find out about it, they kill you just as if you're a rival gang member," Norris said.
Prince George's police and other investigators use the sites to track the growing gang problem and to catalog members.
Most cyberbangers on Web pages examined by The Washington Post are teenagers and design their pages to flash in-your-face images of gang flags, hand signs, marijuana, women, stacks of cash and "original gangster" scrolls certifying them as legitimate. Some show pictures of themselves with guns and bandannas covering their faces below the eyes, casting menacing glances.
The sites use the members' nicknames and rarely refer to legal names. The pages are legal; it is not against the law to be in a gang.
"Barney," a 15-year-old from Langley Park, says he likes fashion, video games and basketball. According to his page, he is into photography, does not have a girlfriend -- and is a member of two violent street gangs, the Lewisdale Crew and Brown Union.
The gangs, better known the LDC and BU, are bitter rivals of MS-13's.
|
The threat from the Washington area gang Street Thug Criminals was very clear: "We swore we were going to get the *bleep* that did this and we are. RIP Antonio."
| 11.378378 | 1 | 37 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301685.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041519id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/13/AR2006041301685.html
|
Kaleo Isn't Ready to Exit Arena
|
2006041519
|
Two weeks ago in an Arena Football League game few people cared enough about to watch, a 35-year-old quarterback named John Kaleo called a play for himself and plunged headlong over the goal line for a touchdown. He did this knowing his frame would be pummeled to the ground, perhaps even knocked into the hockey sideboards that line the field and that the hit would be the worst of the night in a brand of football that has proven more violent than even the NFL.
His teammate on the Columbus Destroyers, a gargantuan lineman named Kelvin Kinney who once played defensive end for the Washington Redskins, later shook his head and winced at the memory.
He figured it might have been the most impressive thing he had seen Kaleo do. But that would be forgetting the running leap into the end zone the quarterback made in the league's championship game three years ago, when they were teammates in Tampa Bay, as well as the countless other times he called for a bootleg right and ran right into the hammerlock of an opponent's forearm.
"He's a tough little guy," Kinney said.
Maybe this recklessness in such an unadorned setting would make more sense if Kaleo were destitute or desperate for one last shot at the NFL. But those dreams ended the moment his career at Maryland was over in 1992. He now has a wife and two sons waiting for him at home, which is in a gated community in a fashionable part of Tampa. He also has a degree in criminology from Maryland and a lucrative real estate career in Florida should he want to pursue it.
So why spend year after year risking his neck in a sport that barely registers on the national consciousness?
"It's a good question," Kaleo said.
And yet just moments into a conversation with him the answer is obvious. His eyes flash, his jaw sets and the memories of all the football men who summed him up with a cursory glance and deemed him too tiny to play welled up inside.
Even after all these years, long after the college recruiters and NFL scouts all shook their heads and told him no, he still has to show them how silly they were. How they shouldn't have been so quick to judge the body and not the heart of John Kaleo.
"Let me say this," he said. "I've always been told I can't, I was too small, too short to play Division I football, that I didn't have the arm to play professional, that I didn't do this or couldn't do that. And that's always driven me from high school all the way through and that's what keeps driving me -- that people, despite all the service I put in, say, 'Ah you know, Kaleo's not this or Kaleo can't throw the deep ball or Kaleo is just an average quarterback.'
"I keep proving them wrong every year."
|
COLUMBUS, Ohio Two weeks ago in an Arena Football League game few people cared enough about to watch, a 35-year-old quarterback named John Kaleo called a play for himself and plunged headlong over the goal line for a touchdown. He did this knowing his frame would be pummeled to the ground, perhaps...
| 9.677966 | 0.966102 | 51.305085 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/05/DI2006040501570.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041519id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/05/DI2006040501570.html
|
Grad Guide 2006
|
2006041519
|
Everybody loves a paycheck. Odds are, however, that your first one won't let you immediately retire into a life of luxury. In this chat, The Post's Michelle Singletary took your questions on money matters for folks who are early in their careers -- or just starting out.
You can read Michelle's weekly personal finance column, "The Color of Money," weekly in the business section , sign up for her weekly e-mail newsletter , or read her past Q&As .
This discussion is part of a series created for The Post's Grad Guide , an interactive collection of stories, resources and information aimed at easing the transition of the Class of 2006.
Michelle Singletary: Good afternoon everyone. I have to say I love,love talking to young folks. I love talking to young adults just starting because I get to catch you all BEFORE you the wrong financial decisions or confirm that you are on the right track.
Anyway, I'm ready to go.
Fairfax, VA: Hi Michelle, I love your columns, books, and chats. Your no non-sense advice is great!
I would like to share a money management tool that has saved me more than a few times. I learned this from the Mary Hunt Cheapskate books. I opened a second bank account at my credit union (no fee). Each payday, I deposit money into the second account, to be used for irregular or unexpected expenses. This is NOT a savings account and shouldn't replace that. I try to deposit the same amount each month, treating it like I would any other monthly bill. When an unexpected expense comes up, like a car repair, an unplanned gift, or if I made a mistake in my primary checking account and don't have as much money as I thought I did, I have a back-up and don't have to run to the credit cards.
As you often comment, it's those unplanned events that can bust your budget!
Keep up the great work!
Michelle Singletary: I thought this note was a great way to start off this chat. And here's why. Lots of folks are running around trying to find the secret to wealth. The fact is the most proven path to prosperity is to follow some basic, common sense money management principles. Below is one of them. I've essentially done this my entire working life and for my entire working life I've never been broke. This includes from the time I made just a little more than $20,000 to now (and nope not telling you how much I make).
It's called paying yourself first, rainy day fund, emergency fund...and a host of other names.
But essentially if you are starting out on that first job or right out of college this is the one and true way to make sure you always have a little piece of money.
Washington, DC: What's your opinion of ING Orange Savings Accounts? What are the advantages/disadvantages of this savings account versus typical banks or credit unions?
Michelle Singletary: I don't really like to comment on one product or the other unless the company pitching it is doing something wrong or I think the product or service is worthless.
But I think what you might be asking is if accounts open or offered by Internet companies safe, good, competitive.
Then the answer is yes. ING is able to offer CDS and savings accounts that pay interest rates higher than brick banks because they don't have the same expenses. That's an advantage.
If you want to walk into a branch, can't do that. That's a disadvantage. So if you are just shopping based on rates certainly check them out.
If you need a lot of lobby-type bank or credit union services then perhaps this isn't the right account for you.
Laurel, Md.: I'd like to make a comment to our grad-readers that ties into Sunday's column:
Put your 401k or similar plan into stocks (the more volatile the better) and rebalance yearly and ignore just about everything else you hear about the stock market. Most of what you'll read from the stock market news is either wrong or irrelevant:
1. Stock market news media are not geared to long-term investors. To sell magazines, they have to carry news that frequent traders want to read, like "The hottest mutual funds of 2006." Ignore it.
2. Because stock market news is geared to active traders, they treat increasing stock prices as "good news." Unless you're approaching retirement and about to sell soon, this is completely backwards. You WANT stocks to go DOWN when you're BUYING them; just like you shop for the lowest, not highest, price on tomatoes, cars and plane tickets.
3. Market writers love to play up volatility by saying things like "If you bought the S&P 500 in March 2001 at 11,500 and sold in September 2003 at 8,000, you'd have lost 30% of your investment." True, but you don't put money into your 401k that way. If you buy a constant dollar amount of stocks every two weeks or monthly, the noise flattens out tremendously. The calendar is an excellent diversifier.
washingtonpost.com: Sunday's Column: washingtonpost.com:Sunday's Column:Compound Wisdom
Michelle Singletary: Good advice with one caveat. I wouldn't pick stocks or mutual funds (which is what I would recommend for most investors) that are "volatile." And what does that mean anyway.
What you want is an investment that invest in companies that are large, mid-size and small, that have the potential to grow, are in growing industires, stable industries,and industries that sell or offer services in areas we all need (energy, banking, retail).
The key word is diversify.
Woodbridge, Virginia: I have a student loan question. I am in my second job since graduating with my undergrad degree. I recently left a public sector job to a private sector job, as such I have between $18,000 to $20,000 in a pension plan. I have full invested in my Roth IRA since 1998 and am currently participating in my company 410(k). My questions is, should i withdraw my pension money, taking hit for early withdrawal and taxes, to significantly reduce my student loans, or suck it up and keep paying those suckers off- I just hate those loans and want them gone.
I pay over the monthly due and pay between 4 and 5% in interest.
Michelle Singletary: Don't take the hit. Keep paying those suckers off. I hate debt too but you lose so much when you cash out of tax advantaged retirement accounts, which is what I'm assuming you mean when you say "pension plan."
Washington, DC: I am a graduating law student and find myself in a somewhat delightful financial dilemma. I will be coming into a $16,000 settlement from the sale of my apartment building near graduation and have a job for fall which comes with a $5000 recruitment bonus. I'm also moving to a more affordable market to work for the federal government and will be paying 1/3 of the rent I pay here in DC. Great problems to have, yes?
My question is, what do I do with all this money? My job will be repaying my student loans and I know those are "good debt" which I want to pay monthly to get my credit rating up to buy a house in the next few years. I only have about $700 in credit card debt to pay off. How should I direct the rest of it? I've never invested in anything, so I'm not sure where to start, but want to use this windfall to set myself up right for the future as I start my career. Any suggestions?
Michelle Singletary: What a wonderful problem to have.
First, I like that you will immediately pay off that credit card debt.
Second, create an emergency fund 3 to six months of living expenses. In other words 3 to 6 months of living expenses and I mean everything (rent, car payment, cable, insurance, food, etc.)
Third, if you have any money left after that put it into your house fund because you will need lots to buy a home even if you have a low or no downpayment. If you think you will need this money in less than five years don't "invest" it because you don't want to put it at risk. If you won't be buying soon then perhaps look at mutual funds. I like the lifecycle funds which invest based on a target date (usually retirement but in your case you can shoot for housin fund). If you don't need the money to buy a house then let it roll for your retirement.
Fourth, be sure to be thankful for being so blessed
College Park: Hello Michelle! How I can learn to manage my 401k? Do you know any webpage or book that could guide me on this? Thanks!
Michelle Singletary: Try going to this Web site for some good basic advice for starting out
As far as books check out Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People" by Jane Bryant Quinn (Simon & Schuster, $26).
I also like my book "Spend Well, Live Rich" (Random House)
Either one or a host of others will give you the basic things you need to know about what to do with your 401 (k) money.
Also, talk to the folks in the benefits office at your job. The company that managed your 401 (k) plan I'm sure has a Web Site and a section on investing basics.
But as I said in an ealier answer. Diversify. Don't put all your money in one fund type.
New Haven, CT: I'm a 22-year old first-year Master's student. At the end of the current academic year, I plan on consolidating the $72,000 that I have in student loans. I also plan on consolidating the loans for the next academic year ($35,000) at the new rate, but I will not be reconsolidating. I paid off about $2000 of my $3350 credit card debt in the past few months with the money that I earned as a research assistant, so I don't intend to have any non-academic debts.
My concern is that I am going into a career in the nonprofit management. I don't plan on getting rich with this career path, but I would like to be able to pay off my student loans and preferably in less than the 30-year term. I plan on having children and I would like to be able to invest in their education and my nest egg. I was considering going into real estate on a part-time basis for several years. This task seems risky, time-consuming and overall, quite daunting, so I am considering other options. I know that people consider student loans "good debt," and I certainly value my expensive education, but at the end of the day, I still owe a great deal of money. How do I accomplish my goal of paying off these loans in 10 to 15 years with a meager income? Also, what do you suggest for supplementing my income while still being able to work in non-profit on a full-time basis?
Michelle Singletary: Wow. You have a lot on your financial plate. I think it's great you want to tackle this debt in less than 30 years.
So have a plan. Look at your income and all your expenses. Then see what extra money (if there is any) that you can apply to reduce the debt at a faster rate. One thing you should do going forward is not charge anything on a credit card that you can't pay off the next month. Getting a roommate or roommates might be one way to significantly cut your expenses.
Second see what expenses you can cut. If you've cut to the bone then yes you may need a second job to reduce your student loan debt. What that job might be is totally depending on your interests, time etc. When you talk about real estate being risky I assume you mean buying property and renting it? Then yes, might be risky for you since you don't have a cash cushion. If you're talking about getting a real estate license to sell real esate I don't see any risk in that. Time consuming yes!
Finally, if your day job is very demanding and a second job just too much then realize you may have to take the long road to pay off that student loan debt. That's okay. Hard but okay since you really had no choice.
As far as kids and retirement. Definitely save for retirement. Don't worry about the kids and their college fund since you are not there yet. Keep in mind by the time you are ready to have kids perhaps (I hope) you will have a wife or husband around to help financially with that goal.
Will you please tell the author of the car-buying portion of the Grad Guide that a recent grad should NEVER even THINK about leasing a car? Why on earth would a money-starved 20-something spend three years paying hundreds of dollars a month for -- to own absolutely nothing at the end of the lease?
As for me, I'm following your very sensible advice. Mom gave me her old car, a 1990 Chevy, when I got a job and moved to Washington, and even though I can afford to get something better now I'm gonna drive it until the wheels fall off. It's actually in the shop as I type this, but the $340 bill for repairs is less than one month's payment on most new cars -- meaning I'm saving thousands of dollars every year, even if I have a repair bill now and then. (Not to mention all the extra car tax and insurance costs people pay when they buy new.)
Seeing as how I'm glad when I don't have to drive somewhere, I don't see any sense in spending more money on something that will only encourage me to go out and get stuck in traffic. I'd rather save the money -- and the time!
washingtonpost.com: washingtonpost.com:Steering Toward the Right Car
Michelle Singletary: I did read the piece and to be fair the author was just offering up ALL the options for acquiring a car.
But since I don't have to be fair I TOTALLY agree with you. Leasing is a BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD
NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER
Why lease what you can AFFORD to buy. And that's the key work here afford. Yes, you can lease a more expensive care you can't afford. And when you do you are a straight up knucklehead. The old and young do it and in any case it's not a wise financial move.
You want to have money. Then make wise financial moves. Buy a used or new car you can afford and keep it until the wheels fall off. Hopefully that is 10 year at least. And here's how I save for my next car. After I pay off my car loan (early) I take those payments, which I'm used to making, and continue to make them to myself in a savings account. By the time I need another car I either have a huge downpayment or I can pay for the next car outright.
Washington, D.C.: Good afternoon, Ms. Singletary:
I was very careless with my money for several years and now have significant credit card debts. I decided late last year that enough was enough and put myself on an austerity program, took a second job, and am SLOWLY paying off the cards.
Problem is, this isn't much fun. How does one stay motivated? Believe me, spending is much more pleasant than paying the bills.
Michelle Singletary: I feel you. And good for you for paying down that debt.
I might shock you but spend a "little" and have some fun. I hope when you said you went on an austerity program you didn't mean you shut down spending on all entertainment.
If you are working hard treat yourself every once in awhile.
So go to the movies (matinee and skip the expensive popcorn and soda); go to dinner (brunch) and skip appetizer and dessert and order cheapskate lemonaide (water with lemon).
Washington, D.C.: I'm two years out of college and have $4k in a 401(k), another $4k in an IRA, $2,500 in a mutual fund, and $13k in a money market. Is this too much to have stashed in cash, making pennies in interest? Should I funnel more into investments?
Michelle Singletary: Is that $13,000 your emergency money? If so you shouldn't invest that --- sorry.
Rockville, Md.: Simple guidelines to budgeting your first-year paycheck (i.e. barely enough to live):
If you're paid bi-weekly like most people, that's two checks a month plus another every six months. That one pays your car insurance. One of the monthly checks needs to cover rent, housing-related utilities and the smaller of your car and student loan. The other pays your larger loan and monthly living expenses.
If your employer matches your 401k contribution, allocate enough to get the maximum match and put it all in stocks. Unless you're starting out with a substantial nest egg, just park your non-retirement savings in the best convenient interest-bearing account you can find (on-line banks probably work best).
Don't even think of buying a home until you're pretty certain you'll live there five years. Real estate round-trips are very expensive.
Budget for one "splurge." What did you spend your entire college career saying "when I get a job and a salary, I'm going to get..." This makes the rest of your budget discipline easier to handle because you're still getting what you really want out of it.
Few big-ticket items are worth buying at this point in your life (except for your budgeted splurge). You might fail your probationary period and have to start all over. Don't do it with an HDTV in your back seat and on your Visa bill. Spend your discretionary on "experiences" (travel, theatre, skiing lessons) whose memories will last a lifetime.
If you live in the D.C. area -- this is an expensive place to live, but we have a lot to offer. A Metro Day Pass is 6.50. That's all it will cost you to see American Gothic (through June 11), the Hope Diamond and a baby panda.
Also, subscribe to at least the Sunday Post, even if you also read it on-line. Peruse the Plastic Pack to see what goes on sale, how often, and for how much at all the stores.
And learn to cook most of your own food.
Michelle Singletary: Some good advice (and lots of you have it so I'm happy to pass it along).
Washington, DC: I am a new employee (and a recent grad) and am taking advantage of my employers TSP plan (similar to a 401 K). The TSP plan has a couple different option on how to invest, including small and medium stocks, medium and large stocks, international stocks, and more stable government securities. The plan also has what are called "life cycle funds" which balance your portfolio according to when you think you will retire. My question is this: should I go with a lifecycle fund (the longest term) which would place the majority of my money in stocks but leave some in more conservative areas, or distribute the funds myself by only choosing the most aggressive options? I am young and want to make the most of my savings. Thanks!
Michelle Singletary: Personally I like the lifecylce fund concept. It does the reallocation automatically for you. I've written a couple of columns about this so check out the Post archive of my columns. If you really aren't comfortable with trying to figure out how to rebalance your fund every year or whatever go with the lifecycle.
Upper Marlboro, MD: Me and fiance both graduated in 2005 and have an apartment together. We would eventually like to buy something together, maybe a condo. Is it worth it to buy a home with the cost of housing in the metro DC area? We plan to move back to our home state of GA in about five years and I'm worried if we'll be able to sell it back. Should we just save for a place in GA or try to buy here since we're already paying over a 1000 a month for rent?
Michelle Singletary: Well, first how about getting married before buying property together. Or for that matter getting married before you live together.
I know lots of folks HATE when I advise this but I mean it. I can't tell you how many letters and e-mails I get from couples fighting over property because they bought it while they were dating or engaged and then never got married.
But I will answer your basic question. With such a short time line (moving in five years) it might not buy. In this market unless you buy a dog of a piece of property it's not likely you won't be able to sell it. The larger issue is will you in five years or less have any equity, will property values go down so that you are upside down in the house or cond (meaning you owe more than the house is worth). Those are the issues you have to look at when buying. Also with such a short time frame will you make enough on the sale of the house to have enough to buy another property in GA. If you sink all you have in a house in this area and then can't sell it for what you need to get to get back what you put into it (closing costs, downpayament, repairs, etc.) that's not a good move financially.
So do the math. Talk to a real estate agent here and in GA. Then you will have all that you need to make this decision.
And get married for goodness sake.
Re: $13k: Yes, that's my cushion, but it's more than 3-6 months living expenses. More like 9 months. I guess what I'm asking is, Is it better to have too much cushion and lose money over inflation or to park the extra money somewhere that makes more than 1% interest?
Michelle Singletary: I would keep the cushion safe and if you feel comfortable take the rest and invest -- as long as you don't think you will need that money in five years or less say to buy a home or car or whatever. If you don't then sure look for something with the possibility of paying a higher return. Try an index fund or lifecycle retirement fund just make sure the money is well diversified.
Re: Book recommendation: Can you recommend a book for soon to be grads? My sister and her boyfriend are going to be graduating in May. She will be starting a PhD program in Pharmacology and he will be working. We'd like to get them a book and we're also thinking about getting them individual ING accounts with some starter money for savings.
Michelle Singletary: Please see my previous answer about basic financial book.
I would also recommend you look at the archive of the Color of Money Book Club. In the last several years I've read and recommended a number of books that may help them.
2nd jobs to pay debt: The second job I took after college -- and stayed in 11 years later -- is working in fitness (I am now a personal trainer part-time, clinical research associate at an Ivy League college full-time.)
Gyms always need staff for before and after regular office hours. You get money, a free membership, the clients get to know you and socialize with you and twice, they have given me a successful tip on a job opening, including my present one.
Michelle Singletary: Great, great tip.
Washington, DC: I am a senior graduating in May. I don't have a job yet but will want to stay in the area and find a job. I have about $700 in savings now (and will probably accumulate about $300 more before graduation), but I guess I'm wondering how hard it will be to find an apartment with limited funds (although my parents will help with the initial fees). Also, any suggestions for short-term jobs while I look for a permanent job?
Michelle Singletary: Well congrats to the soon-to-be grad. Wow how exciting. I remember those days before husband, rugrats, wrinkles....
Anyway with no job yet can you stay with parents until you get on your feet financially? If not, I would strongly suggest you think about getting a roommate. And depending on where you want to live you shouldn't have a problem finding a place, but getting something affordable is another story. A $1,000 in this area is not likely to get you into an apartment with first months rent and security deposit.
As far as a job not sure I can help you without knowing your background but you might want to try a temp agency.
College Park, Md: I just graduated from college in December, and landed a good job with a tech firm in Northern Virgina. My question concerns 401k, and that is what is a typical percentage for the contribution to the 401k (I know it will depend on salary, but just want a general idea)? Currently, I put 3% in which is pretty low I assume.
Michelle Singletary: 3 percent is low but how much you need to put in depends not just on how much you make but more importantly how much you think you will need in retirement (taking into account savings, any pension, Social Security, etc.)
Go to www.choosetosave and work thu the retirement ballpark calculator. That should help you figure out how much you need in retirement.
Just wanted to point out some basic things that I (generally a pretty smart chick) didn't think of when I graduated college and started out on my own. I did a budget and thought I included everything so that when I negotiated my first salary I thought I had enough money, but...
-You have to kick in for your heath insurance. Also, doctor's copays, tylenol, cough syrup, etc. can get expensive fast, especially if you have allergies or something. You're not on your parents insurance anymore.
-Papertowels, kleenex, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, general household items, etc. cost money (even generic brands) and aren't going to be supplied by college housing or spilt with 10 roomates
-You have to dress for work, think clothing budget. Dry cleaning can get super expensive fast, so buy cotton or plan for it.
Seriously think through life and what you use on a daily basis and think about how you'll budget for it. It goes beyond rent, car, student loans, groceries, entertainment, and the normal things you think of first.
Michelle Singletary: Oh this is so true. I remember my first budget and I left out so much of the everyday things we use.
Washington, DC: Can I just share some advice with all the people just starting out? Do NOT go into needless debt. If you have accumulated debt through student loans, credit cards, etc., act NOW to pay them off however you can. Get a second job! I know working a full-time job will be hard enough, but do it now while you have no other obligations. It's really hard and tough to pull yourself away from a spouse, kids, grad school to work a second job later on when you could've taken care of that debt earlier.
My brother's keeper: Michelle, a friend died recently and I came face to face with the high cost of funerals. I have a brother who doesn't work full time and doesn't have any life insurance (or real assets, just LOTS of debt). I worry if something should happen to him---the rest of us would have to come up with $4-5K, or more, for a funeral very quickly. I am prepared to buy life insurance for him (for my peace of mind, really). Is this a good idea?
Michelle Singletary: I so know what you are talking about. I had to help pay for my brother's funeral. My grandmother did carry a small insurance policy on my brother. If you want to do that I don't think ok, especially if your brother is in poor health. Just get a really, really low cost term policy (he might have to take a physical and sign off on it).
Another route is to just save. If your brother is in good health just put a little away every month. That way if he lives long, you have the money to use for you.
Jobless grad: What about the poor roommate?
If you don't have an income lined up, it is pretty unwise to try and get your own place but it is downright scummy to get a roommate when you know your finances are shaky. Roommates aren't spouses or friends - they aren't obligated to support you when the chips are down.
Michelle Singletary: Now did I say get a roommate and without a job. Don't think so. I thought that was implied but guess I need to be specific.
Get a job and get a roommate. Besides I'm pretty sure most landlords will not rent to someone without a job.
Arlington, VA: "Or for that matter, getting married before living together".
While I do appreciate your opinion on what is "proper", is it really the best financial decision for an engaged couple to each pay $1200/month for two apartments, when they are likely to spend most of their time together in one apt or the other anyway?
Michelle Singletary: It's not proper to live together in my book so yes, that makes that advice the best financial advice.
Sometimes you should ignore what is the cheaper thing to do in favor of what is the proper thing to do. I know in this day and age that's not the popular advice but the person did ask me and with me comes my opinions. And I don't mean that in a sarcastic way.
Arlington: To take stock my debts, I got my free annual credit report. To my surprise, I found 5-7 student loan and credit card outfits that check my credit every couple of months. The same ones send me free offers that I rip up when I check my mail.
Does this constant checking hurt my credit? And how do I track them down and tell them to stop? I googled some of these financial organizations and couldn't find a phone number.
Michelle Singletary: First those offers and the resulting look at your credit reports do not hurt your credit score.
Second you can opt out to stop those offers you get in the mail. Check this out from the FTC:
If you decide that you don't want to receive prescreened offers of credit and insurance, you have two choices: You can opt out of receiving them for five years or opt out of receiving them permanently. Call toll-free 1-888-5-OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688) or visit www.optoutprescreen.com for details. The telephone number and website are operated by the major consumer reporting companies. When you call or visit the website, you'll be asked to provide certain personal information, including your home telephone number, name, Social Security number, and date of birth. The information you provide is confidential and will be used only to process your request to opt out.
Remember that if you have joint credit relationships, like a mortgage or a car loan with a spouse, partner, or other adult, you may continue to receive some prescreened solicitations until both of you exercise your opt-out right.
Michelle Singletary: Well, I'm way over my time. Still lots of questions and many of them I'll answer in my electronic newsletter and in my print column so look for both (subscribe to the newsletter if you aren't now).
Take care and thanks so much for joining me today.
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.
|
The Post's Michelle Singletary takes your questions on money matters for folks who are early in their careers -- or just starting out.
| 259.96 | 0.96 | 15.44 |
high
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001798.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001798.html
|
A Banner Day on the Mall
|
2006041219
|
The flag-waving immigrant is as familiar a presence in this land of immigrants as pizza, tacos and green beer.
But, which flag? The red, white and blue? Or those other colors, familiar and foreign at the same time: the blue and white of El Salvador, perhaps; or the green, white and red of Mexico; the green, white and orange of Ireland; or the red, white and green of Italy.
After Sept. 11, 2001, American flags went up overnight outside immigrant-owned businesses, to show patriotism -- and also just in case the terror-inspired dark angel of xenophobia stalked the neighborhood. But during the wave of demonstrations for immigrant rights over the past month, flags of Latin American countries were unfurled along with the Stars and Stripes, giving critics of the movement something extra to challenge.
On the Mall yesterday, most of the hundreds of thousands of Hispanics who rallied for immigrant rights had gotten the memo from organizers. Which flag to carry? The correct answer, they were told: the Star-Spangled Banner. American flags outnumbered rivals by thousands to one. CASA of Maryland, one of the organizing groups, had ordered nearly 11,000 U.S. flags (from a supplier in El Salvador).
"I feel like we are here, we're going to be here and we might as well get used to the enjoyment [that any American would have] carrying the American flag," said Walter Rivas, 32, who came from El Salvador half his lifetime ago and was walking with the stars and stripes on a pole over his shoulder.
The power of a flag is a mojo not to be messed with, and, in an immigrant nation, the decision of whether and which one to carry is fraught with implications.
One morning last week on WLZL (99.1 FM), a Spanish-language music station known as El Zol, morning DJ Pedro Biaggi threw open the question to listeners: Which flag shall we carry at the march?
Opinions were mixed. One man called in and said, "Why should I carry the flag of a country where, if I had stayed, I would have died of hunger?"
He didn't identify the land of such misery from which he emigrated, and he acknowledged that things aren't perfect in the United States, but added: "Here we can earn money." He promised to march with an American flag.
But another caller pointed out that Italian Americans, Dutch Americans and others show the flags of their old countries without anyone complaining. Why not Hispanics?
Biaggi, from Puerto Rico, and Doris Depaz, an organizer with CASA from El Salvador, tried to explain the logic of going all-American for this march. "Being proud of the United States doesn't take away from where you're from," Biaggi said.
"We want to make ourselves welcome," Depaz said. "We want to be under the laws of this country. . . . We want to be sheltered under the flag of this country."
|
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.
| 11.764706 | 0.333333 | 0.333333 |
low
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041000987.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041000987.html
|
Can You Say, 'Bienvenidos'?
|
2006041219
|
White Americans, and black Americans too, are going to have to get used to sharing this country -- sharing it fully -- with brown Americans. Things are going to be different. Deal with it.
The most important legacy of the histrionic debate over immigration reform will not be any piece of legislation, whether enlightened or medieval. It will be the big demonstrations held in cities throughout the country over the past few weeks -- mass protests staged by and for a minority whose political ambition is finally catching up with its burgeoning size. In the metaphorical sense, Latinos have arrived.
In the physical sense, of course, Latinos have been arriving for many years, and in huge numbers. In some cities they have sought and achieved political power -- if there were such a thing as "the capital of Latin America," arguably it would be Miami. As a presence in national politics, however, Latinos have been much less influential than their weight in the population would suggest.
That just began to change.
Half a million people marched in Los Angeles, another half-million in Dallas, and hundreds of thousands elsewhere yesterday. The fact that so many undocumented immigrants came out of the shadows, giving up their anonymity to denounce legislation threatening their interests, wasn't the most remarkable thing. More significant was that so many fully enfranchised Latino citizens joined them.
What happens next won't look like the civil rights struggle that African Americans waged -- the nation's two biggest minorities have different histories and face different issues, and anyway it's a different era. I doubt that any single Latino leader will emerge, or even any single leadership group. And the advance won't be linear or continuous, because much of the Latino population lacks full citizenship and thus can't vote.
When I was in Phoenix last week, I talked to advocates of a round-'em-up, kick-'em-out policy on illegal immigration who predicted the protests would spark an Anglo backlash. Maybe it will, but everyone should remember that demography is destiny: Given the youthfulness of the Latino population, xenophobes could construct an Adobe Curtain along the length of the Mexican border next week (they'd probably use Mexican labor) and the political strength of Latinos in the United States would still continue to grow.
There are economists, I realize, who argue that illegal immigration -- mostly from Mexico -- has depressed wages for unskilled labor, to the detriment of low-income, native-born African Americans and whites.
Other economists disagree, and in any case the effect is somewhere between negligible and small. There's no reason employers can't be required to pay a living wage to every janitor, whether his name is John or Juan.
But I don't think the immigration debate is about economics anyway. It's about culture and it's about fear.
Among other things, it's about this voice-mail message: " Para continuar en español, oprima el numero 2 . To continue in Spanish, press 2."
Many Anglos in Phoenix and elsewhere were surprised by the size of the protests two weeks ago, but the demonstrations were coordinated and publicized in the open, on Spanish-language radio. Latino immigrants in this recent wave, whether they intend to stay permanently or just work for a while and go home, are learning English but also keeping their Spanish -- and the fact is the United States now has a de facto second language. That seems to frighten a lot of people.
Some academics, such as the Harvard University political scientist Samuel P. Huntington, have warned that unchecked Latino immigration is bringing with it alien cultural values -- that somehow the Anglo-Saxon-ness of the country is threatened. But that ignores the fact that America has been shaped by successive waves of immigration going all the way back to the Pilgrims, and to the first African slaves. The country has proved that inclusiveness, adaptability and change are the keys to unparalleled success. Why on earth pull up the drawbridge now?
Maybe the real fear is more visceral than that. Maybe it's that you don't have to extrapolate immigration and fertility rates very far into the future to see an America in which minorities -- Hispanic, African and Asian Americans -- are a majority. To put it another way: an America in which whites join the rest of us as just another minority. That's already the case in our two most populous states, California and Texas, according to the Census Bureau, with others including New York, Arizona and Florida likely to follow soon.
Don't freak out, folks. It's not the end of the world. You might ask your black neighbors for advice on how to cope.
The writer will take questions today at 1 p.m. athttp://www.washingtonpost.com. His e-mail address iseugenerobinson@washpost.com.
|
White Americans, and black Americans too, are going to have to get used to sharing this country with brown Americans. Things are going to be different. Deal with it.
| 27.382353 | 1 | 17.235294 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001027.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001027.html
|
Vietnam's Forgotten Lessons
|
2006041219
|
Back when Hugh Shelton was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he sent all 17 of his four-star generals "Dereliction of Duty" by H.R. McMaster and asked them to a Pentagon breakfast to discuss the book with the author. The book charges that the U.S. military was derelict in its duty by meekly allowing duplicitous and inept civilians from the president on down to lead the nation into a war (Vietnam) that it then fought unsuccessfully. Shelton vowed that this would not happen again.
We all know the cliche about generals fighting the last war, but in Iraq it is not the tactics that were duplicated -- certainly not compared to the Persian Gulf War -- but the tendency of the military to do what it was told and keep its mouth shut. Shelton, who retired in 2001, cannot be blamed for this and maybe no one but Donald Rumsfeld can, but the fact remains that the United States fought a war many of its military leaders thought was unnecessary, unwise, predicated on false assumptions and incompetently managed. Still, no one really spoke up.
Now, some have -- although from retirement. In recent days, three former senior officers have called for Rumsfeld to be sacked. The most recent is Marine Lt. Gen. Greg Newbold, who does not stop at faulting Rumsfeld but blames himself as well. "I now regret that I did not more openly challenge those who were determined to invade a country whose actions were peripheral to the real threat -- al-Qaeda," he writes in a Time magazine article this month. He joins Maj. Gen. Paul D. Eaton, who commanded the training of Iraqi security forces and who has also called on President Bush to fire Rumsfeld. "President Bush should accept the offer to resign that Mr. Rumsfeld says he has tendered more than once," Eaton wrote in a New York Times op-ed piece.
The third retired general is Anthony Zinni, a four-star Marine with vast experience in the Middle East. (He was Bush's Israeli-Palestinian negotiator for a while.) He goes further than (merely) recommending Rumsfeld's political defenestration. He also strongly suggests that something is broken in the American military, that its priories are misplaced. Too many senior officers put their careers first and candor or honesty second. One who did not, the then-Army chief of staff, Eric K. Shinseki, was rebuked by Rumsfeld and his career essentially ended. After that, the brass knew that the path to promotion was to get with the program. They saluted Rumsfeld and implemented a plan many of them thought was just plain irresponsible.
Zinni would be the first to concede that it is not easy for military men to express their own opinions. Officers have been trained to obey and respect civilian leadership -- and, as history instructs, it's a good thing, too. Moreover, they are inculcated with the virtue of loyalty -- to their superiors and to their service. Even in retirement, most of them are loath to speak up and Zinni, for one, says he has felt the opprobrium of former colleagues. "There are certainly generals out there who don't like me speaking out," Zinni told me.
No American institution can escape blame for the disaster of Iraq -- not Congress, not the CIA and certainly not the media. But the military has both a constitutional duty and a solemn obligation to its troops to be candid with the American people. Yet in testimony before Congress and in statements from the field and elsewhere, all we get are ridiculously optimistic assessments, no calls for more troops and no suggestion that Rumsfeld and Bush were mismanaging the war. The occasional peep of dissent is quickly reversed. From the very sound of it, you would be entitled to think that everything has gone swimmingly in Iraq. Instead, the military has participated in a debacle.
In several ways -- some obvious, some not -- the war in Iraq has been likened to Vietnam. Certainly, it has opened the same credibility gap, has been funded by deficit spending and has turned into a quagmire. Maybe, though, this sense of deja vu is felt most keenly at the Pentagon. Within that building, it must be Vietnam all over again -- another asinine strategy, another duplicitous civilian leadership, more conformity and careerism, and, of course, more unnecessary loss of life.
Donald Rumsfeld famously came to the Pentagon to reform it. Instead, as we are coming to realize, he broke it, and H.R. McMaster, now a colonel with Iraq service, has at least one more book in him. Unfortunately, he can use the same title.
|
Military officers -- long trained to obey civilian leadership are starting to speak up -- and disagree -- about the war in Iraq.
| 35.92 | 0.84 | 1.96 |
high
|
medium
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/11/AR2006041100571.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/11/AR2006041100571.html
|
11% Rise in Gas Prices Expected
|
2006041219
|
Gasoline prices this summer will average $2.62 a gallon for unleaded regular, 25 cents a gallon more than last summer's average, the Energy Department predicted yesterday in its annual summer fuels outlook.
The department's Energy Information Administration blamed high gasoline prices on steady growth in world oil demand, limited growth in oil production and continuing risks of geopolitical instability that it said would keep crude oil prices high through the remainder of the year.
Although two hurricanes limited U.S. oil production last year, the EIA said that "in some ways 2006 is likely to bring an even tighter global petroleum market than 2005" because consumption growth this year is expected to outpace production growth by 400,000 barrels a day.
Some analysts said the Energy Department's April-through-September forecast could be too low given that gasoline prices are already at the predicted level and, as the department's analysts noted, there are still risks of new hurricanes and political strife.
"The government projection, which is for an average over this summer (not a particular date), may prove quite low if any of the big 'IFs' do not weigh in favor of gasoline supply -- including stable or lower crude prices, sufficient ethanol supplies, and sufficient gasoline imports, which are tougher to come by this year" because of tighter sulfur and ethanol specifications in the United States, said Trilby Lundberg, publisher of the Lundberg Letter, in an e-mail.
Political tensions drove crude oil prices higher yesterday. Oil prices edged up to a seven-month high amid worries about supplies in Nigeria, where anti-government forces have been attacking pipelines, and Iran, after reports that the Bush administration was examining military options for airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities. Anxiety about Iran intensified yesterday after Iran's president asserted that his country had successfully enriched uranium, an important step for producing either nuclear power or nuclear weapons.
Contracts on the New York Mercantile Exchange for May delivery of crude oil jumped as high as $69.45 before settling at $68.98 a barrel, the highest level since Sept. 1, and up 24 cents from Monday. Contracts for May delivery of gasoline jumped 4.5 cents a gallon.
An executive of one major international oil company said in an interview yesterday that both the Bush administration and Iran's president are "posturing." Speaking on condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of the issues, he said, "It's in nobody's interest to bring this to crisis, but it can happen." He said that if an attack on Iran resulted in a cutoff of Iranian oil exports, it would be a "disaster" for oil markets. He noted that Iran exports close to 2 million barrels a day, more than the world's spare capacity at this point.
The petroleum product prices are bad news for motorists and for businesses. At FedEx Corp., fuel costs (primarily for diesel and jet kerosene) are running at more than 11 percent of all expenses in the current fiscal year, up from 6.6 percent two years ago. In 2001, the company started imposing fuel surcharges; the surcharge for ground services is set at 3.5 percent, below the December peak of 5.25 percent. But the charge will probably rise when it is recalculated next month.
Higher gasoline prices also could continue to hurt sales of some of the bigger and more profitable vehicles produced by U.S. automakers. In a blog distributed to journalists and financial analysts, Jason Vines, vice president of communications for DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group, blasted the oil industry for the price increases.
"Here we go again. Just as the weather warms and Americans are turning their thoughts to hitting the roads for vacations or weekend getaways, the prices of gasoline and diesel fuel are rising faster than the odds of the Detroit Lions playing the Super Bowl. It's a 'coincidence' that has nothing to do with chance, but almost everything to do with greed by the big oil companies," he wrote. (The American Petroleum Institute issued a statement saying, "We assume this individual speaks solely for himself and not for Daimler Chrysler or for the auto industry itself.")
Yet the Energy Department said U.S. motorists, undaunted by the high prices, will consume 1.5 percent more gasoline than they did last summer. The forecast said gasoline consumption will average 9.4 million barrels a day this summer, even though prices at the pumps have risen 20 percent this year to a nationwide average of $2.68 a gallon for unleaded regular. Gasoline accounts for about 45 percent of U.S. oil consumption.
Guy F. Caruso, administrator of the Energy Information Administration, predicted that gas prices will rise by another 10 to 15 cents a gallon over the next few weeks before leveling off in May.
Strong demand makes it easier for refiners and marketers to pass along crude oil price increases to consumers. The EIA said the margin between retail gasoline prices and the cost of West Texas intermediate crude oil has widened by almost 30 cents a gallon since early February.
Staff writer Bill Brubaker contributed to this report.
|
Complete Coverage on Hurricane Katrina and Rita including video, photos and blogs. Get up-to-date news on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Rita, news from New Orleans and more.
| 25.578947 | 0.605263 | 0.710526 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/11/AR2006041100733.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/11/AR2006041100733.html
|
Pentagon Attack Recalled at Trial
|
2006041219
|
John Thurman hugged the floor, his face pressed against the hot carpet as he tried to escape the smoke that was filling his Pentagon office. His throat burned. His co-worker, who had been gripping his belt, had gone silent.
"I felt this overwhelming sense that I wanted to take a nap," Thurman, a U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, told a federal jury yesterday at the death penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. "And that's when it hit me that I was going to die."
But the West Point graduate made a silent vow: not on this day, not on Sept. 11, 2001, when terrorists hijacked four planes and crashed one of them a floor below Thurman's office. "I was very angry that terrorism was going to try to take my life," said Thurman, recalling how he held his breath, shoved filing cabinets out of his way and crawled to safety even as three of his six office-mates died. "I just had to, no matter what . . . get out of there."
Thurman's voice was composed and his bearing was crisp. Yet his story was as dramatic as any of the tales of death and survival that have gripped the jury at the sentencing trial of Moussaoui, the only person convicted in the United States on charges stemming from the Sept. 11 attacks. And Thurman's testimony signaled a shift in focus for the prosecutors who are trying to convince jurors that the al-Qaeda operative, who pleaded guilty last year, should be executed.
Yesterday, the government turned to the hijacking that -- outside the Washington area -- is less publicized than the other events of Sept. 11: the takeover of American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon and killed 184 people. There was no dramatic footage of the building crumbling to the ground, as the World Trade Center towers did in New York. Nor was there evidence that the passengers of Flight 77 mounted an effort to take back the plane, as happened on United Airlines Flight 93 before it crashed in a field in Pennsylvania.
But yesterday's testimony reminded the jury that conditions were just as horrific on that day at the Pentagon, a symbol of U.S. might just a few miles from the federal courthouse in Alexandria.
U.S. Navy Lt. Nancy McKeown wept on the stand as she told of a nightmare of smoke and fire in which people jumped out of second-story windows and tried to find escape routes past collapsed ceilings and overturned office furniture and light fixtures.
"Every time I took a breath, it felt like my insides were on fire," said McKeown, describing how she dived under her desk when the plane hit, yelled for two colleagues with whom she had just been speaking and is still overcome with grief at their deaths. Her voice raspy, McKeown said she suffers from a disorder of her airway because of all the soot she inhaled.
Pentagon police Sgt. Jose E. Rojas Jr. said he reverted to periodic drinking and smoking cigarettes after his efforts to rescue trapped Pentagon workers left him traumatized. He described standing outside a windowsill and begging people to "keep coming to the sound of my voice." One man slipped back into the Pentagon because "his skin came off in my hands. I could hear him screaming and hollering," Rojas said, dabbing his eyes with a tissue.
Prosecutors magnified the emotional impact by playing news clips that showed a huge fireball rising from the building and a gaping hole in its side. Just before the lunch break, they also showed the jury pictures of death -- the scorched partial remains of Pentagon victims and a blackened body atop a blue body bag.
The government is expected to wrap up its case for Moussaoui's execution today by playing the cockpit voice recorder depicting the struggle of passengers to take back Flight 93 from the hijackers, the first time the tape has been played in public.
Late yesterday, prosecutors played an air traffic control tape of the moment when hijackers took over the cockpit. A voice, apparently that of the pilot, can be heard exclaiming, "mayday," and then, "get out of here!"
After the government rests its case, Moussaoui is expected to testify again as early as tomorrow. In the first phase of the sentencing hearing, he told jurors that he had planned to hijack a fifth airplane on Sept. 11 and fly it into the White House. Jurors concluded the first phase by finding Moussaoui eligible for the death penalty. They will now decide whether he will be executed or sentenced to life in prison. The case could go to the jury by late next week.
Jurors have heard from 35 Sept. 11 witnesses, most of them family members who lost loved ones in the trade center attacks. Early yesterday, they heard a gripping tale of survival from Juan Rivero, a former police officer for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who was helping to evacuate victims when the second tower fell. He said he was hit by a cloud of debris and thrown through the air almost half a block, landing next to a fence. A fireman landed on his legs.
"I was at peace," said Rivero. "I put my head down. I saw my son's face, and I thought I was going to die."
Rivero said he couldn't breathe. "It was like if you put a vacuum cleaner into your mouth and put it on in reverse," he said. But when the cloud cleared, he fought off firemen trying to put him into an ambulance and went back to look for his partner and friend, Al Neidermeyer.
Rivero stayed at Ground Zero until 10 p.m. that day looking for Neidermeyer, then went back the next day and the day after that, he said in response to questions from Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert A. Spencer. In fact, the former Marine said, his voice choking with emotion, he went back every day for a month but never found his friend's body.
|
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.
| 27.761905 | 0.571429 | 0.714286 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001308.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001308.html
|
Solo Viewing, Bad Endings
|
2006041219
|
The kind of television shows children watch and whom they watch them with can be just as important as the amount of time they spend in front of the tube, researchers at Boston's Children's Hospital report in a new study that finds an association between violent shows and peer problems.
Children who watch violent television programs -- especially those who watch such shows alone -- spend less time with friends than children who watch a lot of nonviolent programs. Although the federally funded study could not determine a cause-and-effect relationship, researchers suspect one exists. They suggest that violent shows might teach and encourage aggressive behavior in children, which in turn isolates them from their peers. And that isolation, scientists suggest, appears to create a cycle that makes violent programming more attractive to lonely children.
"A lot of studies about violence and television deal with behavioral outcomes that don't resonate with people" because they occur years later, said David Bickham, lead author of the new study, which involved 1,356 children and appears in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. "We wanted something with a real-life outcome" that would motivate parents to consider the potential consequences of uncensored viewing that are more immediate.
While concerns about the harmful impact of violent TV shows on children are scarcely new -- the U.S. Surgeon General issued a warning in 1972 -- their influence on children's friendships and social activities has been little studied.
"This is a very interesting and novel study," said research psychologist Craig Anderson, an expert on children and media who is a professor at Iowa State University. "There really haven't been studies looking at TV violence" and peer relationships among children. "What they propose does make a lot of sense."
The study, by scientists at the Harvard-affiliated hospital's Center on Media and Child Health, suggests that the content of shows and the context in which they are viewed may influence social relationships in a more complicated way than previously believed.
Many researchers had speculated that TV viewing displaces time spent with friends. But Bickham and pediatrician Michael O. Rich found that children who watched television with friends also spent more time socializing in other ways, while those who watched violent shows spent significantly less time with their peers.
Studies have found that the average school-age child spends 27 hours a week watching TV and that 61 percent of programs contain violence.
To determine whether violent content affected relationships with peers differently than nonviolent shows, researchers analyzed detailed viewing diaries kept by a parent or other adult during one weekday and one weekend day for children between the ages of 6 and 12. The name of the TV show was recorded, as was the presence of other people in the room and activities performed while a show was on. Crime shows, police dramas and cartoons such as "Power Rangers" were classified as violent, as were other shows where violence was a central theme, Bickham said. News, sports and some nonfiction programming were omitted from the study.
Each hour of violent television watched by children aged 6 to 8 corresponded to 20 minutes less time spent with friends, while children 9 to 12 who watched an hour of violent shows spent 25 minutes less time with peers. Viewing nonviolent shows did not affect the time spent with friends, Bickham said.
"Viewing television together may be one activity in the repertoire of a rich childhood friendship," the authors write; the study, they continue, does not support the belief that watching TV "interferes with relationships or replaces other shared activities."
The results are consistent with findings from other studies, according to Brad J. Bushman, a research scientist at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research.
"We know that how much violence you watch in first grade predicts how aggressive you will be 15 years later," Bushman said. "The link goes from violent TV to aggressive behavior in children, not the other way around."
The study did not examine the impact of violent programming viewed by groups of children. Bickham said there is no way to know whether collective viewing might encourage or discourage antisocial behavior or peer problems.
Nor does it demonstrate cause and effect, he added. "This just shows relationships" between violent viewing and peer isolation, he said, not causation.
Yet Bickham said the message for parents is simple: They, not their children, should be in control of the TV.
That means monitoring what children are watching, not turning on the set in the morning and leaving it on all day and not allowing children to watch shows meant for adults, such as "CSI" or "The Sopranos."
"These are things parents need to be aware of," he said. "It's not just the amount of time your child is spending, it's what he or she is watching." ·
Comments: boodmans@washpost.com. Join study author David Bickham for a Live Online chat on TV viewing and children's social development at 2 p.m. today at www.washingtonpost.com.
|
The kind of television shows children watch and whom they watch them with can be just as important as the amount of time they spend in front of the tube, researchers at Boston's Children's Hospital report in a new study that finds an association between violent shows and peer problems.
| 18.018519 | 1 | 54 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001488.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001488.html
|
At Most Workplaces, Disruption Is Mild
|
2006041219
|
At Olives in downtown Washington yesterday, as thousands of marchers supporting immigrant rights streamed past the restaurant's windows looking out on 16th Street NW, manager David Patterson was adjusting to having half his staff out on the streets during crucial pre-dinnertime preparations.
He said 15 people or so wanted to participate in the late afternoon march; some prep cooks and other workers came in early to get their work done, and managers planned to fill in so some evening staffers could attend the rally and come to work afterward.
"It'll take a little bit of juggling, but we can handle it," Patterson said.
Some businesses that employ large numbers of immigrants said yesterday that significant portions of their workforce attended the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice but that disruptions to daily commerce were generally mild. Organizers had hoped the absence of many immigrant workers from their jobs would reinforce their importance to the U.S. economy.
At Miller & Long Concrete Construction Co., perhaps half of the company's heavily Latino workforce left work early, said Vice President Brett McMahon. But they did so after noon, and, given that their workday starts before sunrise and normally ends by 3 p.m. or so, only a couple of hours' work were lost.
"It was significant, but it's not some kind of huge, all-day action kind of thing," McMahon said. Some job sites shut down early, he said, as it is hard to function efficiently with a large proportion of workers gone.
There were no major work disruptions on Forrester Construction Co.'s commercial projects throughout the region, said Scott Forrester, a principal in the Rockville firm.
Other employers of large immigrant workforces saw little impact. The 1,000 employees of Marriott Wardman Park Hotel include people of 56 nationalities. No staffers had asked for time off to participate in the march, said general manager Ed Rudzinski.
John Boardman, executive secretary-treasurer of hotel union Unite Here Local 25, said that many of his members were planning to attend the march but that most have work hours that end early enough for them to go without taking time off. He said most of those who work evening shifts planned to work as usual.
The impact on even similar businesses varied significantly. As Olives was dealing with a depleted staff, three blocks away, another high-end restaurant with many immigrant workers saw little impact.
"Honestly, we see more of our people want the day off on Mount Pleasant Day," said owner Todd Gray of Equinox, referring to a yearly festival in the heavily Latino neighborhood.
|
At Olives in downtown Washington yesterday, as thousands of marchers supporting immigrant rights streamed past the restaurant's windows looking out on 16th Street NW, manager David Patterson was adjusting to having half his staff out on the streets during crucial pre-dinnertime preparations.
| 10.4375 | 1 | 48 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001478.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001478.html
|
Onyewu Stands Out in Belgium
|
2006041219
|
LIEGE, Belgium -- Oguchi Onyewu is bouncing around Stade de Sclessin, trying to stay warm on a harsh March night in the Meuse Valley. Kickoff is moments away and the hotblooded crowd of 27,000 is in full verse, a throaty pregame tribute to Onyewu and his Standard Liege teammates.
Banners the size of highway billboards, distinguishing the most fanatical red-clad supporters, hang from the upper decks: Ultras Inferno. Hell Side. Guerilleros. Songs coming from the small, blue-splashed congregation supporting the opponent, Genk, are quickly swamped by the unreceptive hosts.
Amid the madness at the riverside pitch, dwarfed by the festival of color and ceremony, one can spot a few red, white and blue banners: American flags, lying atop a small roof near the field, stuck to a facade, draped over a fan's shoulders.
"It's a nice feeling to know they appreciate you, and appreciate where you're from," Onyewu, 23, said after the 1-0 victory.
Onyewu, the son of Nigerian immigrants, was born in Washington, raised in Silver Spring and Olney with his four siblings and came through Montgomery County's youth leagues. He played two seasons at Sherwood High School, enrolled in the U.S. under-17 residency program in Florida, returned home to graduate from Sherwood, then played two years at Clemson University before embarking on his European adventure.
In his second season with Standard Liege, Onyewu (pronounced Own-YAY-woo) has developed into one of the most fearsome defenders in the modest Belgian league.
This summer, his life -- and bank account -- could undergo a dramatic transformation. Onyewu probably will start for the United States at the World Cup in Germany and, if he performs well and reinforces the favorable reviews he has already received throughout Europe, he could become the subject of a multimillion-dollar transfer to a prominent club in England. Manchester United, Middlesbrough and Charlton reportedly are among the suitors.
"I am very afraid we will lose him," said Standard General Manager Pierre Francois, who, by the terms of Onyewu's contract, must approve a sale if an offer reaches an undisclosed threshold and the player wants to go.
"After the World Cup, who knows? The big clubs in Europe like him very much."
What they, as well as U.S. Coach Bruce Arena, like most about Onyewu is his physical presence on the back line. By soccer standards, Onyewu is massive -- 6 feet 4, 210 pounds, shoulders as broad as an SUV and only a teaspoon of body fat.
"Physically we don't have to worry about him," Arena said. "God took care of that area."
Onyewu didn't make his national team debut until October 2004 at RFK Stadium and has appeared in only 12 matches overall -- an alarmingly brief tenure for a player in contention for a World Cup role. But steady adaptations to the international game and those unmistakable physical attributes have earned him a vital role in Arena's defensive corps.
|
One of the most feared defenders in the Belgian league for club team Standard Liege, rising soccer star and D.C. area native Oguchi Onyewu will play for the U.S. in this summer's World Cup.
| 15.552632 | 0.789474 | 1.684211 |
medium
|
medium
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001605.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001605.html
|
Ovechkin's OT Goal Gives Him 100 Points
|
2006041219
|
BOSTON, April, 10 -- Alex Ovechkin is known for his exuberant celebrations. The rookie may have outdone himself on Monday night.
One minute 30 seconds from going an unprecedented seventh consecutive game without a goal, Ovechkin scored a dramatic one when he beat Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas in overtime to lift the Capitals to a 2-1 victory at TD Banknorth Garden.
Ovechkin's 49th goal also gave him 100 points, making him the first rookie in 13 years to reach the milestone. With one more goal the 20-year-old Russian will join Teemu Selanne as the only first-year players to reach 50 goals and 100 points. Ovechkin and the Capitals have four games remaining.
"After the second period, Coach [Glen Hanlon] came to me and said, 'Hey Alex, don't think about it,' " Ovechkin said as he wiped the remainder of a shaving cream pie from his face. "He said, 'Just enjoy your time.' I listened to this. I don't think about it. I just went to ice and played how I played before."
Ovechkin's goal rescued a Capitals team that had been badly outplayed through two periods. The flashy winger controlled a pass from Dainius Zubrus inside his own blueline, raced down the sideboards before cutting across the ice and eluding two Bruins defenders. From about 30 feet, he whipped a wrist shot past Thomas (25 saves) from the middle of the right circle at 3:30 of the extra session.
"It was great play, great goal by a great player," Hanlon said.
Ovechkin also became just the third Capital to record 100 points, the first since Mike Gartner finished with 102 in 1984-85, and moved into a tie with Mario Lemieux for fifth place among all-time rookies in points. Selanne had 76 goals and 132 points for Winnipeg in 1992-93; Joe Juneau logged 102 points for Boston that same season.
After scoring, Ovechkin circled the net and repeatedly pumped his fists before leaping and slamming his exhausted body against the glass. It followed a similar script to his previous celebrations. But this one was different. He expended more energy, and he also paused for a long moment to roll his head back and lift his eyes skyward.
"It was because I didn't score and I had lots of moments," Ovechkin said of his gesture. "Finally I score goal, and I say, 'Thank you, God!' And we win game."
Capitals captain Jeff Halpern was as happy as anyone to see Ovechkin get point No. 100. But that didn't stop him from hitting Ovechkin in the face with a shaving cream pie during a television interview outside the locker room.
"Everyone knows how good he is and that he was going to get" to 100 points, Halpern said. "But I like to keep him a little humble."
Ovechkin added: "I saw something white coming at me. I thought, 'Damn, he got me.' "
|
Alex Ovechkin scores 3:30 into overtime, making him the sixth NHL rookie to reach 100 points and giving the Capitals a 2-1 victory against the Boston Bruins.
| 18.53125 | 0.84375 | 2.15625 |
medium
|
medium
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/04/DI2006040401412.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/04/DI2006040401412.html
|
Chatological Humor* (Updated 4.14.06)
|
2006041219
|
DAILY UPDATES: 4.12.06 | 4.13.06 | 4.14.06
Gene Weingarten's controversial humor column, Below the Beltway , appears every Sunday in the Washington Post Magazine. He aspires to someday become a National Treasure, but is currently more of a National Gag Novelty Item, like rubber dog poo.
He is online, at any rate, each Tuesday, to take your questions and abuse.
This week's poll: Men Only | Women Only
Weingarten is the author of "The Hypochondriac's Guide to Life. And Death" and co-author of "I'm with Stupid," with feminist scholar Gina Barreca. "Below the Beltway" is now syndicated nationally by The Washington Post Writers Group .
New to Chatological Humor? Read the FAQ .
Something fascinating has been occupying my attention for most of last evening and much of today. It is Something That Would Be An Interesting News Event If Anyone Ever Finds Out About It, but I cannot write about it, at least not yet and possibly not ever. That is because of the complex ethics surrounding a certain type of thing about which I cannot be more specific and you could not guess, given how incredibly circumspect I am being. God, I am noble. I know you are all dying to know, and I am dying to tell you because it is, on many levels, Really Interesting. However, for the moment at least I just have to be highly obnoxious. More than usual, I mean.
Elsewhere, CNN is continuing its pandermonium on illegal immigrants. They are losing control of themselves in their frenzy. Below is a transcript of a segment from last night's "Situation Room" with Mister Wolf Blitzer, who is desperately trying to remain a responsible journalist, sandwiched as he is between Lou Dobbs and Jack Cafferty.
You guys really ought to start watching this. It's some of the best stuff on TV. Dan was over for dinner last night, and we picked this over Comedy Central. We join this transcript at the point that a bleaguered Wolfie switches to Jack, to set up that day's open-ended question to the viewers. Here's what happens next, as Wolf's jaw can be seen to physically drop:
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, Wolf. Once again, the streets of our country were taken over today by people who don't belong here.
In the wake of Congress failing to pass immigration legislation last week, America's cities once again were clogged with protesters today. Taxpayers who have surrendered highways, parks, sidewalks and a lot of television news time on all these cable news networks to mobs of illegal aliens are not happy about it.
With every concession by the Bush administration, and the ever-growing demands of Mexican president Vicente Fox, America's illegal aliens are becoming ever bolder. March through our streets and demand your rights. Excuse me? You have no rights here, and that includes the right to tie up our towns and cities and block our streets. At some point this could all turn very violent as Americans become fed up with the failure of their government to address the most pressing domestic issue of our time.
Here's the question: What effect will the immigration protests have?
E-mail your thoughts to caffertyfile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/caffertyfile -- Wolf.
(Here the camera cuts back to Wolf. He looks like a man who has just had an umbrella inserted into him, and then opened up. But he sees a way out. He can bring sanity back to this discussion. He can marshal facts!)
BLITZER: A lot of these demonstrators, you know, Jack, are legal. And many of them are citizens of the United States. They're not all illegal immigrants, the people protesting.
CAFFERTY: How do you know?
BLITZER: Because I was out on the streets. I saw.
CAFFERTY: Well, where's the immigration service? Why don't they pull the buses up and start asking these people to show their green cards? And the ones that don't have them, put them on the buses and send them home.
BLITZER: There's a -- well, that's an expensive proposition, as you know -- 12 million -- 12 million of them.
CAFFERTY: As opposed to the cost we're enduring by having 12 million of these people running around the country.
BLITZER: Jack, much more coming up. We have a debate. Lou Dobbs is standing by as well.
(So then Dobbs comes on, and by comparison seems like the calm voice of reason.)
Thanks to Christine Parthemore for pointing out an egregious error I made last week, by failing to recognize THIS as the Comic Pick of the Week. Christine and I both believe this double entendre had to be deliberate, and seen as such is both very funny and shocking in its fuddy context. The convincer here is quite simply this: Does one often see beavers (the rodentia) in movies?
Please take today's poll. I will of course explain my answers midway through the chat. They might surprise you.
The Comic Pick of the Week is Sunday's Dilbert . And though it is a repeat, I shall award Sunday's Doonesbury first runner-up. It's that good. Runners-Up are Saturday's Speed Bump and Saturday's Gene Pool .
Does there exist a nerd of sufficient magnitude out there to have solved Sunday's Foxtrot ?
Washington, D.C.: Does your wife mind it when you make a joke like the one you did on Sunday, about lusting after Condoleezza Rice? My wife would.
My wife understands she is the wife of a columnist. She also knows what's in my heart.
Mostly, though, she knows how this game works. Case in point: In last week's column, I wrote that the only seat for which I might pay $10,000 would be "the one attached to Salma Hayek."
Now, obviously, that was just a joke. It was also, basically, a damnable lie -- nothing could be further from the truth. I don't covet Ms. Hayek's behind. The behind I covet belongs to Ms. Scartlett Johansson, who was the person in that sentence when I orginally wrote it. However, as the column was going to press, Scarlett got herself breast-groped by a TV interviewer, and this bit of lechery was in the news, and Tom the Butcher was concerned that it might seem to be commenting inappropriately on that incident, so he changed the reference to Salma Hayek, whose behind HE apparently covets.
So, things are not always what they seem. Whether Tom the Butcher's wife is like my wife and ALSO doesn't care about these things -- I'll guess he'll find out tonight, when he gets home.
What's the funniest thing about this New York Post scandal? I can't decide if it's...
(a) the idea of a gossip columnist shaking down someone for protection ("That's a fabulous reputation you have! If something were to happen to it I would just die!");
or (b) people getting all outraged about the Post compromising itself. Have these people even seen a Post front page before? This is a paper that stopped respecting itself a long time ago.
Gene Weingarten: The sad thing about this fabulous scandal is the fact that much of the public probably thinks that's how we normally do business, and are not particularly surprised.
When it broke, I emailed Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts and said "Wow, you babes are missing a real opportunity to pick up some extra cash."
They hadn't heard about this yet. I bet they wondered if I was being crude.
Which reminds me: Many years ago, when my wife was a young reporter, an editor came over to her and another atractive female reporter and said "What are you girls doing in this business? You're sitting on a goldmine."
Man, have times changed. Sigh.
SQUEEZE ME?: I never watch CNN (for obvious reasons), but Cafferty is an ANCHOR, not a commentator? How can this be? That snippet honestly frightens me down to my U.S.-born-and-bred Anglo-Saxon bones. What the hell is wrong with these people?
Gene Weingarten: He is a commentator, sort of. He is somewhere in between.
Loose pants sink ships: Yes, Gene, it would simplify things if women's clothing was made and sized according to actual inches instead of these vague "sizes" that mean nothing. However, men's jeans have the measurements on the outside back of the pants. Outside, Gene. Can you imagine if women's clothing proudly proclaimed the occupant's exact measurements? Forget Catch Me If You Can, suddenly every woman in America would be highly skilled forgers adept at scratching those sizes off just so.
Gene Weingarten: Gee, you're right! I can't think of any way that problem could be addressed! Never mind, then!
Astoria, N.Y.: I was glad when you brought up Lou Dobbs, I thought I was the only one. I loved his question on Monday (the day of all the immigration protests):
"Do you believe that middle-class working men and women will have to demonstrate to create sympathy and interest for their cause? "
Ninety-two percent voted yes and 8 percent voted no
This is the most ridiculous question. What is their cause? Can only WORKING, MIDDLE-CLASS persons demonstrate? I could go on, but there is absolutely no value in this question, except for amusement.
Gene Weingarten: Yeah, he got 92 percent for his question again yesterday. It was something or other about illegals being scum.
Weingarten's Rule: Any poll question in which one answer gets a 92 percent response is by its nature a loaded question, unless we are talking about President Bush's disapproval rating, in which case we are talking about the righteous wrath of a disgusted electorate.
Women's Sizing: I'm 5'7", large framed, a former athlete, and 175lbs. I have a medical condition that makes it difficult for me to lose weight; consequently I pretty much have to diet to maintain my weight. I have no clue what it is like to not be dieting, as I have been doing it since I was a child. I'm a size 12 in what I guess is vanity sizing, which is condescending as hell. Sometimes it's hard just getting out of bed in the morning, knowing I'm going to spend another day feeling the fat on my stomach and thighs and arms, constantly aware of people judging me and everything single thing I eat because of my weight.
I guess I feel bad that some women have problems finding clothes, but I don't have much sympathy. I have difficulties finding appropriate clothes that fit well and flatter too--everything these days is made for much smaller women with no body fat or shame. At least negative-number women don't go through the hell that is being overweight day in and day out.
Gene Weingarten: Understood. And I sympathize. Several women have made this point. I don't think the small women who cmplain about their troubles finding adult-style shoes or pants equate their difficulties with yours. And if they do, they're jerks.
Washington, D.C.: I resent your wasting my time by asking me to view a video clip that's totally trash. I used to think you had some respect for us.
If you're tired of doing the Tuesday chat, please take a vacation. Or just drop the poll, which is often more of a burden than it's worth.
Gene Weingarten: Sir, medical science has made great strides in the treatment of persistent constipation and the dreaded "megacolon." I urge you to consult a practitioner at once.
Opinions, con't.: Re: Len Downie not wanting to express a preference for a candidate. Doesn't The Post editorial page endorse political candidates? If at some point the paper itself is expressing a preference, why should Mr. Downie or any other staffer feel guilt about doing the same? Or am I missing something big?
Gene Weingarten: You are missing something big. There is a very real wall between the editorial department and the news department of the newspaper. Len has nothing whatsoever to do with the editorial stances the newspaper takes. The editorial department has nothing to do with news coverage. Fred Hiatt, the editorial page editor, does not report to Len, and Len does not report to Fred.
This distinction, which is extremely obvious to everyone at the paper but readers tend to misunderstand, is essential to the functioning of the newspaper. When a politician tells a reporter, "Why should I talk to you? Your newspaper says I am a monster," the reporter can respond, honestly, that she and her bosses have absolutely nothing to do with what the editorial pages opine, and -- more important -- that the editorial pages opinions have nothing to do with how they cover the issues.
Buffalo Grove, Ill.: Gene, what in the Sam Hill is going on at The Post?
The Washington Post: At War With Itself , ( E&P )
Are you at liberty to discuss?
Gene Weingarten: See what I mean?
Little Sister: There is no mysterious news event. I know this for a fact because I have three older brothers and have been mentally tortured by the best of them. No one can put one over me, no sir.
Gene Weingarten: There is. But it only becomes a news event if one of four people on Earth discloses it. And honor and ethics and little-understood protocols of behavior are involved.
Bethesda, Md.: After the beginning of "Lost in Translation," who wouldn't want to covet Scarlett Johansson's seat? (No offense meant to Ms. Hayek)
Gene, doesn't Selma work better in the column since she is "closer" in age to you than Scarlett, who is young enough to be your daughter and the skeeviness of that might turn off some readers?
Gene Weingarten: Possibly, but no one raised that issue, as it were.
Arlington, Va.: Is it wrong that my main interest in the clip used in this week's poll is, "How did they make the little rat boy?"?
I don't even care if he needs help.
Gene Weingarten: Me, too. My son guessed it was a midget.
Just say, IN.: You're breaking your own rule, re: Scarlett Johansson. She's 22, two years younger than Molly, and thus un-lust-able.
Gene Weingarten: I am not breaking my own rule, but thanks for remembering. My own rule applies only to personal contact. I would not lust after Ms. Johansson in the flesh.
Bored, Bored, Bored: My boss set up a meeting between the two of us five days before he was leaving for a new job. I was nervous because we had never met alone, and I wondered if I was being let go. He then basically propositioned me. He knows I am in a relationship, and I know he has a wife and three kids. He said that he doesn't break up with people -- aka, he won't leave his wife -- so obviously he wanted something sexual. Besides being completely grossed out by a supervisor you had no attraction to, how insulted would you be if this happened to you? I keep getting the itch to call his wife and let her know what a sleazy scumbag he is.
Gene Weingarten: Honestly, I don't have much of an opinion of this, but your use of "scumbag" reminds me of something. Liz, can we link to a story in Slate during the last week about this word, and the NYT crossword.
I grew up in an era where this was a very, very bad word.
Moral Dilem, MA: I have a question that is vaguely related to last week's quiz, only not really, but I hope you'll answer anyway. A former-colleague of a former-colleague was recently sentenced to nine months in jail and will lose his teaching license for having sex with a 17-year-old student. This was, obviously, a huge (and, in my opinion, unforgivable) lapse in judgment but, from all accounts, very out of character. A few of his colleagues wrote letters in his defense which were read at his sentencing hearing. From what I've read these letters did not dismiss the inappropriateness of his actions but said that he was not criminal and did not belong behind bars. Now that these letters are a matter of public record, parents, board members, other teachers, etc. are outraged at the letter-writers, saying that they are "siding with a sex offender."
On the one hand, I think these teachers have a right to defend their colleague if they so choose; on the other, I think it hurts their credibility (to say the least) to be defending someone who had sex with a student. As both a former teacher and a former 16-year-old involved with a 32-year-old man, I'm not sure what I think about the letter-writers' actions. However, I seem to agree with you about most other things, so perhaps you can tell me what we think of this situation.
Gene Weingarten: As has been pointed out several times in recent weeks, I believe in loyalty to friends. So I tend to side with the letter writers, in general. Specifically, I think it depends on what these teachers wrote, and how they defended him. He did bad; if the letters suggested he did not do bad, they are opening themselves up to reasonable criticism and censure.
These cases also involve a continuum, and 17 is not as horrifying an age as, say, 14. Is one guilty of a horrible sex offense at 17-and-three-quarters, and guilty of nothing at all at 18?
To me, when we are talking about high school seniors and teachers, the issue is less one of pedophelia and more one of a terrible abuse of trust. I couldn't have a whole heck of a lot of respect for a teacher who takes that kind of advantage of a student, whether that student is 17, 18, or 20. You are using a position of authority in an unseemly and selfish and potentially hurtful way.
Dronesville, Downtown: So what do you think about the prosecutor's recent move in the Moussaoui trial?
Personally, I'm annoyed they're going for the death penalty. The guy wants to be martyred. They're fulfilling his greatest wish. Ugh.
Gene Weingarten: Liz, can we link to the NYTimes piece today on the oped page about this? Summarizes exactly what I feel.
washingtonpost.com: Right Trial, Wrong Defendant , ( New York Times, April 11 )
washingtonpost.com: The Dirty Word in 43 Down , ( Slate.com )
Last Week's Poll: I don't think you have adequately considered the implications of John Green's Jew-shame comment. That fact that there is some circumstantail evidence that Albright is actually ashamed of her Jewish ancestry, explains, but doesn't justify, an ABC producer suggesting it as reason not to have Ms. Albright as a guest on his show.
Mr. Green's statement is not anti-semitic. In fact, he is taking the side of agrieved Jews whose fear seems to be that Albright's claimed ignorance of her Jewish ancestry is indicative of her being secretly anti-semitic. He may have some basis for believing this. He would be justified in discussing these concerns with his co-workers and friends. His mistake was telling a co-worker that they shouldn't have Albright on the show because of her complicated ethnic/religious identity.
The Moonie paper across town is having fun claiming that ABC's reaction proves a liberal media bias. Green merely had to apologize to Bush but got suspended for insulting Albright. They are idiots. ABC is correct that there is a qualitative difference between the two e-mails.
Gene Weingarten: You make a good point about not having her on the show -- that WAS a business decision he was making, I guess, for the wrong reasons.
Los Angeles, Calif.: The video in the poll is obviously where W got the idea to include a ban on human-animal hybrids in the State of The Union address. And here I thought he was nutty as a Snickers.
Gene Weingarten: Very good point.
You're Crackers!: Gene,I hate to sound like the 11th plague here, but that matzoh joke you rewrote is not nearly the funniest matzoh joke. Much funnier is:
On a beautiful New York Spring day during Passover, a Jewish man decides to go eat his lunch in Central Park. He sits on a park bench and opens his brown bag, enjoying the lovely weather. As he's preparing to eat his lunch, a blind man happens along and sits down on the other end of the same bench.
Feeling charitable, the Jewish man says hello and hands the newcomer a piece of matzoh. The blind man feels the piece of unleavened bread and says, "Who wrote this crap?"
You've probably heard this joke before. It's so much funnier and less contrived than the airplane joke. Shalom.
Gene Weingarten: That joke was my second choice, but it is not as funny as the joke I picked for the food section. And I'll tell you why. Surprise. In the other joke, you had NO idea what was coming (especially if told alone, and not in the context of matzoh jokes.) Besides, this one mines a very old vein.
Lizzie, can you find the matzoh joke I rewrote for the food section last week?
washingtonpost.com: A Matzo Quiz , ( Post, April 5 )
Midgets are always funny:: How was that clip not funny? What's wrong with some of you people? How could that offend you? I saw that clip on TV a few years ago. It was hysterical then and now. I am always amazed by the how uptight people on this forum can be. That was FUNNNY!
Gene Weingarten: Okay, now check the next post.
Also in Washington, D.C.: I'm with the last guy. That video is just stupid. Is this an actual PETA person? Or an actor playing the part of a sensitive, nearly-but-not-quite-effeminate PETA person we're supposed to feel superior to?
Either way, it's manipulative and stupid. I don't care. It's not funny. You probably disagree. I don't care. It's not funny.
Opinions: Gene, if this wall between the editorial and news departments is so big and obviously important, why isn't it better known? Why doesn't The Post, and other newspapers, point this out more often?
Gene Weingarten: Seems to me we are pointing it out all the time.
Silver Spring, Md.: Call the wife. Eff that guy. I am sure this wasn't the first time...
Gene Weingarten: I think I disagree. I think it is not her business to take that kind of dramatic step into someone's life. It was just a question.
But I'd to hear from people, particularly women.
Megacolon: A couple years ago I took one of my cats to the emergency vet on a Friday night after she hadn't pooped since the previous weekend. She showed absolutely no sign of distress or illness -- we just thought, this can't be good.(We kept telling her, "Sweetie, if you don't poop you'll have to go to the vet." No effect.)
A young vet I had never seen before started talking about megacolon and surgery after getting the history from me. I was suspicious and alarmed but fortunately when they took her back for x-rays she was so scared she shat all over the place. Problem solved.
You guys should look up "megacolon." It's a hoot.
Compliments of Bill P on Comics Curmudgeon.
Gene Weingarten: What the heck is that?
Gene Weingarten: Ah, good, thanks. I knew it had to be Paige, in some format.
Okay, now here is what is really scary: I didn't write "What the heck is that" Lizzie did. So she can pose as me, at will. THAT is scary.
Brilliantedit, OR: The Slate article on "scumbag" notes that "If you didn't know the word's dubious history, you might be hard-pressed to discover it."
Gene Weingarten: Yes, a young lady pointed that out to me yesterday, and I accused her of having a dirty mind.
Prank even worse than the one for the poll...: When I lived in Italy, a prank show played a trick on a well-known female reporter. She was in a 4-seater airplane with a pilot for a story. What she did not know was that he was a stunt pilot and the "prank" was that they had her convinced they were going to crash. He was faking a bumpy ride and then they fell into a dive. She was so terrified and positive she was about to die. At the last moment the pilot landed and the camera crew was there to catch this poor woman's reaction. It was 15 years ago and it still makes my blood boil. What a cruel, unfunny thing to do to someone.
Gene Weingarten: WOW! I would file a lawsuit.
Washington, D.C.: Man, Chris Bliss, is everywhere! He was on GMA this morning and there's also a feature on him in today's Post. I only wish that GMA had also had that guy who did the response video with five balls -- they could have had a juggle-off, which would have been awesome...
washingtonpost.com: A Stand-Up Guy Happily Juggles His Passions , ( Post, April 11 )
Gene Weingarten: I know. I sort wish our story had dealt with some of the professional jealousy, too.
Your juggler can think, too: "The country these days is like a couple in a bad marriage. Everyone is either shouting at one another or sulking. And when a marriage goes sour, you've got to return to your vows. And the Bill of Rights are this country's vows."
Gene Weingarten: You know, that is REALLY good.
Anonymous: You should have included a question asking folks if they know the meaning of disingenuousness. Meaning is shifting.
USAGE NOTE: The meaning of disingenuous has been shifting about lately, as if people are unsure of its proper meaning. Generally, it means "insincere" and often seems to be a synonym of cynical or calculating. Not surprisingly, the word is used often in political contexts, as in It is both insensitive and disingenuous for the White House to describe its aid package and the proposal to eliminate the federal payment as "tough love." This use of the word is accepted by 94 percent of the Usage Panel. Most Panelists also accept the extended meaning relating to less reproachable behavior. Fully 88 percent accept disingenuous with the meaning "playfully insincere, faux-naZ" as in the example "I don't have a clue about late Beethoven!" he said. The remark seemed disingenuous, coming from one of the world's foremost concert pianists. Sometimes disingenuous is used as a synonym for naive, as if the dis- prefix functioned as an intensive (as it does in certain words like disannul) rather than as a negative element. This usage does not find much admiration among Panelists, however. Seventy-five percent do not accept it in the phrase a disingenuous tourist who falls prey to stereotypical con artists.
Gene Weingarten: Most of this is fine. Using disingenuous as a synonym for naive (the last case)is like using infer as a synonym for imply. It's just wrong. If one is disingenuous, one is making a self-serving statement one obviously knows is wrong and manipulative. George W. Bush, just yesterday, saying he declassified the WMD bullhockey "so the truth would get out," and not "so I would have a political weapon against my enemies." Disingenuous.
Gene Weingarten: Or, more to the point, the producers of a "gotcha" TV show saying they chose their victim because he was a member of PETA. More on this later.
re-resent: I resent that person wasting our time by writing in to tell us they resent you wasting his time.
Gene Weingarten: I resent your wasting our time with this post.
Fairfax, Va.: I applaud you for finding humor in the words of Cafferty and Dobbs. I can clearly see why you think it's funny, to you and me it sounds so ridiculous that we think they must be joking. Unfortunately, I think there are several people out there who agree with C&D.
It was amusing yesterday, however, to see THOUSANDS of pro-immigrant marchers, and about five anti.
Gene Weingarten: You know, in the last week Dobbs has begun to take some major hits for his rants -- not just from me. Things may be turning around.
Propositioned: I wouldn't really call his wife because I would not want to hurt his children. I just wish he didn't get to skip merrily on his way to his next job. He is an egotistical jack-ss.
Gene Weingarten: So is any proposition by a married man an act primarily of egotism? I am just asking here.
Washington, D.C.: I spotted you at Viridian and at "Fat Pig". (You look like Gene Shalit, I'm sure you've heard that before). I didn't see you laugh very much (at the show). I thought it was underwhelming, especially after the glowing reviews the play got. What did you think?
Gene Weingarten: Underwhelming. I expected much better. I thought it was a combination of a weak script (the thing ended so inartfully that no one applauded, because no one realized it was the end) and an uninspired performance by the lead actret. You and I seem to be the only people who share this opinion.
The woman playing Jeannie was terrific. Also, it was a terrific role.
Proposition, AL: Tell her! I can't imagine this going on behind my own back and not knowing it (presumably she doesn't know about...if she does, then there's an even larger problem) and especially subjecting my children to this. Chances are this happens a lot, and especially when he thinks he can't get caught. Aren't women supposed to stick together?
Gene Weingarten: Wow. I am getting several posts like this.
Call HR, then call the wife: They guy deserves to get his severance yanked and a bad recommendation on any calls. Just cause you've been accepted to college doesn't mean you can flunk your senior finals, hmm?
Bagel bottoms: No, I'm not asking about a new form of VPL.
Gene, why do bagels have tops and bottoms? I though bagels were boiled, so I don't understand why one side is flat, hence less soft and chewy.
Gene Weingarten: Duuh, because they dry out on a flat surface?
Tenleytown, Washington, D.C.: Gene: One of the best columnists in town is Jake Stein, Esq., who pens a column in the monthly Washington Lawyer magazine. Thought you might be amused by this excerpt from his April 2006 on the demise of the liveried chauffeur.
"A few years ago a story involving limousine drivers made the rounds in New York City. A law firm ran up a substantial unpaid account with its limousine service. Conventional efforts to collect payment were unsuccessful, so the owner of the service decided to pursue unconventional methods. He interviewed his drivers, and he learned from them a number of interesting things overheard by the drivers. He learned that the lawyers believed the law firm would not survive another year. He also learned things concerning the lawyers' clients, the lawyers' girlfriends, the lawyers' candid comments about judges and other lawyers. The owner took this information to his contact at the law firm. The bill was paid. The law firm did, in fact, go under, leaving numerous other creditors unpaid."
I think that is a terrific piece of prose. Your thoughts?
Gene Weingarten: Yes, you do good work, Jake.
Gene Weingarten: Okay, the poll.
The gender split is interesting. By significant percentages, women seem to be less amused by this thing than men are, for perhaps predictable reasons. It seemed cruel and dishonest, and women were more bothered by that.
I'm with the girls, here.
When I first saw this, I thought it was pretty funny. When I re-watched it, I found it not very funny at all, and that's a very good clue that there is a real problem with this clip. Something truly funny often seems even funnier on second telling. So I began to ask myself why, and the reason begins and ends with the dishonesty of the producers.
They make a big deal about how they never expected to find anyone dumb enough to fall for this thing, so they went and found a PETA activist. Uh huh. Right.
That's because they couldn't say the truth: They found a comically histrionic, extremely effeminate gay man to scare the crap of and make him act in a freakish, cartoonish way.
This scenario would have scared ANYONE. Would have scared me, after seeing human embryos in jars, if this this hopped out of a cupboard. I wouldn't have reacted in quite so laughable a fashion, which was the point. You know what? My video wouldn't have been funny at all. They needed that guy. And they could have killed him with fear.
(By the way, there is also the question of whether this was staged. I am not convinced it wasn't.)
Lech boss: Nah, don't call his wife. First of all, unless he explicitly said, "If you agree, I will have sexual relations with you right now," he's gonna claim you "misunderstood" him. You're right, of course, but he probably didn't say that.
Second of all, you have no idea what his home life is like. Maybe she knows. Maybe they have an arrangement. Maybe he's soliciting you for a three-way with her. Maybe this was just a moment of weakness, and he never actually intended to go through with it at all, even if you agreed right there and then.
If he's lying to his wife, there are other opportunities, other friends, other family members, people who are closer to her.
And finally, unless she's extremely evolved, she's likely to shoot the messenger. And you have no idea how stable she is.
He's leaving. Maybe for doing something just like this. Lord knows this won't be the last time a boss tries it.
Gene Weingarten: I agree with this completely. And the fact that he was leaving makes it less awful. He was not abusing an employer-employee relationship.
And no, I am not an apologist for cheating.
At war with itself?: No kidding!
How can a newspaper run an article that presents certain facts on the same day that it runs an editorial that presents certain facts when those facts are fundamentally contradictory?
What happened Sunday was really crappy to its readers. I don't have a political agenda. I merely expect the Post to carry out its internal disagreements at its kitchen table, not in its pages.
And, if it's not too much to ask, I'd also like to be able to believe, with a reasonably critical eye, what I read in your estimable paper. Unfortunately, Sunday will make me hesitate from now on to believe anything I read on the editorial page AND the front page.
Gene Weingarten: Well, I haven't heard a defense from the editorial page editors. I am wondering if they KNEW what was coming out on page one. The should have, but I am wondering if they did.
Re: Last Week's Poll: Why did so many Jews assume that Albright was uncomfortable with the truth of her ancestry? Maybe it's because I'm not Jewish, but I assumed she was shocked at finding out that her father had deceived her for decades.
Gene Weingarten: That's very possible. But I can tell you that when it was "disclosed" that she is Jewish, a lot of Jews laugher. Like, duuuh. She looks EXACTLY like our grandmas.
RE: Bored, bored, bored: I wasn't there and didn't see the guy slobbering all over the girl, etc., but when he said, "I don't break up with people," could he have been referring to his relationship with the employee? Maybe he wanted to stay in touch and mentor her or something?
OK, I admit that I am incredibly naive and didn't realize my grad school professor (married) was coming on to me (married) until 10 years after the fact. But, still...
Gene Weingarten: I believe women know a proposition when they hear one.
Paul Sim, ON: Gene, I got the impression you're not familiar with Simon and Garfunkel's "A Simple Desultory Phillipic," from your response to the lyrics. I'm surprised, and you should rectify that: it's a pretty terrific parody of "Subterranean Homesick Blues," and one of the few instances I can think of that suggests that Simon has a functioning sense of humor.
I particularly like the end: he's blowing an exaggeratedly bad harp solo, that ends with a thunk and a mumbled "I lost my harmonica, Albert..." (Backstory: Bobbo's manager was Albert Grossman, a dude who looked just like Ben Franklin.)
Gene Weingarten: This comparison is on the Web. I don't see it. First of all, the two songs were released almost contemporaneously. But there doesn't seem to be parallel structure or anything. Elucidate.
Bagel = boil, then bake.: Nuff said.
Falls Church, Va.: Gene, did you read the Little Dogs Chat from yesterday? Can I address these people? Assume it is not OK to take your dog into a store unless you know otherwise. And training your pet dog to walk alongside your motorized chair does not make her a service dog you can take anywhere you please. She needs to do a specific task for you, like pick up dropped items. I'm not sure any of those readers read your chat, Gene, but I feel better now. Thank you.
Hey, have you ever been to Paris? Frenchies take their dogs EVERYWHERE.
The Dredge Report: Friday's poster was blown away that "Grammar Ninja" Pthep was able to "drudge [an answer] out of [her] mind in mere seconds." I am sure some of my fellow pedants wrote in to give the poster some sh-, I mean grief, about this obvious misuse of "drudge" to mean "dredge." But at least one dictionary gives "drudge" as a regional variant (indigenous to the Chesapeake Bay area, no less) of "dredge." So for all the other blue-haired grammarian wannabes out there who wrote in to point this out, not so fast!
Gene Weingarten: Wow! None other than Pthep herself comment to me on this misusage, which she saw as an interesting Freudian slip in a posting discussing the role of the beleaguered, underappreciated copy editor.
Propositioned: I'm a guy, so perhaps that explains why an anonymous letter to the guy's wife won't do the trick? What am I missing?
Gene Weingarten: I don't believe in anonymous letters. Sleazy. Crappy. Cowardly. Boo.
Video Sucks: Here's why: It operates on terror. On your fear, and not in a humorous way. It scares and scares, and then they say "just kidding." That's not funny.
Gene Weingarten: I think the TV reporter in the plane is the logical extension of this.
Arlington, Va.: The harassee should tell HR, which keeps her on the high road and protects her rights. She should not tell the harasser's wife, because this drags her down into personal infighting. The harasser might even be able to use that action to turn the tables -- telling his wife and the company that HE was the victim, and that the "other woman" dragged his family into it only after he'd scorned her. Don't take that risk.
Gene Weingarten: Yeah, although HR ain't going to take any action against a guy who is heading out the door.
Arlington, Va.: Dear Gene: I have read your book, "The Hypochondriac's Guide to Life," and found it to be amusing and/or cruelly apt, depending upon the topic. But, I have a burning question, so to speak, either for you or Pat the Perfect:
Is the correct term for the disorder "hypochondria" or "hypochondriasis"? I always thought it was the latter. What is the difference?
Gene Weingarten: Hypochondriasis is the term that doctors favor, because it sounds more technical and lets you know they are doctors. They'll also diagnose a nosebleed as "epistaxis," and sweating a lot is "diaphoresis." I got a million of 'em.
Foggy Bottom, Washington D.C.: Gene, I want to know your take on wet t-shirt contests and flashing.
My girlfriend and I were talking about this a few days ago and she confessed that while she was in college she took part in a wet t-shirt contest. I never expected that she would take part in something like this. She is a very well educated person who seems to have a lot of common sense. She says she just did it. She doesn't really know why but she just followed her friends. She didn't want to speak any more about this so I decided to ask you and the chatpeople what they think. I don't really get this. Even while in college I didn't understand why girls did this. What are you thoughts?
Gene Weingarten: That is such a bush league question. As it were. How can you ask that question without addressing the far more stunning issue of: Who are the tens of thousands of normal, decent looking young women who seem delighted to pose nude, and even in flagrante, on websites? This makes your girlfriend seem like Sister Mary Elizabeth, no?
Southern Maryland: Tom Toles' cartoon on Monday has me confused. Is he saying that Tiktaalik proves that Genesis can't be read literally, which is what I believe? Or is Toles saying that Judeo-Christian doctrine is right and evolution is wrong?
washingtonpost.com: Toles , ( April 10 )
Gene Weingarten: This is a rather brilliant cartoon. He is, I believe, employing the same arguments that some fundamentalists use to explain why dinosaurs were contemporaries of man, but didn't survive: The didn't fit on the ark.
This is a comment on the silliness of doctrinaire fundamentalism.
There is also a suggestion that Noah is protecting the non-Darwinian religious view, making sure there was no evidence of evolution that would survive. Hence, the little goings-on in the right corner.
Rockville, Md.: Thank you for the references to megacolon, just as I am eating my lunch. The size 12 woman should use this chat as a diet aid. It certainly works for me.
Proposition 4/11: Is every proposition from a married man egotistical? Yes -- when the proposition comes without any prior flirtation or expression of interest or attraction, and assumes that the working relationship was the only thing keeping the woman from shagging the boss on his desk.
Gene Weingarten: Well, just to be devil's advocate here, what if he loved this woman and wanted her for years, but took no action because he knew it would be -- additionally -- unethical given the fact he was her boss?
Canines: I used to live in France and my dentist always had his dog in the office with him.
Gene Weingarten: I saw a garbageman who worked with his dog, in Paris. What a great gig for a dog, eh?
The guy in the video: Comes off looking like a hero. The "Are you all right little man?" was pretty much the sweetest thing I've ever seen. I think I would have kicked its ratty little brains in.
Gene Weingarten: I don't know about a hero, but I don't really wind up thinking he is a jerk, at all.
Crofton, Md.: What reaction should Vice President Cheney expect in a few minutes at the Nationals' home opener? I'd like to think I would have the guts to boo, but I respect the game too much.
Gene Weingarten: Yes. No booing, because that would reflect badly on the game of baseball.
Vermont and L: Gene, wayyy back in the intro to your chat, was your use of the term "pandermonium" intentional or just a typo?
Gene Weingarten: It was intentional. A frenzy of pandering to the knuckleheads.
Anonymous: okay, what was this article all about? was she trying to shed light on class differences, cultural differences... how did this get in the post?
Seeking a Dress, but Finding a Thread That Connects Us
Gene Weingarten: It got in The Post because it's interesting. I like when we use that criterion.
Pendantic, AL: Your comment that "Rhymes with Orange" means something impossible brought to mind the question why. As in why such a common English word is so weird. My trusty American Heritage Dictionary has a long discussion of how orange became an English word, tracing it from Dravidian to Sanskrit narangah to Persian narang to Arabic naranj to Old Italian arancio to Old French orenge to Middle English where it is first recorded in 1380. This also fits the weird fact I saw in a rock museum years ago that in the Middle Ages there was no color orange, the closest color was called jacinth, which is a dull yellowish-orange gemstone. So colors have not been fixed over time.
Gene Weingarten: I suspect you mean that there was no color orange in the EUROPEAN middle ages. Columbus brought the orange to the west, as I recall.
Minneapolis, Minn.: Has anyone else noticed that the Lewis Libby drama is being covered on NPR by a reporter named Libby Lewis? Clearly it's the story she was born to cover.
Gene Weingarten: Few people remember that one of the main CBS reporters covering Watergate was David Nixonisguilty.
Greenbelt, Md.: I almost always read The Post online, but bought the paper version this Sunday. I must say, I found it absolutely hilarious that there was an ad for tummy tucks on the opposite page. Was this a coincidence, or a message to the naked 10 percent of telecommuters?
Gene Weingarten: I burst out laughing. Next to the column linked to below was an ad for a doctor specializing in elective surgery to repair fat bellies. The "before" art was about as disgusting as anything you are going to see in print.
washingtonpost.com: Barely Working , ( Post Magazine, April 9 )
Arlington, Va.: I was in Houston this past weekend for the Nats series and on Sunday saw the article below in the Houston Chronicle. It addresses the paper's decision to replace "Mallard Fillmore" with "Prickly City."
It's amazing how different the political leanings are between D.C. and Houston where up here "Prickly City" can be considered a right-leaning comic and down there it is considered a liberal comic: Readers Feeling Prickly About No Mallard Fillmore .
You couldn't pay me enough to be a comics editor. It's impossible to please everyone.
Gene Weingarten: Honestly, this is fabulous. I also love the readers who complain that the paper dared to kill "Mallard Fillmore" while retaining... Doonesbury.
A newspaper needs to address its comics fearlessly, and permit reader complaints to roll off their backs like water off a Mallard Fillmore. Readers will ALWAYS write in, in great thundering numbers, in support of the familiar.
Snob,BY: Gene, we all know you're a complete snob when it comes to manual/automatic, but what about grills? This time of year makes me wonder, are you a weenie if you use propane v. charcoal? Electric? Just trying to figure out if my husband is a weenie. Thanks!
Gene Weingarten: Your husband is a weenie. Trust me.
I use propane. Am vaguely embarrassed by this, but I do. I just don't have the time for charcoal.
Washington, D.C.: Is there any use for the word "figment" that's not followed by "of the imagination"? Just wondering.
Gene Weingarten: I really like this question. I can't think of one. It's like U always following Q, except in Arabic, and we don't want to give aid and comfort to terrorists here.
Falls Church, Va.: The term "that sucks" is acceptable these days, but I remember when it had a vulgar meaning (what is now known as a Lewinski)
Gene Weingarten: See, I am not sure that "sucks" ever had the connotation that "scumbag" did. Scumbag brought to mind a very very graphic image. Sucks was always a word without a strong antecedent -- it really came from "That sucks eggs," which you will find, I believe, in Mark Twain.
Brooklyn Bridge : I disagree with your assessment of the video. I think it is funny because it is DEFINITELY staged by everyone in it. Perhaps the only person not involved in the prank is the ratboy, I don't know.
And what makes it funny is that it's not at his expense, but at the expense of all the oversensitive people who think this is horrible and cruel. It's like those funniest home videos that are clearly set up. And the telltale sign is the line "Do you need help, little man." Oh, come on. This isn't even remotely believable. You all been had.
Gene Weingarten: I'd like to know the truth of this. Can you truth squadders find out?
I lean 60 percent to it being real.
Crappy.: Anyone who Googled "megacolon" didn't take as much away from it as the people who image searched it. I'm just sayin'.
Gene Weingarten: And now I'm reportin'.
Ft. Greene, Brooklyn, N.Y.: Regarding Eric's illustration on Sunday:
washingtonpost.com: Barely Working , ( Post Magazine, April 9 )
Gene Weingarten: He was just being a responsible journalist. I have no nipples.
Virginia: Finally! Finally! I got here first and saw the poll results when there was only one male vote! I know the answers! I know the answers!
Gene Weingarten: Sorry, but I didn't take the poll. That was some random guy's answers.
Stratford, U.K.: Which is the funniest barnyard animal? I contend it's sheep while my girlfriend says it is the cow. Who is right? Or are we both wrong?
My reasons for sheep is when they are together as a group they are a riot and Baaaaaaa is a rather funny sound. Plus tiny little sheep will try and attack you. It is really comical to watch. My girlfriend thinks cows are funnier because of the four stomach thing and the sound they make while eating grass.
Gene Weingarten: Goats. Because they have a sense of humor. They will butt you and laugh.
Foxtrot: They are all prime numbers.
Gene Weingarten: Oh, no they are not.
So what's a scum... bucket?: When I was in middle school or high school, I was home watching "Melrose Place" with my parents and I called Michael (one of the soap's villians) a scumbag. My parents froze. They then questioned me about if I KNEW what that word MEANT. I had no idea, but was embarrassed when I looked it up later. Knowing now that it's a generational thing I feel much better. Also, now being in my late 20s we can swear all we want in front of them and it's fine.
Gene Weingarten: I think scumbucket actually doesn't mean anything.
Washington, D.C.: I have a personal anecdote that I think parallels the PETA/fake plane crash storyline pretty well: A few weeks ago, I got a call late on a Saturday night from someone who introduced herself as a detective with the Kansas City Police Department who was trying to identify a homicide victim, and she told me that they had found my contact information on the victim's body. She went on to describe one of my best friends, who lives in Kansas City, and told me that the victim's cell phone records indicated that I had spoken with her recently, a few days ago, which was indeed the last time I'd spoken with the friend. I was completely hyperventilating, thinking that my friend was not only dead, but murdered, and disfigured to the extent that they were using her cell phone records to identify her. Then, I heard laughter on the other end, and it was the friend I thought was dead, laughing hysterically that I'd "bought it." It had been her idea to call.
I had absolutely no way to know this was a joke, which is what makes it cruel, not funny, and all the worse because it was a good friend of mine. It's only a good joke if the person is given the opportunity to recognize that it is a joke and somehow misses it, and anytime there is a feeling of actual terror involved, it's just not funny.
You know, I applaud the impulse to shock, but these things are way outta line. Who was the artist who told his daughter that her boyfriend was killed, just so he could sketch a face in real grief?
Candid Camera: Can we take a moment to praise the old Candid Camera TV show that, unlike the poll clip, managed to show humor by contriving situations that gently brought people's essential humanity to the surface?
Gene Weingarten: One of the best shows ever, approximately 40 years ahead of its time. With the most awkward host ever to host a show. Alan Funt made Ed Sullivan seem as smooth as ice.
Figment?: What about, "There was not a figment of truth in the president's explanation?"
Gene Weingarten: I do not believe that is correct usage. A figment is not real.
Super Secret News: I have a guess, even though you probably won't post it.
It has to do with the Post buyouts, and some big names are leaving. Including Boswell...the best baseball writer of his generation.
Gene Weingarten: No. This is essentially unguessable. I didn't give you enough info.
Delmar, Tex.: Let's drive Rhymes with Orange crazy. Let's come up with words like "blorange", and have it used often in these discussions so that eventually the word becomes part of our language and the comic strip's name loses its meaning.
Gene Weingarten: It would happen, the way dictionaries work. Okay, what does "blorange" mean? We can start it right here. Best definition wins. And we will launch the word next week.
Re: Flirty Boss: Married woman in late 20s, here. I say, let the guy off the hook. The fact that the proposition, as icky as it sounds, came days before he was to leave the company indicates that he had deliberately waited so as not to put professional pressure on his employee. It sounds to me like he's probably unhappy and for him to be propositioning employees, his marriage is most likely already on the rocks. The simple fact that his advances were rejected was probably punishment enough.
PETA: Since the head guy is a friend of yours, can you tell me how PETA is pronounced? I've never heard it in conversation so have to idea.
Re: boss propositioning: Forget telling his wife -- tell his new job. The idea that he considers this appropriate in the workplace once he's a short-timer says a lot about his, er, value as an employee.
Gene Weingarten: Man, you guys are VINDICTIVE.
He just asked a question, no? No inappropriate job pressure.
Arlington, Va.: The prank victim's reaction on being told that he's on "Scare Tactics" gives it away as staged. There's no flash of anger, no confusion, and no moment of "what the heck is 'Scare Tactics'?"
Also, his reaction on opening the cabinet was too extreme. He's an animal activist -- he loves and respects them. Rats, for instance, would not be not hideous to him. The fact that there's a weird ugly animal in there should have startled him, but not repelled him so thoroughly.
For that matter, why was he opening the cabinet? The whole "job"aspect of the video was way too contrived for it to be real to him.
Gene Weingarten: I think if this were staged, it would have been much better. Someone out there must know.
This WAS a show. I think we have to assume it is real.
Barn Yard: I totally agree with you Gene. Goats are so funny. They are kinda like puppies - how they jump on people and constantly untie your shoelaces.
Gene Weingarten: People who have goats will confirm that they laugh. All their humor is physical, and it cracks them up.
Figment of your redundancy: Figment = something made up.
What else could a figment be OF, if not your imagination? You can't exactly have a "figment of your factual knowledge", can you?
Gene Weingarten: But can't the word appear alone? I've never seen it alone.
Blorange?: No thanks -- I've always thought "Door Hinge" worked well enough for me. It's already a dumb title for a comic as far as I'm concerned.
Gene Weingarten: That is because you mispronounce it OAR-indge, whereas those of us from the northeast know it is ARE-indge.
Blorange: The sound a baby makes when throwing up strained carrots all over your nice outfit.
Gene Weingarten: No, this needs to be a real word. It can be funny, but something that will be used time and again. Like a person who gets a sex change, then becomes gay. That's something that needs a word, for example.
Gene Weingarten: Okay, thank you all. I'll be updating, and returning next week.
New York, N.Y.: I think I can find out if ratboy was staged by all particpants, but not before the session is over. Next week.
Gene Weingarten: We're all counting on you.
Gene Weingarten: We begin today's update with this video from Brian Silverio, proving, conclusively, that goats are the funniest animal. I challenge anyone not to laugh at this. Well, those people with some vaso-vagal nerve disorder, causing them to, say, puke instead of laugh, may fail to giggle. No one else.
Second, we have the following, submitted by a reader named Robin, who says she is young, hot, and frequently hit on by men she wishes she were not being hit on by. (Note to pthep: Yes, the previous sentence ended in TWO prepositions. * See annotation below. )
I've thought about what is an unobnoxious way a man might ask out someone who may not be interested in him. I've come up with a few simple rules.
1. Do not corner her. Make sure she has unfettered access to the door. If she uses it without answering you, she has, in fact, answered you.
2. Do not touch her. If she is a stranger, it can feel like assault, or actually be assault, even if you didn't mean it that way. If she is someone you already know, allow her to make the choice to change the relationship without the distraction of physical contact.
3. Do not ask her out when she is busy doing something else, such as working or walking rapidly down the street. This may be your only opportunity, but, oh well, she is probably not in a receptive mood anyway.
4. Do not ask her for anything sexually explicit.
5. Ask questions that she will be able to clearly answer, such as "Would you like to go out to dinner with me?" Do not ask her for personal information she may not be ready to give you yet, such as, "What is your name?" or "Where do you live?" If you are talking to a stranger and want to know her name, you may introduce yourself. If she does not volunteer her name, it is not because she has not figured out that that is what you want. It is because she doesn't want to tell you. Accept this.
6. Take no for an answer. She meant it. No, really. But the more times she has to say it, the more she will mean it.
7. If you buy her a drink (or anything else) the only thing she owes you is to turn you down politely.
What it basically boils down to is, shockingly, don't make her feel ambushed or unsafe and don't be an arse.
The main thing the boss guy from the chat did wrong, as I see it (leaving aside questions of infidelity, which are really between they guy and his wife), was to not be clear when he asked to talk to her that it was about a personal matter. It's crappy to make her think that she might be getting fired when he just wanted to hit on her.
Thanks, Robin. In the future I shall comport myself accordingly.
*This reminded me of a poem I committed to memory years ago. I found it as the solution to a NYT double crostic.
I lately lost a preposition.It hid, I thought, beneath my chair.Angrily, I cried "Perdition!""Up from out of in under there!"
Correctness is my vade mecum,And straggling phrases I abhor.And yet I wondered, "What should heCome up from out of in under for?"
For years I thought this authorless, but Google informs me it is Morris Bishop.
And lastly, on the subject of verbiage and the fact that a reader pointed out that "figment" never appears with any words other than "of the imagination." Pthep informs me that since figment MEANS a little bit of imagination, the term "figment of the imagination" is a redundancy, though one permitted by most copyeditors.
And reader Nancy Hall provided this excellent link to a set of words linguist Elliott Moreton named "stormy petrels." These are words that only occur in a particular phrase. Yes, "figment," linked forever to "of the imagination" is one of them.
Gene Weingarten: Oh, wait! One more! This just in from my friend Jeremy Fisher, who is a med student at Emory:
"A man spoke to our class today. He has a JD and a MD. His name is Matthew Lawyer.
"Yes. Dr. Lawyer, doctor and lawyer."
Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.: Gene,
1. In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are "limbs," therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression, "Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg."
2. As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October)! Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term "big wig." Today we often use the term "here comes the Big Wig" because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.
3. In the late 1700s, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The "head of the household" always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the "chair man." Today in business, we use the _expression or title "Chairman" or "Chairman of the Board."
4. Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, "mind your own bee's wax." Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term "crack a smile." In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . therefore, the expression "losing face."
5. Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman . as in "straight laced". . . wore a tightly tied lace.
6. Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the "Ace of Spades." To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't "playing with a full deck."
7. Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They were told to "go sip some ale" and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. "You go sip here" and "You go sip there." The two words "go sip" were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term "gossip."
8. At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in "pints" and who was drinking in "quarts," hence the term "minding your "P's and Q's."
9. One more: bet you didn't know this!
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a "Monkey" with 16 round indentations. However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make "Brass Monkeys." Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than iron when chilled. Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey. Thus, it was quite literally, "Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey." (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you.)
Gene Weingarten: Well, I haven't googled this, because I am taking it as a quiz. I would guess none is correct. If any of them are, 5 and 8 are the most likely. But probably none. Not that they are entirely without interest.
Eating an orangeWhilst making loveLeads to bizarre enj-Oyment thereof.
From Douglas Hofstadter. It's lame, but it rhymes.
Gene Weingarten: Aw, not so lame. It's sweet.
Washington, D.C.: Do you suppose Jack Cafferty ever dines out at restaurants?
If so, do you think it would be a good idea if he refrains from doing so for a while -- or at least brings a food-taster with him?
Gene Weingarten: Good point. A food taster probably will not detect the presence of ureic acid.
I would like to help you refine your anger. You have said that you are angry at everyone who voted for Bush. Yet, on both sides of the political spectrum there are people who vote solely based on party; I am willing to forgive their ignorance because they offset each other. The real culprits here are the ones who voted for W but now say they disapprove of his performance. His performance has been remarkably consistent; had they opened their eyes before the election we could have got him out.
Gene Weingarten: Well, this is actually my point. How can you have voted for Bush in 2004 and now be surprised at how things have gone? There is some self-delusion in that stance.
I can tell you -- based on e-mails -- that these folks will say, "By 2004 I was not voting for Bush, but against Kerry. I knew what Bush was, I just feared Kerry would be worse."
I accept the explanation as true. But very, very wrong.
blorange: n. An unrymable word. See 'Orange'.
Gene Weingarten: I like this.
I believe I am going to visit the orange conundrum not in the chat next week, but in an upcoming column.
Gene Weingarten: We are in receipt of an emergency addendum from the lovely and frequently hit-on Robin, who instructed men yesterday in the proper decorum for onhitting. Here are her rules for being hit on. Robin is good at this; should Hax ever retire, we may have a candidate for the job.
If we expect men to behave respectfully, it only follows that we should respond in kind. Not only is it more ethical, it's also more effective. So, my rules for rejection:
1. Be honest. If you want to reject him, just reject him. Respect him enough to believe he can handle it. Do not give him a fake phone number or "forget" to call him back. It's just cruel. The rejection hot line is much funnier in theory than practice.
2. Be clear. I know that it is drilled into our heads not to say directly anything that's not very nice, but men seldom (read, pretty much never) understand hints. They mostly do understand, "No, thank you." And if they don't understand that, something subtler is definitely not going to work.
3. Do not belittle him. Men are stuck in the role of having to do the asking. While some men enjoy this, many do not. There is no need to be cruel just because a guy is doing his awkward mating dance. Feel free to laugh at him, just not where he has to hear it.
4. Do not assume that any attempt a man makes to talk to you is hitting on you. Sometimes men actually do want other things. You can go too far with this rule, but the assumption that men and women can't be friends can be a self-fulfilling prophesy.
In addition: You don't actually have to wait for guys to ask you out. Although some men love "the chase," most guys don't have to deal with being hit on excessively and so will react with something ranging from flattery to enthusiasm. If you try it a few times, you might end up being a little more sympathetic.
Gene Weingarten: Happy Passover to Ms. Madeleine Albright. And thanks to Scot Gallego for this link.
re: "scumbag": You are only a year older than I, yet I had no idea what the original meaning of that word was. I guess it was that I grew up in upstate New York instead of downstate. My husband says I shouldn't use the word "dork" because it has some terrible Yiddish meaning and I say it's OK because now it just means a nerd or goofy loser. Kind of like this scumbag thing. My husband can't seem to tell me what the meaning is, though.
Gene Weingarten: He thinks it meant "penis," but he is confused. The Yiddish word that meant "penis" is "[EDITED]," which still offends some. I believe I am not allowed to use this word in the print edition of The Post. I have always thought that silly; it has taken a completely different vernacular meaning.
I'll probably get yelled at for posting this.
washingtonpost.com: The edited word, which we will also not use here on washingtonpost.com, is defined here.
See, no yelling. Just censorship.
I'm bulemic: And I love your chat.
Gene Weingarten: People like you make me want to throw up.
washingtonpost.com: I'd wager you're more likely to get yelled at for this.
Proposition: My wife was propositioned at work by a peer but never told me. In a marriage, is this an abuse of trust? Just to add another wrinkle to the propositioning query.
Gene Weingarten: No. You do not own your wife. She is not obliged to share with you every detail of her life.
Orange: Wife pronounces orange "arnge" ... and my daughter is starting to pick it up. Aigh.
Gene Weingarten: Yes, oddly, I have received several inquiries from people wanting to know if I considered "orange" a one syllable word.
By the way, Tom the Butcher pronounces "mirror" as a one syllable word. "Meer." The man is an animal.
How Young is Too Young?: So Gene, what exactly is the number? Say, if I'm 32, can I look at the 18-year-olds, Jimmy Carter style? Or is that skeevy? I'm not interested in actual contact, just a looky-loo. I'm not a man, by the way.
Gene Weingarten: I have written that in general, a man will not lust after a women who is less than five years older than his oldest daughter. My daughter is 24. This allows me, theoretically, to be turned on by a woman 29 and up. And I find that that is basically true.
We fathers of girls are not deceased, we are simply oddly restrained by a Darwinian governor. I can look at a 23-year-old woman and realize she is a hottie. But I would not find myself personally attracted to her.
This does not apply to pictures. I am talking about the person in the flesh. I have yet to find a man who is a father of a young adult daughter who contends I am wrong.
Of course, I think all bets are off at a certain age. I suspect when i am 70 and my daughter is 40, I might be able to look at a 36-year-old woman with something resembling lust. I hope.
Gene Weingarten: Okay, I just re-read this more carefully, and realize that:
1. You are a woman; and,
2. You are seeking permission only to look.
Looking is fine. Looking in the flesh, at a passing stranger, say, is the same as looking at a picture. It is at the point one sits down with this person that one is (or should become) aware of the fact that one is talking to a child.
I cannot speak for women on this matter. I presume that the same Darwinian governor kicks in for the simple reason that offspring from mother-son would be as genetically flawed as offspring from father-daughter. But I don't know. I seem to recall that Gina once confessed to not being COMPLETELY immune to the charms of an 18-year-old manboy. (Not a SPECIFIC 18-year-old. Just in general.)
Two of your Favorites: My husband was in the San Francisco airport bathroom on Thursday, using a stall. He had brought in his carry on and laptop. Somehow, unbeknownst to him, his watchband got snagged on one of his bags. As he was concluding his activity in said stall, with his hand reaching behind his back, the watch fell off into the toilet. Before he could even contemplate the dilemma of "should I reach in?", it auto-flushed! So he lost a watch that he'd had for 25 years.
Question: Am I a bad wife for giggling when he told me and thinking that this story is perfect for your chat?
Gene Weingarten: Yes, you are a bad wife. But a good chat citizen.
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.
| 382.439024 | 0.731707 | 0.926829 |
high
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/07/DI2006040700945.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/07/DI2006040700945.html
|
Major League Baseball
|
2006041219
|
Washington Post staff writer Dave Sheinin was online Tuesday, April 11, at 2 p.m. ET to discuss the latest major league baseball news.
washingtonpost.com: Dave Sheinin will be online momentarily. Thanks for staying tuned ...
Dave Sheinin: Hi everyone. Sorry I'm late. This is a weird deal today, since we're in the middle of the ballgame here at RFK Stadium. As we speak, it's 2-0, Mets, as the top of the fifth gets underway. Apologies in advance if I don't get to as many questions as normal.
Burke, Va.: Good afternoon Dave,
I am posting this early. Will be watching the Nats at RFK when you start this chat. Go Nats - Beat the Mets! Great article on the Zephyrs. Baseball can be such a wonderful respite and brief diversion from the trials and tribulations of life such as recovering from a devastating natural disaster. What is the most lasting impression you have from your time down in New Orleans when researching the article?
washingtonpost.com: washingtonpost.com:In Zephyrs, Katrina Victims Get a Feel of Normalcy (Post, April 7)
Dave Sheinin: Hi Burke. Thanks for the kind words. The thing I was struck by in my time in New Orleans was how overwhelming the devastation still is, and how the rest of the country really has no idea. It's been seven months now since Katrina hit, and the news media, in many cases, has moved on to other stories. But for the people in New Orleans, things are not much better now than they were last fall.
Metro Center: So, Dave, are you at RFK? What was Cheney's reception like?
Dave Sheinin: Cheney got some of the loudest boos I've heard in this stadium -- even worse than Pedro Martinez during pregame introductions.
By the way, the Mets have tacked on a couple more runs here in the fifth, on a Jose Reyes RBI single and a double by Paul Lo Duca. 4-0, Mets.
Alexandria, Va.: How many wins will the Nats have this year?
Washington, D.C.: If only Minaya stayed with the Expos when they moved to Washington. Not knocking the Nats, but it seems like he has done an incredible job with the Mets. Mixing veterans (Delgado) with young talent (Reyes, Wright), their big contracts are no longer "Mo Vaghn" type, but rather quality players. Not to mention, Bannister (todays starter), coming from Double A, has been a wonderful surprise for the pitching staff. Can you give me some of your opinion of how the Mets will do this year, and what they to happen for them to make a legitimate run. Many thanks.
Dave Sheinin: I hear what you're saying, but don't forget as well that the Mets have spent gobs of money in each of the last two winters, netting them -- among others -- Pedro Martinez, Delgado, Carlos Beltran and Billy Wagner. That kind of spending can make any GM look smart. Let's see what they do on the field. The Mets still have major holes. I'm not convinced their starting rotation can hold up.
Any word on how Church is doing in New Orleans? I've got to think that Watson is not long for the majors.
Also, can you confirm that Thursday's game is still a 1:05 start? The Post is listing it as 7:05.
Dave Sheinin: First of all, the game Thursday is definitely at 1:05 p.m. Our apologies for the misprint in the paper.
As for Church, he's only hitting .200 at New Orleans, but I still think he will be up here very, very soon, once the Nationals realize that Watson simply is not an everyday leadoff hitter in the majors.
Alexandria, Va.: If the Nats can't put together a winning streak will the eight owners back out of buying the team. You don't think that this owner will be like Peter Angelos do you?
Dave Sheinin: No, I don't think a few losses -- or even a really terrible season -- is going to scare off the ownership groups. Everyone could see last year that this market is a potential gold mine, if marketed and operated correctly.
Bethesda, Md.: What's your over/under on the date Mr. Soriano is mercifully traded?
Bethesda, Md.: So no surprise announcement of an owner at today's home opener. Guess that would've made too much sense, because MLB could've repaired, in a flash, all the damage they have done to the Nats fan base. Dave, why oh why do Selig and company continue to torment us?
Dave Sheinin: Take this for what it's worth, but MLB President Bob DuPuy just stopped by the press box and predicted the sale would occur by the end of next week. Again, take it for what it's worth.
Washington, D.C.: How is that "pitching, pitching, pitching" philosophy working for Jim Bowden? How soon before Randy St. Claire has to throw a cople innings?
I am a huge nats fun and your 71.5 wins is a stretch. Their pitching last september was terrible. They had no 5th starter and they lost two of their four starters. After the first week, we might be really in trouble. Last year the nats had solid pitching and no hitting. This year, they have ok pitching and a bit more hitting.
I hope I'm wrong . . .
Thanks for taking the time.
Dave Sheinin: I cannot disagree with you.
Richmond, Va.: I know its early in the season, but do you still think the Yankees will take first in the AL EAST?
Dave Sheinin: Yes, I do. The Yankees are capable of pummelling teams to death, even if they get mediocre pitching. And if they get good pitching, they should win 100 games. Boston looks a lot better, now that Schilling is back in his 2004 form, and with Papelbon destroying hitters in the ninth. But I still think that, over 162 games, the Yankees are better than anyone else in the league. Now, the postseason is another matter entirely...
Alexandria, Va.: Why has MLB overestimated interest in baseball in this region?
The Orioles drew their lowest attendance in Oriole Park history last week, and the Nats can't even sell out opening day. It seems like the region that everyone thought could easily support two teams barely has enough interest to fill one stadium. A new stadium will obviously help the Nats when it's done, but the O's may lose attendance because of that. DC and Baltimore are quickly mirroring San Francisco and Oakland with team support that ebbs and flows with on-field success, but not the New York or Chicago model that MLB was projecting. In the end, I think the Nats may be hurting baseball and the region more than anyone thinks.
Dave Sheinin: I disagree. I think the Orioles have shown that, as long as they put a good product on the field, they will draw big crowds. They drew 3.5 million consistently in the mid-1990s, and even if the Nationals diminish that somewhat, they would still draw fans if they gave fans a reason to come to the park. As for the Nationals, I think there is huge potential there, too, with a real owner, a new stadium and a few years to build up a fan base beyond the hardcore fans.
Arlington, Va.: Let me get this straight - - - after Guillen was hit by Pedro Martinez last Thursday, both benches were warned. Then Sanchez hits Nick Johnson (who had previously homered) with a pitch and nothing happens. Felix Rodriguez then gets ejected for hitting Paul Lo Duca. Now Rodriguez, Guillen and Frank get fines and/or suspensions? This is the same officiating crew that blew the Lo Duca/Soriano dropped ball play at the plate on opening day, right? Is it too early to talk about conspiracty theories or am I just being paranoid?
Dave Sheinin: It's not a conspiracy. But it is worth questioning. The umpires' rationale for doing nothing after Sanchez hit Johnson was that Sanchez did not intend to hit Johnson. However, Johnson had homered in his previous at-bat. Seems to me, there might have been some intent behind the pitch.
Manassas, Va.: I'm a Barry Bond's hater, but I'm not taking too much hope from his slow start. I was at RFK when he played his first game there, and the HR he hit to the upper deck got out so quick that I never saw it. Unfortunately he won't lose his hitting ability in one off-season.
I am hoping that the knee will hold him back. I don't see how he can play the outfield for a whole season. He has said in the past that he wants to end his career as a Giant, but he has lied before. Do you see him going to the AL to DH for a contender? Do you think he might retire after passing Babe Ruth?
Dave Sheinin: Scouts are buzzing about how Bonds doesn't have the same powerful leg drive he has had in years past. It seems to be greatly affecting his performance at the plate. Scouts say his swing is more arm-generated now, which is not a good sign. With that in mind, I think it is doubtful he can catch Aaron this year. (It might have been doubtful all along, for that matter.) But he should still pass Ruth. I think there is a very good chance he will retire after the season. And don't forget he could still be suspended by MLB in its investigation, or be charged with a crime in the grand jury investigation.
Washington, D.C.: Are you at the game? What was the fan reaction to Dick Cheney?
Dave Sheinin: Lots of boos.
What does the attendance look like today? 9,000 empty seats?
And who do you think the new owners fire first -- Tavares or Bowden?
Dave Sheinin: Looks like the crowd will be around 40,000.
I think Tavares will be the first to go, because most of these ownership groups have their designated Team President figure already in place.
A frustrated/angryNats fan in D.C.: If there are empty seats at the opener at RFK today, MLB has only itself to blame. MLB has not kept up its end of the bargain re: the Nats. They've not named an owner in a timely manner (missing each of their announced deadlines). They've saddled the franchise with the worse tv deal in professional sports. They've not had the people running the franchise do any kind of aggressive marketing campaign that would sell tickets and also help really establish the team in the region. (I know people who had season tickets last year who got no renewal notice at all in the off-season.) And with no owners and a limited budget, free agents stayed away and most of the Nats free agents left. So, this year's team doesn't look to be as strong as the 2005 Nats. As awful as the DC City Council was during the stadium debate, MLB has been worse and has not treated this franchise or its fans fairly. Bud Selig's inaction and MLB's treatment of the Nats has weakened the franchise and discouraged many fans. Baseball can and will succeed in DC but only if Bud gets off his duff and sells the team -- now!
Dave Sheinin: There you have it...
Washington, D.C.: Would umpires automatically eject Pedro Martinez if he were to hit a batter based on the new, low-tolerance levels requested of the umpires? Or would he just face a warning? In my mind umpires should have the autority to take into consideration the history of recent series in making such decisions, but I'm not sure whether they can or do.
Dave Sheinin: The umpires would not eject Martinez automatically if he hits someone. (For instance, let's say it was a curveball.) However, if the umps believe Martinez hits someone intentionally, they can eject him right away -- even without issuing a warning.
Arlington, Va.: RE: Alexandria and 2 teams in DC Area
I think the only reason DC/Baltimore is struggling to maintain fan interest in 2 teams is due to Peter Angelos. First he ruined the Orioles by failing to shell out cash to any top notch players (Tejada being the lone exception) and now he is doing everything in his power to sabotage the Nationals. If he would just worry about putting a better team on the field up in Baltimore and forget about destroying the Nats television deal then both franchises would be in better shape.
Dave - what do you think the Nats will get for Soriano? Will there be a huge market or have the Nats lose their leverage after all the shenanigans that went on in Spring Training?
Dave Sheinin: Actually, all the "shenanigans" that went on in spring training will benefit the Nationals in the end, because they ultimately prevailed and got Soriano to play left field. It heightens his trade value -- because few teams viewed him as a viable option for second base, but plenty of teams that covet his bat will be able to live with him as a left fielder, as long as he shows some effort.
Still 4-0 Mets, by the way. Bottom of the sixth. The Nats have only two hits off Brian Bannister.
Nats season tix: This year we ordered a mini-plan to take our 10-year-old adoring fan to RFK. It may be hard for some of the lawyers and lobbyists to believe, but $660 bucks on baseball tickets is a big deal for us. As season ticket holders know, the tickets FINALLY came this past Friday. I know the Nats are short-staffed and ownerless, but when I opened the Fedex, there they were -- just a bundle of tickets. No Nats folder, no letter thanking us for our order or telling us we're special. Just the tix, ma'am. I suppose I should be grateful that they came before the first game, but geez! My concert mini-plan at Strathmore Hall (which is also going into its second year of operation) cost a fraction of the Nats tickets, but they're a whole lot more appreciative of my business.
Dave Sheinin: We can only hope that the new owners, whomever they are, show a little more understanding of the concepts of marketing, community relations, etc.
Washington, D.C.: I can't believe I'm asking but when is Guzman going to be back? Royce doesn't look much like a Rolls right now and maybe Guz has a little more fire in his belly with some competition.
Dave Sheinin: Guzman might still be out for a few more months, so get used to Mr. Clayton. The team is still waiting to see whether Guzman will be able to avoid surgery, and that decision could be made next week. If he has the surgery, he will be out several months.
I've been sitting here trying to put my thoughts and feelings into words, and FRUSTRATED ANGRY NATS FAN did it for me.
I live near Philly, and it's been irritating the last few days to read the "interest in the Nationals not the same as it was at this time last year" stories on the wire. Don't any of these writers know what the team has been up against the last 12 months?
About the only improvement I can see, aside from the lease being approved (and granted, that IS a biggie), is that WTWP is broadcasting the games, so I can at least HEAR the games. Everything else just feels like the team is in limbo. They might as well still be playing at the Big O.
Los Angeles, Calif.: I'm not a betting man, but if I was -- I'd say the Cubs are on their way to a World Series Championship. What do you think?
Dave Sheinin: I don't even see the Cubs winning their division. They can be a very good team, no doubt -- especially when Wood and Prior return. But the Cardinals are better, in my opinion.
Alexandria,Va: If the Nats lose their home opener which they might what's your estimate on their wins for this year?
I was at Sunday's O's-Sox game and couldn't help but notice the thousands of empty seats in the upper deck at Camden Yards. Sox fans outnumbered O's fans in an announced crowd of 37,998. First time I've ever experienced that up in Baltimore.
With the Nats here to stay, shouldn't the O's rip out the upper deck and club seats in LF, push the LF and RF fences back to a reasonable distance so that Camden Yards is no longer a bandbox and that it holds 45,000 seats max, instead of 49,000-plus?
Dave Sheinin: Actually, that phenomenon (Red Sox fans outnumbering Orioles fans) has been going on for a few years at Camden Yards -- it also happens when the Yankees are in town.
Washington, D.C.: Okay, I'm a little confused. The team has a surplus of outfielders, an injured starting shortstop, a mediocre, but happier, shortstop in Soriano, and a guy at short right now who's not wowing anyone with his defense, nor with his offense. So ... is it just pride that's causing Frank et al. to keep Mr. Soriano at left field?
Dave Sheinin: That's not an outrageous thought, but Soriano hasn't played shortstop since he was a minor leaguer in the Yankees' system.
Why in the world would Bud and MLB work so hard to poison the well in DC for baseball after such a successful season last year? All of this nonsense about needing more time for due diligence before an owner is named, blah blah blah has done nothing but add to the level of cynicsm of fans after a winter of nothing but cynicsm. Why do everything to turn the fan base off when you could have had an owner and knowledgeable, professional staff working their butts off to succeed in the market? This year was going to be tough enough on the field. Like so much that baseball does, it makes no sense.
Dave Sheinin: It's just a hunch, but having covered MLB for awhile now, I've noticed that they simply cannot handle more than one major issue at one time. So while they worked on the World Baseball Classic, and then while they put together the investigation into steroids, the Nationals were pushed aside. Again, just a hunch.
Dave Sheinin: Sorry, folks, but I have to run now. One last update: It's 5-0 Mets in the bottom of the seventh. See you all next time.
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.
|
Washington Post staff writer Dave Sheinin discussed the latest major league baseball news.
| 267.785714 | 0.928571 | 6.071429 |
high
|
medium
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/06/DI2006040601330.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/06/DI2006040601330.html
|
Animal Week: Horses
|
2006041219
|
Moira C. Harris, editor of Horse Illustrated magazine, discusses every aspect of owning, riding and caring for horses.
D.C. native in London, U.K.: Hello Moira. I was wondering if you have recommendations for good places in the greater D.C. area to buy equestrian clothing and/or boots? I'm reluctant to use the Internet, since one can't try things on that way.
Many thanks for the chat!
Moira C. Harris: I know what you mean about needing to try things on--nothing worse than buying a pair of jods that make the bum look awful!
I'm on the West Coast, so I've only been to a couple of the shops around D.C./Maryland. Bit of Britain, Dominion, Dover State Line have shops that have quite a good line of tack and apparel.
Pick up a copy of The Equiery (I believe it is a free monthly distributed at tack stores). It has all sorts of fantastic information about the Maryland equine industry--and many of the best tack stores take out ads for their sales in it.
Chevy Chase, Md.: What resources are there for people in this area who can't afford a horse but would like to help with hippotherapy and get more hands-on experience horses in general?
Until last year I did not even know colleges could offer degrees in equine sciences. Ten years too late for me. Sigh. And I STILL can't fit a pony in my bedroom.
Moira C. Harris: Believe it or not, there are many ways to be involved with horses that don't require breaking out the checkbook. You're right, hippotherapy programs, or handicapped riding programs, are found throughout the U.S. and Canada. You can contact the North American Riding For the Handicapped Association at 800-369-RIDE (http://www.narha.org/). There are also Equine Assistance Therapy programs to help at-risk individuals, and they always need volunteers.
If you just want to be around horses and perhaps take some riding lessons, many equestrian centers have trainers that take on "working students". You will help out with the barn duties in exchange for time in the saddle. Not a bad deal, if you ask me.
Huntington Beach, Calif.: Hello Ms. Harris,
I would like to know what you think are the most important qualities and background to look for in a trainer? I am a novice rider, just started jumping, and I'd like to show.
Moira C. Harris: Hi, great question:
There are quite a few hallmarks of a good instructor. In this country, we don't have instructors licensed, so you have to kind of use your head. A good instructor is a good communicator. She (I'll use she for brevity, although there are loads of excellent male instructors) will be able to explain things clearly, and rephrase a concept until the student "gets it." She'll always keep the rider's safety in mind--there's nothing worse than a teacher who puts a novice rider in jeopardy because she is moving beyond that person's abilities. I think it's important that the instructor be dressed appropriately, so that if she needs to demonstrate a concept, she can swing into the saddle and do so (not really possible if she's wearing shorts and flip-flops).
A good instructor is actively involved in the industry. She continues her own education by attending clinics...she also still competes.
And of course, she has good ethical business practices. Shows up on time. Is fair to her students. Works within budgets. Is not a flake.
I could go on and on, but I've only got an hour!
Arlington, Va.: Hi Moira, what are your thoughts on horse racing and its impact on the overall well being of the horse? Thanks!
Moira C. Harris: This is only my opinion, so please take it as such.
I adore Thoroughbreds. My horse is a Thoroughbred. They are my chosen breed. I do believe that race horses in this country are started way too early, before their bodies are fully matured, before their minds are matured, and this is why we see so many tragically "break down." If we gave them time to grow up, we wouldn't see as many career -- and life-ending -- injuries that we do.
As far as the industry is concerned, it has taken great strides (no pun) in trying to clean up its image. Many organizations have sprung up to give ex-racers a new career. Which is good for me, because my next horse will also be a Thoroughbred!
McKinney, Tex.: What do you know about the lives of horses in Cavalia? Do they seem well cared for?
Moira C. Harris: Cavalia, which is a Canadian touring company that is kind of like cirque du soleil on horseback, is renowned not only for its excellent treatment of their equine stars, but also of its training methods. I saw a performance in California two years ago and couldn't believe how fantastic it was. The horses truly seem to enjoy what they're doing. What I like about Cavalia is that the public was able to meet the horses beforehand, too.
Panama City, Fla.: Some of our horses are becoming senior citizens and are valuable for giving and receiving love (late 20s). I am having difficulty determining what is a good weight (what is aging and what is need for even more food). I am using beets due to drought and no grazing, free choice hay (no new hay yet) and 14 percent pellet (around 5-6 pounds per day). Do you have any advice regarding this situation? Thank you.
Moira C. Harris: You might want to consult with your vet to come up with the ideal nutritional program for your oldster (hooray for our senior citizens who are living well into their 20s and 30s!). If you want more information on nutrition solutions for fat or skinny horses, pick up a copy of Horse Illustrated's May 2006 issue -- it has an article dealing with how to balance your horse's diet to achieve an ideal weight.
Sykesville, Md.: I've been a horse-owner for 30 years now. I would like to say it is still one of the biggest joys of my life, and sharing them with my kids has been delightful.
With that said, I really want to emphasize that horses can live a good long time with care and luck (I have a 34 year old in my backyard, and two 20 year olds--all are still ridden. Obviously at 34 she isn't ridden for more than an hour or two), and the smart horse owner is one who learns how to do things for him/herself whenever and wherever possible. And plans. Because too many fine horses got turned into steaks during the great investment bust of the 20s (I have Arabians, can you tell?) and it was a crying shame.
Before anyone gets a horse, I would recommend that they go work at a rescue to really learn what can and sometimes DOES go horribly, horribly wrong. In this area, Days End Farm Horse Rescue is the platinum standard. They get my money every two weeks.
Moira C. Harris: Your horses are very fortunate to have you as their caretaker. I wish all owners understood how fulfilling it is to have that lifelong relationship! And it is important that horse owners -- and newbies -- understand the commitment needed for such animals. Rescue groups exist for a reason.
Frisco, Tex.: Hi Ms. Harris, I am planning a trip to Ireland and am hoping to get some riding in, do you have any suggestions about where to go in that country?
Moira C. Harris: Wish I was going with you! Hands-on my favorite place to go--and not just because of the riding holidays. It's the people in Ireland that make it so special.
That said, I've ridden along the Atlantic Ocean at Horse Holiday Farm in Co. Sligo; along the Connemara and Coast Trails in Co. Galway; stayed at Ashford Castle and ridden in Co. Mayo...I also love the North of Ireland (there's my politics) and would stay at Drumgooland House in Co. Down. And don't miss the Dublin Horse Show in August!
Arlington, Va.: Tell us more about your horse. Thanks!
Moira C. Harris: I could go on and on about my horse! She is a 16-year-old Irish Thoroughbred, and my heart just soars when I see her. Her name is Ballymena, named after a town in Northern Ireland where someone very special to me was born. Her nickname is Missy. She was bred to be a Grand Prix showjumper, but had a stifle injury as a youngster that sort of limited her potential. Lucky for me, because I would have never met her otherwise. Our paths crossed because she was being given away--I think the story goes that the owner gave her to the place where she was boarded because they couldn't pay their bill? So she was just being used occasionally as a trail horse, and otherwise sat idle, day in, day out.
When I took her on, I had no idea of her training or her capability. She was underweight and a bit ragged. My instructor said, "that horse can jump" the moment she saw her. (great, since I was riding dressage). So she's turning me into a jumper rider.
She's brave, confident and sweet and actually enjoys my company. And she can certainly jump! Okay, so we're not going to jump Grand Prix, but at my age, I doubt if I'd want to!
Alexandria, Va.: Hello Moira, I direct Bit by Bit Therapeutic Riding Program in Lorton, Va. and we are always happy to take in new volunteers! Anyone interested can email us.
My question: Does Horse Illustrated have any plans to feature therapeutic riding anytime soon?
Moira C. Harris: Yes, we have some coverage planned later in the year. Thanks for asking! It is a popular topic that we do cover from time to time...
Alexandria, Va.: Please talk a bit about the benefits of Western vs. English saddles. Aren't English saddles better for the horse itself in terms of weight? Also it seems like with a Western saddle far less balance is required. Which do you think is better, or does it depend on the purpose?
Moira C. Harris: Comparing Western versus English Saddles is like comparing VHS to Beta (I think I'm dating myself here). When you add the weight of a human to the weight of the saddle, it's actually negligible. (And there are synthetic western saddles that can actually be just as light as an English saddle). The key is that the saddle fit the horse well. As you know, each horse is built with unique conformation, and so the rider has to keep that in mind when selecting a saddle.
The seat of the western saddle is wider and often a little deeper, so it can lock the rider into position a bit easier. But nothing makes up for being a balanced rider.
Silver Spring, Md.: Why are horses so afraid of donkeys? Everytime I bring my donkey over to my brother's farm for shots, etc., the horses there go completely beserk!
Moira C. Harris: I wish I could answer that. I know a ton of horses (my old horse Charlie), who would freak out at Miniature Horses. It was as if he believed that the Minis had been shrunken because they were bad or something.
Might have something to do with scent. A horse's sense of smell is far more acute than ours.
Seattle, Wash.: When I see a big, heavy person riding a horse I wonder if it doesn't do some harm to the animal's spine? It seems unnatural for a horse to carry people around on its back. Just as it seems unnatural to dress a horse up in cumbersome leather and iron items. The word to "break" a horse has always made me feel uncomfortable. Doesn't it mean that the horse's spirit has to be broken before it's of use to humans?
Moira C. Harris: The word "break" is an old horseman's term, and most trainers don't use it anymore. Instead the term "starting a horse" is used. And those old cowboy methods of breaking are being shelved for gentler, more classical training methods.
It is unnatural for a horse to carry a person on its back, technically speaking. But it's also unnatural the way we have animals living in our houses too. That opens up a big discussion on our rights to use animals the way we do, which would take longer than I have here.
Huntington Beach, Calif.: Hi again, Ms. Harris:
What has been your most special moment in the show ring?
Moira C. Harris: Probably every time I finish a show, I believe it's the most special time. I still get a kick out of competing--and it's not because I want to win. I just enjoy being able to test what I've learned and see if I've become a better rider for my horse. I still have every ribbon I've ever won.
I'd say my very first show is my favorite memory. I was aboard High Fleet (descendent of Count Fleet), a big, parrot-mouthed old school horse who I was in love with. I was 10 at the time, and all my competitors were on tiny ponies. I just remember looking down and seeing all these fat Thelwell ponies in the walk trot class as well did laps around them.
My stirrup leather slipped off the bar and I had to finish the class with just one stirrup. I thought I would get disqualified for not having all my equipment--but I got a second! (the tiny trophy is in my office right now...)
Dallas, Tex.: Hi Ms. Harris,
I have heard of an all natural whole food powerful anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory product called Via Viente, which has been proven to alleviate joint pain and inflammation in the human body. Do you know whether my horse would benefit from an anti-oxidant product?
Moira C. Harris: There are quite a few nutraceutical products made for horses that feature anti-oxidants. And we all know how important it is to keep our horses joints sound and pain free. I'll have to try some of that Via Viente on myself!
Germantown, Md.: What can citizens do to stop things like the round up of wild horses on the western ranges, and the slaughter of horses for consumption in Europe and Japan?
Moira C. Harris: In December 2004, Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) attached a rider to a 2005 appropriations bill (which is now law) and allows the BLM to sell at any price and without restriction horses that are 10 years older or have been unsuccessfully offered for adoption three times. Suddenly, our once-protected Mustangs could go to sale to anyone, including slaughter.
It's important to keep on top of what is going on in our country. The Equine Protection Network (http://www.equineprotectionnetwork.com/)has a mailing list you can join that will help all citizens not only become more aware about horse slaughter, but also gives a call to action. It's a great organization.
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.
|
Moira C. Harris, editor of Horse Illustrated magazine, discussed every aspect of owning, riding and caring for horses.
| 140.590909 | 0.954545 | 10.045455 |
high
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001423.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001423.html
|
Lobbyists' Prosecutors Pointing to Spy Case
|
2006041219
|
Federal prosecutors have reached back 60 years to a case involving a convicted Soviet spy as a precedent for indicting two former lobbyists for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) under the 1917 Espionage Act for receiving and transmitting national defense information.
The spy, Mikhail Gorin, a Soviet citizen, came to the United States in 1936 as an employee of Intourist, the Moscow-run tourist agency, whose salary was paid by the Russian government, according to court documents in the early-1940s case. In the indictment and in the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Gorin was referred to as "the agent of a foreign nation."
After being convicted and losing his appeal in the Supreme Court, Gorin was sent back to the Soviet Union rather than having to serve his six-year sentence in a U.S. jail.
The Gorin case was cited in an unusual Justice Department filing last week in the case of Steven J. Rosen and Keith Weissman, former lobbyists for AIPAC who were indicted last August for receiving classified information in conversations with U.S. government officials and passing it on to journalists and Israeli Embassy officials.
The filing was ordered by U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III, who wanted the government to deal with constitutional issues raised by the defense in arguments on March 24 to dismiss the charges.
Ellis said that although the espionage statute had been around for almost 90 years, there were few precedents he could follow and that Rosen and Weissman were the first non-government employees to be indicted for receiving and transmitting national defense information orally.
The case has drawn attention from First Amendment lawyers because the judge, the prosecutors and the defense attorneys have all noted that the two lobbyists, in receiving and disseminating classified information, are doing what journalists, academics and experts at think tanks do every day.
In its filing, the Justice Department said it regretted that it had not noted the Gorin case in its original pleadings but added in a footnote that any attempt by the defendants to portray their own case as a spy case was "meritless." In their response, attorneys for Rosen and Weissman said the Gorin case is "utterly different" from theirs in part because Gorin was a "foreign agent."
In their argument, prosecutors also referred to the case involving Col. Rudolph Abel, a Soviet KGB agent, who lived in New York City under an assumed name and purported to be a commercial photographer. Abel was tried and convicted of spying in 1957, and in 1962 he was exchanged for Francis Gary Powers, the American U-2 pilot who had been shot down over the Soviet Union and was in a Russian jail. The government, in its memo last week, referred to Abel as "a non-government employee convicted of conspiracy to violate the espionage statute."
The government also disputed the defense position that it was unconstitutional to prosecute the lobbyists for receiving oral information because they had no way of knowing what part was classified and what part was not. The government countered that Gorin also received oral information and was convicted.
Gorin received reports from Hafis Salich, a Russian-born emigre who had become a U.S. citizen and worked for U.S. Navy intelligence in San Pedro, Calif., as a civilian investigator. In the course of the relationship, Gorin paid Salich $1,700, which came from Soviet government funds.
Salich, according to court documents, provided Gorin with the contents of over 50 reports that, among other things, detailed the activities of Japanese military and civil officials and the movements of fishing boats suspected of espionage.
The Supreme Court, in its opinion in the Gorin case, said the reports "gave a detailed picture of the counter-espionage work of the Naval Intelligence" and could assist a foreign government in checking on U.S. "efficiency in ferreting out foreign espionage."
|
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.
| 17.595238 | 0.452381 | 0.452381 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001312.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001312.html
|
Prophylactic Measures
|
2006041219
|
Sindy Dominguez, 17, of Hyattsville already had a baby, and didn't want another -- at least not until she'd established a home and a career. Three months after her daughter was born, she and her boyfriend went to the CVS pharmacy near their apartment to buy a large box of condoms. They found them locked in a case equipped with a button that read "push for assistance."
They pushed, and heard a call for help for a pharmacist, but no one came. They pushed again. And again.
"My boyfriend said, 'Do you want to just leave?' and I said, 'Yes, let's just go,' " said Dominguez. "We went to a nearby gas station and bought a few single condoms."
Keith Eby had a somewhat similar experience. A day after the 37-year-old health-care consultant found the condoms locked up at his neighborhood CVS at Logan Circle, he tried the CVS on M Street in Georgetown, near his office. Same problem.
"I don't get embarrassed easily, but even I couldn't imagine ringing a buzzer and having everyone in the store know I was purchasing condoms," said Eby. "I can't even imagine what that must be like for someone who does get embarrassed easily or is not comfortable with their sexuality."
Finally Eby remembered that a new CVS had opened across the street in the Ritz-Carlton. He went in and found the condoms unlocked and available on the shelf. He said he bought many so he wouldn't have to go through this again anytime soon.
But Eby remains upset about his experience.
"CVS is going to contribute to a huge increase in HIV infection rates by creating a barrier to getting condoms in their stores," he said.
When experts call condoms a barrier method of birth control, this isn't what they mean.
An informal survey found that almost half -- 22 of 50 -- of the District's CVS pharmacies lock up their condoms -- this in a city where one in 20 residents is HIV-positive. Most of those stores are in less affluent areas where the incidence of HIV/AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy -- all preventable with condoms -- are highest. Many CVS stores in the close-in Prince George's County suburbs also lock up condoms.
CVS, the leading drugstore chain in the Washington area, is not alone. Some Safeway and Giant stores in the District also lock up condoms, as do most Shopper's Food & Pharmacy Warehouse stores in the nearby suburbs. (Two chains that don't lock them up, no matter where their stores are located, are Rite-Aid and Eckerd.)
Some who work in public health are alarmed.
"Numerous barriers [to contraception] already exist -- particularly for minority populations," said Nestor Rocha, director of the Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Division of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, which hands out condoms for free. "To add to that that someone has to ask for them out loud in front of other customers is simply making it so that people who could benefit from the use of condoms will not."
Mike DeAngelis, a CVS spokesman, says the practice of locking up condoms is simply a response to theft.
"We're not trying to restrict access -- we're trying to prevent people from stealing," he said.
Lockups are decided on a case-by-case basis, he said. In stores reporting high theft, the company permits managers to lock up not just condoms but other high-theft items like hair-care products, baby formula and pregnancy tests, he said. DeAngelis declined to disclose theft statistics for any CVS pharmacies, or to say when any individual stores began locking up their condoms.
Heather Boonstra, policy analyst for the Alan Guttmacher Institute, a think tank that focuses on sexual health, doesn't buy the theft rationale.
"It's an economic thing," she says. "It goes back to prejudice and fear. In those areas of the city that are poor, stores fear that people are going to steal the product -- whether they actually do or not."
DeAngelis takes issue with that, citing shoplifting rings that resell condoms on the street. He declined to identify which stores were affected and how costly these thefts have become.
Donna Evans, director of Shoppers Food & Pharmacy Warehouse's health and beauty category, under which condoms fall, said the Shoppers chain permits locking up condoms when loss from suspected theft is shown to be in the 20 percent range.
Safeway and Giant say that while their corporate policy is not to lock up condoms, they let individual stores decide, based on theft numbers.
Whatever the rationale, locking up condoms discourages their use.
Christine Spencer-Grier, director of community education at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, has seen that firsthand. She helps run a program that assists teen mothers in avoiding another pregnancy. One of the program's projects has the young moms venture out to buy condoms and report back on their experiences.
Spencer-Grier said many come back talking of being too embarrassed to buy once they saw they would have to ask for help. Others reported that, when they asked a salesperson for assistance, they got dirty looks or a lecture about being too young for sex.
"Teens are very sensitive to a disparaging look, a lecture -- all of those things are very intimidating," said Spencer-Grier. Many girls, she said, left the stores ashamed and empty-handed -- but still likely to have sex.
Not all groups with a stake in sexual health oppose the lockup policy.
Citizens for Community Values -- which promotes abstinence as the answer to sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies -- applauds adding steps to buying condoms.
"I'd rather see them locked up," said Phil Burress, president of the organization. "It's a lie that condoms prevent all sexually transmitted diseases anyway. People should be educated about that and practice abstinence." But there is little impartial evidence of measurable benefits from abstinence-only policies, say scientists.
Burress pointed to a 2001 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases report showing that condoms aren't effective in preventing the spread of the human papillomavirus (HPV). But, according to the NIAID report, condoms are considered effective against unwanted pregnancy (86 to 97 percent), HIV/AIDS (85 percent) and gonorrhea in men (49 to 74 percent).
But an argument that all stores take their condoms out from behind lock and key prompts resistance. If stores did that, says DeAngelis, theft would be so high, they'd have to discontinue the product altogether.
"We're trying to keep our products available for our customers who are purchasing these products legitimately," he said. "Locking them is the only way."
At this point, Dominguez, the Hyattsville teen mom who was frustrated in her efforts to buy condoms at her local CVS, doesn't much care whether her local pharmacy locks up its condoms.
"I don't think I'll ever buy them for myself," she said. "That experience turned me off." ·
Suz Redfearn last wrote for Health about a National Library of Medicine exhibit on forensic medicine. Comments: health@washpost.com.
|
Sindy Dominguez, 17, of Hyattsville already had a baby, and didn't want another -- at least not until she'd established a home and a career. Three months after her daughter was born, she and her boyfriend went to the CVS pharmacy near their apartment to buy a large box of condoms. They found......
| 23.225806 | 0.983871 | 60.016129 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001309.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001309.html
|
Science or Sizzle?
|
2006041219
|
The GenSpec brand of dietary supplements, proclaimed to be the "first genetically specific product line," aims distinct products at blacks, whites and Hispanics, and at men and women within each group.
GenSpec's multivitamins for African American and Hispanic males and females, for instance, contain higher amounts of vitamin D because, the Florida-based maker of the products says, the skin of darker-toned people doesn't make as much vitamin D from the sun as that of lighter-skinned people.
Because women have a higher risk of the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis than men, GenSpec's multivitamins for black, white and Hispanic women contain higher amounts of bone-enhancing calcium.
Unique "physiological and metabolic differences" can make certain groups more likely to develop some diseases, said Joseph Lander, president and founder of GenSpec. The small company, which also sells race-targeted weight-loss pills, bases its products on research into key racial health distinctions, Lander said. The company plans to start selling an Asian multivitamin in the next month.
While the approach may demonstrate clever marketing, some experts said, there is no gold-standard science showing that members of these groups are healthier if they take targeted nutrients in pills.
Asked to review the research posted on the GenSpec Web site, Jane Delgado, president and CEO of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, said the information "wasn't very compelling." She continued: "It's not surprising that people want to market to each [ethnic] group, but I think at this point what the communities need to know is how to eat better."
The products follow the release last year of another race-based supplement, Perfusia-SR, which targets African Americans with cardiovascular disease. That supplement, made by Thorne Research Inc., was billed as a nondrug alternative to BiDil, the first medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use exclusively by African Americans.
GenSpec has launched a targeted advertising campaign in several Hispanic- and black-oriented publications, including Sports Illustrated Latino, Hispanic, Latina, Ebony, Black Enterprise and Jet.
GenSpec's African American and Hispanic products are nearly identical -- both contain higher amounts of vitamin D and slightly more zinc than its formulations for whites. The company said research shows blacks and Hispanics don't consume enough zinc through their diets. Zinc aids wound healing and helps support growth and development and maintain the senses of smell and taste.
With the exception of vitamin D levels, the Caucasian line is very similar to the company's black and Hispanic products. There are some small variations of other ingredients, including less copper (needed for normal growth and health) in the white and African American products than in the Hispanic version. And the white and Hispanic multivitamins for men include greater amounts of selenium (a mineral needed for good health) and manganese (an essential trace nutrient) than the product for African American men.
GenSpec upped the amount of vitamin D included in its black and Hispanic formulations to 800 international units (IU), compared with 400 IU provided for whites. The adequate daily intake of vitamin D suggested by the federal Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS) is 200 IU for people aged 14 to 50; 400 IU for those between 51 and 70; and 600 IU for people older than 70. The upper limit -- the most vitamin D that can be safely consumed -- is 2,000 IU.
Scientists agree that high content of melanin -- the pigment that provides skin with its color -- reduces how much vitamin D is produced in the body after exposure to sunlight. The vitamin also promotes the absorption of calcium, helping to form strong bones.
But experts say the evidence on the company's Web site supporting the inclusion in its products of certain ingredients, including vitamin D, is questionable.
For example, GenSpec's Web site states that 100 percent of Hispanics and African Americans "tested by the Mayo Clinic had deficient levels of vitamin D, which is directly related to lower calcium absorption." But because that figure refers to a 2003 Mayo Clinic study of children and adults with persistent musculoskeletal pain, experts said, the data may not translate to a healthy population.
"I don't think that there's merit to these particular claims to stratify vitamins based on ethnicity," said Winston Price, immediate past president of the National Medical Association, an organization that represents the interests of black doctors. "A person cannot walk into a pharmacy and, based on identifying themselves, know what their genetic makeup is [and] know that they're picking up the right package of vitamins."
The American Medical Association has urged Congress to more strongly regulate dietary supplements, requiring a study of a product's safety and efficacy before it is marketed.
Some experts don't see a need for such targeted products. "It's a good idea" to get more vitamin D by eating more foods and liquids fortified with calcium and vitamin D and by getting more sun, said Adriane Fugh-Berman, associate professor in the Department of Physiology and Biophysics at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. "But this idea to take more [through the new supplements] is based on marketing, not science."
Lander said his company is simply taking the next step in a long history of segmentation of the multivitamin and supplement market -- a trend that began years ago when product makers began targeting women with multivitamins containing extra calcium for bone health; men with multivitamins containing lycopene, an antioxidant linked to prostate health; and those over age 50 with multivitamins that included lots of extras said to lower blood pressure and improve joint and heart health.
People of mixed heritage who don't fit neatly into any of the categories should choose the product based on skin pigmentation, Lander suggested.
Denise Feeley, a nutritionist and research coordinator with the Medstar Research Institute, said she needs to see more research before embracing pills targeted at racial or ethnic groups. Such supplements may become common in the future, she said, "but we've got to get some scientific data to support that. . . . I think segmentation is a good thing if the data support it."
Fugh-Berman isn't sold and had specific concerns about targeted weight-loss supplements.
"People in different ethnic groups do not metabolize food differently," though genetics and diet do affect metabolism, she said.
But "it's certainly inventive to use this sort of racial profiling for marketing purposes." ·
|
The GenSpec brand of dietary supplements, proclaimed to be the "first genetically specific product line," aims distinct products at blacks, whites and Hispanics, and at men and women within each group.
| 33.289474 | 1 | 38 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001044.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041219id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/10/AR2006041001044.html
|
Pundits' Battle Exposes the Politics of Research
|
2006041219
|
In the frequently quarrelsome world of federal education policy, few people have spanned the partisan divide as successfully as John F. "Jack" Jennings.
The former Democratic power broker on Capitol Hill has become one of the most-quoted education experts in the country, often called independent or bipartisan and cited for leading the Washington-based Center on Education Policy. Search for "Jack Jennings CEP" on Google, and you get nearly 24,000 hits.
But in Washington, finding common ground in educational research is not easy. Greg Forster, a senior fellow at the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation, has attacked Jennings and his center, sparking a dispute that has become the talk of education think tanks.
Their clash, and the way the media have covered it, exemplifies how the debate over the federal No Child Left Behind law often breaks down along political lines.
In an article headlined "Donkey in Disguise," posted on the Web site of the quarterly policy journal Education Next, http://www.educationnext.org/ , Forster accuses Jennings of labeling the center's studies on state education policy as nonpartisan and independent while choosing research methods that always point to a Democratic Party solution: more federal money and fewer rules by the Bush administration.
"There's no hope for improving education policy if we don't keep the facts and evidence distinct from the public-school system's party (and often partisan) line," Forster concluded.
In an interview, Jennings said the center's reports are professionally done and are welcomed by Democrats and Republicans. Even as a Democratic staffer on the Hill, he said, "I always tried to be bipartisan. Almost every meeting that I convened was for both Democrats and Republicans, and the results were that nearly every law I helped to write was passed by large bipartisan majorities."
But that was before the two major parties found themselves so bitterly split on such issues as using tax-funded vouchers to send public school students to private schools -- an idea supported by the Republican Party and Forster's foundation -- and how much more money is needed to make schools better, with the Democratic Party arguing that Republicans aren't spending enough.
Forster said in the article that Jennings is wrong to depend on surveys of state education officials for his information about how much more money is needed to meet the goals of No Child Left Behind. "The experts have an overwhelming incentive to inflate their cost estimates, even if only unconsciously," Forster said, because that "will produce a political impetus to spend more money on education practitioners."
Jennings said "professional judgment," the research method Forster criticizes, is used by policymakers of both parties in several states, as well as by major research organizations and some state courts.
Beyond the argument over methodology, the part of Forster's article that has been embraced most enthusiastically by education experts on both sides of the political aisle is his suggestion that media organizations affix unfair and inaccurate political labels to some people and groups.
Chester E. Finn Jr., a former Reagan administration education official who runs the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation and is on the Education Next editorial board, said Forster is right to say Jennings's "politics and opinions color all that he does, says and publishes." But, Finn added: "This is no crime. Indeed, it's the norm in Washington.
|
In the frequently quarrelsome world of federal education policy, few people have spanned the partisan divide as successfully as John F. "Jack" Jennings.
| 24 | 1 | 27 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/03/07/DI2006030700559.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/03/07/DI2006030700559.html
|
Tax Time Tips - washingtonpost.com
|
2006041019
|
Have a last minute tax question you need answered? Are the numbers not adding up correctly? Wondering what new laws may affect you or your family?
IRS Spokesman Jim Dupree was online Monday, April 10 at Noon ET to answer any last minute tax-filing questions.
For complete Tax Time coverage, go to http://www.washingtonpost.com/tax
Jim Dupree: Hi folks! Glad you could make it... There are many questions here, so let's get started!
Annapolis, Md.: Good afternoon -- Am I correct in assuming that as a Maryland resident, I can mail both my state and federal returns next Tuesday, April 18? Thanks.
Jim Dupree: You're right -- Maryland and DC residents have until Tuesday, April 18th to submit both federal and state returns...
Washington, DC: Jim, I'm a government employee (CSRS) and my wife is a retired school teacher. We are both over 50. Can we deduct an IRA contribution on our 2005 taxes if made before 04/17/06 and if so how much?
Jim Dupree: In general, for taxpayers 50 and over, the limits for IRA contributions increase up to $4,500.00 each... The phase-out range falls between $70-80,000 MAGI (Modified Adjusted Gross Income) for Married Filing Joint returns. The limit for the Spousal IRA contribution is also $4,500.00...
Washington, D.C.: When I filed my taxes electronically, I got a message saying I should pay estimated 2006 taxes because my husband and I owed $5000 (I think because we did not fill in our W-4 forms correctly so did not have enough withheld each pay period). We both work for companies and are not self-employed so we file as individuals. Do we have to pay these estimated taxes for 2006? Can we just file new W-4s instead so more is withheld?
Jim Dupree: In general, you must pay estimatd taxes for 2006 if both of the following conditions apply:
1. You expect to owe at least $1,000.00 in tax for 2006, after subtracting your witholdings and credits.
2. You expect your witholdings and credits to be less than the smaller of:
a. 90% of the tax to be shown on your 2006 return, or
b. 100% of the tax shown on your 2005 tax return. Your 2005 tax return must cover all rwelve months.
It is allowable to change your W-4s to have more taxes witheld from your wages, in order to not have to pay estimated taxes and avoid paying an estimated tax penalty.
Laurel, MD: My husband and I had our taxes done a couple of weeks ago which were electronically filed by our tax preparer. After we got home, we found a large error that resulted in a much larger refund than we should have received. Our tax preparer just corrected the errors yesterday and again filed the tax forms electronically. Should we worry that this action may trigger an audit? What if the first refund gets deposited in our checking account?
Jim Dupree: Don't worry - and spend your first refund without fear. You'll receive an additional refund check for the difference shortly...
Herndon, VA: Mr. Dupree: My 22-year old son graduated from college last May. He was able to pay for his 2005 tuition from savings. He lived at home the rest of the year, and started a paying job in September. Since was at home for over half the year, getting room and board from me June through December, may I still list him as a dependent?
Jim Dupree: To claim a person as a dependent that person must be your qualifying child or qualifying relative. There are several tests to determine if your son can be claimed as a dependent.
For Qualifying Child, the two most important tests -in this case - are:
- has he lived with you for over half of the year?
- have you provided more than half of his total support for the year?
To be qualified as a Qualifying Relative, the person's gross income must also be less than $3,200.00
Washington: Help! Last year I used an accountant and this year I'm doing my taxes on my own. The accountant told me last year to remember that I had "carryover" for my federal return for capital gains/loss. It's a couple hundred dollars. I have the dollar number from my notes from last year, but am not sure what to do, where to enter it on the form, and if I need to attach a schedule. Any guidance you have will be very much appreciated. Thanks thanks thanks.
Jim Dupree: A person must carry over capital losses totalling more than $3,000 (unless married-filing seperately, which is $1,500).
Short-term losses are assets held less than one year, and are placed on line 6 of Schedule D. Long-term (held over one year) capital losses are placed on line 14 of Schedule D.
New york , NY: I owe federal taxes but did not contribute to an IRA or 401k. Can I do so now?
Jim Dupree: Yes... You have until April 17th, 2006 to make IRA contributions. The maximunm contribution can be as high as $4,000.00 or up to $4,500.00 if you are over 50.
Fairfax, Va.: I was RIF'ed in December 2004; in January 2005, my former employer direct-deposited my severance, over $7,000 in my checking account, and sent me a pay stub indicating that all federal & state taxes had been taken out. This year, I received a W-2 that only showed a small amount, for my final "actual" paycheck, also direct-deposited in January 2005. I asked the former employer to correct the discrepancy, but they refused, stating that the severance had been paid to me in error, and asking me to return the money since they never received my signed separation agreement. (No kidding - why would I bother AFTER they paid me the severance?) I have no intention of returning the severance without a court order. I reported this to the IRS and will file a form 4598 if my former employer doesn't send me a corrected W-2 by April 17. My question is: Can you comment on whether or not the IRS will care that the amount of severance is (apparently) in dispute as income? Thank you!
Jim Dupree: If you received the income, you must report it....
If it turns out that this money must be returned later, you can ammend your tax return.
Fairfax, VA: I purchased and sold home in 2005. I didn't live in it before selling, and know that I must pay taxes on the capital gains - and treat it as a short term investment. I put major repairs/upgrades into the home before selling it. May I deduct the cost of repairs, closing costs, realtor fee's, mortgage payments and upkeep of the home before selling?
Jim Dupree: Check IRS publication 523, "Selling Your Home," to determine which expenses are tax deductible, and what amounts can be added to your basis.
Edinburg, Texas: Can people who work abroad file an income tax? if so, which form must be fill out? do people working abroad (i.e. Mexico) can get a return on taxes already paid to the Mexican government?
Jim Dupree: If you are a U.S. citizen with income from sources outside the United States (foreign income), you must report all such income on your tax return unless it is exempt by U.S. law.
If you reside outside the U.S. you may be able to exclude part or all of your foreign source earned income. Check IRS Publication 54, "Tax Guide for U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad.
You generally can choose to take income taxes you paid or accrued during the year to a foreign country or U.S. possession as a credit against your U.S. income tax - or, you can deduct them as an itemized deduction.
Are all home remodeling/renovation costs tax-deductible?
Jim Dupree: Improvements may increase the "basis" of your property which may offset any capital gains taxes that may be due at the time of sale.
For more information, check IRS Publication 523, "Selling Your Home."
Washington DC: Can you please explain why MD and DC residents do not have to mail returns until April 18? I thought they had to be postmarked by midnight April 17. Thanks.
Jim Dupree: We're asking Maryland and DC residents to mail their returns into our Andover, Massachusetts processing center.
April 17th is a major state holdiay in Massachusetts, "Patriot's Day" - which commemorates the 1775 revolutionary battles of Lexington and Concord (Paul Revere mad his famous ride during these battles) - and our service center will be closed.
In short, Maryland and DC residents have until April 18th to submit their returns.
Maryland: I read story that mistakes were found in 19 out of 19 tax forms done by paid preparers. The testing organization used ginned up data to create a profile of a certain taxpayer. What does the IRS think about this?
Jim Dupree: There are many good tax preparers out there - and a few bad ones - but the "bottom line" is this:
You are ultimately responsible for what is submitted on your federal income tax return, and its' accuracy, so choose your tax preparer wisely...
Baltimore, MD: My husband and I did our taxes this past weekend. 5 minutes after hitting "submit" we realized that we made a mistake on our federal return (overstated our AGI by about 3k). We know that we can file an amended return, but my question is how will this impact our state return? We completed the state return using the correct information, but now I am getting paranoid that because the AGI on the state return does not match that on the federal return, something bad will happen (reduced refund, audit, etc)
Jim Dupree: Don't worry... Your correcting the federal return shouldn't impact the state return.
Re: Laurel: I think you misunderstood Laurel - it sounded like they're going to get a larger refund than they deserve, and will owe money back after the returns are corrected. So they shouldn't spend that first refund, if it is deposited...it's not their money.
Jim Dupree: I blew it! I mistakenly thought Laurel was getting a larger refund the second time....
They will need to send the "difference" back to US before April 18th to avoid penalties and interest.
THANKS for catching my mistake!
Washington, D.C.: I am a landlord of a small apartment. I pay my property manager to manage the property. What documents do I need to provide the property manager for tax purposes?
Jim Dupree: The Property Manager should provide you with all the documentation for expenses and income of your property.
If the Manager entirely manages this property, without your input or you making the major decisions, you cannot take a loss against your income, as it was a passive loss.
Well folks, that's it. I'm so sorry if we didn't get to your question during this chat.
So many questions, so little time...
Again, THAN YOU all for joining me!
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.
|
IRS Spokesman Jim Dupree was online to answer last minute tax-filing questions.
| 141.75 | 0.875 | 4.125 |
high
|
medium
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/05/DI2006040501785.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/05/DI2006040501785.html
|
Critiquing the Press
|
2006041019
|
Howard Kurtz was online Monday, April 10, at noon ET to discuss the press and his latest columns.
Read Media Notes: Leaker-in-Chief?, (Post, April 7, 2006)
Fairfax, Va.: You are probably getting a lot of questions about the weird editorial from April 9 in which The Washington Post defended the leaking of (and thoroughly debunked) classified information. What I would like to know is what do journalists in the newsroom do when an editorial is so off-base? Do they just shrug their shoulders and carry on? What is their responsibility to the public? Also, should the editorial board be so disconnected from the news portion of the paper? I think this episode is another in a long line of incidences that highlights the lack of journalistic integrity there is out there today. It tarnishes everyone in the media whether fair or not.
Howard Kurtz: I don't care what Post editorials say, except as a reader. They do opinion, we do news. I agree with some editorials and disagree with others. You obviously disagree strongly with that editorial, but I don't see how that translates into a "lack of journalistic integrity." The only people who have integrity are those who agree with your positions?
Washington, D.C.: Yes, we all know; the news and editorial divisions of The Post are separate. But yesterday's "A Good Leak" editorial, written in blatant disregard of undisputed facts reported in The Post and elsewhere, can't help but damage the whole paper's reputation. What is behind this madness?
Howard Kurtz: Again, I'll let Fred Hiatt and company defend themselves on controversial editorials. But it does underscore the church-and-state division around here, since I don't think anyone would suggest that The Post's news coverage has treated this as a "good leak."
Washington, D.C.: Howard, as a news media professional, every time I read an account of someone doing something like plagiarizing articles, making stories up, blackmailing story subjects, etc., I just die a little bit inside. Seriously, these people are KILLING us. They may lose their jobs, but our whole industry loses credibility. That in turn makes it easier for the forces that have always wanted to marginalize a free press (government, industry, politicians) to do so.
Congress isn't the only group with bums that need to be thrown out.
Howard Kurtz: Good point, but a number of bums have been thrown out in the last couple of years. I don't know whether there's more plagiarism and embellishment in the biz than, say, 30 years ago, but I do believe there were plenty of instances 30 years ago that got swept under the rug with nobody getting punished. Now, in an age of instantaneous communications, that's no longer possible. But every time I write about a Jayson Blair or Jack Kelley, to pick two stories that I broke, it certainly crosses my mind that this is hurting everyone in the profession and providing ammunition for those who believe lots of journalists make stuff up and rip off material--which, by the way, isn't true.
Alexandria, Va.: Howard, I'm glad you reported the fact that Meredith Vieira marched against the Iraq war in New York City in 2004, protests designed to ruin the Republican National Convention. That's an interesting fact. Why do your fellow media reporters (the New York Times, the LA Times, USA Today) find this un-newsworthy? For conservatives, it's a five-alarm fire of media partisanship.
Howard Kurtz: I don't know. I asked Vieira about it when I interviewed her. She explained that she wasn't working for a news division at the time, but now that she's joining NBC News, it's her job to put aside her biases and conduct fair interviews and reporting. People can make up their own minds about that. I would note that this kind of movement is not unheard of. Howell Raines, for example, wrote very opinionated editorials for the New York Times for several years before becoming executive editor.
New York, N.Y.: Howard, in the April 10 issue of "The New Republic" senior editor Ryan Lizza's article on Andy Card's resignation highlights the "falling on a sword" aspect of Card's personality.
Card has taken responsibility for ALL of Bush's mistakes -- ever (as reported in The New York Times).
Do you think that during Andy Card's tenure -- which, of course, parallels the entire Bush presidency -- that the press has bought into this tactic of deflecting blame from the President? And, do you think that the media's relations with Card successor, Josh Bolten, will be more circumspect?
Howard Kurtz: Staff people always try to deflect blame from the boss. I don't see much evidence that the media bought into the notion that everything that went wrong in the Bush presidency was Andy Card's fault. Certainly, after a series of screw ups such as Katrina and the Dubai ports deal, some in the press questioned whether Card, as the gatekeeper, was getting Bush the kind of timely information he needed, but everyone understands that the buck stops in the Oval Office.
Columbia, Md.: I would take an opposite view from the others who ask the question. Doesn't it make the reporters look foolish when the editorial page is so dead on with their analysis while the reporters are basically carrying the water of those who are against President Bush?
Howard Kurtz: Okay, so now we have the opposite comment from a couple of earlier ones. The Bush critics say the reporters are right on and the editorial writers have no integrity, are mangling the facts, etc. As a Bush supporter, you believe the editorial was brave and bold and the reporters are a bunch of Bush-haters, or at least allies of Bush-haters. I couldn't ask for a better case study in how the ideology of some readers affects their perception of what is fair or accurate.
Denver, Colo.: What oversight, if any, is there over the editorial side of the paper? Are there any criteria used to determine how well those folks are doing their job? Or since their job is simply to voice opinions, is it assumed that there is no way to measure their performance?
Howard Kurtz: Fred Hiatt, the editorial page editor, reports to Bo Jones, the publisher, and ultimately to Don Graham. Suffice it to say that no editorial page editor could keep his job without the support of the publisher and the CEO.
About Judy Miller...: Now that Libby has basically proven what critics have been saying about Miller all along (i.e. that she was a shill for the admin, passing along their stuff sans any attempt at checking) shouldn't she have to publicly apologize? That isn't journalism, it's stenography to power.
If you want to know why the press loses cred every day, she's another example. Zero accountability. It's now been proven she betrayed the public trust, and acted as an unfiltered conduit for govt. spin...and she gets a multi-million dollar golden parachute and lauded as a hero by her peers.
If most of us screwed up our jobs that badly, and that knowingly, we'd be homeless.
Howard Kurtz: But this particular instance actually does not prove anything negative about Judy Miller (leaving aside the larger questions of her professional relationship with Libby, her willingness to entertain identifying him as a "former Hill aide," etc.). The veep's chief of staff leaked her information from this classified CIA assessment about Iraq, and SHE DIDN'T WRITE ANYTHING. Nor did she write anything about Valerie Plame. So while Miller can be criticized on several fronts, you can't accuse her in this instance of "passing their stuff along" when she didn't.
Washington, D.C.: Another angle on "A Good Leak": wouldn't its author have been better advised to run it as a bylined editorial?
Howard Kurtz: That's not a bad idea, but does not seem to be the editorial page's style. The argument is that an editorial has more force when it's represented as the view of the paper, not just one writer.
Bowie, Md.: It appears that with an apology issued the Cynthia McKinney controversy is over in the press.
But should the appearance that she appeared to be entrapping the Capitol Police into stopping her so she could make a race issue out of it be allowed to die that quietly?
Howard Kurtz: I hadn't heard the entrapment theory. This wasn't exactly a public relations triumph for the congresswoman. I guess the future course of the story will depend on what if anything the grand jury does.
Iowa: Sort of a media comment--On the West Wing last night, Leo McGarry (John Spencer) died on the night of the hotly contested presidential election. It raised some interesting issues about how such an event would be handled. And I admit I teared up over Leo's death. Then I thought there wasn't a single real politician who would evoke those same emotions in me. Yikes.
Howard Kurtz: Hollywood must love you.
Avon Park, Fla.: Do you think that the CBS Evening News will allow Katie Couric to display her personality? I don't think that it will and that's why I'm not that big on her going there. She won't be doing cooking segments, self-help interviews, playing tennis, or interviewing and laughing with movie stars. Couric will be reading heavy news from a teleprompter. How can she change the newscast to show her personality?
Howard Kurtz: Well, Bob Schieffer certainly displays his personality, and he does it without cooking, singing, dancing or any of that stuff. Look, that is the challenge for Katie Couric, and for CBS. Can she take what people like about her in the morning and make it work in the considerably more cramped and scripted environment of a 22-minute newscast? CBS obviously thinks so or it wouldn't be paying her the big bucks. Everyone else will have to wait until September to find out.
Washington, D.C.: Hi Howie, what's up with CNN rotating their D.C. correspondents? (Dana Bash from the White House to The Hill; Andrea Koppel from State to The Hill and Ed Henry from The Hill to the White House) Does it not take years to cultivate sources? Do correspondents 'transfer' their sources to another person from the same network?
Howard Kurtz: It's not so unusual. Reporters change beats all the time. At The Post, for instance, Jim VandeHei went from covering the Hill to the White House; Peter Baker went from Moscow to the White House; John Harris went from political reporting to editing; Juliet Eilperin went from the Hill to the environment, and on and on. Sure, you build up sources over the years and that can be valuable, but there's also some benefit to a media organization in having someone bring a fresh eye to a beat.
Nashville, Tenn.: Editor and Publisher Magazine points out a paper has an editorial page to try to influence its readers to the views of its publisher. So how then can an aspiring beat reporter ignore the views of the publisher when writing an article?
Howard Kurtz: Easy. I do it every day.
Cape Cod, Mass.: Mr.Kurtz, in response to your question posed to Fairfax Va above in which you ask, does integrity only mean agreeing with people who hold your opinion? No, integrity means arguing and basing ones' opinion on facts and the truth...no matter if I agree or disagree and as long as it is done openly and honestly. And integrity means signing the controversial Lead Sunday Editorial of major Paper of Record in Washington, D.C. and not hiding behind that anonymity.
Now back to my question, in your column today about McCain, you often seem to use the word "liberal" disparagingly and with derogatory descriptors placed nearby. Whether this is intentional or not I don't know, but my question is, Would you consider a married, working class mother of two children and typical soccer mom description, fit into your definition of liberal?
Howard Kurtz: I use "liberal" disparagingly? I don't know where on earth you got that idea. I think most people have a mixture of opinions. I don't pigeonhole people unless they identify themselves according to their views - for or against the war, abortion, the president, you name it. But when you're talking about opinion columnists with a substantial body of work, I don't think it's a stretch to say that Paul Krugman and E.J. Dionne are liberal, any more than it is to say George Will and Robert Novak are conservative.
New York City, N.Y.: What is it about Judith Miller that causes so many lefties to go berserk? Your earlier question about her stated as a fact something that was EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE of the truth. It's as if the leftie who wrote that question was living in some alternate reality where up is down, left is right, and Judith Miller actually wrote a story based on what Libby told her. I just don't understand the visceral hatred toward her, even to the point of inventing patently untrue things about her. Is it because she's a woman?
Howard Kurtz: I would need a degree in psychology to explain it. But obviously, as Miller herself has acknowledged, she has become a symbol of the media's failure during the runup to Iraq because she reported a number of stories about WMD, based on her sources in the administration and elsewhere, that turned out to be dead wrong.
Oxford, Ohio: Re: "Nor did she write anything about Valerie Plame. So while Miller can be criticized on several fronts, you can't accuse her in this instance of "passing their stuff along" when she didn't."
This is only the second time I have read this, which is the correct interpretation. No one, right or left, seems to be willing to recognize this, using Miller as a punching bag for the President or the MSM. She may have a problem with journalistic ethics, but not from this particular issue.
My problem is, how did journalism allow itself to become a recognized advocacy institution (the MSM)? Aren't you trained to report the facts without spinning? Is there a canon in journalism ethics that forbids such reporting?
Howard Kurtz: Well, because in America everyone has an opinion. Most denizens of the MSM don't see themselves as advocates or crusaders, but if segments or the audience, on the left and right, believe we are, that is a fact of life we must deal with. It doesn't make the critics right, but it's not something to be automatically dismissed, either.
Re: Nashville: "Easy. I do it every day." Thanks - but the question specifically referred to ASPIRING REPORTERS - not established names with TV income to boost their Post salary. Please address the question from the standpoint of a new hire.
Howard Kurtz: Sorry, I missed that. The ethos of the newsroom is such that new reporters are encouraged to go out and do their jobs as aggressively and fairly as they can, and they get feedback (and ultimately raises) from their bosses, the editors who work on the news side. They have almost no contact with the editorial page folks, nor do people in the newsroom spend much time debating the paper's editorial policy.
David Corn today takes note of your, um, taking note of his back and forth with Woodward.
"I remain convinced that the central issue is that Woodward's account--based on his interviews with Bush and other insiders--did not include the news that Bush was so committed to full-scale war in Iraq that he was willing to discuss creating a pretext for an invasion. I'm disappointed that Kurtz did not see this.'
There's more, but that's the jist. Any comment?
Howard Kurtz: I fairly presented Corn's argument and Woodward's rebuttal. David, as an opinion writer, may want me to adopt his argument, but that's not my role, and he understands that.
Re: your comments of Meredith Viera and the questioning of her journalistic 'bias' because of her antiwar march. Is that any different from those who, before they were reporters, were government spokesmen, e.g. Pete Williams, Tim Russert et. al.?
I mean, we can take this whole "what did they do before they were TV newspeople a bit too far, can't we?
Howard Kurtz: Well, if someone worked in politics before becoming a TV anchor or reporter, it's certainly fair to take note of that as well, and the burden is on newly minted journalists to show that they are independent and not merely carrying water for the politician, party or administration they previously worked for.
Boston, Mass.: "Easy. I do it every day." What's your secret for being completely uninfluenceable? Or are readers influenced by editorials simpletons, unlike you?
What a callow non-response to an honest and serious question.
Howard Kurtz: Callow -- I think that's the only name I've never been called. It sounds bad. What I meant was, no matter what editorial position The Post takes, it has zero impact on how I do my job (unless the edit page gets in some sort of ethical scrape and I have to write about it). As a reader, as a citizen, I may believe that a particular editorial is persuasive or not, but as a journalistic member of the institution it is irrelevant to me and to others in the newsroom. Just like the reporters at the Wall Street Journal.
Washington, D.C.: How bad would Katie have to bomb at CBS for them to think they made a mistake? Moonves certainly wouldn't admit it, but it's a risk.
Howard Kurtz: Well, if she doesn't get good reviews for her journalism and the ratings tank, many people will believe that CBS made a mistake. Although there are some quality news programs out there that don't necessarily draw big ratings, and many TV critics tend to use the Nielsens as virtually the old gauge of success.
Media Bias?: Regarding Meredith Viera...I think it's unreasonable to expect that when someone becomes a journalist they give up all their opinions and political life. I expect journalists to recognize their own opinions and biases and work hard to present fair, unbalanced stories, but they have as much civic responsibility as the rest of us and as such -should- be voting and participating.
I am suspicious of anyone who tells me that they do not have any political opinions on major issues. As human beings that is just not possible and that makes it even more important for journalists to see themselves realistically so that they CAN write/present fair stories, regardless of their own opinions.
Howard Kurtz: I do think it's important to recognize one's own biases and try to compensate for them by being as fair as you possibly can to people whose views you disagree with.
I would agree with you not those writing editorials for a newspaper as a whole need not identify themselves; but given the fact that several Washington Post staff members met privately and off-the-record with President Bush, does seem to raise some suspicions. Those staff members have been identified. It would be of more comfort to the reader to have those writing the editorial with a byline to make sure these are separate individuals and not influenced by the Bush Administration. There has been too many instances of the Bush Administration influencing opinion columnists and this step would help to alleviate any mistrust.
Howard Kurtz: As far as I know, those the president met with in this recent round were all reporters. And I have qualms about these sessions. But I would point out that Bill Clinton often had off-the-record meetings with reporters too, as I wrote at the time, and nobody seemed terribly exercised about that.
Pasadena, Md.: I read this past weekend that Washington Post reporter Tom Ricks is writing an anti-war book that attack the Bush administration on the handling of the war in Iraq. I believe the book will be called "Fiasco". Yet this morning, I see Ricks is writing a news article. Why is someone who already has a staunch anti-war position allowed to continue to write "objective" news articles in The Washington Post?
Howard Kurtz: Tom Ricks is one of the best Pentagon correspondents in the business, as he proved at the Wall Street Journal before coming here. On what basis do you conclude that he has an anti-war position? This is a guy who has risked his life by spending time with the troops in Iraq. Wouldn't it be fair to actually wait until his book comes out before attacking him for what you THINK it says?
Thanks for the chat, folks.
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.
| 102.317073 | 0.658537 | 0.853659 |
high
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040901225.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040901225.html
|
Organizers Expect Crush for Immigrant Rights Rally
|
2006041019
|
In churches, shops and sidewalks across the Washington region yesterday, thousands of people bustled in preparation for a rally that immigration advocates say could be a pivotal moment for Latinos and other groups seeking to demonstrate their political clout.
Organizers of the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice -- or La Marcha , as some volunteers are calling it -- said it could draw as many as 180,000 people to the Mall and hundreds of thousands more in nearly 100 cities nationwide.
Although no one knows for certain how many people will show up at the D.C. rally, the event has the potential to complicate the afternoon rush hour.
This afternoon, scores of buses will begin moving protesters from throughout the region to the District. CASA of Maryland, an immigrant rights group, has arranged for more than 40 buses to take them to Seventh Street NW between Madison and Jefferson drives. Fifteen additional buses will run a loop six times between CASA's Silver Spring office and the Takoma Metro station and are expected to carry about 5,000 people, said Kim Propeack, advocacy director for CASA.
Mexicanos Sin Fronteras, a D.C.-based immigrant rights group, will send about 20 buses from Virginia to Meridian Hill Park in the Adams Morgan area, said Farah Fosse of the Latino Economic Development Corp., a local organizer.
There, the participants will join neighborhood residents in a march down 16th and 15th streets NW to the Mall. Police plan to temporarily close some streets along the way.
A Metro spokesman said officials would monitor the situation and could decide to extend the evening rush, keeping the maximum number of cars on the tracks.
"We are very excited and energized, but at the same time there's a lot of pressure to ensure everything is going to be smooth," said Gustavo Torres, executive director of CASA.
Yesterday, with less than 24 hours to go before the rally, organizers scrambled as they prepared to move thousands of bodies, conceding that they weren't sure how they would do it.
"It's just wild. I don't know how to describe it," Propeack said. "As of 24 hours ago, we said, 'No more transportation,' and people are just phoning us off the hook. They want more."
Projected turnout, said Lt. Kathleen Harasek of the U.S. Park Police, "is well within what we're normally trained to handle. . . . We're comfortable with it, and we're not stressing out over it."
Across California alone, about 20 events are planned for today, ranging from a rally in Bakersfield to a ceremony in San Diego dedicated to immigrants who have died trying to cross the border illegally.
|
In churches, shops and sidewalks across the Washington region yesterday, thousands of people bustled in preparation for a rally that immigration advocates say could be a pivotal moment for Latinos and other groups seeking to demonstrate their political clout.
| 12.404762 | 1 | 42 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040900890.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040900890.html
|
Military Plays Up Role of Zarqawi
|
2006041019
|
The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program. The effort has raised his profile in a way that some military intelligence officials believe may have overstated his importance and helped the Bush administration tie the war to the organization responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The documents state that the U.S. campaign aims to turn Iraqis against Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian, by playing on their perceived dislike of foreigners. U.S. authorities claim some success with that effort, noting that some tribal Iraqi insurgents have attacked Zarqawi loyalists.
For the past two years, U.S. military leaders have been using Iraqi media and other outlets in Baghdad to publicize Zarqawi's role in the insurgency. The documents explicitly list the "U.S. Home Audience" as one of the targets of a broader propaganda campaign.
Some senior intelligence officers believe Zarqawi's role may have been overemphasized by the propaganda campaign, which has included leaflets, radio and television broadcasts, Internet postings and at least one leak to an American journalist. Although Zarqawi and other foreign insurgents in Iraq have conducted deadly bombing attacks, they remain "a very small part of the actual numbers," Col. Derek Harvey, who served as a military intelligence officer in Iraq and then was one of the top officers handling Iraq intelligence issues on the staff of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told an Army meeting at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., last summer.
In a transcript of the meeting, Harvey said, "Our own focus on Zarqawi has enlarged his caricature, if you will -- made him more important than he really is, in some ways."
"The long-term threat is not Zarqawi or religious extremists, but these former regime types and their friends," said Harvey, who did not return phone calls seeking comment on his remarks.
There has been a running argument among specialists in Iraq about how much significance to assign to Zarqawi, who spent seven years in prison in Jordan for attempting to overthrow the government there. After his release he spent time in Pakistan and Afghanistan before moving his base of operations to Iraq. He has been sentenced to death in absentia for planning the 2002 assassination of U.S. diplomat Lawrence Foley in Jordan. U.S. authorities have said he is responsible for dozens of deaths in Iraq and have placed a $25 million bounty on his head.
Recently there have been unconfirmed reports of a possible rift between Zarqawi and the parent al-Qaeda organization that may have resulted in his being demoted or cut loose. Last week, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said that it was unclear what was happening between Zarqawi and al-Qaeda. "It may be that he's not being fired at all, but that he is being focused on the military side of the al-Qaeda effort and he's being asked to leave more of a political side possibly to others, because of some disagreements within al-Qaeda," he said.
The military's propaganda program largely has been aimed at Iraqis, but seems to have spilled over into the U.S. media. One briefing slide about U.S. "strategic communications" in Iraq, prepared for Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top U.S. commander in Iraq, describes the "home audience" as one of six major targets of the American side of the war.
That slide, created by Casey's subordinates, does not specifically state that U.S. citizens were being targeted by the effort, but other sections of the briefings indicate that there were direct military efforts to use the U.S. media to affect views of the war. One slide in the same briefing, for example, noted that a "selective leak" about Zarqawi was made to Dexter Filkins, a New York Times reporter based in Baghdad. Filkins's resulting article, about a letter supposedly written by Zarqawi and boasting of suicide attacks in Iraq, ran on the Times front page on Feb. 9, 2004.
Leaks to reporters from U.S. officials in Iraq are common, but official evidence of a propaganda operation using an American reporter is rare.
Filkins, reached by e-mail, said that he was not told at the time that there was a psychological operations campaign aimed at Zarqawi, but said he assumed that the military was releasing the letter "because it had decided it was in its best interest to have it publicized." No special conditions were placed upon him in being briefed on its contents, he said. He said he was skeptical about the document's authenticity then, and remains so now, and so at the time tried to confirm its authenticity with officials outside the U.S. military.
|
The U.S. military is conducting a propaganda campaign to magnify the role of the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq, according to internal military documents and officers familiar with the program. The effort has raised his profile in a way that some military intelligence officials believe may have...
| 17.423077 | 0.980769 | 50.019231 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/03/AR2006040301063.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/03/AR2006040301063.html
|
Peruvian Election Primer
|
2006041019
|
On June 4, Peruvians will return to the polls for the second round of the presidential election. The candidates have now been whittled down from 30 to two: nationalistic ex-military commander Ollanta Humala and charismatic former president Alan Garcia.
Who is likely to win according to the polls?
Although Humala was the leader in the first round with 31 percent of the vote, polls consistently peg Garcia, who took 24 percent in the first round, as the victor. APOYO polls in the last two weeks consistently give Garcia a lead of 56 to 44 percent, while the University of Lima shows Garcia with an advantage of 62 to 38 percent. The same polls suggest that about 1 in 5 voters are undecided.
No. Peruvians polls are notoriously unreliable. Peruvians are known to make up their minds in the final days before an election and pollsters rarely reach the 20 percent of voters in the most remote areas of the country. Because isolated, low-income voters are most likely to vote for Humala, he could be further ahead than current polls suggest
The candidate of Peru's only well institutionalized party, the American Popular Revolutionary Alliance, the charismatic former president has promoted himself as a wise elder statesman who has learned from his mistakes. His missteps are not easy to forget; the leader of one of the worst governments in Peruvian history, from 1985 to 1990, he presided over economic chaos and the rise of Shining Path rebel violence. When he left office, the economy was in ruins, with inflation at more than 7,000 percent and corruption rampant.
Considered a radical leftist twenty years ago, next to Humala, the newly transformed Garcia now comes across as a moderate. Promising to represent the poor, as well as international investors, business leaders and property owners, he says he can decrease Peru's wealth gap while maintaining macroeconomic stability.
In part due to his openness to signing a free trade agreement with the United States, Garcia has provoked the ire of Hugo Chavez; Venezuela's president has said he will withdraw his ambassador to Peru if Garcia wins the runoff. The conflict between the two politicians may have actually been beneficial to Garcia, however, by allowing the talented orator to define himself as the level-headed alternative to Chavez's extremism.
The candidate of the Union for Peru party has sparked both fear and admiration across the continent. Echoing the anti-establishment rhetoric of Bolivia's Evo Morales and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, he has promoted himself as the dark-skinned representative of the masses. He has emphasized wealth redistribution and government reform, pledging to nationalize strategic sectors of the economy, such as mining and gas, and to rewrite Peru's constitution.
A former army officer, he entered the national spotlight in 2000 when he led a failed coup against Alberto Fujimori. His autocratic tendencies and open admiration of military dictator Gen. Juan Velasco, who ruled Peru with an iron hand from 1968 to 1975, have sparked alarm bells amongst journalists, academics, and business leaders.
Like other populist, anti-imperialist politicians in Latin America, he has been highly critical of the United States; he opposes the U.S.-backed eradication of coca and the U.S.-Peru free trade agreement supported by outgoing President Alejandro Toledo.
What's at stake for Peru?
The campaign has been, in many ways, more about personalities than policies. A key issue for all candidates, however, is poverty alleviation. Though Peru has experienced significant economic growth over the past few years, 54 percent of the population lives in poverty according to a 2006 United Nations Development Program report. A recent rise in exports (in particular gold, minerals and foodstuffs), foreign investment, and tax revenue has not improved living conditions for the average Peruvian. Both candidates have promised to create new jobs and narrow the wealth gap, with Humala focusing most overtly on nationalization of key industries and land redistribution and Garcia emphasizing the importance of fiscal discipline, international investment and moderate social policies.
What's at stake for the United States?
The United States and Peru struck a free trade agreement last December, a move intended to solidify U.S.-Peruvian relations and, eventually, to facilitate a broader U.S.-Andean trade pact. While Garcia supports the agreement, Humala is determined to prevent it. Though Humala's actions may not pan out to be as potent as his rhetoric, if elected he would bolster a preexisting alliance of extremely nationalistic, anti-Washington governments formed by Venezuela's Chavez, Cuba's Castro and Bolivia's Morales.
APRA is Peru's oldest and only well-institutionalized party. The party was founded in 1924 as an anti-imperialist solution to Peru's problems. Considered a radical left-wing movement in the early 1930s, it gathered substantial mass support and by the 1950s, evolved into a slightly left-of-center, middle-class organization with a strong labor base. Consequently, the party lost some of its most talented young leaders to the Marxist left. In 1985, Alan Garcia became the first Aprista leader to assume the presidency. His widespread popularity was viewed as the principal reason for the party's unprecedented sweep of municipal elections in 2001. Despite Garcia's disastrous first presidency, and his failed bid against Alejandro Toledo five years ago, APRA is counting on him once again.
The UPP party was formed in 1994 as a campaign vehicle for Javier Perez de Cuellar. The former UN secretary general captured 21 percent of the vote, a distant second to Fujimori. In 2006, the UPP aligned itself with the Peruvian National Party and endorsed Ollanta Humala for president.
Peru Posible was founded in 1999 by outgoing president Alejandro Toledo. The party has suffered as Toledo's approval rating has plummeted. While Peru's first democratically elected president of Indian descent managed to keep the economy healthy and spur gross domestic product growth at an average of 4.5 percent a year, frustration grew among workers who did not reap the fruits of Peru's macroeconomic success. A string of scandals and allegations of corruption damaged his party's reputation further and pushed his approval ratings into the single digits. The party's 2006 presidential candidate, Rafael Balaunde Aubry, pulled out of the race Jan. 31.
The center-right National Unity alliance was founded in 2001 by presidential candidate Loudes Flores. The former congresswoman was an early front-runner in the polls, but was damaged by a reputation as the "candidate of the rich." She garnered 23.8 percent of the votes, one half of a percentage point less than Garcia, putting her into third place and knocking her off the final ballot. Her coalition includes the Christian People's Party, the National Solidarity Party and the National Renewal Party and is expected to lead the way in the congressional elections.
News and Wire Reports, CIA World Fact Book, U.S. Department of State, The Political Handbook of the World, IPSOS, World Markets Research Centre, United Nations Development Program, Council on Foreign Relations
The University of British Columbia Peru Election Resource
|
UPDATE: Former president Alan GarcÃa defeated nationalist candidate Ollanta Humala in Sunday's runoff election, earning a second chance to lead the country he steered to economic devastation in the 1980s. Humala conceded defeat late Sunday after GarcÃa led 55 percent to 45 percent with 77 percent...
| 26.470588 | 0.607843 | 0.921569 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/07/AR2006040700518.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/07/AR2006040700518.html
|
Boys Gone Wild - washingtonpost.com
|
2006041019
|
Spring break is no time for self-examination. College students tend to celebrate their emancipation by either sitting on remote beaches or just sitting by the remote. But after 96 beer-pounding, burger-devouring, cigar-smoking, limo-riding, craps-shooting, Britney-stalking, money-losing, poor-decision-making hours in Sin City, I feel like I know myself -- and my limits -- better than even the most reflective tanners.
It began innocently enough. Three college friends and I signed up for a spring break package sponsored by National Lampoon Tours -- yes, the same people who threatened to shoot the dog -- that included four nights at Las Vegas's Plaza Hotel and Casino, a 96-hour open bar, three buffet meals a day and, according to the Web site, "nightly VIP entry into the city's hottest clubs." For $350, it had to be a scam.
The Lampoon, best known for the 1978 frat classic "Animal House," has since revised the genre with 2002's "Van Wilder" and reestablished the brand in America's dorm rooms. Someone at the Lampoon saw the writing on the drunken pledge's forehead: If John Belushi were alive today, he'd be on permanent spring break.
So last year National Lampoon Tours launched trips to Las Vegas and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; this year it added South Padre Island, Tex. Since 2005, the Vegas trip has nearly tripled its attendance from 80 to 230 over four weeks in March, and now shows the most promise, according to Justin Kanew, NLT's operations manager and director of the Vegas tour. "We're focusing on people returning year after year," he said. "You don't outgrow Vegas."
By day, NLT spring breakers eat, drink, sleep and gamble all within the Plaza Hotel, a towering monument to both Old Vegas and, judging by its clientele, old people. For the ambitious (meaning those willing to wake up before 4 p.m.), the package provides free shuttles to and from the Strip. By night, NLT arranges limo transportation, included in the package, to a preselected club. High rollers willing to pay the price can book rooms closer to the Strip at the Stratosphere or the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. But the Plaza, which hosts the open bar and the 24-hour buffet, serves as home base.
If the tour feels like a seat-of-the-pants operation, Kanew wears the pants. Talking a ragtag crew of mostly male tourists into a different Vegas club every night requires more than money. But Kanew exudes the calm control of a pledgemaster, ferrying anywhere from 30 to 100 guests a night by limo from the Plaza to the promised nightclub where, thanks to a VIP hosting service, the magic Lampoon wristbands let them bypass lines and waive covers.
"Seeing people wait, that kills me," he said.
Everything about this deal sounded too good to be true. So, with a week in mid-March to burn -- one last indulgence (if you don't count college itself) before graduation -- I put my thesis on hold and booked a flight to Vegas.
Day 1: Welcome to the Plaza
The four of us, friends since high school now teetering on the brink of Real Life, arrived separately. Alex and Chi, seniors at Middlebury College in Vermont, flew in Saturday night intending to take full advantage of the Plaza's open bar, only to find themselves unable to get into their room until 11 a.m. the next morning. Brad and I joined them Sunday night from our respective New York colleges, Cornell and Columbia. The last thing Alex's mother had told him before he boarded the plane was, "Just don't get arrested." So far, so good.
We didn't quite fit the Plaza's target demographic, which appeared to be the geriatric community, plus that subset of the American population that resembles Kenny Rogers. That's where we came in. The Lampoon supplied the youthful spirit -- that week the group's ages peaked at 27 -- while the Plaza supplied the other kind of spirits, on the house.
We walked downstairs to the casino floor at 7 p.m., also known as beer o'clock, to find three guys our age already posting up at the bar. Jason, a tall kid with a patchy beard, "bought" us a round of drinks, meaning he slammed four unlimited-supply drink tickets on the counter. Where alcohol is free, generosity abounds.
Girls, however, did not. The NLT home page features three women with the words "ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES" superimposed across their backsides. But as I scanned the stubbly jowls lined up at the hotel bar, the possibilities for any love but the fraternal kind seemed limited. The majority of the 36 attendees were men -- 24-hour testosterone-trippers, albeit with less fear and loathing than beer and loafing. What happened to the three-to-one babe-to-dude gender ratio Kanew had promised?
|
A?spring break of Las Vegas memories for four college guys include tales of club-hopping, beer-ponging, burger-devouring and?Britney-spotting.
| 35.178571 | 0.714286 | 1.285714 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/07/AR2006040700433.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/07/AR2006040700433.html
|
Old-Time Modernism
|
2006041019
|
LONDON -- The iPod is the latest symbol of everything that's up to date. But its best-selling, sleek design is built around ideas that have been with us for decades and decades.
A bakelite radio from the 1930s could exploit the same principles of crisp forms, smooth surfaces and clean concentric circles as Apple's music player.
Same goes for all the chrome-and-leather furniture and cubic shelving that sells to our most fashion-forward loft dwellers: It was all first dreamed up in the 1920s or before.
Almost every recent building that gets any kind of praise -- from Frank Gehry's famous Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao to the shiny new Katzen Arts Center in Washington -- is also deeply retrospective. The same is true for much of the current art they house.
You see that we haven't come very far as soon as you get a good look back at where we've come from -- such as the view provided by "Modernism: Designing a New World, 1914-1939," a massive survey exhibition that opened here Thursday at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It claims to be the first show to explore the modern movement in all its forms -- from radio design to innovative furniture and clothes to architecture and fine art.
People are always talking about today's surge in design: They cite the way Gehry's splashy building turned a Spanish backwater into a profitable tourist destination, and how Apple's success depends on its investment in the innovative look and feel of its products. This design "boom," and the way it's changing homes and offices, has even made it to the cover of Time magazine. But what they're really talking about -- what's really being brought within our reach when a successful furniture chain dubs itself Design Within Reach -- isn't design in general. It is specifically modern styling. What's being hailed is the final victory of modernism as the model for the way good objects should be made.
That must be why the V&A show seems so absolutely timely, and winning.
It displays the long-ago birth and halting development of the bent-chrome cantilever chair, now so popular that it gets knocked off on the Web for a few dozen bucks. Or how about the first glass-walled, knife-edged skyscrapers? Incredibly, the original concept for the form was explored in a huge drawing that Mies van der Rohe made in 1921 -- and that could absolutely pass as the latest flashy K Street office-block proposal. Almost every fresh idea from the early days of modernism still has the power to impress.
(Modernism expert Paul Greenhalgh, a former staffer at the V&A and new director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, hopes to take advantage of that fact. He says he's in the last stages of negotiations to bring the London exhibition to the Corcoran sometime next year. The show is a sequel, of sorts, to the major art nouveau show that Greenhalgh curated for the V&A, and which toured to the National Gallery of Art in 2000. Living up to that lavish National Gallery example will be a major challenge for Greenhalgh's new, much smaller museum -- but he says it's a challenge that he welcomes, and that will do the long-troubled institution good.)
The greatness of modernism was once up in the air. It faced some temporary opposition in the postmodern '70s and '80s, when it was the domineering father-figure that needed a good slaying. But after a full century, modern design and art now look set to have the kind of ongoing, long-term influence that only a very few other artistic movements have ever had. Modernism stands almost alone alongside Greek and Roman sculpture and architecture, and Renaissance painting, as the kind of force that compels every later artist to come to grips with it. Our own tussle with modernism feels as though it's barely begun, even though it has obsessed many of our leading culturati for decades already.
Like many of the greatest movements and figures in art, what may be most impressive about modernism is how fertile and wide-ranging it turns out to be. Like the buildings of ancient Greece and Rome, or the pictures of Michelangelo and Titian, modernism doesn't so much provide powerfully final answers and definitive take-home messages as offer an almost unending set of novel questions and probing propositions. The London exhibition doesn't just confirm how glorious good modern objects look ; it shows us that their slick, attractive surfaces have always triggered original and even subversive ideas.
Over the years, the forms and principles of modernism have stayed surprisingly the same. Modernism tends toward sleek shapes, avoids decoration and explores industrial materials and techniques, all of which gives it the kind of coherent syntax and vocabulary that columns and capitals and arches give to classical buildings. But, like classicism, modernism's few, potent visual ideas could always be read and used in wildly different ways, by vastly different kinds of people.
|
The iPod is the latest symbol of everything that's up to date. But its best-selling, sleek design is built around ideas that have been with us for decades and decades.
| 26.805556 | 1 | 36 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/07/DI2006040701175.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/04/07/DI2006040701175.html
|
First Quarter Mutual Funds
|
2006041019
|
Washington Post Staff Writer Brooke Masters was online Monday, April 7 at 11 a.m. ET to discuss mutual funds performance in the first quarter of 2006. She examined the issue in an article Sunday, part of a special report that included scorecards showing performance of the best , worst and biggest funds.
Brooke Masters: Welcome everybody to our chat about the first quarter results for mutual funds and stocks. I'm Brooke Masters and I am based in the Washington Post's New York bureau where I cover Wall Street as well as white-collar crime and securities regulation.
A couple of caveats before we get started: I am a reporter not a certified financial planner and I cannot and do not give individualized investment advice. And as all the Wall Street documents say: past returns are no guarantee of future performance
As those of you who have received your Q1 statements already know, it was a fantastic quarter, particularly for international stocks and domestic small cap stocks. But there are definite clouds on the horizon, according to many analysts. So let's get started
Vienna, VA: Thanks for a great feature focused on us young or new investors. I wish there was some more info for those of us who are ready to step beyond the 401k. If I wanted to invest in a mutual fund, I wouldn't really know who to call. I wouldn't know how much money I should start with. Are there investment companies that focus on a younger group? Ones who are willing to help someone invest a small amount 5k to 10k?
washingtonpost.com: Simple Steps To Begin Investing
Brooke Masters: With only a small amount of money to work with intially, you may do better with fee-only financial planner who charges either hourly or a set fee for a particular service, such as a coming up with a financial plan. Then you can implement the plan over time using no-load (no commission to those who don't speak Wall Street lingo) funds
While the price tags look scary, you know that you are getting their best advice rather than being steered to funds that pay high commissions.
Providence, RI: I had 3 funds in the American Fund Family: Capital Income Builder (caibx), Am Funds Income A (amecx), and Bond fund of America (abndx) Bought them in July, and they all started to lose money right out of the gate. ABNDX was a real dog so I switched to Capital World Growth(cwgix) and eventually caught up.
Sold amecx and caibx at break even point early this year. When I got 1099 DIV I blew my stack. An additional $3000 income on my taxes from funds which had posted a net loss in 2005.
So infuriated me that I sold cwgix. (Broke even again.) Sort of a reverse pyhric victory: if it costs this much to lose how can I afford to win. The broker was clearly out to make her commission and that was it. She did nothing afterwards; I had to make all the decisions on what to sell and when.
With fees, dividends, and other carrying costs I don't see how anyone makes money on this trash.Also,with what I see as high volatility in the stock market the risks are too great. I'll stick with money markets and CD's unless you have some other advice.
Brooke Masters: I can't comment on the particular funds, but this has been a tough year for capital gains distributions. A lot of funds rebalanced which means they sold positions and distributed the gains to their investors for tax purposes. If you just got into the fund, you got whacked with the gains without actually seeing a real gain in your own investment. It's very frustrating.
1) invest as much as posssible within your IRA or 401K which do not have to pay taxes on distributions until you take out the money.
2) try tax-managed funds, which try to avoid this exact problem. (A caveat here--they can be very high fee and you should read the prospectus carefully)
3) tax free bond funds
4) index funds don't rebalance unless the index changes so the distributions are likely to be smaller.
Fairfax,VA: I'm trying to get my 20-somthing niece and nephew saving for retirement with IRAs. Do you know of any (good, bad, indifferent) mutual funds that will accept $100 for an IRA mutual fund? I'm willing to kick in that much for each of them just to get them started. I started late, and started conservatively, and I regret it. I figure if I start, they will continue. Thanks.
Brooke Masters: I think you are going to have a hard time with just $100, unless they commit to making authomatic monthly deposits. H&R Block claims its Express IRA with a $300 minimum is one of the lowest around, but its investment performance has been less than stellar.
But I might troll the websites of the really low fee fund families like Vanguard and see what you can find.
Danvers, Mass.: You write the average fund was up 3.7% this last quarter. Long run returns are 10.0% over the last 20 years. The S&P did 13.0%. Some smart people (Buffett among others) looking forward think stocks will do between 6 and 7 percent. If the same 3% difference in return prevails, the average fund may do 3 to 4 percent. Roughly half of all gross gains will go to fund managers and their helpers. If you give away half your income for the rest of your life, it's like giving away half your wealth right now. I'm wondering why this business is a good deal for investors.
Brooke Masters: I think you may be confusing annualized and quarterly returns. Make sure you compare apples to apples.
You are correct to be concerned about high fees however. All fund families must disclose their fees in the same form and the SEC has a great site that allows you to compare the impact of different fees (such as loads and annual expenses) on your returns.
Fairfax, Va.: You talked about gold stocks being the hottest of the hot. Is it too late to cash in?
Brooke Masters: Timing the market is really really tough. I've tried with my own money and generally failed.
I'm no expert, but the folks at Lipper who do a lot of research told me that the fantastic return on gold funds this quarter came almost entirely in January. (I'm doing this from memory but I think 19 of the 20 percent growth was in January) That would make me leery of piling in right now.
Arlington, VA: Hi Brooke --
I have 35 years until retirement and want to open a Roth IRA later this year to supplement my 403(b) savings. I am considering mutual fund(s) as one investment vehicle for the account. Given my very long-term investing horizon, which types of funds are most appropriate? Many experts think that large cap growth stocks will make a comeback. Do you agree and is this option sensible for long-term investing?
Brooke Masters: In general, when you have a very long term investing horizon, it's probably best to spread your money around--some large cap, some small, a small amount of international. If you are using a broker, I would consider putting it all in the same fund family if you can find a decent selection because you may get "breakpoints"--commission discounts--once you cross a threshhold forall your investments combined, often around $50K.
As I said earlier, it might be worth investing in a financial plan from someone who is not getting paid by commission to give you some suggestions about how to distribute your investments (what percentage should be large vs. small vs. international.)
And again, watch those fees. They really add up over the long term
Arlington VA: Thanks for taking my question! Is there any advantage at all to investing in funds that charge loads or higher management fees? It seems that with returns so much lower lately than the historical average that fees are a really important factor to consider now a days.
Brooke Masters: The main reason to pay a load is that you feel you need advice and would rather pay your broker a commission than pay a fee to a planner. Also some brokers would say that they have access to better funds--make sure you do your own research on this one. Just because they like the fund doesn't mean you will.
As for managed funds, in good times it's great to have an index fund. In bad times, a good managed fund can sometimes protect you from losses. It's finding the good ones that can be tricky.
Washington, DC: Why are utility stocks and sector funds not a good buy when interest rates are rising?
Brooke Masters: Utilities generally carry a lot of debt because they have heavy capital expenditures (building and repairing all those power plants and transmission lines ain't cheap). If they have to pay more to borrow, they will likely have smaller profits.
Arlington, Va.: I often hear the complaint that a three-month window is not long enough to adequately guage fund performance. I know the information is available in the scorecards you published, but have you considered yearly wrapups?
Brooke Masters: We do year end wrap ups. It seemed kind of redundant to talk about the last 12 months when we talked about 9 of the 12 months involved in our January report.
Annapolis, MD: This wannabe investor in mutual funds has been studying the highly-informative "Scorecard" on p. F15 of Sunday's Post (thanks for that) and have identified several possibilities. What's an easy way for a novice to determine costs/fees (load?)of a given fund that would reduce some of the glorious returns depicted? Any other "Mutual 101" info I should know? Many thanks
Brooke Masters: Every fund has to report its fees in the same standardized table in its prospectus. (Thank you SEC)
I know you don't want to read the whole thing (who does?) but get one prospectus, leaf through it until you get to the key tables and then get comparison tables for every other fund you are interested in. You can then use the mutual fund calculator I mentioned earlier to compare the impact of different kinds of fees.
Alexandria, VA: Brooke, thanks for taking questions. I hope this one is sufficiently on-topic.
I think I've got retirement planning figured out (401(k), plus pension), and short-term cash (I've got a good three+ month buffer), but what to do about everything else? I've got some surplus that I 'know' I should invest but I can't say exactly what I'll use it for (house upgrade, family assistance, dream vacation?).
Are mutual funds a good way to save for unknown purposes with uncertain time frames?
Brooke Masters: Mutual funds can be a good relatively short term investment. Just make sure you are wary of Class B shares which have a high load that shrinks over time--if you might need the money soon, you don't get the benefit of the gradually shrinking fees.
The NASD has an investor alert on this subject as well as other good investor tools at
What I like about them is they do regular investor alerts about products that are either bad or being sold to the wrong people, so you can page through a couple of years of alerts to make sure that you aren't being talked into an inappropriate product
Washington, D.C.: I have my 401K going and maxed-out.
I have a Roth-IRA going and maxed-out.
I'm building an emergency savings.
I want to invest more, but what now?
What's the best way for a common person to start investing in stocks and bonds?
Brooke Masters: Generally the next stop is mutual funds, because they allow you to own part of a large basket of stocks or bonds and therefore spread your risk.
Some people are becoming fans of Exchange Traded Funds which are also baskets of stocks but instead of being priced once a day like mutual funds, they float throughout the day. They can carry lower fees.
"Why are utility stocks and sector funds not a good buy when interest rates are rising?"
Actually in addtion to what you said because utilities pay high dividends, they tend to be low growth. So when rates were a 1% or say 2.5% the dividend payments look great. With Fed Funds at 4.75% the present value of dividend streams is less attractive since you have a higher discount rate.
Sector funds is too broad a term. There is not necessarily a correlation, though higher interest rates tend to erode all equity values, or investment for that matter. A sector can be steel, oil, agriculture, Pacific Rim etc....
Brooke Masters: Good clarification on the question of sectors as well as good additional issues with utility stocks...I assumed the question was refering to the utility sector but others may have made the same assumption that this poster did.
Washington DC: Based on what analysts are predicting, is this going to be another good year for international funds?
Brooke Masters: I got really varied answers when I asked analysts about international stocks. Some see a great year, others are concerned particularly about the third and fourth quarter for the same inflationary issues that may impact US stocks
Laurel, Md.: What does it mean that inflation-sympathetic sectors (metals, energy, real estate) were the best performers while the Treasury yield curve is almost flat (3mo = 4.5%; 10yr=5.0%)?
Brooke Masters: I wish I knew.
The yield curve was even inverted toward the end of last year, with long term bonds paying LOWER yields than short term. Many analysts said that might pressage a recession but it didn't happen this past quarter.
Laurel: The best and worst-performing lists are made up of the usual suspects -- small caps, metals, emergining markets.
But the fourth-worst performer is a government bond fund. Government bonds haven't done a lot so far this year, how can someone screw up such a stable investment so badly?
Brooke Masters: Sorry for the delay I was just looking to see if I saw anything in the trade publications that suggested an answer to this question. No luck.
I suppose they could have made a really bad bet on the Fed's plans re: raising rates, but it does look very odd.
Vienna, VA: I plan to sit down with my bank's investment counselor in a few days. This is the first time I've ever invested. I'm a little nervous since I don't know what to expect. Are there certain questions I should ask? When it comes to the bank's billing, how can I tell if they are being fair?
Brooke Masters: The first thing to remember is that he or she is in this business to make money for him or herself. So you should not be shy about asking how he or she is being compensated. Many times, s/he makes money if you do, but not always.
For example, if he or she recommends the XYZ index fund that tracks the Standard & Poors 500 index, READ THE FEE CHART. Then compare it to the fee chart for S&P 500 fund of a company that is known to have low fees, like Vanguard. If XYZ has a lot higher fees, you need to start asking questions
Also, do not buy products you do not understand. Several years before I took this job, I bought a variable annuity life insurance policy. It's a perfectly good investment for someone trying to build up a tax-free estate to pass on to their kids. However, I had two kids in preschool and my main concern was making sure they would eat if I died and trying to save for their college education. In retrospect, I might have done better with cheaper term life insurance plus a low fee 529 college savings plan.
But I was embarassed to admit that I didn't understand what I was buying and I didn't really understand what all the charts meant.
So now I have the 529 plan plus the variable annuity life insurance, but paying the high commission on the life insurance probably slowed my savings down.
Washington, DC: I use mutual funds that use leverage to achieve 200% to 150% of the returns of other indices. No recommendation required but do you think that will spread to other mutual fund managers?
Brooke Masters: leverage is a very controversial issue. Some people worry that with all of the the highly leveraged hedge funds out there, we could be in for a market crack up if there's an unexpected economic shift.
Certainly the practice is proliferating in the hedge fund world. I'm less clear whether it is here to stay in mutual funds
Regarding load v. no-load funds: It also has to do with length of investment. Let's pick a fund I'm in: American Funds Washington Mutual Investor. The prospectus is online at http://www.americanfunds.com/pdf/mfgepr-901_wmifp.pdf
If you look on page 5 (or page 7 in the Acrobat window), you will see that the Class A shares (the load shares) have annual fund operating expenses (deducted from share price) of 0.61%. The class B and C shares of expenses of 1.38% and 1.46%, respective.
To get the Class A shares, you have a maximum load fee of 5.75% (less if you have money in American Funds or purchase alot of it - see page 20) but you are "saving" 0.77% - 0.85% in expenses each year depending on the class of shares.
If you are investing for the long haul (10+ years), you are better off paying the load fee and having the reduced expenses each and every year. If you are only investing for a short time, the no-load class is the way to go.
Basically, read the prospectus and look a the purchase, annual, and redemption fees.
Brooke Masters: This is where the SEC mutual fund calculator comes in really handy. You can plug all the fees and loads in, put in your investment horizon and it tells you which one is a better deal feewise for you (assuming the two funds have the same returns)
Bowie: Since the subject of holding cash came up...
My neighborhood bank (acutally a branch of a very large national one) offers less than 1% on savings accounts. Which is why I use an on-line bank that pays 4%.
T-bills were paying about 1% a couple of years ago, even when anyone could get 2% from INGDirect.
Is there any indication that competition from on-line banks is driving up the shortest-term rates, even among Treasuries?
Brooke Masters: I have had the same experience with online vs. local banks. I have not heard anyone connecting on-line banks to short term T bill rates, but I'll ask about it the next time I talk to the bond analyst types.
I've got to get back to reporting now, but I really enjoyed this chat. I hope you'll all come back the next time we talk about investing.
Please please remember to take all of these comments with a grain of salt. An investment that is great for one person is completely inappropriate for another. Don't let anyone push you into "the next great thing" without doing your homework.
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.
|
Washington Post Staff Writer Brooke Masters was online to discuss mutual funds as the markets finish the first quarter of 2006.
| 178 | 0.954545 | 5.409091 |
high
|
high
|
mixed
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/03/20/DI2006032001008.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/03/20/DI2006032001008.html
|
Career Track Live
|
2006041019
|
The Washington area is a magnet for smart, ambitious young workers. Post columnist Mary Ellen Slayter writes a regular column for these professionals who are establishing their careers locally, and offers advice online as well.
Read Mary Ellen's latest Career Track column.
This discussion is part of a series created for The Post's Grad Guide , an interactive collection of stories, resources and information aimed at easing the transition of the Class of 2006.
Find more career-related news and advice in our Jobs section.
Mary Ellen Slayter: Good afternoon!
Did y'all pick up a copy of the Grad Guide? I think it turned out fabulous!
Anyway, we've got lots of good questions, and Brad Karsh, our guest is just the guy to answer them.
Brad Karsh: Thanks Mary Ellen, I'm excited to be here!
Washington, D.C.: Four weeks till college graduation and no job in sight. However, I may be offered a six-month intern position in New Jersey. This internship is only offered to college graduates and pays $7 an hour. Please tell me how these companies have the nerve to offer such an opportunity to someone just out of college and in debt from college bills? How does a company expect the intern to work full-time for them for $7 an hour and be able to pay for rent and food? I would have to get a second full-time job at night to afford living expenses and pay student loans and therefore, not be at peak performance for the intern job. And then there's no guarantee that I will even be offered a job after the six months!
Brad Karsh: You'll soon find out that lots of companies have nerve! The sad truth is, most companies don't care too much about your loans or your rent or much else. They are in business to make money, and turn a profit.
Fortunately for you, you have the option to simply decline the offer. That's the beauty of the free market system! If no one takes the offer, then they will have to raise their salary.
Another approach is to take the job, do wonderful work, make them fall in love with you, and perhaps you'll get a raise or a full time job before 6 months.
Brad Karsh: Think about your first job or two as an investment. They may not offer the best pay, or the best job responsibilities, but you have to start somewhere. If you think there is a career path for you, if you think it will look good on your resume, and if you think you can learn, you may have to make that investment in a job to ultimately pay off in a career.
Mary Ellen Slayter: You wanna know what's even nervier? In a lot of cases, they'll except you to work at those internships for FREE. Count your blessings.
washingtonpost.com: Here's a link to The Post's 2006 Grad Guide .
Possibly Stuck in Virginia Beach: I am in a pickle and hopefully you can help.
After working for this non-profit organization for close to two years, I realized I'm barely making enough money to pay my student loans. I didn't get two Masters degrees to be making under $40,000.
I went to the VP of my department and asked for a raise. He said he'd see what he could do and then offered me a position in Nashville for more money. I eagerly said yes! I love Nashville, and it would make my job a lot easier because I deal with music.
Well, a month later, my VP left the company. He told my immediate supervisor to continue to push this offer through. However, my supervisor has done nothing. He's too afraid to even bring it up to the new VP. He also says it's way too soon to ask for a raise from the new boss.
So am I just stuck in Virginia making pennies? I'm concerned that if I go to the new VP without any support from management, it will look like I'm a peon employee trying to get a free ride to Nashville.
Mary Ellen, I love my job. It's perfect except for the money issue. What should I do?
Brad Karsh: A pickle indeed. I say go for it. Talk to the VP. Say you had a discussion with your former boss and see what happens. I don't think there's much downside.
One thing you will learn is that no one is looking out for your career. Oftentimes the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Now remember, if the wheel is too squeaky, it can also get thrown out, so watch the fine line between assertive and whiny!
Mary Ellen Slayter: I'm with Brad on this. You've got nothing to lose by bringing this up with the VP.
New York, N.Y.: Hello! I'm not really sure if this is your area of expertise, but I thought I'd give it a shot.
I'm a recent grad ('05) from UPenn. I always had a conflict of head v. heart in terms of career path. I found business interesting and found that I was pretty able in learning the concepts, but my true passion is definitely in political science. I graduated with degrees in both.
When recruiters came to campus, I was still debating which path to take. I got discouraged by the grad school stats for political science and was won over by the nice starting salaries from Wall St. firms.
You can probably guess the rest of the situation from here. I started work at a big financial services company. The people are very nice, and the money is good, but I am bored out of my mind and know that I can't do this for the rest of my life.
I would like to study for an MA/PhD in political science, and completely change paths. However, since I veered, and would be fairly young (23 when I apply, 24 when I would start), do you think it is feasible that I could get into a good grad program at this point? My GPA is strong, as are my GRE scores and my recommendations. I'm just afraid I won't be able to get in with my different career track and my age.
Brad Karsh: The old "heart vs. head" debate has raged for years. If you ask most people after the fact, they almost always say, "Should have gone with the heart!"
I don't think you're in trouble if you try to jump back into it now. Good school, good grades, and good test scores are a nice combo!
Good lesson for everyone - Don't be seduced by money or what you think other people would want you to do. You may say, "I don't think I'd be as happy here, but I'll just suck it up for two year." But after about 6 weeks, those two years seem like eternity!
Mary Ellen Slayter: This sort of shift is completely normal.
My only question is, what kind of career do you foresee this master's translating into? Academia or something different? I'd at least have a understanding of the professional possibilities (and what they pay) before I jumped back into grad school so quickly.
Bethesda, Md.: Going to a career fair tomorrow. Already made my list of the companies I want to talk with, but what is the protocol for starting the conversation? Just go up say I saw that you were hiring for entry-level positions and I'd like to hear more about that? Any other advice?
Brad Karsh: Working a career fair is a bit like speed dating. You have about 60 seconds to get them to fall in love! Be interesting, be personal, and be yourself. Try to mention why you like the company or why you'd be a great hire. It sounds easy for me to say, but act natural!
Mary Ellen Slayter: Like anybody acts natural at speed dating!
But yep, that's an apt comparison.
Baltimore, Md.: Two months ago I started a new job with an employer rated as one of the best companies to work for in my market. Between great benefits and work experience, it was an opportunity too good to pass up. During the interview process I repeatedly stressed qualities that I looked for in an employer, such as a friendly team oriented environment. I was assured that I had found a perfect fit.
Within a few weeks I realized that I was misled in an effort to fill a position with a tremendous amount of turnover. My true job responsibilities require a minimal amount of the skills for which I was originally hired. Instead I spend the majority of my day wading through red tape and attending pointless meetings. To add insult to injury, my co-workers are the complete opposite of the friendly personas they showed in interviews. It's to such an extreme that most days we barely speak to one another, even though we're a small department.
I tried to take a proactive approach to change the situation, but each time I was either reprimanded or given a brush off. I feel between the position's history and the office environment, I'm treated as little more than a glorified temp with benefits. I now know this job was a mistake and feel used. My question is how do I deal with a short term employment in future interviews? Also, should I cut my loses now or wait a professionally acceptable amount of time (i.e., one year) before leaving?
Brad Karsh: This is a tough situation, but certainly not unique. It appears as if you were "sold a bill of goods." It's interesting that the company was rated so high, given your experience. I might look around the company and see if there is a different department/area you may be able to transfer to. If the situation doesn't get much better. I'd give it a month or two and then move on.
When talking about the short stay in future interviews, make sure you don't bad mouth the employer, but simply say, "There were some differences in terms of what I was hired to do, and what I was ultimately asked to do."
Brad Karsh: One thing all new employees should think about - especially those embarking on their first job. So much of your happiness on the job is determined by the people you work with. If you hate your co-workers/boss, chances are you'll hate your job - and vice versa!
N.Y.: How would you recommend going from a cover letter for the world of scholarly research to a resume for the real-world?
Brad Karsh: Two very different birds. Scholarly research is all about long, detailed, comprehensive. A real-world resume is short, direct, and to the point. Nobody likes to read in the real world! For the resume, use bullet points, focus on your accomplishments, and remember, you don't have to tell your entire life story - just enough to get them to hire you!
Washington, D.C.: I applied to a job over a month of ago and was not selected for a phone interview. I recently came across the listing again in an e-mail listserv. I was recently promoted in my present job, so I wanted to know if I should re-apply to this job, highlighting my new position. If so, would a phone call be appropriate or should I stick with e-mail, the way I applied to the job in the first place? Thanks!
Mary Ellen Slayter: If you just got a promotion, why are you already itching to leave?
Brad Karsh: If you do decide you need to cut the cord at your company, then phone them. Email didn't work the first time!
Philadelphia, Penn.: What is the best approach to take if you have been out of your primary field of work due to starting a family (and now you are trying to re-enter)?
Brad Karsh: Couple of tips.
1. Don't worry about it too much. A lot of people freak out if they have a gap in their resume. It's so much more common these days.
2. Show them you've stayed in the game. Don't tell them you learned organizational skills taking the kids to soccer practice, but do tell them about volunteer work, classes you've taken, and other "business" involvement
3. Let them know why you're back. In your cover letter or in your interview, talk about why you want to get back into work, and why you'll be dedicated. "Now that my kids are in high school, I'm completely committed to reentering the workforce."
Mary Ellen Slayter: You might also want to take a class or two, to freshen your network and update your skills, even if you're going back into the same field.
Mary Ellen Slayter: Brad, why don't you tell us a little about what inspired you to write your book?
Brad Karsh: As someone who had read more than 10,000 resumes and interviewed 1,000 people, I was truly amazed at how much misinformation there was about getting hired.
"Confessions of a Recruiting Director" tells the untold story of what actually happens inside a recruiting department.
Washington, D.C.: What's the appropriate way to state that you are leaving your current position because of a change in management? We have a new company structure that has changed my job and I'm beginning to look elsewhere, but I don't want this to be held against me at interviews (if I get them). I've been here almost six months.
Mary Ellen Slayter: I don't think you need to go into that at all. No one really wants to hear it.
Of course, six months is not a long time to be at a job, so unless they drastically cut your pay or something, you might want to stick it out a few more months while you start networking and researching other opportunities.
Brad Karsh: I agree completely. Even if management changed, even if your boss was a complete jerk, or even if your coworkers were evil, an interview with a new company should be all about the positives and what you can do for them.
Washington, D.C.: What I think is more critical than coaching about to be grads is letting these kids know what is in store for them while they are still in high school, or maybe as part of freshman orientation. I think high school-ers don't understand fully how much rent is on average in the area, how much per month student loans will run, how much health insurance will be, etc. Kids don't get that even "just" $30,000 to 40,000 in loans is like a payment on a new car, that has a ten-year term. They also don't seem to understand how their chosen major will affect their quality of life. It seems like a lot of kids are encouraged to do "anything they want" without the advice that perhaps an English lit degree will not allow them to make it in a high cost region like this.
Mary Ellen Slayter: I'm with you on the practical advice part, BUT I don't think that means avoiding liberal arts degrees. If you look at the roster of corporate leaders, you'll find lots of poli sci, history, and even *gasp* English degrees. An undergrad degree is a starting point. What matters is what else you do. Internships, volunteer work, the right entry-level job, etc., all play a role in helping you launch a career. College doesn't need to be technical school to be useful.
Heck, my undergrad is in agronomy. How often do you think I make direct use of that on the job?
Brad Karsh: I don't even know what agronomy is! But then again, I'm a history major.
Washington, D.C.: I have been fired by a bank that I was with for over one year. It was due to an error on my part and am currently looking for another office-type job. I've done three years at a college, two years at a community college and one year at a four-year university. Where do you think I should start looking for another job?
Brad Karsh: Anywhere you can! Talk to people and network with all your friends and acquaintances. Touch base with the schools you attended to see if they have any career resources for former students. If you have a lot of free time, volunteer. You never know who you could meet.
Mary Ellen Slayter: Can I nudge you into taking this as an opportunity to go back to school and finish that degree? It really will open a lot of doors for you.
Philadelphia, Penn.: Do you have any interviewing tips or resources? I've perused countless books, am sure to shower before the interview, maintain eye contact, am upbeat, honest and answer questions with more than a one word answer. Any tricks of the trade to share? After choosing a first job poorly I went on over 20 unsuccessful interviews. I feel confident about my skills since I can get through to the interview point, but cannot figure out why it all falls apart. If a mock interview would be helpful, any tips on how to make the most of that session? Thank you so much for your help!
Brad Karsh: A mock interview is a must! Try to have a professional conduct the session, wear your suit, and go through the entire interview as if it were real. Have it videotaped (I know, kind of scary)! You may be quite surprised to see the tape.
One important interview tip. An interview is not a contest to outwit, out bluff, or outthink the interviewer. It's a conversation between two people. Be relaxed, be insightful, and be yourself.
A corporate recruiter: A few thoughts from out in the trenches: (1) It seems the market is tightening up a bit--at least in computer science/IT. Not as bad as 99, but definitely fewer grads seem to be out there.
(2) I have to disagree with the Sunday column about summer jobs -- in my opinion an unpaid internship will set you up so much better than a lifeguard job that it's worth eating snack ramen (or working at the mall at night) to get that on your resume. Resumes that only say "lifeguard" go to the bottom of my heap.
(3) Common sense, please! I wish grads spent a minute reviewing the details (like capitalizing their own names) when posting on Monster, etc. An online resume is a RESUME!
Thanks for letting me vent ...
washingtonpost.com: Missed Mary Ellen's Sunday column? Read it here: Before the Job Comes the Internship , (Post, April 9).
Mary Ellen Slayter: I don't think that Fran would disagree with you that a resume-building internship was better than a life guarding job. I think she was just trying to be realistic about some kids' ability to work for free, even for a summer. And if they have the right attitude, they can even get something out of a McJob. Anything is better than doing NOTHING all summer, right?
I know I sure couldn't do unpaid internships as a student. It wasn't a matter of eating ramen; it would have been a matter of being homeless!
Brad Karsh: Amen! Or should I say Ramen! You definitely have to show that you've worked over the summer. If you can't do an unpaid internship over the summer, then make sure you get involved big time in college. I'll take the student government president/lifeguard over the mediocre intern/campus deadbeat any day.
Great point on the resume typos. If you can't be flawless in a one page resume, what are you going to be like on the job.
Ft Belvoir, Va.: Hello. I'm a 25-year-old government contractor, who, after some active duty time, is finally finishing her degree. The problem is that I don't fit into the "grad" category (I joined the military at 17 after early high school graduation) and have eight years of full-time, progressive management experience. Baby boomer-aged hiring managers seem to resent the fact that I am just completing my degree, and that I am not entry-level, and won't accept the entry-level jobs.
Mary Ellen Slayter: I have bad news for you: Despite all the military service, at age 25, you still are pretty much entry-level in the private sector. You've got something that a lot of other entry-level candidates don't have, but it's not enough to catapult you more than a step or two, I don't think.
Brad Karsh: Very few companies will give you credit for your experience BEFORE you start working for them. Take a job you like, and then prove to them you need to be promoted by doing an amazing job.
Reston, Va.: I am a 32-year-old recent college grad with a bachelor's in management. Between earning my associate's degree at age 20 and going back to school at age 30, I had a successful career in an unrelated media field. I have sent hundreds of resumes out since January. But, only two or three interviews -- even though I graduated with honors from a prestigious local university. Any tips for someone who is just starting ... for the second time?
Brad Karsh: I'll give the same advice to you that I would for a "traditional" college grad - network. The fact that you sent out hundreds of resumes and only had two or three interviews isn't a function of your age - it's that it's not the most effective way to get a job. Talk to people to try to network your way into the companies that you want to work at. Networking is the single best way to get your foot in the door.
Mary Ellen Slayter: I also feel I should warn you that your "prestigious" degree isn't worth that much.
Did any of you read the recent Post stories and online chats about the cost of private colleges and whether they are really worth it? What did you think?
Washington, D.C.: How true is the idea that "Master's is the new Bachelor's"? Is a Master's degree really required to be competitive these days (in the non profit, political, government fields)? I have found a MPP program I really like, but it seems like the debt could be more restraining than the new skills and connections I make would be liberating. As a recent grad I'm just unsure where to focus, on long term stability through educational investment and debt or on short term stability with my current job and timely loan payments. Thanks.
Mary Ellen Slayter: I think you're smart to be skeptical about the cost-benefit equation involved in going to grad school. DEFINITELY don't head back to school while you are still fuzzy about your goals. Take a few jobs. Test the waters. See what you like and what you don't like. The upside: People will pay you to do this, unlike grad school.
Brad Karsh: And if you do want to go back, you may be lucky enough to find an employer that will pay for your degree!
Low salary expectations: I agree that more needs to be done to educate young people about salaries for positions. I remember a Glamour article years ago that someone wrote whining about how they couldn't find a job with their PoliSci degree. My friend wrote a letter to the editor that basically said that regardless of your degree you need to have some actual skills in order to get a job (like being able to type and use basic computer applications). Get your foot in the door and then you can think about moving up. Just be sure to pay your dues for a while. I have so many young staff who come on board and then suddenly think they are "above" their assigned duties. I didn't start at the top and did my fair share of data entry, phone answering, and envelope stuffing.
Brad Karsh: And I walked 5 miles to work each day - uphill! Seriously, great point here. It's a huge transition to go from student to worker. As a student you've just dropped from $20,000 to upwards of $140,000 to pay someone to teach you. Now the tables are turned. Some company is paying you to work for them. You have to play by their rules, and you have to prove yourself all over again.
Northridge, Calif.: I just graduated with a BA in Urban Studies and Planning. I have had many internships, but I am not qualified for any entry-level jobs. How do I get a job if every job I apply for requires experience that I do not have?
Brad Karsh: Transferable skills. Of course as a recent grad you don't have much experience, but I'm certain there are things you did in your internship that will be relevant and compelling to a recruiting director - even if they don't match up perfectly to the job requirements.
Washington,D.C.: If I've only been paid through internships (which wasn't very much). What should I put down for desired salary/salary history when I apply for a job that asks for it?
Mary Ellen Slayter: Ooooh, I hate those requests. Salary history is nobody's business but mine and the IRS's, IMO. But if you're afraid to ignore it, give a range for your desired salary. Do some research and make sure it's based on actual pay for entry level jobs in your field here on planet earth.
Brad Karsh: Desired salary is such a misnomer. Hmmm, my DESIRED salary is $500,000. Mary Ellen hit all the great points on how to deal with that evil question.
Mary Ellen Slayter: Well that went quickly! Thanks for all your great questions, and to Brad for being such a great guest!
Brad Karsh: My pleasure. It was a lot of fun. Good luck with the job search everyone!
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.
| 128.804878 | 0.609756 | 0.756098 |
high
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040900707.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040900707.html
|
Parting the Shroud of Earth's Mysterious Twin
|
2006041019
|
Eons ago, Venus may have been the gentle, tropical paradise that Earthlings once imagined. It was closer to the sun -- but not too close. It was almost Earth-size -- but not quite. And it had plenty of water, even oceans.
But that was then. Sometime in the distant past, the oceans started to heat up and then boiled away. The water vapor hung over the planet like a glove, trapping the heat below and creating a berserk greenhouse effect.
Today, Venus's atmosphere is 97 percent carbon dioxide, and the planet is wreathed in clouds of sulfuric acid. The planet is apparently condemned to an eternal cycle of global warming, with surface temperatures that hover around 900 degrees Fahrenheit.
There are, perhaps, lessons to be learned here. "Venus is very unpleasant," said Hakan Svedhem of the European Space Agency. "We know the greenhouse effect on Earth is a very interesting topic. Maybe with Venus, we can better understand how our own atmosphere works."
Early tomorrow Eastern time, ESA's Venus Express, a honeycombed aluminum spacecraft carrying seven instruments and cloaked in a metallic gold polymer to fend off the heat, is scheduled to begin a 51-minute rocket burn that will settle it into an elliptical polar orbit.
For the next 500 days, with the possibility of extending for another 500, the spacecraft will probe mysteries that have confounded and fascinated scientists since exploration of the planet first began with NASA's Mariner 2 in 1962.
Chief among them is what happened to turn Venus into a child's vision of hell, with a superheated toxic soup of an atmosphere that is 90 times denser at the surface than Earth's -- about the same pressure as the ocean at a half-mile depth.
NASA's Magellan mission, which ended in 1994, used radar to penetrate the cloud cover and map Venus's tortured surface, paved with lava flows and pocked with craters and volcanic mountain escarpments. Venus Express, by contrast, is "geared toward a very detailed study of the atmosphere," said ESA's Don McCoy, the project's manager.
There is a lot to understand. Measurements taken by early probes of Venus have made scientists all but certain that the planet once had extensive oceans that heated up and finally boiled off.
Quite probably the resulting cloud of water vapor provided the initial atmospheric blanket that turned the planet into a hothouse. "But where did [the water] go?" asked University of Michigan planetary scientist Stephen Bougher. "Nobody knows."
Heat could break the water into its constituent atoms, and the hydrogen could easily evaporate from the upper atmosphere and escape into space, but "something different" had to have happened to the heavier oxygen, Bougher said in a telephone interview. One possibility is that a magnetic field induced by the solar wind may have swept charged oxygen particles away from the planet, he said.
Venus Express has an instrument that can measure atmospheric erosion and perhaps provide data that will help scientists reconstruct how Venus lost its oceans.
Over time, carbon dioxide replaced the water vapor, probably as a result of the erupting volcanoes that resurfaced Venus about 700 million years ago and spewed clouds of sulfurous gas into the atmosphere.
Venus Express will search for traces of sulfur dioxide, an indication that volcanoes have been recently active. Scientists may also be able to deduce whether volcanoes are still erupting by using the spacecraft's infrared camera to penetrate the atmosphere and take pictures of Venus's surface.
"By correlating these images with the Magellan data, we can tell whether vulcanism today is altering the landscape," said NASA planetary scientist Adriana Ocampo, the agency's liaison with Venus Express. "This is a key question for Venus, and could be important in understanding climate change on Earth."
Another puzzle that has mystified scientists for decades is Venus's winds, which are negligible on the surface but reach speeds of 220 mph in the upper atmosphere, much faster than the planet rotates. Venus, the slowest-spinning planet in the solar system, has a "day" that is the equivalent of about 224 Earth days.
"There is no reason for the wind," Svedhem, Venus Express's lead scientist, said. The spacecraft will measure wind speeds at various altitudes and correlate them with temperatures. The spacecraft will also gather data on the whirlpool-like atmospheric vortices at Venus's poles, another phenomenon that has no explanation.
"It's really embarrassing how little we know," Bougher said. "The cloud top winds are so strong on a planet that rotates so slowly. Why?"
The $266 million Venus Express launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan, on Nov. 9 last year. It was modeled on ESA's Mars Express, currently in orbit around Mars, and has some instruments that are identical to those on both the earlier spacecraft and on Rosetta, an ongoing ESA mission to a comet.
But unlike Mars Express, built to absorb warmth from a distant sun, Venus Express must shed heat. Besides its reflective coating, it has solar panels that are tiny, compared with those of Mars Express, and half the panels are mirrors. Getting electricity to operate the spacecraft, "is one of the easier aspects of the mission," McCoy said in a telephone interview.
Venus Express weighs 2,734 pounds fully fueled and will have traveled about 250 million miles to chase down Venus when it turns its thrusters in the direction of travel shortly after midnight tonight.
It will be moving at a speed of 18,000 mph relative to the planet and needs to lose 15 percent of its velocity to be captured into orbit. The initial ellipse will extend from 155 miles above Venus's surface to 205,000 miles away, and the spacecraft will need nine days to complete an orbit. McCoy said engineers will tighten the ellipse to a maximum distance of 41,000 miles with two more rocket burns and settle into a 24-hour orbit in about three weeks.
But the tension peaks during the capture burn that begins about an hour after engineers "slue" the stern of the spacecraft to point the thrusters properly. This delicately timed process, if it goes awry, could end up with the spacecraft missing its orbital "window" and careering off into space.
The spacecraft's fate should be decided 38 minutes after the burn begins, when it travels behind the planet, leaving ground controllers without a signal for 10 minutes. "It gives you a good indication of how the burn is going, so you want it to begin at just the right time," McCoy said. "It will be very interesting."
|
Eons ago, Venus may have been the gentle, tropical paradise that Earthlings once imagined. It was closer to the sun -- but not too close. It was almost Earth-size -- but not quite. And it had plenty of water, even oceans.
| 25.72 | 1 | 50 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040900973.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006041019id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/09/AR2006040900973.html
|
Calif. Race Could Signal Partisan Shift
|
2006041019
|
LA JOLLA, Calif. -- Francine Busby is a Democratic candidate for Congress. But you could not tell her party affiliation by watching her TV ads.
Running in a special election to be held Tuesday to replace convicted felon Randy "Duke" Cunningham, Busby has played down her party affiliation to the point that it is almost her dark little secret. Yet in the race to replace the Republican war-hero-turned-corrupt-pol, Busby is giving the Democratic Party tantalizing hope that her race against what her party has dubbed "the culture of corruption" might just succeed. Busby leads the pack of 18 candidates (including 14 Republicans), garnering anywhere from 35 to 45 percent in polls.
Political analysts said the race for the 50th Congressional District could serve as a bellwether for races across the nation. If the self-proclaimed soccer mom wins the vote, it would be a significant upset in a district that combines the golf-crazy, socially liberal "beach Republicans" of the moneyed coast north of San Diego with the golf-crazy, "red meat" Republicans of the inland exurbs. Registration figures in the 50th District tilt largely Republican, 44 percent, with 30 percent Democrat and 21 percent undecided.
"If Busby wins, that would be the political equivalent of a tectonic shift," said Amy Walter, senior editor at the Washington-based Cook Political Report. "The next story you would hear is this is the first rumblings in what would be a major earthquake in November."
Busby, who switched to the Democratic Party in 1998, ran as a sacrificial lamb against Cunningham in 2004. But since his sentencing to more than eight years in federal prison on charges of evading taxes and accepting $2.4 million in bribes, the party has started paying her some attention. She gave the Democrats' rebuttal to a weekly radio address by President Bush and used it to denounce the Dubai ports deal as a threat to U.S. security. Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, former Virginia governor Mark R. Warner and Sen. John F. Kerry held campaign events for her. She has raised the most money of all the candidates -- $1.4 million, including $100,000 from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. MoveOn.org has also contributed cash and lent her assistance. National Republicans poured $300,000 in the final week into ads criticizing Busby for accepting donations from lobbyists.
"In the past, I wasn't even on the radar screen," Busby said at an interview after an appearance at a Kiwanis Club breakfast meeting in this seaside community. "But as soon as this became an open seat and a viable race, they jumped in and became supportive, but not overly supportive."
At the event, attended by 25 men and two women, mostly in business and 100 percent Republican, Busby detailed her résumé -- daughter of a sausage manufacturer, Italian studies major, Girl Scout leader, Sunday school teacher, travel agent and school board member -- and then took questions on abortion (she is pro-choice), immigration (she is for an amnesty program for illegal immigrants, but she does not call it that) and the inheritance tax (she is for a complete repeal). This is, after all, La Jolla, where the median house goes for $1.75 million. Busby was surprisingly well received even when she was asked why she did not identify herself as a Democrat in her ads.
"Almost everywhere I go, I say it's not about Republican and Democrat," she said. "The country has been divided by animosity, and people are tired of it."
Just as Busby does not emphasize her Democratic ties, all but one of her 14 Republican competitors have distanced themselves from Bush. In interviews, nine of them identified themselves as "Reagan Republicans."
One of the Republican front-runners, Brian Bilbray, a former congressman, lifeguard and surfer, accused Bush of "criminal neglect" in dealing with illegal immigration.
"He's lost all credibility with homeland security," Bilbray said, adding that the nation's "20 million people on welfare should be put to work doing the jobs the illegals are doing now."
Bilbray and other Republicans have sought to move the election away from Busby's theme -- fighting "the culture of corruption" -- and toward immigration, an issue of great concern in northern San Diego County. Bilbray has been especially keen on this because for the past several years he has been doing lobbying work in Washington and once, while in Congress, accepted a trip to the Pacific islands from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Republican rival Eric Roach sued Bilbray in an unsuccessful attempt to force him to identify himself as a lobbyist on the ballot.
Other than Busby, Roach is the campaign's dark horse. Among three successful businessmen who have spent more than $1 million each in the race, he is considered so puzzling that his Republican opponents have pooled resources to try to come up with dirt on him, apparently to no avail. A father of five, Roach described himself as representing the "conservative wing" of the Republican Party. He, too, criticized Bush -- for allowing too much government spending.
If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote Tuesday, the top finisher from each party will face off on June 6. The winner of that contest takes a seat in Congress and immediately begins the campaign for the November election.
Carl Luna, a professor of political science at San Diego's Mesa College, predicted that Busby would fall short of the 50 percent needed on Tuesday and then lose the election in the runoff to a Republican in June. "The district is not quite a swing district," he said. "The Democrats hope they can get a quick bloody nose out of this race. But I doubt it."
|
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.
| 29.128205 | 0.564103 | 0.615385 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/03/31/DI2006033101419.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006040819id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2006/03/31/DI2006033101419.html
|
High School Sports
|
2006040819
|
Jon DeNunzio: Hello folks, and welcome to another All-Met chat.
As you probably know, the winter All-Met section came out today. It's a little different than past sections in one big way -- there are eight different covers floating around the Washington area. Each Player of the Year got his or her own cover.
Also, each cover lists players from your area who are inside the section -- Howard County readers get a list of Howard kids who made All-Met, Loudoun readers get Loudoun kids. Did anyone notice this? What did you think?
Finally, my ground rule for discussing All-Met picks -- I won't say why so-and-so did NOT make the team. To be honest, there's now way I can explain specifics without sounding like the player was lacking in some way. And in almost every case, the players people ask me about are GREAT players, but just miss the cut in a very competitive process. As I always remind folks, we cover more than 270 schools in the D.C. area ... picking 10 first-team players is very difficult.
Some of you have already submitted questions about individuals, and I will likely post them, but now you know why it looks like I'm avoiding the meat of the issue.
Reston, Va.: How are the athletes selected? Based on records? Based on coaches recommendations? Based on Post writers observations?
How can someone who is undefeated in District Meets, winner of the District Championship, 2d in Regionals, and 3rd in States not make 1st or 2nd team All-Met?
That on top of a 27-1 record in district meets over the last 4 years.
Jon DeNunzio: The basic question we always should answer first -- how does The Post choose All-Mets. Most of this is copied from a previous chat of mine:
We solicit nominations from coaches at every school in the Washington area, asking them to nominate players from their schools and other schools (in fact, we tell coaches we take the nominations more seriously if they take the time to nominate kids from other schools. Some coaches are great about this, and even submit a list of who'd they pick for All-Met if they were in our shoes. Those guys are great!).
We take the coaches' nominations into consideration along with our reporters' observations, raw talent, success on the field as an individual and a team, and try to weigh it all. We know in the end we have to make subjective choices that never please everyone.
Now, regarding your specific question ... I would guess that the athlete you refer to is in a very competitive spot -- while he or she was third in Virginia (presumably), remember that we cover athletes in D.C., Maryland and at the many private schools throughout the area ...
Frank, Rockville, Md.: John - Any sense for how many of the All-Met -Boys Basketball] player came up in the AAU circuit?
Jon DeNunzio: I would guess that all of them play AAU ball in some way, shape or form. For better or worse, it's pretty much conventional wisdom that if you're gonna be good in basketball, you need to play in these offseason leagues.
Baltimore, Md.: Love the layout of the new All-Mets...
A little confused on why Brady Fox missed out a being an All-Met as a Metro champion in the 500 free and second to Josh Hafkin in the 100 back with a time which wins most state meets...both of these as a freshman! Was it because he was a freshman, or cause Georgetown Prep already had 2 other All-Mets? Either way, I think he got robbed.
Jon DeNunzio: This is a smart poster -- say nice things first, then mention a potential omission.
Thanks for the kind words. Brady Fox, for the rest of you out there, is one of Georgetown Prep's top swimmers. Comments below posted without comment from me, as promised ...
Washington, D.C.: Out of curiosity, why weren't any of the players from Oak Hill (specifically, Tywon Lawson) chosen for the All-Met team?
Jon DeNunzio: We limit our high school sports coverage to schools that are in the D.C. area. Oak Hill is in Mouth of Wilson, Va. -- a long way outside the Beltway, as you know.
Lawson -- a local who now goes to Oak Hill -- was not eligible for All-Met for that reason. Great player, though.
It would get really tricky if every kid who comes from D.C. but leaves town for boarding school, etc., were eligible for All-Met. Yikes.
McLean, Va.: Why every year the majority of the all mets for swimming tend to be freestylers?
Jon DeNunzio: You know, I had not noticed that (and assuming you have done the math and this is true). I'll talk to the swimming reporters (Charlie Moss and Rich Campbell) and see if I can find an answer ...
Rockville, Md.: Why is track so limited? Why aren't there 2nd team, 3rd teams, and honorable mentions like other sports?
Jon DeNunzio: The size of the indoor track team reflects two things:
1) Not as many schools have indoor track programs as outdoor ones. And Those that do often run short winter schedules.
2) There's a cross-country All-Met team in the fall and an outdoor track All-Met team in the spring. Track athletes (distance runners, esp.) have more shots at making All-Met than just about any other high school athlete in the area ...
Takoma Park, Md.: How does The Post determine which sports will have an all-Met selection? Will there be an all-Met for boys volleyball this Spring?
Jon DeNunzio: A sport generally has to reach a "critical mass" of participation area-wide to gain more coverage and All-Met recognition. I do not think boys' volleyball is there yet. Although there are active pockets ...
Winchester, Va.: I know a lot goes into the selection process but it seems hard for players located quite a distance away from Washington to receive recognition unless they or their teams make it to State playoffs. What are the criteria for the selection process? Do you use media personnel other than The Post for assistance?
Jon DeNunzio: You know, this is interesting. We do not consult with other papers ... but perhaps we can do a better job canvassing the farther-away places like Frederick County, Md., and Fredericksburg.
To be honest, sometimes we know less about those areas because the coaches/teams do not call in their scores, etc., as often. We need to do a better job making them feel part of The Post "family" and encouraging them to send us info ...
Bethesda, Md.: There are more All-Met swimmers who are freestylers simply because there are more freestlye events than back, breast, or fly. (One for each of those, four for freestyle plus two relays)... no need to run to other reporters Jon!
Jon DeNunzio: This poster was not necessarily nice to me, but makes a good point. I can respect that.
Montogmery County, Md.: Thank you for not choosing the kid from Oak Hill. He is definitely a good player, but Mout of Wilson, VA is as far away as Blacksburg, VA. Wait a minute, The Post covers VA Tech like its located in Burke!
Jon DeNunzio: This A) isn't a question; and B) is really a comment for our college editor. (Man, I have started to evaluate each submissions. I guess I'm feeling judgmental).
But I will tackle a swing at it -- we cover Virginia Tech because we know a lot of readers who live in the D.C. area are very interested in the Hokies. I am pretty sure not many readers in the D.C. area are clamoring for Oak Hill coverage ...
Waynesboro, Va.: How did Patrick Mcmahon not make at least HM at 130lbs. He beat Steve Sargent in the semis of states, won a state championship and placed fourth at national preps. Did you just miss him because he didn't go to Dematha?
Jon DeNunzio: Posting this with limited comment -- from wrestling reporter Jon Gallo (McMahon goes to Annapolis Area Christian, btw):
"The 130 pound weight class this year was arguably the toughest class we had to pick."
The reporters can't stand it sometimes, but I hold the line on the number of players we can pick in each sport. For wrestling. it was pretty much 6 at each weight class (one first team, one second team, four honorable mentions) with a few wild cards thrown in. My feeling is that **not** holding the line on the number of athletes per sport would water down the honor of making All-Met ...
Washington, D.C.: One thing I have a hard time understanding is why some selections are not able to make it to the photo session. Do you guys give the student athletes enough notice? And if someone has difficulty getting to the photo shoot, do you make arrangements to get them there?
Being selected All Met is a great honor, everyone should have a chance to get their picture in the paper. Why not publish a separate individual photo for those unable to attend?
Jon DeNunzio: I think a small number of athletes will miss the shoots no matter when we do them -- today's section has more than 100 first-team athletes and coaches. No matter when we shoot the pic, someone is gonna have an unavoidable conflict.
We have resisted rescheduling individual shots because 1) those players would essentially get equal billing with the players of the year and 2) logistically, it could really be nuts.
But trust me, I HATE when even one player can't make the shoot. I know the player and his family would love for him to be in the picture, and I'm a bit compulsive, so I want a sense of completeness ... (is that a word?)
Gaithersburg, Md.: I found it interesting that Gaithersburg, MD's, ladies basketball team had only one player, Latonya Copeland, get mentioned for the all Met teams. Gaithersburg ran through the regular season nearly unscathed and came in second in the MD state championship game. Was only one member nominated or was the rest of the second best team in Maryland considered to be mediocre?
Jon DeNunzio: Posting this w/o comment ... Gaithersburg did indeed have a solid year ...
Washington, D.C.: What happened to Keenan Crutchfield of RM? Not even honorable mention? He helped RM all the way to the end. No disrepect to Ligon, but Crutchfield placed at Counties, Region and States. What does that kid have to do to get respect? He is even ranked on Dyestat!
Jon DeNunzio: Another one ... this looks like it's about track and field.
Annandale, Va.: Have you ever recognized one of the many high school dive coaches as the coach of the year?
Jon DeNunzio: I do not believe we have in the past 5 years or so. Before than, unsure.
It's a good idea. We should keep that in mind for a year when a particular team has amazing diving ...
Anonymous: I have a great concern that no one from the DCIAA made the All-Met team. Cardozo senior antonio cooper took his team to the City Title 3times in a row he did not get 1st team all met.
Jon DeNunzio: This is about boys' basketball ... one small comment -- no one from the DCIAA made the first team (10 players). There were players (Cooper being one of them) who made second team thru honorable mention.
I say it a lot, but it's true -- making second team is no shame. That means you were in the top 15 basketball players in the D.C. area ... if you do the math (280-plus schools, 12 players per team), that's VERY impressive. A lot of good players don't even make honorable mention, for that matter ...
McLean, Va.: I know at least one All Met selection who missed the photo shot because the coach did not inform the child they had made the All Met team.
Jon DeNunzio: I hope this is not true. I'd really be upset.
If it is, please email me with details at denunzioj (at) washpost.com.
Washington, D.C.: Why weren't Kevin Durant or Monica Wright put under the All American Area? Kevin Durant was the MVP of the game. Why is Katrina Wheeler on the Girls Second Team when she is already at Georgetown University after graduating in 2005? Where is Dajuan Summers he is one of the top players in the country but does not make All Met?? But besides that the All Met basketball selections were good ones.
Jon DeNunzio: This looks like it is a glitch on the website. They'll get it fixed right away. If you pick up the paper, you'll see those issues you mention are not a problem in print.
Dajuan Summers -- not eligible for All-Met He goes to McDonogh in Baltimore.
Bethesda, Md.: Whitman did extremely well this year in the all-Met selections, especially for a school not known for its athletics. Do you think having a new principal shook up the sports side of things, or is it just a coincidence?
Jon DeNunzio: Hmmm ... I do not know the answer to that one. Maybe there's a story there ...
Vienna, Va.: I have not had a chance to look at the print version at home, but when I looked online, it appeared to me that Fairfax County was grossly underrepresented. While my children go to Madison (but do not play), which had great seasons in basketball and swimming, I don't see quality players we saw this season from Oakton, Fairfax, South Lakes, for example.
Jon DeNunzio: Well, this is a question I am very equipped to answer this year. Because we zoned the section by county, I made a list of all the athletes who made an All-Met team this winter (and the coaches of the year) and sorted it by county. Fairfax County had the MOST selections of any area jurisdiction -- 28 kids/coaches.
Vienna, Va.: For crying out loud, just tell these people the truth.
The reason a kid doesn't get selected to an All-Met team is because s/he egged your houses last Halloween. Although that one kid had quite the arm. Maybe a spring All-Met in baseball?
Jon DeNunzio: Hahahahaha. How did you know?
I also keep players off if their first name is "Karl." "Carl" is ok, though ...
Arlington, Va.: Diving and swimming have nothing to do with each and shouldn't be considered the same team. Diving coaches should be honored separately.
Jon DeNunzio: Well, not sure I agree. Officially, we consider it the All-Met swimming and diving team. And divers score points for swim teams in the meets, right?
Bethesda, Md.: My comment about freestyler All-Mets wasn't directed to be negative to you, Jon, but more towards the person who posted the question. I was just trying to save you the trouble...sarcasm is tough to read sometimes.
Jon DeNunzio: Ok, cool. Thanks :)
Bethesda, Md.: I found it refreshing that the ALL-MET section was not merely a tribute to Basketball, as it has seemed previously. It feels that all sports were viewed more equitably this year. Nice!
Jon DeNunzio: Thanks for the kind words.
Takoma Park, Md.: Is there a quantifiable definition to critical mass or is it something that you know when it gets there?
Jon DeNunzio: I'd guess the low end of critical mass would start between 50 and 75 schools ... just a guess.
Track All Met: It appears there are no All Met's for discus or shot ? Reason is ???
Jon DeNunzio: We do not do All-Met track by event. We instead try to pick the 14 best athletes (based on the criteria mentioned above), so some years no shot-putter or discus-thrower will make it. Other years, no high jumper or 1,000-meter runner may make it. Know what I mean?
Washington, D.C.: Are any "adjustments" or additions made after the fact? I know you said you won't comment on why someone was left off, but Zak Adomanis of Progressive Christian was a state champ in wrestling, and finished 3rd in National Preps. I believe he beat Jobe (1st team) last year, and pinned Hutton from Largo (HM) multiple times.
Jon DeNunzio: I can comment a little on Zak -- our reporters have talked to coaches at Bowie (his school before this year), and they confirmed that he wrestled four years at Bowie. The Post does not consider athletes for All-Met honors if they are not public-school eligible.
Washington, D.C.: I like the concept of having each player of the year on the cover. Will you continue that this spring?
Jon DeNunzio: Thanks. It has not been decided yet, but if we keep getting good feedback, we may just do that ...
Spring is a bigger issue, though ... we may have more than 13 Players of the Year, and olny 13 zones to put them in. We'll see ...
Arlington, Va.: How did Bannister for wrestling - 103 only get Honorable Mention? He should have been 1st team or 2nd team. He is ranked higher then Eloshway.
Jon DeNunzio: Posting w/o comment ...
Virginia: Why does the Post's HS sports Web pages still have winter sports (basketball) stats and schedules only? This is April and all winter sport seasons are complete?
Where can the results of ALL spring sports' weekly games be found?
washingtonpost.com: Thank you for your question. We are currently working to update this section.
Jon DeNunzio: Yes -- we are working to get some of this straightened out. Spring sports schedules may be a little harder -- there are so many sports, and when the rain comes, everything gets thrown out the window ...
Rockville, Md.: With Kelvin Sampson leaving Oklahoma and Herb Sendek leaving NC State, I would assume Scottie Reynolds and Chris Wright are reconsidering their decisions to attend these schools. What do you know? I've heard Wright got 6 phone calls from different schools immediately following the announcement of Sendek's departure.
Jon DeNunzio: It has been reported that Wright de-committed from State. Reynolds seems to be weighing his options (What if the new coach at Oklahoma is to his liking? Might be worth staying.)
Bethesda, Md.: Alex Anderson breaks Olympian and former world record holder Tom Dolan's Virginia State Record in the 500 freestyle and doesn't make First-Team All Met? Seems a little hard to justify. Wasn't Anderson First-Team two years ago, as well?
Jon DeNunzio: Posting w/o comment
Gaithersburg, Md.: I know half your questions will be why one person or team was recognized and another not. How does team performance impact your selection of all met? Gaithersburg High School girls basketball made it to the 4A state finals and competed well against a bigger stronger Roosevelt Team yet no one made all met.
Jon DeNunzio: Team performance does play into it -- in many sports, a good player will lift his or her team to a higher level.
Washington, D.C.: I am the parent of India Bradford. India Attends Carroll High in Washington, DC. She was informed that she was informed by her coach that she was nominated as Third Team by the WCAC conference coaches. Could you tell me, why she is not listed. Is it a different way you do this, because Last year, she was nominated for Honorable Mention and she was not mentioned in the post. Please explain why she was not listed and was told by her coach and also announced in her school both times that she was ranked. I also see players that are listed, have gone on to college What is really going on. Please explain this to me, because this is not fair.
Jon DeNunzio: Two things ...
1) I'm not sure what coaches are telling you, but their nominations for All-Met teams are important -- but not locks to get a player on the team. Maybe you;re confusing third-team All-Met and third-team all-WCAC?
2) Glitches in online list are being taken care of ...
Fairfax, Va.: Hard to understand how two Virginia AAA State Champions in wrestling (Billy-103lbs and Garofalo-112lbs) were relegated to second team seeing how some weights had two wrestlers on the All-Met team. This was the first time in over 15 years that a wrestler from NOVA won the championship -103lbs; and the first time in memory that NOVA wrestlers won the first two weight classes that have been traditionally won by Eastern (Tidewater) region wrestlers.
Jon DeNunzio: Wrestling (like all the sports) was very competitive for the first-team picks. We only give 16 wrestlers first-team All-Met honors -- one per weight class plus a Wrestler of the Year and one "wild card." Many great athletes, like those you mention, end up on second team or honorable mention.
Jon DeNunzio: Ok, folks, I'm over time. Thanks for all the great questions. Sorry I could not get to all of them.
If you have questions or concerns, you can always reach me at denunzioj(at)washpost.com.
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.
| 106.439024 | 0.609756 | 0.756098 |
high
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/05/AR2006040501956.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006040819id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/05/AR2006040501956.html
|
Our Pious Babylon
|
2006040819
|
Let us not think that Tom DeLay's decision not to seek reelection was prompted by merely temporal concerns. The Rev. Rick Scarborough, DeLay's sometime pastor, told the New York Times that The Hammer confided in him last Saturday that "God wanted him to get out of that race."
DeLay's apparently is the most obliging of Lords. He stuck with the embattled incumbent long enough for DeLay to give a "Texas whuppin' " to those infidels who ran against him in the Republican primary, only to counsel withdrawal when the polling made clear that a Democrat could still beat The Hammer in the fall.
The broader question is whether such a deity still rules in Washington. As gods go, He was surely more ethically flexible than most. Lesser gods might frown upon bribery, fraud, greed and the abrogation of the democratic process, but this one was willing to overlook such trifles if they strengthened the Republicans' hold on the House and were performed in a spirit of piety.
The latest in the litany of outrageous acts by pious men was revealed in Tuesday's Los Angeles Times, where reporters Tom Hamburger and Ken Silverstein documented the efforts of lobbyist Jack Abramoff to sell his services to the Sudanese government in 2001. Quoting both the Sudanese ambassador and an unidentified former Abramoff associate, they recount how Abramoff offered to improve the image of the quasi-genocidal regime among Christian evangelicals in return for a retainer of $16 million to $18 million. An Abramoff spokesman rebutted the account, insisting that Abramoff merely told the ambassador of his objections to the Sudanese government's war on its Christian population. But the very setting of this encounter -- Abramoff's skybox at FedEx Field during a Redskins game -- casts some doubt on the spokesman's account.
"This persecution has got to stop and -- say, check out that second cheerleader from the right!"
Is it even possible, in the age of DeLay and Karl Rove and the K Street Project, to satirize Washington? Doesn't reality outrun apprehension here and exceed the satirical imagination? A fine new comic film, "Thank You for Smoking," written and directed by Jason Reitman from a novel by Christopher Buckley, is putting this question to the happiest of tests in theaters this month. In the spirit of the immortal Billy Wilder, the picture recounts the exploits of a bright young spinmeister for the tobacco industry whose modus operandi is to besmirch tobacco's critics and hire scientists to blow smoke around all actual data. His only two friends are lobbyists for the gun and alcohol industries; they lunch regularly and call themselves the MOD Squad -- MOD being an acronym for Merchants of Death.
But even the MOD Squad is a pale imitation of the reality of the Beltway's most outrageous advocate, who goes by the name of Rick Berman. In recent months Berman has been in the news for placing full-page ads in major newspapers (funding sources unidentified) that gently compare America's union leaders to Fidel Castro and like authoritarians. The unionists' sin, Berman argues, is their support for allowing workers to join unions simply by signing affiliation cards rather than subjecting themselves to a National Labor Relations Act election process in which pro-union workers are frequently fired.
But Berman's salvos against unions are just the latest in a line of attacks he's leveled against drunk-driving laws, anti- smoking statutes, food safety ordinances and minimum-wage standards. He is, broadly speaking, the lobbyist for the Hobbesian state of nature.
Working chiefly under the aegis of his Center for Consumer Freedom, Berman has accused Mothers Against Drunk Driving and kindred groups (in the words of one of his Web sites) of "junk science, intimidation tactics, and even threats of violence to push their radical agenda." Another Berman Web site was devoted to dismissing the dangers of mercury levels in fish.
Berman's center was jump-started in 1995 with money from Philip Morris, and, thanks to memos that were made public in the discovery process during the lawsuits against Big Tobacco, his strategic vision is now plain for all to see. "The concept," he wrote Philip Morris at the time, "is to unite the restaurant and hospitality industries in a campaign to defend their consumers and marketing programs against attacks from anti-smoking, anti-drinking, anti-meat, etc. activists." The industries apparently have appreciated Berman's work. According to the Center for Media and Democracy, a former Berman associate has produced documents showing that Coca-Cola, Wendy's, Tyson Foods, Cargill and Outback Steakhouse are among Berman's largest donors.
The law may have hauled Abramoff off the stage, and DeLay may be huddling with his counsel and his Creator to plan his next move. But Rick Berman rolls merrily along, an inexhaustible source of material for the Reitmans, Buckleys and all who aspire to chronicle our depravities.
|
The law may have hauled Jack Abramoff off the stage. But Rick Berman rolls merrily along, an inexhaustible source of material for chronicles of our depravities.
| 32.586207 | 0.965517 | 8.413793 |
medium
|
high
|
extractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/06/AR2006040600818.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006040819id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/06/AR2006040600818.html
|
Horror Takes the Stand At the Moussaoui Trial
|
2006040819
|
Tamar Rosbrook tried her best to remain stoic yesterday as the television monitors showed person after person jumping from the World Trade Center and aiming for an awning in the plaza below.
She tried to narrate the video she shot Sept. 11, 2001, so the jury could understand what happened that day. But as prosecutors pointed out the body parts and the people on fire, she -- and many of those in the courtroom -- lost it. The sobs were uncontrollable and contagious.
This was the day prosecutors had promised since the first day of the death penalty trial of al-Qaeda conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui. The day when the horror of Sept. 11 was the government's main witness.
The testimony of Rosbrook, who was staying at a hotel near the twin towers that day, was the emotional peak of an emotional day. A day on which jurors saw people choosing to jump to their deaths rather than stay inside the trade center. Witness after witness -- children who lost their parents, police officers who lost their partners and a mayor who was worried he'd lost his city -- spoke of the jumping, the desperation.
"That was a man on fire as he fell through the canopy. Those are the remains of his body," Rosbrook testified in U.S. District Court in Alexandria.
A former New York City firefighter spoke of seeing his close friend die after he was hit by a falling person -- and he spoke of the body parts he saw on the streets as the towers were aflame. A New York City police officer broke down as he remembered his wife, also a police officer, who died evacuating people from the burning buildings.
Jurors even heard from the most famous New Yorker of all, former mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani, who turned heads as he strode into the courtroom but offered the same heart-rending testimony as everyone else, recalling how he ran for his life as debris rained down around him.
"It was the worst experience of my life," Giuliani told the rapt jurors as he testified next to a scale model of the towers. "It meant the loss of friends I can't possibly replace. . . . Every day, I think about it; every day, a part of it comes back to me. It can be the people jumping, the body parts, seeing a little boy or girl at a funeral."
Through it all, family members of Sept. 11 victims remained mostly stoic as they sat in court, wiping away an occasional tear or silently shaking their heads. A member of Moussaoui's defense team had tears in her eyes. A court clerk placed several boxes of tissues in the jury box during a break in the proceedings.
Moussaoui, the only person convicted in the United States on charges stemming from Sept. 11, had a different reaction. If he wasn't looking bored or glancing at the clock, he was smiling -- especially when prosecutors played more than 10 video clips that showed the hijacked planes hitting the towers and the buildings burning and crashing to the ground.
And when his attorney offered condolences to Giuliani for "the many losses you have suffered," Moussaoui furiously shook his head.
Moussaoui, 37, pleaded guilty last year to conspiring with al-Qaeda in the attacks on the trade center and the Pentagon. After a three-week sentencing trial, jurors on Monday found him eligible for the death penalty. The same 12 jurors returned to court yesterday to start the final phase of the sentencing trial, after which they will vote on whether Moussaoui should be put to death.
|
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.
| 16.428571 | 0.380952 | 0.47619 |
medium
|
low
|
abstractive
|
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/06/AR2006040600843.html
|
https://web.archive.org/web/2006040819id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/06/AR2006040600843.html
|
Skilling Never Meddled in Enron Earning Reports, Witness Says
|
2006040819
|
HOUSTON, April 6 -- Prosecutors in the government fraud case against top Enron executives worked to undermine the credibility of a defense witness who said the collapsed energy giant's books were clean.
Former Enron general counsel James Derrick spent the entire day on the witness stand, mostly testifying for the defense, which tried to use Derrick to show that former chief executive Jeffrey K. Skilling never meddled with the company's books to hide growing losses from 1999 to 2001, as the government alleges.
Skilling, who faces 28 counts of fraud, has maintained his innocence, saying Enron's collapse was caused by a failure of investor confidence leading to a "run on the bank." He was expected to take the stand in his defense this week, in one of the most anticipated moments of this 10-week trial, but remained at the defense table through the week.
After the proceedings adjourned for the weekend, Skilling's lawyer, Daniel Petrocelli, promised his client would take the stand Monday. He expects testimony to take a week.
Asked about the delay in his testimony, Skilling replied: "It's been five years. I think it can wait another weekend."
Early in the day, under defense questioning, Derrick testified that Enron earnings reports contained no "false or misleading" information.
But later, government prosecutor John C. Hueston took over and asked Derrick if his expertise on the earnings reports was limited to matters of litigation. Derrick said it was. Hueston followed by asking: "If there were misleading statements, you wouldn't have a basis for knowing that if they were outside of litigation, right?"
"I think that is a fair statement," Derrick said.
Hueston went on to ask if Derrick knew the reasoning behind Arthur Andersen's refusal to approve an audit of an Enron earnings report because the accountants thought the company had improperly booked a deal.
Derrick said he could not remember the reasons why Andersen had refused to sign the audit.
Hueston also hammered Derrick on his handling of an investigation launched to look into accounting concerns raised by Enron whistleblower Sherron Watkins. Derrick chose Houston law firm Vinson & Elkins -- Enron's primary outside counsel -- to run the probe.
Derrick said no other law firm knew Enron and its personnel adequately to complete the probe swiftly, saying it would take another firm months or longer to simply learn the complex company.
|
HOUSTON, April 6 -- Prosecutors in the government fraud case against top Enron executives worked to undermine the credibility of a defense witness who said the collapsed energy giant's books were clean.
| 13.2 | 1 | 35 |
low
|
high
|
extractive
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.