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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/20/AR2005092000134.html
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https://web.archive.org/web/2005092119id_/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/20/AR2005092000134.html
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The Quarterback of Old
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IRVING, Tex. -- For 56 minutes in the heat of Texas Stadium, Mark Brunell did nothing to suggest he should be taken seriously as a starting quarterback for a team of consequence. He overthrew open receivers. He underthrew open receivers. He couldn't get out of the way of a hellish Dallas pass rush. He looked old, in over his head, nowhere near as effective as one of his mid-thirties peers, Drew Bledsoe of the Cowboys.
And then out of desperation, in a 1-minute 11-second span, Brunell looked like a quarterback who might matter once again, and at the same time made his head coach look brilliant once again. The 39-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss might have looked a little lucky against a Cowboys secondary that grew a little full of itself after pitching 8 1/3 innings of scoreless ball. But the second touchdown throw, that 70-yarder to Moss with 2:35 to play, was a thing of beauty, a pass with such a tight spiral and perfect arc that the rust of three years fell to the turf as the ball landed in Moss's hands.
Suddenly, the Redskins are 2-0. Suddenly, and without warning, they seem to have found an answer, at least for now, to their quarterback dilemma. Suddenly, when it was least expected, the Redskins took the Cowboys' hands from around their throats.
It was the kind of stunning turnaround that made Cowboys vs. Redskins the NFL's best rivalry in years gone by, must-see TV on "Monday Night Football."
It might not make up for Clint Longley on Thanksgiving day, but it was "Masterpiece Theatre" for those who didn't turn away from a 13-0 Cowboys shutout to get a little shut eye. And, clearly, it was a nice new chapter for the Redskins after losing 14 of 15 to the Cowboys overall, and nine straight in Big D. It also sends the Redskins into a bye week dreaming big dreams. Anything is possible when you have a quarterback who can throw it deep, right? We haven't seen a quarterback in burgundy and gold throw it that deep and that accurately since Mark Rypien back in, what, 1991?
Who knows if it's a mirage, if that's all Brunell has in the tank, a sweet sort of encore but really nothing more. We'll have to wait nearly two weeks, until Seattle comes to town, to find out what we're dealing with here, a renaissance or a one-week hit.
Brunell was the primary story Monday night for the Redskins. The team knows it has a potentially great defense, at the very least a stout line and adequate receivers, running backs who have more than enough speed, power and explosiveness. What the coaches didn't know, until the final three minutes of the game, was what they had at quarterback, beyond great uncertainty. From what we saw of Brunell against the Cowboys through 56 minutes, that uncertainty could have become fear. And by benching Patrick Ramsey and going to Brunell after only three series in Week 1, Joe Gibbs went back on his own word in less than one half and gambled on a 35-year-old quarterback whom virtually nobody in the NFL (except Gibbs) believed can play anymore.
But Gibbs's faith in Brunell seemed justified Monday night. After quite a few bad throws and five-yard flips that count for completions but nothing more, Brunell started to catch fire late -- very late. He had that great running-right, throwing-right pass that resulted in a 41-yard gain to Moss that served as a flashback to his glory days in Jacksonville, when he led the Jaguars to two AFC championship games. And on third and 27, after being thrown to the ground like a rag doll by the Cowboys' Roy Williams, Brunell dashed 25 yards and gave up his body to try and make a first down with his team down two scores late. Nobody ever said Brunell's spirit isn't willing; it just wasn't very wise after what we saw from him last season to presume he could find his old form.
The book for opponents on the Redskins' quarterbacks is pretty simple: Don't let them beat you. They're not good enough. The Bears knew they could rattle Ramsey, and did. The Cowboys knew they could punish Brunell, and did. It's a whole lot for a team to overcome when your quarterback play is more likely to be a detriment than an asset. It didn't seem there would be any heroics when Brunell was intercepted by Cowboys cornerback Terence Newman, which led to Dallas's first score.
It looked like this game was headed for a familiar headline: Offense Betrays Great Defense Once Again.
It's too much to ask the defense to pitch a shutout every week. You don't shut out the Raiders, the Chiefs, the Chargers, the Broncos, the Eagles, the new high-scoring Giants, or, for that matter, the Seahawks. Through one game and 56 minutes, Gregg Williams and his D got less support than Roger Clemens. They were on the field too long. They started in poor field position too often. You wouldn't want to blame the quarterback for all those false-start and holding penalties, but it was fair to wonder, with four minutes to play, if ineptitude at quarterback was breeding a lack of confidence, even among the good players.
Once again, the defensive players, whether they'll say so publicly or not, were prepared to be in a Texas standoff. The defense, at least, teed off on the Cowboys every chance it got. Marcus Washington, Shawn Springs, Walt Harris, Lemar Marshall . . . there were probably a half-dozen or so Redskins on defense who have every reason to puff out their chests when coaches review the game tapes. It looked like the Redskins were wasting another great defensive performance, like they were heading into the bye week having to explain the quarterback dilemma for nearly two weeks. It was starting to look like Gibbs had made a very, very bad decision regarding the most important position on his team, really the most important position in sports.
And then, with two throws, Brunell changed it, changed the conversation about what Gibbs had done to Ramsey, changed perhaps what the Redskins feel about themselves and what they see on the horizon. Now, let's see if he can pass the test all worthy quarterbacks have to pass . . . and do it repeatedly.
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IRVING, Tex. -- For 56 minutes in the heat of Texas Stadium, Mark Brunell did nothing to suggest he should be taken seriously as a starting quarterback for a team of consequence. He overthrew open receivers. He underthrew open receivers. He couldn't get out of the way of a hellish Dallas pass rush....
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A Long-Lasting Taste
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My son is 18 years old and has rooted fanatically for the Redskins since he was a boy. He has Redskins stickers on his truck and sundry regalia. He jumps with joy or despair every week. I've never figured out why. By the time he understood football, Joe Gibbs and all his trophies were long gone from Washington. All he had was annual disappointment and Daniel Snyder.
At least my father had years of Sammy Baugh. In youth, I had Sonny Jurgensen and George Allen. So, like millions of Washingtonians for generations, we had our reasons for burgundy and gold feelings. We'd been to the mountaintop at an impressionable age. My son just took his Redskins heritage on blind faith.
Now, though it's just one victory in the second game of a season that may end up in any fashion the football fates choose, my son has one nearly unbelievable national-TV Gibbs-over-Parcells, Redskins-over-Cowboys miracle victory on which to hang his hat.
Never fear, the Redskins-Cowboys rivalry is back. So is the twice-annual mayhem between those two geriatric coaches, Joe Gibbs and Bill Parcells. After losing 14 of their last 15 meetings with Dallas, the Redskins finally prevailed, 14-13, on Monday night. And they did it in a way so stunning that, conceivably, the mythology surrounding this game may surpass in memory all of those 14 losses.
This one was payback for Patrick Crayton's 39-yard touchdown reception with 30 seconds to play here last December to give the Cowboys a 13-10 victory over the Redskins. This one, for those for even longer memories, was payback for Clint Longley's silly bomb to beat the Redskins on Thanksgiving day. I still remember my late father's grief-stricken look that day: the rotten, lucky, undeserving Cowboys, always heaving some brainless bomb when they should be beaten. And having somebody catch it.
So, let Dallas and Parcells chew on this one for a few decades, because the taste of this defeat will stay in Dallas mouths for many a year. Washington didn't strike once for a long incredibly unlikely scoring strike, like the last-minute Crayton and Longley plays. No, the Redskins' Mark Brunell -- the reviled, the mocked, the benched and forgotten Brunell -- unleashed two long, arching and absolutely in-stride scoring strikes of 39 and 70 yards to new Redskin Santana Moss with 3 minutes 46 seconds left and 2:35 left in the fourth quarter to turn a 13-0 deficit into a one-point victory.
Then, to make this smash-mouth win perfect, at least in Washington eyes, the Cowboys got the ball back twice. Fair play, right? And Gregg Williams's defense stopped them twice.
The first Redskins touchdown pass, just to make the gall even more bitter for the Cowboys, came on a desperate fourth-and-15 heave as Brunell, flushed out of the pocket as he had been much of the night, threw on the run and hit Moss near the Dallas goal line.
The second score was even more unexpected, if such was possible. For three quarters, the Cowboys held the Redskins to 160 yards of offense. All the same images of futility that dogged the Redskins throughout the first 17 games of Gibbs's return to coaching were evident again. For months, the Redskins had said that they wanted to get the ball downfield. Yet the only time they seemed able to do it was when they punted.
However, on first down from their 30-yard line, the Redskins went for the long ball with Moss beating the Cowboys' best safety, hard-hitting Roy Williams, as well as cornerback Terence Newman.
At game's end, Gibbs's face was beaming with joy, a sight seldom seen for regular season games in his Hall of Fame heyday. Parcells seemed blanched as he walked toward midfield, while Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wandered around the field as if lost. Why, this was the night the Cowboys had devoted halftime to inducting Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin and Emmitt Smith into their sacred Ring of Honor. How dare the Redskins spoil it?
What made this Redskins victory so special, so redemptive for Gibbs's entire Second Coming Agenda, was that -- until those Brunell-to-Moss lightning bolts -- this game had looked like a confirmation that Gibbs's offensive system was moribund, an anachronism. With four minutes to play, the Redskins were not only scoreless but had not come remotely close to threatening the Dallas goal line. Anyone who wanted to ask, "Does Gibbs's offensive system still work?" had tons of ammunition. As for the switch to Brunell from Patrick Ramsey, how could that be called a success either? No points is no points.
Finally, however, with his 76-yard scoring drive and his 70-yard scoring strike, Brunell underlined one of the primary reasons that Gibbs kept faith in him: his athletic ability to make scrambling spectacular plays.
Ever since Gibbs returned, Washington has awaited a night like this when a season began 2-0 and the Cowboys were beaten in Dallas. Last year, such a thing seemed remote. In this preseason, as both Brunell and Ramsey struggled, it seemed that this, also, might not be the Redskins' year.
One victory is far too little to construct playoff hopes upon. But teams require inspiration to fuel them. And 64-year-old legendary coaches, when they come out of retirement, need new miracles to convince another generation that both their charisma and their methodology still have permanent power.
After a bye week, the Redskins face testing games against Seattle, Denver and Kansas City. However, when they face such battles now, they will have the fresh memory of a victory as improbable as any in the entire Redskins-Cowboys rivalry.
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IRVING, Tex. My son is 18 years old and has rooted fanatically for the Redskins since he was a boy. He has Redskins stickers on his truck and sundry regalia. He jumps with joy or despair every week. I've never figured out why. By the time he understood football, Joe Gibbs and all his trophies were...
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Immigration Nominee's Credentials Questioned
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The Bush administration is seeking to appoint a lawyer with little immigration or customs experience to head the troubled law enforcement agency that handles those issues, prompting sharp criticism from some employee groups, immigration advocates and homeland security experts.
The push to appoint Julie Myers to head the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security, comes in the midst of intense debate over the qualifications of department political appointees involved in the sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina.
Concerns over Myers, 36, were acute enough at a Senate hearing last week that lawmakers asked the nominee to detail during her testimony her postings and to account for her management experience. Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) went so far as to tell Myers that her résumé indicates she is not qualified for the job.
But Voinovich has since met with Myers and is now likely to support her, his spokeswoman said yesterday. Myers, who has attracted strong support from many former colleagues, told senators that she would draw upon the experiences of ICE veterans in running the agency.
"I realize that I'm not 80 years old," Myers testified. "I have a few gray hairs, more coming, but I will seek to work with those who are knowledgeable in this area, who know more than I do."
After working as a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, N.Y., for two years, Myers held a variety of jobs over the past four years at the White House and at the departments of Commerce, Justice and Treasury, though none involved managing a large bureaucracy. Myers worked briefly as chief of staff to Michael Chertoff when he led the Justice Department's criminal division before he became Homeland Security secretary.
Myers also was an associate under independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr for about 16 months and has most recently served as a special assistant to President Bush handling personnel issues.
Her uncle is Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, the departing chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She married Chertoff's current chief of staff, John F. Wood, on Saturday.
In written answers to questions from Congress, Myers highlighted her year-long job as assistant secretary for export enforcement at Commerce, where she said she supervised 170 employees and a $25 million budget. ICE has more than 20,000 employees and a budget of approximately $4 billion. Its personnel investigate immigrant, drug and weapon smuggling, and illegal exports, among other responsibilities.
Myers was on her honeymoon and was not available to comment yesterday. Erin Healy, a White House spokeswoman, cited Myers's work with customs agents on money-laundering and drug-smuggling cases. "She's well-known and respected throughout the law enforcement community," Healy said. "She has a proven track record as an effective manager."
ICE was created from remnants of the former immigration and customs services. It is widely viewed as one of the most troubled parts of the sprawling Department of Homeland Security.
Homeland Security political appointees have come under scrutiny since Michael D. Brown resigned under fire this month as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which he joined with no experience in disaster preparedness. Several other senior FEMA officials were Bush supporters who did not have crisis-management credentials.
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The push to appoint Julie Myers to head the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency comes in the midst of intense debate over the qualifications of department political appointees involved in the sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina.
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Bush Official Arrested in Corruption Probe
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The Bush administration's top federal procurement official resigned Friday and was arrested yesterday, accused of lying and obstructing a criminal investigation into Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff's dealings with the federal government. It was the first criminal complaint filed against a government official in the ongoing corruption probe related to Abramoff's activities in Washington.
The complaint, filed by the FBI, alleges that David H. Safavian, 38, a White House procurement official involved until last week in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, made repeated false statements to government officials and investigators about a golf trip with Abramoff to Scotland in 2002.
It also contends that he concealed his efforts to help Abramoff acquire control of two federally managed properties in the Washington area. Abramoff is the person identified as "Lobbyist A" in a 13-page affidavit unsealed in court, according to sources knowledgeable about the probe.
Until his resignation on the day the criminal complaint against him was signed, Safavian was the top administrator at the federal procurement office in the White House Office of Management and Budget, where he set purchasing policy for the entire government.
The arrest occurred at his home in Alexandria. A man who answered the phone there yesterday hung up when a reporter asked to speak to Safavian.
Abramoff was indicted by federal prosecutors in Miami last month on unrelated charges of wire fraud and conspiracy. He remains the linchpin of an 18-month probe by a federal task force that includes the Internal Revenue Service, the Interior Department and the Justice Department's fraud and public integrity units. His lawyer did not respond to phone calls seeking comment.
Abramoff's allegedly improper dealings with Indian tribes -- which netted him and an associate at least $82 million in fees -- prompted the federal probe. But investigators have found that his documents and e-mails contain a trove of information about his aggressive efforts to seek favors for clients from members of Congress and senior bureaucrats.
Accompanying Safavian and Abramoff on the 2002 trip to Scotland, for example, were Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Administration Committee, lobbyist and former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed and Neil Volz, a lobbyist with Abramoff at the Washington office of Greenburg Traurig.
Like Abramoff, Safavian is a veteran Washington player. He is a former lobbying partner of anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist and previously worked with Abramoff at another firm. Both he and Abramoff have represented gambling clients and Indian tribes with gambling interests.
At the time of the golf trip, Safavian was chief of staff at the General Services Administration, where ethics rules flatly prohibited the receipt of a gift from any person seeking an official action by the agency. When Safavian asked GSA ethics officers for permission to go on the trip, he assured them in writing that Abramoff "has no business before GSA," according to the affidavit signed by FBI special agent Jeffrey A. Reising.
Reising alleged, however, that Abramoff had by then already secretly enlisted Safavian in an effort to buy 40 acres of land that GSA managed in Silver Spring for use as the campus of a Hebrew school Abramoff founded. Safavian also allegedly tried to help Abramoff lease space for Abramoff's clients in an old post office building downtown.
On July 22, 2002, Abramoff sent Safavian an e-mail with a proposed draft letter that "at least two members of Congress" could send to GSA supporting the lease, according to the affidavit. "Does this work, or do you want it to be longer?" Abramoff asked.
Three days later, Safavian forwarded Abramoff an e-mail describing how an employee at OMB was resisting Abramoff's plan to lease space at the post office. "I suspect we'll end up having to bring some Hill pressure to bear on OMB," Safavian messaged Abramoff.
On the same day Safavian discussed the golf trip with the ethics office, he sent an e-mail to Abramoff from his home computer, advising him how to "lay out a case for this lease." Abramoff subsequently wrote in an e-mail to his wife and two officials of the school that Safavian had shown him a map of the property at his GSA office but had cautioned that Abramoff should not visit again "given my high profile politically."
Safavian nonetheless arranged a meeting for Abramoff's wife and business partner with officials at GSA on the day before he departed for Scotland aboard Abramoff's chartered jet. The trip cost more than $120,000 and was paid for mostly by a charity founded and run by Abramoff, the Capital Athletic Foundation.
When Safavian was questioned by The Washington Post about the trip in January, he said he paid his share of the expenses and took unpaid leave. "The trip was exclusively personal; I did no business there. . . . Jack is an old friend of mine," Safavian said.
But the complaint alleges that Safavian lied about his contacts with Abramoff on three occasions after his initial false pledge to the GSA ethics officer. The first was during a 2003 investigation by GSA's inspector general, who was responding to an anonymous tipster's hotline complaint; the second was in a March 17, 2005, letter to the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs; and the third was during an FBI interview on May 26, 2005.
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The Bush administration's top federal procurement official resigned Friday and was arrested Monday, accused of lying and obstructing a criminal investigation into Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff's dealings with the federal government.
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Embassy Aide Among 9 Americans Killed in Insurgent Attacks in Iraq
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BAGHDAD, Sept. 20 -- Nine Americans were killed in insurgent attacks across Iraq in the last two days, military and diplomatic sources said Tuesday. The dead included an embassy official and three security contractors killed Monday morning in a suicide car bombing in the northern city of Mosul.
Witnesses in Mosul said a lone driver smashed his red sedan into the second vehicle in a convoy of three sport-utility vehicles, triggering a fiery explosion. Security forces immediately cordoned the area and administered first aid, but the contractors and an assistant regional security officer, Stephen Eric Sullivan, had died instantly, according to a U.S. official in Baghdad who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Two others riding in the diplomatic convoy, which was leaving a U.S. Embassy satellite office, suffered minor injuries.
"Steve was a brave American, dedicated to his country and to a brighter future for the people of Iraq," Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in a written statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with Steve's family."
Sullivan, whose job involved coordinating security and overseeing contractors, was the third American diplomat killed since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Diplomatic security agent Edward J. Seitz died in October in a mortar attack on a U.S. base near Baghdad International Airport. The following month, James Mollen, an American special adviser to Iraq's Higher Education and Scientific Research Ministry, was shot to death near the capital's fortified Green Zone.
Also Tuesday, the U.S. military announced the deaths of four soldiers in two roadside bombings in the city of Ramadi, 60 miles west of Baghdad, and the death of another soldier whose vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb 75 miles north of the capital. The soldiers' names were not released.
According to the Pentagon, 1,902 U.S. service members, including civilian employees of the Defense Department, have been killed in Iraq since the March 2003 invasion.
The recent rash of violence against Americans came as British and Iraqi officials offered widely contrasting public accounts of the circumstances that led to clashes Monday between British soldiers and Iraqi police in Basra, Iraq's second-largest city. A British armored vehicle smashed into a police station in an attempt to force the release of two British soldiers who had been detained.
Haider Abadi, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ibrahim Jafari, called the British actions "very unfortunate" and said police had acted correctly in detaining the men, who were behaving "very suspiciously." They were wearing civilian clothes and asking for information in the streets, he said, but would not elaborate.
"We hoped they would solve this problem with the central government," Abadi said. "But the British forces decided to act individually, and the military operation to release the detainees happened the way we saw it. This is wrong, and it is not a healthy way to deal with problems."
Throughout the day, Iraqi and other Arab television stations broadcast images of the two British men, clad in dark pants and T-shirts, seated in front of a table bearing what appeared to be a large quantity of weapons and ammunition purportedly discovered in their possession. One man had scrapes and small cuts on his head and the side of his face.
Brig. John Lorimer said in a written statement that under Iraqi law, the police were required to hand over the men to coalition forces, an outcome he said he and the British consul general had sought to negotiate.
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Nine Americans were killed in insurgent attacks across Iraq in the last two days, military and diplomatic sources said Tuesday. The dead included an embassy official and three security contractors killed Monday morning in a suicide car bombing in the northern city of Mosul.
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Karzai Urges Shift in Strategy
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KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 20 -- President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday questioned the need for further international military operations within Afghanistan, while the top U.S. military commander here predicted more fighting in the weeks ahead as Taliban guerrillas continue to mount attacks and U.S.-led forces respond.
Karzai, speaking at a news conference two days after landmark parliamentary elections were held with minimal disruption, called instead for a "stronger political approach," focused on shutting down guerrilla training camps and financial support outside the country.
Although he declined to specify any locations of foreign support, aides to Karzai have previously expressed his concern that neighboring Pakistan is serving as a haven for fighters linked to the ousted Taliban regime.
The president repeated past demands that foreign troops stop searching Afghan homes without authorization from his government. He also suggested that airstrikes, which are still sporadically employed by the U.S. military and have resulted in some civilian casualties, were not effective. "The nature of the war on terrorism has changed now," Karzai said. "We do not think there is a serious terrorist challenge emanating from Afghanistan."
Among the reasons he listed was a growing sense among Afghans that they are in control of their political destiny with the adoption of a constitution in January 2004, the country's first democratic presidential election last October, and the first parliamentary elections in three decades, held Sunday.
Taliban fighters failed to follow through on a vow to derail the latest voting. However, the Taliban militia has recently reasserted itself. Hundreds of civilians, government workers, Afghan police officers and soldiers have been killed in bombings and ambushes in the south and east.
U.S. and Afghan forces have responded with an aggressive campaign to root Taliban guerrillas out of their mountain redoubts, killing hundreds, but also losing 51 U.S. troops in combat since March.
At a separate news conference Tuesday, Army Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, who commands the approximately 17,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, suggested that pattern would continue. "We can expect more fighting in the weeks ahead, as the enemy attempts to return Afghanistan to the dark days of the past in an effort to impose the will of a very few over the democratically stated choice of many," he said, according to the Reuters news agency. "We are staying on the offensive."
In Washington, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld praised Afghanistan's elections as "an amazing accomplishment." He acknowledged that lethal attacks continue, but suggested that airstrikes are a less useful tactic in the counterinsurgency campaign being waged today by U.S. and Afghan troops. "When you don't have a massed army on the ground or large puddles of enemies, then airstrikes are less effective," he said.
Eikenberry and Karzai also said the elections -- the results of which will be available next month -- were a resounding success.
Asked why turnout, estimated at 50 percent, appeared to have been so much lower than the 70 percent turnout for the presidential election, Karzai suggested that many citizens may have felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of candidates. More than 2,700 candidates competed for 249 seats in the lower house of parliament, and more than 3,000 for seats on 34 provincial councils.
The message sent by voters was "great," Karzai said. "Look at the threats, look at the bombing, look at the terrorism, and despite that, the Afghan people came out and voted."
He also dismissed concerns by rights activists that only a few dozen candidates were disqualified for links to illegal militias, though many more were former militia commanders and warlords, widely alleged to have committed war crimes.
"Our country needs stability," Karzai said, adding that "a system of participation" is important to improve national life. "Certain aspirations for us at this moment may sound like too much of a luxury. So I'm very happy with what we have."
Staff writer Ann Scott Tyson in Washington contributed to this report.
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KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 20 -- President Hamid Karzai on Tuesday questioned the need for further international military operations within Afghanistan, while the top U.S. military commander here predicted more fighting in the weeks ahead as Taliban guerrillas continue to mount attacks and U.S.-led...
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Oil Prices Spike As Storm Nears
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Oil prices soared yesterday in the largest one-day gain ever as fears mounted that a developing tropical storm could damage oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico and Texas.
U.S. benchmark crude for October delivery gained $4.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange to close at $67.39. That was the largest one-day dollar gain since oil started trading on the exchange in 1983, according to the Energy Department. The oil price closed at a record $69.81 on Aug. 30.
Futures prices for gasoline, natural gas and heating oil also rose yesterday.
The spike came as gasoline prices, which surged after Katrina, continued to fall. The national average was $2.786 a gallon for regular, down 16.9 cents from a week earlier, according to the Energy Department. The average price in the Washington area dropped under $3 for a gallon of regular, according to a AAA-sponsored survey.
The increases in futures prices of oil and gasoline reflected concerns that Tropical Storm Rita, which was strengthening off the Bahamas yesterday afternoon, could disrupt offshore oil and natural gas production and impair operations at Texas refineries that produce gasoline. Supplies already are tight because of damage from Hurricane Katrina to offshore production and Gulf Coast refineries.
The new storm "could be coming in right exactly where Katrina didn't go," said Michael Guido, director of commodity strategy in New York for French bank Societe Generale. "It could be a bad situation for all the platforms that didn't get hit before."
The price spike came as ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries were considering whether to offer additional oil to the market. Traders said a move by OPEC would have little impact on the market because refineries don't have the spare capacity to process the varieties of oil that could become available.
Oil companies yesterday were evacuating hundreds of employees from platforms in the Gulf of Mexico by helicopter and boat, a standard precaution in advance of tropical storms and hurricanes. BP, for instance, said it was in the process of evacuating half of the 1,500 workers it has on platforms in the gulf.
Analysts said that pump prices should continue to fall but that yesterday's increases on Nymex mean they would not fall as much as they would have otherwise. Wholesale prices have dropped more quickly than retail prices, which have been catching up, they said.
"You may see local street prices drift lower," said Tom Kloza, chief analyst for the Oil Price Information Service of Lakewood, N.J. "That's how far behind pump prices were in catching up to the wholesale price."
Four major Gulf Coast refineries remain idle because of Katrina, according to the Energy Department. Even before that storm, analysts had said refining capacity worldwide was struggling to meet demand.
Now analysts say they are concerned that the developing tropical storm could hit Texas, home to about 27 percent of U.S. refining capacity, according to the Energy Department.
D. Mark Routt, an analyst with Energy Security Analysis Inc. of Wakefield, Mass., said Houston is an "extremely important hub" for pipelines and other oil industry operations, adding to concern about storm damage.
Analysts said that they were concerned about damage to oil production in the gulf but that those concerns were secondary to refining.
Nearly 56 percent of daily oil production in the Gulf of Mexico remained off line yesterday because of Katrina, amounting to almost 838,000 barrels a day, according to the Minerals Management Service.
The Energy Department said yesterday that it would lend more oil from the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The department said it is releasing 600,000 barrels to Total Petrochemicals USA Inc., bringing to 13.2 million barrels the amount loaned from the reserve since Katrina.
The department previously agreed to sell 11 million barrels of crude from the reserve.
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Complete Coverage on Hurricane Katrina including video, photos and blogs. Get up-to-date news on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, news from New Orleans and more.
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Nymex's Numbers: Reality or Speculation?
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NEW YORK -- When most people think of financial markets, they think of screaming traders on the floor of the iconic New York Stock Exchange.
But since Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf, and in fact for months before that, the more important screaming has been taking place across Lower Manhattan in a nondescript office building on the banks of the Hudson River. The building is home to the New York Mercantile Exchange, the world's largest physical commodities exchange and principal trading site for futures contracts on crude oil, gasoline, natural gas and other energy products, as well as gold and other precious metals.
Increasingly, the stock and bond markets take their cues from oil prices set at the Nymex. When oil drops these days, stocks tend to rise. Nymex prices also strongly influence what consumers pay for gasoline, home heating oil and other energy products.
But with a vast influx of money from mutual funds that invest in commodities, hedge funds and quick-trading individual investors, some industry analysts question how much Nymex prices reflect the reality of supply and demand and how much they reflect speculative "hot money" chasing big returns in a generally low-return investment environment.
"The flow of money into commodities is comparable with the flow of money into mutual funds in the 1980s and 1990s," said Tom Kloza, chief analyst at the Oil Price Information Service. "It's like steroids, pumping up prices and leading people to talk about super-spikes to $100 a barrel or more."
Ten years ago, an average of 94,456 futures contracts for light, sweet crude oil (the most popular kind) traded hands each day at the Nymex. So far this year, the daily average is more than twice that, at 238,000. Daily volume in crude oil futures hit a record of 406,314 contracts on Aug. 30, in the wake of Katrina.
In 2002, the Nymex, along with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, introduced e-miNY, a half-size version of Nymex's standard 1,000-barrel oil futures contract that allows investors to get into the market at a lower cost. Targeted at speculative individual investors, e-miNY's popularity soared. Daily trading volume rose from an average of 1,110 contracts in 2003 to 12,695 so far this year. An increasing number of mutual funds follows benchmarks such as the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index.
Nymex members are feeling flush. A seat on the exchange, which confers trading rights, sold for a record $2.75 million on Aug. 17, more than triple the amount from the same time in 2000. The privately held Nymex has flirted with the idea of an initial public offering and entertained multiple joint-venture offers from high-profile private equity firms.
Traders who spend their days in the Nymex trading pits say they see a torrent of cash flooding in from speculative investors looking to capitalize on energy price momentum. But they also say the fact that oil-producing nations are pumping close to full tilt, while global energy demand continues to rise, is the key driver of high oil prices.
"Of course you see speculative spikes, but we could never get to these levels without real factors in the marketplace," said Raymond Carbone, president of Paramount Options, a Nymex floor trading firm. "That includes geopolitical events, it includes storms, and it includes the fundamentals of supply and demand."
In many ways, the Nymex appears to operate much as the NYSE, with men (and they are mostly men) in oddly colored jackets gesticulating and hurling paper at one another in a series of pits where trading takes place.
But in reality, the two markets are quite different. At the NYSE, traders exchange actual stock in public companies. At the Nymex, physical commodities almost never wind up changing hands. Instead, participants in the Nymex market simply exchange pieces of paper called futures contracts, which are promises to buy or sell a certain amount of a certain commodity by a certain time.
The Nymex began life in 1872 as the Butter and Cheese Exchange of New York, a place for dairy merchants to gather and trade products. In the late 19th century, the exchange added dried fruit, poultry and other commodities. In the 20th century, national transportation and distribution networks eliminated the need for the thousands of local commodity exchanges.
Only a few big regional players, including the Nymex, remained. They survived by adapting to the new needs of the marketplace. At the Nymex, that meant providing big buyers and sellers of energy products an opportunity to protect themselves from dramatic swings in price.
For instance, giant retail chains that use lots of heating oil might buy a block of futures to lock in a price for the oil. If the retailer's cost of heating oil from a supplier goes up, the value of the futures contracts also should rise, offsetting at least some of the retailer's higher energy costs. According to Carbone, such hedging activity still accounts for the bulk of daily trading at the exchange.
But in the past several years, as returns from stocks and bonds have languished, more speculative investors have flooded the energy market. This can be a good thing, experts say, providing liquidity and ensuring that buyers and sellers can meet at mutually agreeable prices.
But, because buyers and sellers of physical oil and gas rely on prices set at the Nymex, large amounts of speculation can artificially boost prices, leading to higher consumer costs for gasoline and home heating oil.
"Over the last five years there has been a huge move by money managers to own hard assets," said David P. Prokupek, chief executive of Geronimo Partners, a hedge fund and money management firm. "There is a substantial amount of capital in the commodities market that has nothing to do with oil production."
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Washington, DC, Virginia, Maryland business news headlines with stock portfolio and market news, economy, government/tech policy, mutual funds, personal finance. Dow Jones, S&P 500, NASDAQ quotes. Features top DC, VA, MD businesses, company research tools
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Wheelie Dealing
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The quarter-mile access road isn't quite dry when the Adrenalin Crew revs the engines.
The crowd, nearly 200 who waited out the rain, hanging around the front of Criswell Power Sports in Germantown, quickly lines both sides of the pavement.
They didn't come to see the bikes. They came to see the biker boys. A guy rides 100 feet with the back end of the cycle in the air, doing an "endo" past the crowd. Another pops a wheelie -- standing on his seat while the bike spins tight, perfectly controlled circles. A couple guys throw their feet over their windshields, then do a 360 spin. Wheee! Some just keep it simple and ride straight at 35 mph.
"Daamn! Daamn! That's awesome," yells 19-year-old spectator Justin Linck, stepping into the road to take a quick camera-phone picture.
The Adrenalin Crew is performing at Criswell's open house and eating up every minute of it. Reckless Steve burns rubber for the crowd. Greg claps his feet during his wheelie, like he's inviting the audience to applaud. Van deadpans it, just looking hard and focused.
Prowling the sideline in a black Adrenalin Crew hoodie is Kenny Kelley, 29, from Germantown. He started the Adrenalin Crew in 2001 trying to break into the movies. Now he doesn't ride so much.
"Dude, did you get it?" he asks a guy filming Reckless Steve making smoke. "That guy's gone wild. You need to be all up in his grille!"
Later Kelley starts shooting footage himself -- always working the angles.
He has a video coming out Sept. 27, "Adrenalin Crew, 100% Illegal." It's a montage of stunts, drunken antics and puerile "Jackass"-on-wheels skits. It's his first production with a big U.S. distribution deal. It's the first one that'll be for sale at Best Buy and Tower Records, and getting here has been tough.
Since the beginning, the Crew has been eight or so core guys around the country, with others showing up when they can. They split because they've got to make money and Kelley can't always pay, because they've lost their driver's license or their bike. They drop in and out while Kelley perseveres, steering, trying to hold his dream steady.
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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.
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'Desperate' Treasures
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The Desperate Housewives not only have dark secrets. They also have impeccable timing.
Two days after winning two Emmy Awards -- including a surprise victory for lead actress Felicity Huffman -- and less than a week before beginning their second season, the deliciously wicked women of Wisteria Lane make their DVD debut. Not that this attractive six-disc collection needs any promotional help from awards shows or season premieres. Hardcore fans likely will be tripping Susan Mayer-style to get their hands on a copy of "Desperate Housewives: The Complete First Season," and they won't be disappointed.
The "Desperate" DVD -- like the recent box set of "Lost," also released by Buena Vista Home Entertainment -- includes widescreen versions of the episodes from the hugely successful first season along with numerous bonus features. Those ample extras include deleted scenes, six audio commentaries, a blooper reel, several featurettes and extended versions of select episodes.
Viewers eager for juicy tidbits will be pleased by some elements of the set and disappointed by others. On the positive side, the extended episodes -- particularly the season's fourth installment with an enlightening scene involving nosy neighbor Mrs. Huber -- often shed never-before-seen light on the show's central characters. Same goes for "The Secrets of Wisteria Lane," a short documentary that peeks into a meeting among the show's writers as they discuss potential plot developments for season two. (If you hate spoilers, by all means, skip this one.)
Anyone hoping for more dirt on the alleged tension among the show's stars won't find much muck to rake. Huffman, Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross, Eva Longoria and Nicollette Sheridan separately recorded commentaries about their favorite scenes, but the women never team up for a cast commentary on a full episode, a standard on most TV DVDs. If these actresses like each other as much as they suggest -- "Her and I, no matter what the press says, get along great. Better than anybody," Hatcher says of Sheridan during one interview -- it would have been nice to see them prove it by recording an audio track together.
Admittedly, some of the extras are completely extraneous. (Was it really necessary to include an eight-minute "parody" featuring Oprah Winfrey as the new neighbor on the block?) Still, the overall quality of the set -- not to mention the meaty mystery and dark comedy of the series itself -- makes "Desperate Housewives" worth owning. Like the anal-retentive Bree, I wanted this collection to be spot-on perfect. But like the klutzy Susan, I realize it's okay if it occasionally falls on its face.
Bonus Point With the Best Dish: "Secrets of Wisteria Lane" not only eavesdrops on the writers, it also reveals other production tidbits, like what's actually behind the facades of those beautiful Wisteria Lane homes and what Hatcher was really wearing when her character, Susan, got locked out of the house naked. Hint: It was sticky. And it really must have hurt when she took it off.
Most Repetitious Bonus Point: At least once during every interview or audio track, show creator Marc Cherry mentions that the Van de Kamp family is based on his own relatives. "She has a real disconnect about how much of this is about her," Cherry says of his mother, who inspired the character Bree, during the featurette "A Stroll Down Wisteria Lane." After this DVD, that may no longer be the case.
Also New on DVD This Week: "Born Into Brothels" and "The Longest Yard."
Coming in Next Week's Bonus Points: A review of "The Outsiders: The Complete Novel."
If you have feedback about "Bonus Points" or want to suggest a DVD for review, e-mail Jen Chaney.
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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.
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Hacked Home PCs Fueling Rapid Growth in Online Fraud
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Online criminal activity of nearly every variety surged in the first half of 2005, fueled in large part by a huge increase in software security flaws and in the number of home computers being used against their owners' wishes to distribute spam, spyware and viruses, according to a new report.
The six-month period saw the discovery of a record 1,862 new software vulnerabilities, according to Cupertino, Calif.-based Symantec Corp. The company classified nearly all of those flaws as moderate to high security threats, and found that about 60 percent of them were found in Web-based applications.
Security holes in Web-based programs are especially serious threats for businesses because attackers can use them to bypass a company's perimeter security measures -- such as Internet firewalls -- or to access confidential information.
Some of the most common and dangerous vulnerabilities are found in Internet browsers. While Mozilla's Firefox browser gained popularity this year after being touted as a more secure alternative to Microsoft's nearly ubiquitous Internet Explorer browser, security researchers uncovered 25 security holes in Firefox during the first half of 2005, nearly twice the number found in IE.
But Arthur Wong, vice president for response and managed security services at Symantec, said Firefox's flaws "certainly [don't] mean it's any more vulnerable than other browsers," because Mozilla tends to issue security patches to mend problems much sooner than Microsoft does for IE.
Symantec also tracked a massive increase in the number of "denial of service" attacks. These online attacks employ thousands of "bots" -- usually personal computers that have been hacked into through known software holes so they can be remotely controlled by online criminals -- to overwhelm target Web sites with so much junk data that they can no longer accommodate legitimate visitors.
According to Symantec, denial-of-service attacks spiked from an average of 119 a day to 927 a day during the first half of 2005.
The rise is directly related to the increasing number of home-computer bots, Wong said. During the study period, the number of active bots observed each day on the hundreds of networks it monitors for customers more than doubled from 4,348 to 10,352 bot computers.
"It's more dangerous [today] than it ever has been," Wong said.
But security experts say Symantec's estimates represent but a small fraction of the global bot epidemic. The nonprofit SANS Internet Storm Center, which tracks hacking trends, sees an average of 260,000 bots each day being used to locate other vulnerable computers, said Johannes Ullrich, the center's chief technology officer.
Criminal groups increasingly are making their "botnets" available for sale or rent as distribution networks for spam, spyware and viruses that record and transmit the victim's computer keystrokes, Wong added.
"Whereas most of these bot networks once were predominantly used for [denial of service] attacks, more and more we see that them being used to propagate malicious code and spam," he said.
One form of spam known as "phishing" -- where scam artists use e-mail to lure people into entering their personal and financial data at fake bank and e-commerce Web sites -- also saw a dramatic rise this year. In six months, the volume of phishing e-mails grew from an average of about 3 million a day to about 5.7 million, according to the Symantec report.
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Online criminal activity of nearly every variety surged in the first half of 2005, fueled in large part by a huge increase in software security flaws and in the number of hacked PCs distributing spam, spyware and viruses, according to a new report.
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Virtual Gaming Economy
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As the average age of online gamers increases, many are finding themselves with less time to work their way up to higher levels, but more money in their pocket that allows them to buy a higher virtual status. On the Internet, real-world dollars can buy a virutal bazaar of items for sale that only exist as data files stored in a server run by a game company.
Washington Post staff writer Mike Musgrove was online to discuss this new virtual economy. Musgrove explored the topic in an article on Saturday and narrated a photo gallery .
Mike Musgrove: Hi-- thanks for joining, let's get started....
Edmonton, AB, Canada: What is the ratio of on-line gamers who buy gold, items, or characters, compared to those who don't? Is it 1%, 10%, 50%, or more?
Mike Musgrove: Game makers say they can't keep track of that since it mostly takes place outside their game worlds, on Ebay or via other sites, such as IGE.com.
There seems to be some feeling out there that the gaming audience is roughly divided in thirds. A third likes the practice, a third doesn't and another third doesn't care.
The economics professor I talked to said its a $200 million per year. IGE.com, the biggest player here, says it is much higher and claim that their revenues will exceed the revenues of the games that give rise to these secondary markets.
Falls Church, VA: Time IS worth something, as the gamer you quoted said. That's why some MMOG companies (Mythic) specifically allow you to sell your accounts when you're done with them, just not the items or the gold. Thus the subscription continues to count as active.
Other companies used to be violently opposed to the concept (Sony) until they learned they could take a cut of sales and started their own Ebay.
Mike Musgrove: Good point. Just posting this...
Corona, Calif.: Are there any sociological studies being done on the development of cultures, and cultural structures (such as tribes, markets and the like) in virtual worlds?
Mike Musgrove: Edward Castronova, a professor at Indiana University, has written a book on the economics of virtual worlds-- Synthetic Worlds. He has been called the "Adam Smith of EverQuest."
A journalist I talked to for the article named Julian Dibbell has a more first-person account, a book in the works coming out in the spring, called Play Money. He took a year and supported himself by playing Ultima Online.
Arlington, Va.: Did you see any correlation between games with stiff learning curves and the price of identities and/or weapons/currency, etc? Sometimes I'd love to be able to spend a couple bucks to jump a couple levels.
Mike Musgrove: That's just one of the elements that determines the relation between a game world's currency to real-world curency on this market.
Others: How hot or new is the game right now? How hard is it to get ahead and how motivated are players to get ahead? How vigilant is a game maker in knocking out players who are misbehaving or playing just to rack up gold pieces & resell them?
A year ago, you might go on Ebay and pay a couple of thousand bucks for a Jedi knight account, I'm told. But now Jedi characters are more common and another, more popular game, World of Warcraft, has come along and sucked in a kajillion players. Jedi's are less pricey these days...
Fairfax, Va.: I'm surprised this market exists with so many free cheats available online. Can't people gather these items and succeed on their own?
Mike Musgrove: Thre are shortcuts or cheats available for these games, I believe, but getting to the exciting part(s) of one of these games can still be a lot of drudge work. When players are going through the monotonous work sometimes required to build up a character, it's called "grinding" -- because it can be tedious, a grind.
Burke, Va.: I'm not sure I understand why game companies discourage this behavior. Doesn't it encourage people to begin or stay with the game, while others are dropping out?
Mike Musgrove: Game makers are kind of split. Many, like Mark Jacobs at Mythic (of Dark Age of Camelot fame) say the practice is akin to subscribing to cable and re-distributing/re-selling the signal for profit. His fear is that people will get annoyed by the practice and quit the game. Richard Garriott, the designer of a game called Ultima Online says that he doesn't have a problem with the practice, on the other hand.
Gamers who like the practice say that game makers shouldn't care as long as they keep paying their subscription. Gamers who dislike it think that it's cheating-- sort of like getting ahead in Monopoly by paying real $$ for Park Place, say, or paying somebody to run the first 20 miles of a marathon for you. Actually, let me post a comment by one player who hates the practice next...
McLean, Va.: I've read numerous articles on this subject and I don't understand why the general tone of the articles is always that this is a good thing. I play World of Warcraft and let me tell you something. People HATE these players who buy gold and other items. We also don't like people who buy "powerlevelling" services where you pay a group of people to play your character 24 hours a day until it reaches a certain level. We have no respect whatsoever for anyone who does this.
We also hate the people who sell the gold in the first place. We call them "gold farmers". Some people call them Chinese gold farmers because often it is people in China who play hours a day for very little pay to do this.
We can usually tell who's paid for their character because those people don't know how to play well. If you've spent the time to develop your character you will be a good player and people will want to group with you. If you bought your character and anyone finds out, you will be "outed" on the server and no one will want to group with you.
Mike Musgrove: Here's some good reasons why players hate the practice.
I orgot to mention one funny point. Garriott, the famous designer of Ultima Online, admitted he had bough World of Warcraft currency because he didn't have enough time to grind up...
I wish I'd talked to this guy for the article. Btw, my email addres is musgrovem (at) washpost (dot) com.
Washington, DC: In your research, did you play any of the aforementioned MMORPGs? If so, what were your experiences like? Did you ever feel the urge to spend some real life cash for some online cash, or for a higher ranked character?
Mike Musgrove: Yes, I bought 5 million Imperial credits for the Star Wars game to see how the exchange works. Will be interesting to see if the Post reimburse me for that expense. If you see a character that looks like Greedo and is named 'Rhubarb' on the Tarquinas server of Star Wars Galaxies, do say hi. Or kill me, I suppose, if you hated the story....
Vienna, VA: No game company really likes the idea of some players bypassing the game. Players who "skip to the good parts" actually miss out on the community building, relationship aspect of the game. And that's the part of an MMOG that retains players over the long term. These players who buy their way to the top actually quit sooner than players who "earned" their treasures.
Mike Musgrove: Another reason game makers don't like the practice. Excellent point.
Oak Brook, IL: How frequent are cases of scams or fraud in this new online market?
Mike Musgrove: Bob Kiblinger, of GamingTreasures.com, said there's about a five percent scam rate. He's a veteran in this industry, so I'd guess he know pretty well. Different games have diffeent scam rates. For some reason, Lineage II has more scammers than other games, he said. If anybody knows why this is, please chime in.
Fairfax, Va.: You didn't mention one of the most pervasive problems in the genre relating to the real world value of game items - bulk gold sellers.
There's a company called IGE, based overseas to avoid legal action. (Selling gold, unless sanctioned by the company a la Sony, is against most end user agreements.) They sell so much in game currency that they've grown rich off other people's intellectual property. Do a few google searches, they throw money around like it's water.
If it's illegal to sample a musician's work and thereby derive profit, why is legal for these jackals - who hide in Hong Kong, though in their quest to buy legitimacy they've planted a shell office in New York - to get rich off the intellectual property of a game company?
Mike Musgrove: This seems like somebody who might work at Mythic-- or might be able to get a job there...
Falls Church, Va.: Ivory tower types try too hard to emulate real world economies in their "games," which creates the inevitable result of people having to work - or simply buy, with real world cash - to get the things they want.
An economy of sorts can't help but develop when people get together in groups (a representative means of value exchange is a form of communication), but a game should make it easy to access the fun without bringing Ebay into the equation.
Items from Mythic's game (you didn't mention it in your article; it's called "Dark Age of Camelot") sell for less "real" money on the net, because they are easier to acquire in the game without sacrificing your marriage. When game currency/items takes on too much real world value, something has gone wrong at the design level, and the game has become a simulator.
Which is, of course, fun for some.
Mike Musgrove: Good points here.
Parkville, MD: Though some may think it absurd, I think it makes more sense to spend money on these digital, virtual items than on their actual material counterparts. Think about it: if you spend $150,000 on a Ferrari in real life, you'll never be able to exploit its true potential. You'll just take it out on weekends for a casual spin along the seaside to see and be seen in your fancy car. And most of the time it'll just sit in your garage. If you manage to get your hands on a rocket launcher, you'll end up mounting it on the wall for display purposes and hope that no one from the BATF spots it while peeking through your window. But in a virtual world I can use my Ferrari to speed through downtown at 100+ mph and outrun cop cars all day long before careening off a mountainside into a 200ft ravine while clipping a couple of seagulls on the way down. And as for my rocket launcher: well I can use that to unleash a merciless swath of wanton destruction on my virtual enemies that would make Osama Bin Laden blush.
So don't tell me that the Virtual world doesn't make sense, my friend. It's the Material World that's full of shallow poseurs who believe that the suit makes the man, when, really, it's the other way around.
Mike Musgrove: This is a pretty funny post. but the weird difference between real goods & virtual ones---is that Sony Online or Mythic or whatever game company could decide that a certain game/virtual world is not profitable and pull the plug on that world. The goods you spent real $$ for would cease to exist.
Fairfax, Virginia: Where does all this virtual money being sold come from? I have a hard time believing that much virtual cash is just lying around.
Mike Musgrove: Games tend to pump virtual rewards faster into their game worlds than they suck them out. Game currencies tend to depreciate against the dollar over time, thusly.
Players sometimes discover bugs that let them double their in-game money by exploiting some software bug or other. That sort of thing, as you can imagine, can make a game's economy go haywire. And there are "farmers" players who do the same rote task all day long in order to garner gold coins in order to sell them to middle-man companies like IGE.com-- these players are typically in Asian countries, like China.
East Lansing, Mich.: Did you see any evidence that this economy is having a harmful effect on the casual gamer, the one who doesn't have hundreds of hours to spend "levelling up"? Do you think that in order to have fun in these games now without buying items at auction you have to basically spend all your free time playing in order to be competitive?
Mike Musgrove: It's all a balancing act. Game makers often talk about making these players simpler so that there's less of a learning curve to get folks hooked-- that way, theoretically, they'd reach more mainstream audiences with their games. But make a game too simple and everybody gets bored.
Columbus, OH: I admit it - I buy currency. I've played every game out there, except DAoC (Dark Age of Camelot) and I've bought currency for every single game.
I think its ridiculous that people think its wrong. Its NOT wrong. Why should I spend 10 hours at level 5 with crap gear if I can drop 30 bucks, and spend 2 hours at level 5? Once I get higher, where money can be made easier, then I'll have no reason to buy it, because I will have gotten out of those levels early on, and wont feel like I'm "missing out" on anything.
Mike Musgrove: Cool, we have a defender of the practice here.
Loveland, CO: Do companies really care about game money being bought with real cash? I play world of warcraft and blizzard has stated they would shut down ebay and sites that do this. From what I have gathered from reading the end user agreement and the official forums they don't want people selling in game gold for real life cash. Yet searching Ebay and ige.com it seems there is a lot of in game gold for sale.
From my standpoint it looks like they just turn a blind eye to it. From a financial standpoint wouldn't it be beneficial for blizzard to turn a blind eye?
Mike Musgrove: Companies like Blizzard regularly announce that they've shut down x thousand accounts for engaging in farming or what not. If too many people are abusing a game to make a real-world $ it can destroy the balance/fun of a game. But it can be hard to stop this practice.
Mike, DC: Expanding on the comment above about "gold farmers" ...
Farmers can really wreck havoc on a server's economy. Because they are logged in for close to 24 hours a day they can permanently camp areas that contain the best enemies or trade skill spots. For example, World of Warcraft crafting uses arcane crystals for high level blacksmithing. Crystals only drop from mineral veins in high level zones. If there are 3 total veins in the zone, a farmer can ride around the zone and continuously farm the vein. So the problem is twofold, first they control all of the veins in a zone so no one else can mine, and second they control the market for the arcane crystals in the auction house. So now instead of paying 10 gold for a crystal, you may pay 25 gold because there is only 1 seller. And in turn, your crafted item becomes more expensive to make and you have to price the finished good much higher than people are willing to pay for it.
That is just one example, but farmers can make life very difficult for honest players.
Mike Musgrove: just posting this, as we are running low on time...
State College, Pa.: Is the collection of virtual money dominated by low income workers (often considered Chinese)? The phrase "Chinese Gold Farmer" has become synonymous with a person spending hours a day in a virtual world collecting massive amounts of virtual money for sale to big companies on the internet (Such as IGE).
Mike Musgrove: Yes, this type of thing is different from the fellow at the top of my article who was just moving on from the Star Wars game. He just wanted to recoup some of the time/effort he spent in the game. Others are making a living out of this thing.
Game makers often say they want to stay out of the practice of selling goods directly to players, because it might influence how they balance the game-- for fear some players might get angry if they bough, say, a rare sword and suddenly it became less powerful or rare...
Mike Musgrove: So. I am out of time. If anybody wants to contact me outside the chat: musgrovem (at) washpost (dot) com
Sorry I didn't get to everybody.
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.
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Washington Post Staff Writer Mike Musgrove was online to answer questions on how the virtual gaming world has created a shadow economy where lines between the real world and the virtual world are getting blurred.
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Teachers Stir Science, History Into Core Classes
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Two years ago, W.H. Keister Elementary School in Harrisonburg, Va., began to take the No Child Left Behind law very seriously. Intensive 120-minute reading classes were installed, along with more math. Physical education went from 150 to 90 minutes a week. Music time was cut in half.
This was part of a national movement to make sure all children, particularly those from low-income families -- as were 50 percent of Keister students -- mastered reading and math skills essential to their lives and the rest of their educations. But such parents as Todd Hedinger, whose son, Gabe, attended the school, reacted negatively, saying there was too much emphasis on a few core subjects.
"The emphasis on instructional time pushes everything else out of the way," Hedinger said.
Such concerns have been part of the continuing debate over No Child Left Behind. The time devoted to reading and math has increased. And in many places, the increase has brought results. Between 2002 and 2004, Keister Elementary's passing rate went from 81 to 92 percent on the state English test and from 86 to 90 percent on the math test.
But critics of the federal law say children need a more complete education.
The Washington-based Center on Education Policy reported this year that 27 percent of school systems say they are spending less time on social studies, and nearly 25 percent say they are spending less time on science, art and music. "This tendency results in impoverishing the education of all students, but particularly the education of students who perform less well on the tests," said Robert G. Smith, Arlington County school superintendent, who said his schools have resisted the trend.
Many educators defend the focus on reading and math, as long as it is done properly. Lucretia Jackson, principal of Maury Elementary School in Alexandria, said that basic skills are very important and that many children need extra time to acquire them. Her school made significant test-score gains this year by scheduling after-school classes and enrichment activities three days each week.
"They need to develop the quality of skills that will enable them to meet the needs of the future society," Jackson said.
Rob Weil, deputy director of the educational issues department at the Washington-based American Federation of Teachers, said reducing time for nonacademic subjects has been going on much longer than people realize and until now has had little to do with federal achievement targets. "Districts started cutting art, music and physical education over 15 years ago, in an effort to save money, not in an effort to increase performance," he said.
Andrew Rotherham, co-director of the nonprofit group Education Sector and a member of the Virginia state school board, said: "When faced with disappointing achievement in math and reading, the first reaction of too many schools is to just teach those subjects more and consequently squeeze out other subjects. This 'solution,' however, ignores one common culprit for low achievement -- teaching. Instead of using data to determine if teachers are teaching the material, are able to teach it and what exactly students are struggling with, too often schools decide to just extend the time on these subjects. The problem is, if your instruction is weak for 60 minutes a day, it's going to be for 90 minutes, too."
Mary Alice Barksdale, associate professor of teaching and learning at Virginia Tech, agreed: "There is lots of evidence that the one thing that really makes a difference in the classroom is the teacher and what she knows and does."
Several elementary school programs have shown good results by inserting science, social studies, art and music into reading lessons, rather than removing them from the curriculum. The Core Knowledge program, based in Charlottesville, has first-graders reading about ancient Egypt and second-graders learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez. New York University educational historian Diane Ravitch called it "the best national program available."
Project Bright IDEA, which has produced good test results in lower elementary grades in North Carolina, uses advanced materials such as nonfiction books and techniques used previously with just gifted students. "We believe in teaching all children from kindergarten through high school a highly academic program," said Margaret Gayle, the project's manager and co-designer.
Nancy Scott, who teaches English to children from non-English-speaking families in Fairfax County, said she applauds the integration of science and social studies with reading and writing classes but said it might be dependent in some cases on which subjects are on the state test. In her fourth-grade classes, she said, she puts more emphasis on history and lets science take a back seat because that is the year of the Virginia social studies test.
Barksdale said that among the activities teachers have told her they dropped because of test pressure were silent reading, book talks, science experiments, picnics, field trips, classroom skits and creative writing.
"The logic of the fundamental importance of reading and mathematics is universally accepted," said David P. Driscoll, Massachusetts state education commissioner. "However, the testing of those subjects leads people to spend more time out of fear. While some extra focus particularly around test-taking skills and the most common standards is appropriate, this pushing other subjects aside to concentrate on reading and math is not. A full, robust program whereby kids are actively engaged in their learning produces the best results."
At Keister Elementary, test scores are up not only in reading and math but in science and social studies, despite fears of a negative result. Hedinger congratulated the "dedicated, loving, smart and creative people" who teach at the school but said he still does not like the long reading classes and athletic and music cuts because they reduced his son's love of learning.
"Is the meaning of education cramming as much knowledge in, to pass a standardized test, or is it meant to include something else -- creativity, reflection, synthesis, hypothesizing, daydreaming?" Hedinger asked. "What happens to all of that in the process?"
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Two years ago, W.H. Keister Elementary School in Harrisonburg, Va., began to take the No Child Left Behind law very seriously. Intensive 120-minute reading classes were installed, along with more math. Physical education went from 150 to 90 minutes a week. Music time was cut in half.
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National Book Festival
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Gabaldon was online Tuesday, Sept. 20 to discuss her writing and appearance at the National Book Festival .
Her most recent book is "A Breath of Snow and Ashes" (Delacorte Press, 2005).
Diana Gabaldon: Howdy! Happy to see all these bright and shining faces here today. So nice of you you to come!
I've just come back from a lovely book-tour in Germany, where I introduced most of my events with a Rather Rude limerick (well, it isn't a true limerick, but I don't know the precise word for the sort of short poem it is--if one of you _does_, do tell me). I'm hoping that one can use such language (cough) on this site--though if not, I imagine someone will tell me. If any of you happen to be children, though, you can skip the next two paragraphs (OK, it's not _that_ rude; I don't know a child over the age of ten who would be shocked).
(ahem) Back in the day, when I was a university professor, I used to teach a class in Human Anatomy and Physiology. This class was popular with the football players, who all took it under the tragic misapprehension that it would be easy. And so I'd come in at 8 AM and see 400 bodies filling the auditorium, half of them sound asleep. And so I'd walk to the edge of the platform, pick up my microphone, and say, "Well, this morning, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to talk about the History of Contraception." At this point, they'd all begin blinking. And so I'd say...
"In days of old, when knights were bold,
They wrapped old socks around their c***s
That tended to wake everyone up and get things off in the proper mood--so we'll hope for a similar effect here. Any questions?
Carrboro, NC: How do you do research for your books, and how much of the historical part of your fiction is fact, and how much is filling in the gaps of history?
Diana Gabaldon: The historical part is as accurate as good research can make it. That said...history is written down by people, and the ones way back when weren't necessarily any more accurate about what they wrote than the modern-day ones.
I do research mostly via libraries--augmented by the Internet, and by occasional trips (when possible) to the places I'm writing about. The Internet has improved a LOT in the last few years, but still, you wouldn't want to depend on Web sources for historical analysis. There's just something hard to beat about a book.
New York, NY: I just wanted to tell you that I've loved your books since my 9th grade best friend's mom got us both hooked on them. I have already pre-ordered 'A Breath of Snow and Ashes' and can't wait to read it. Keep up the great work!
Diana Gabaldon: Thank you! I hope you'll enjoy A BREATH OF SNOw AND ASHES--but I _think_ you will. The general response of the people who've read advanced copies has been, "OhmyGod,OhmyGOd,OhmyGOD!" (pant, pant, pant) "I can't _believe_ you did that!!!"
Germantown, Md: I'm so excited to find out your new book, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, is going to be available at the National Book Festival. I'm clearing my schedule for Saturday. I've been an avid fan of the Outlander series since I read the first book in 1994 and have anticipated each addition to the series long before it was available. It's been such an epic undertaking. Now that the story of the two primary characters is heading into the final chapters... or books... do you feel that you'll miss them when you finish this?
Diana Gabaldon: Well, no. For one thing, there's certainly _one_ more book about them, possibly two--which means they'll be along for quite some time yet, at the speed I write. And there are a _lot_ of other people who live in my head, all jostling for attention. I won't be lonely. (Besides, they aren't necessarily _gone_, just because I'm not writing about them, you know. I can see them anytime.)
St Louis, Mo.: So many of your fans love your writing so much--your grocery list would be a best seller! Do you have many scenes that for whatever reason will not make it into one of the remaining books of the series, and if so, do you have any plans to compile them and release them--perhaps in an Outlandish Companion, Part 2?
Diana Gabaldon: I end up with a lot of what I call "orts" (this being defined as a small fragment of something, usually food) at the end of a book, but not usually a lot of scenes. Sometimes, I have a scene that I _know_ goes in another book, and there are a _few_ things that just plain don't fit, but not a lot.
I suppose I might put those in a second volume of the COMPANION, if I was sure they wouldn't terminally confuse people.
Gaithersburg, Md: I can't tell you how excited I am that your latest book is about to be released. I read your last book when I was living in New York City a couple of months after 9/11. I remember that it was a bright spot, an escape really, from the difficult emotions of the time. I've read your Outlander series through twice now and I'm amazed at your ability to create and weave together so many wonderful characters and plot lines. The detail and development keeps me glued to the page, and I imagine that most of your readers never really want the story to end. Of course, every story must have an ending and I'm not even going to guess whether or not your latest book will be the last in this series. However, I am curious about other book series in your future. I am familiar with your Lord John books, but are there other characters you might do a "spin off" series on?
Diana Gabaldon: Well, Lord John was an accident--PRIVATE MATTER was written as a short story. (No, really, it was.) But now that we're officially allowed to write novels about him, that's a good thing.
As for other series--well, I _do_ have two contemporary mysteries (set in the American Southwest) under contract, and am hoping to finish the first of these--titled RED ANT'S HEAD--something in 2006 (along with the second Lord John novel, LORD JOHN AND THE BROTHERHOOD OF THE BLADE).
But there _is_ Master Raymond. I happen to know who he is, and he has a very interesting story to tell. So in the fullness of time, he'll get his own book--or books.
Springfield, Va.: Diana: I just want to thank you for the wonderful world of Jamie and Claire. While I can't make to Book Festival, I hope to get to the Smithsonian series.
Diana Gabaldon: Thank you! I'll hope to see you December 7, then. (This is a lecture I'll be giving as part of a Smithsonian series on romance novels. Given that I don't write romances myself, my own talk is entitled, "When is a Romance NOT a Romance?" --this involves a look at 18th and 19th-century "romances," such as TREASURE ISLAND or TOM JONES, which are a lot closer to the books I personally write than are modern romance novels.)
For anyone interested in the lecture series, the link is: http://residentassociates.org/com/romance.asp
Flagstaff, Ariz.: How long did you have between finishing "Outlander" and finding an agent who would promote it to editors?
Diana Gabaldon: No time at all. I had a literary agent before I finished the book--which is very lucky, but definitely unusual.
Washington, DC: Hello Diana, I enjoy each new book in the Outlander series tremendously. They have a great right combination of fantasy, history, adventure, and romance, all in terrific writing. My question is: when you have written the final book on Claire and Jamie ("final book" sounds terrible, I wish the story could go on...), well, do you have plans for a new future book or series? Thank you. Mary Ann
Diana Gabaldon: Dear Mary Ann--
Sure. I already answered that question upstream a little, though, so I think I won't repeat the information here. Don't want to bore people.
Diana Gabaldon: Oh--and thank you so much for the kind words!
St Louis, Mo: Love your limerick! I first read that one in college--it was etched on the bottom of a shelf above the bed in my dorm room. Thanks for the memory! You wrote Outlander as practice. Now that you've become very good at writing, as evidenced by your many bestsellers, what keeps you motivated to keep writing or is writing simply a calling for you, as healing is for Claire in your books?
Diana Gabaldon: Thanks! It's a calling. And I really like it, too.
Ijamsville, Md: Ms. Gabaldon - I just wanted to write and tell you how much I enjoyed your Outlander series. When I finished the last one, I was sad it was over. Any chance you would ever write again about Jamie and Claire? Did you imagine that they would really die in a fire in North Carolina ? Thanks again for writing such great books. -Lisha Utt
Diana Gabaldon: Well, of course I'll write again about Jamie and Claire. As for the rest of your question...you'll just have to read the new book and see.
New York, N.Y.: Not many people have explored, even in fiction, relationships and marriages of people from different generations. How did you come up with that concept?
Diana Gabaldon: You mean the notion of a twentieth-century person marrying one from the 18th? Well, it was all Claire's fault.
OUTLANDER was a perfectly straight-forward historical novel, until I decided to introduce a female character (I had to have a lot of Scotsmen, you see, because of the kilt factor, but figured it would be good to have a female to play off these guys; then we could have sexual tension, and _that's_ always good), and made her an Englishwoman.
So, she walked into a cottage full of Scotsman, Dougal MacKenzie stood up and asked who she was...and she replied (without consulting me), "I'm Claire Elizabeth Beauchamp--and who the hell are you?"
To which _I_ said--"Hey! You don't sound _anything_ like an 18th century person!" So I fought with her for several pages, trying to beat her into shape and make her talk appropriately--but she wasn't having any. She just kept making smart-ass modern remarks about everything she saw, _and_ she started telling the story herself.
So I said, "Fine. Nobody's ever going to see this book; it doesn't matter _what_ bizarre thing I do--go ahead and be modern; I'll figure out how you got there later."
Like I said, it's all _her_ fault.
Washington, D.C.: Will you have your new book, Breath of Snow and Ashes, at the National Book Festival on the Mall in Washington, D.C. this weekend? I see you're scheduled for a book signing, but your website shows a date of September 27 for the launch.
Diana Gabaldon: Yes, the publisher has graciously let us release books early, ONLY for the Festival. So we will indeed have A BREATH OF SNOW AND ASHES for sale on the Mall. See you there!
University of Pennsylvania: Rumor has it you worked here for awhile. How did you enjoy your time in Philadelphia, and did your experiences at Penn ever inspire anything you wrote?
Diana Gabaldon: Well, to be perfectly honest, we hated the place and couldn't wait to get the heck out of Dodge and back to civilization in the West, the minute my husband finished his MBA. However, we didn't live there at one of the city's most salubrious points--or ours. We were totally broke, living in student housing, about six blocks from MOVE headquarters, while the Mayor was bombing the place.
As to inspirational experiences...well, there _was_ the time I left the windows open because of the heat, and a number of flies got in and laid eggs in the pans of bird parts I was processing--came back the next day to writhing pans of maggots.
Er...you _did_ ask. On the other hand, the food was undeniably great, and I'd love to go back as a nonstudent with money, to enjoy the better aspects of the place.
Bethesda, Md.: Thanks for taking my question--and for your books! Have you had the whole story of Jamie and Claire mapped out since the beginning, and, if so, have you found yourself changing things along the way?
Diana Gabaldon: No, I didn't have them planned. What fun would _that_ be?
I never plan out novels ahead of time. I occasionally know _some_ things about them, but I'm inclined to write in bits and pieces, inspired by the research I'm doing. I glue those together as I go, and watch for the underlying "shape" of the book to emerge.
Falls Church, Va.: I had the pleasure of selling your first book as a bookseller and look forward to the latest in the series, A Breath of Snow and Ashes. Will this be the last in the series? If so, will you update the Outlandish Companion for your fans? Thank you.
Diana Gabaldon: Thanks! My darling editor always said, "These _have_ to be word-of-mouth books, because they're too weird to describe to anybody." So all your efforts are _much_ appreciated!
No, this isn't the last book; there's one more for sure--possibly two. I need to get all the way through the American Revolution, which was rather a long and complicated war, so I don't know how much room I'll need. But yes, when I _am_ finished, I plan to do an OUTLANDISH COMPANION, Part Deux, covering the second half of the series (possibly including the Lord John books written to date, as well, since those are in fact part of the series--just...different).
Rockville, Md.: I love your books, and will be first in line to buy A Breath of Snow and Ashes this week -My question is who was your inspiration for Jamie?
Diana Gabaldon: Well, fwiw, my husband *is* six-foot-four, with red hair. (cough) He also has a highly developed sense of humor, an even more highly developed sense of responsibility, and he's, um, good with his hands.
That said, he *isn't* Jamie. They're quite different individuals. Though I do now and then use a line my husband's given me (inadvertently), or steal one of his jokes (the bit about waking up smelling like a dead boar is his). And the scene in which Jamie goes up on the roof naked to fix a leak because "no proper man" would tolerate the idea of putting it off...that's drawn from life.
Diana Gabaldon: Er...I mean the racing up on the roof in the dark and rain to fix leaks, not the naked part. (cough)
Washington, D.C.: It is exciting that "A Breath of Snow and Ashes" will be available at the book festival before it is being released elsewhere. What can you tell us, in advance, about the book and its plot?
Diana Gabaldon: I can't detail everything, of course, because that would ruin the story, but for starters
Well, there is a big, fat war coming along, of course, and people behave badly under those conditions. House-burning, murder, rape, assault, tar-and-feathers and that's before the serious shooting starts.
And then there are the Cherokee Indians, who might fight for the Crown-or they might not, depending on what they think of either side. At the moment, they rather like Jamie, but if he goes on refusing the naked women the peace chief keeps leaving in his bed, that could change
Then there's the young soldier with an "M" branded on his face (for "Murderer") and a bad case of hemorrhoids .
The mystery of Young Ian (Jamie's nephew) and just what did happen to his Mohawk wife and child
A plague of amoebic dysentery, and some public-health concerns about syphilis, which leads Claire to make Jamie take her to visit the local brothel ("If it's the two of you," the madam observes, "that'll be a pound extra.")
Dr. Fentiman and his renowned collection of pickled deformities (Claire takes him an gouged-out eyeball, preserved in spirits of wine, as a token of goodwill)
Ten thousand pounds of French gold that seems to have been stolen by a wandering ghost
A mysterious slave-ship, reeking in the night, and a rendezvous at the dark of the moon
A forgeress with a penchant for gambling, a gaoler's wife with a penchant for gin, and a sullen slave with a penchant for infanticide
A baby named "Rogerina" and what Brianna does about it
An Irishman who comes and goes like a will-o-the-wisp, but is inclined to appear in the most inconvenient places
And then, of course, there's that sinister newspaper clipping that says the house on Fraser's Ridge will be destroyed by fire in 1776, killing everyone. But will it? (As Jamie observes, "If ye ken the house is meant to burn down on a given day-why would ye stand in it?")
Philomathean, Philadelphia, Pa.: I know a lot of teachers who used their teaching income as a safety net when attempting to become writers. Yet, I find many become so busy they need to make a commitment to one or the other. You made the jump to being a full time writer? How scary or secure did you find yourself when you made that decision?
Diana Gabaldon: Oh, pretty dang secure. I came from a _very_ conservative (in all senses of the word) home--my father was fond of saying, "You're such a poor judge of character, you're bound to marry some bum--so get a good education so you can support your children!"--so the last thing I would have done was to quit a decent job to become a writer.
As it was, I didn't tell my father what I was doing, until after the book had been sold (my excellent agent got me a three-book contract, with what appeared at the time a staggering advance--and in fact, it _was_ pretty good). I called Dad, of course, to tell him the news at this point, and we had a nice, mushy conversation--him saying how thrilled he was, and telling me how proud my mother (who had died when I was 19) would be, and so on. Anyway, we said we loved each other and hung up. Thirty seconds later, the phone rings--it's Dad.
"Don't quit your job!" he blurted, panic-stricken at the thought.
So I didn't--until I'd finished the manuscript of my second book (and was thus on the verge of collecting another advance for it). At this point, my university contract came up for renewal, and I said to my husband, "Well, we won't starve if I quit--and it _would_ be nice to see what it's like to sleep more than four hours at a stretch...."
Fairfax, Va.: Why did you set your novels in 18th century Scotland, and now, The Colony of North Carolina? What was it about that time and place that drew you?
Diana Gabaldon: Well, to start with, it was an accident. I had to set the first book _somewhere_, and as I was writing it for practice and never intended to show it to anyone, it didn't really matter where--I'd have to look everything up, anyway.
So I was casting round for a good time and place, and happened to see a _really_ old "Dr. Who" rerun on PBS--with a minor Scottish character; an 18-year-old from 1745, who appeared in his kilt. "Well, that's fetching," I said.
And then I shrugged and said, "Well, you gotta start somewhere--why not? Scotland, 18th century."
As for North Carolina, that's just following the tide of history--that's where a lot of the Highlanders _went_ after Culloden.
Washington, DC: ... and we thought this day would never come (the new book).
Okay, I'll ask (you'll forgive, I hope). Any movement on the tv-film front?
Diana Gabaldon: Not at the moment. If and when there is, belive me, I'll tell you. (I.e., I'll announce it on my website--which is www.dianagabaldon.com, in case anyone's interested.)
San Diego, Calif.: Would you talk a little about your research methods. What repositories do you rely on? How do you do your research? Thanks.
Diana Gabaldon: Well, no specific repositories--I use any library or resource I can get my hands on. I particularly like the bookshops at National Parks and battlefields; they often have _very_ unusual and helpful things.
Diana Gabaldon: Thanks VERY much for all your questions and enthusiasm! I'll hope to see some of you this weekend at the Book Festival, and more of you during October, as I whiz around the country like a boomerang. And thanks to the Washington Post for hosting this chat!
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.
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Join live discussions from the Washington Post. Feature topics include national, world and DC area news, politics, elections, campaigns, government policy, tech regulation, travel, entertainment, cars, and real estate.
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The Other America, 2005
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-- President Lyndon B. Johnson,
State of the Union address, 1964
HURRICANE KATRINA, and the accompanying coverage of the overwhelmingly poor and black evacuees hit hardest by the storm, has rekindled the national debate about poverty and race, offering a sobering reminder, four decades later, that President Lyndon B. Johnson's "unconditional war on poverty in America" is far from over. That's valuable: Poverty has hardly been a front-burner issue for years, and for President Bush to speak, as he has in recent days, of the nation's "legacy of inequality" and its "duty to confront this poverty with bold action" is a welcome development. But a broad look at poverty in America presents a more complex picture than the bleak images of those most devastated by Katrina would suggest. It shows significant, and in some cases impressive, progress, blended with the disheartening persistence of poverty among certain populations.
Indeed, the image of hard-core inner-city poverty evoked by the Katrina victims may be misleading. The share of the poor living in neighborhoods with high concentrations of poverty (40 percent or more) fell dramatically during the 1990s. Though many Americans hover at the edges of poverty, the number who are permanently trapped is surprisingly low: In the four years between 1996 and 1999, one Census Bureau study found, only 2 percent of the population was poor every month for two years or more -- but 34 percent of the population experienced poverty for at least two months. The overall poverty rate fell from 19 percent in 1964 to 12.7 percent last year, though most of that decline occurred during the first decade. Since 1999, the rate has been edging steadily, and disturbingly, upward.
At the same time, the creation and expansion of government programs such as food stamps, Medicaid, housing subsidies and the earned-income tax credit have made the America of 2005 a far less harsh place for the poor than the America of 1964. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities concluded in a recent report that such programs "cut the number of poor Americans nearly in half . . . and dramatically reduced the severity of poverty for those who remain poor." Thanks in large part to government programs such as Social Security, the problem of poverty has been greatly ameliorated among the elderly -- falling last year to an all-time low (9.8 percent). By contrast, the poverty rate among children is higher now (17.8 percent) than it was in the 1970s. That is a matter of serious concern, though one that's mitigated to some extent by the availability of health care and nutrition assistance.
Poverty among African Americans is both greatly improved since Johnson's pledge and intolerably widespread. In 1959, the first year poverty statistics were collected, 55 percent of African Americans were below the poverty line. By 1966, that had fallen to 41.8 percent; it was 24.7 percent last year. (The poverty rate among Hispanics was lower, 21.9 percent.) Some of the most dramatic gains have been made in recent years by black women. Before 1994, well over half of households headed by African American women lived beneath the poverty level; that number has since dropped below 40 percent.
Still, that number remains unacceptable. Unacceptable, too, is the fact that that one-fourth of American blacks, and one in three black children, are living in poverty in 2005.
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A Fix for First Responders
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It was four years ago this month that our brave police officers, firefighters and other emergency response personnel raced into the smoldering buildings of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon to try to save the lives of thousands. Unfortunately, their efforts were hindered by a communications system that failed to allow these first responders to communicate with each other, something known as "interoperability." In some cases, not only could the first responders who entered the twin towers not communicate with each other, they were also unable to reach their base commanders in the lobby or at headquarters because the radio communications could not travel great distances or penetrate the thick steel walls and concrete floors.
The Sept. 11 commission found: "Command and control decisions were affected by the lack of knowledge of what was happening 30, 60, 90, and 100 floors above. According to one of the [fire] chiefs in the lobby, 'One of the most critical things in a major operation like this is to have information. We didn't have a lot of information coming in. We didn't receive any reports of what was seen from the . . . helicopters. It was impossible to know how much damage was done on the upper floors, whether the stairwells were intact or not.' . . . 'People watching on TV certainly had more knowledge of what was happening a hundred floors above us than we did in the lobby.' "
In the past few weeks, we have seen an even more devastating breakdown in emergency communications, as phone lines, cell towers and electrical systems were wracked by Hurricane Katrina, making it nearly impossible at times for many first responders and government officials on the Gulf Coast to talk to each other. Many emergency officials had to resort to runners to communicate with first responders in the field.
With all the technology innovations of recent years, how is it that first responders, those we depend on when disaster strikes, are still unable to adequately communicate with each other during an emergency, while we are able to watch the crisis unfold on our television sets? It's because public officials have yet to get serious about developing and funding a safety communications system for all local, state and federal first responders. This reality became all too clear during the bungled response to Katrina.
The federal government needs to develop a comprehensive, interoperable emergency communications plan and set equipment standards, fund the purchase of emergency and interoperable communications equipment, and provide additional radio spectrum that will allow first responders to communicate over long distances using the same radio frequencies and equipment.
This is not to say that we haven't made some progress. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act, passed last year, required that the federal government take initial steps on both interoperability and public safety spectrum. But we have much more to do. The Sept. 11 commission's final report urged Congress to provide more radio spectrum, equipment and funding to first responders for improved communications systems. Since then we have introduced legislation to do so. We believe strongly that such legislation is a life-or-death matter. But Congress has yet to act.
We can only imagine how an improved communications system could have aided rescue workers in their efforts to respond to the needs of citizens after Hurricane Katrina. The federal government has sat by and allowed this problem to remain unresolved for four years following the devastation of Sept. 11, 2001, even as many predicted another disaster. After watching the horrific communications breakdown that occurred during Katrina, will we wait another four years before acting? How many more lives will be lost? What kind of catastrophic disaster is necessary for Congress to give these heroes the tools they need to save lives?
We urge Congress to immediately take up pending legislation that would finally provide emergency first responders with the radio spectrum, equipment and funding necessary to protect themselves as they come to the aid of those they were sworn to protect. When lives are on the line, seconds count. And reliable emergency communications become a matter of life and death.
John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) are U.S. senators. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) are members of the House of Representatives.
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Four years after 9/11, emergency responders still don't have the equipment and radio specturm they need to handle disasters. With lives on the line, Congress should act.
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Maneuvering Begins for a New German Government
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BERLIN, Sept. 19 -- Germany's major political parties both claimed the right on Monday to patch together a new government following inconclusive national elections, but were confronted with the likelihood of weeks of backroom deal-making before anyone is able to take control.
After their respective parties took a beating in Sunday's vote, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and his chief rival, Angela Merkel, were losing their sheen as candidates to lead the country. Lawmakers and analysts tossed around various scenarios in which the country's numerous factions could settle on someone else as a compromise.
Merkel, 51, whose Christian Democrats once had a double-digit lead in opinion polls, said she would open talks with other parties -- including Schroeder's Social Democrats -- about assembling a coalition. But she insisted that her party take the lead in forging a new government by virtue of its narrow first-place finish, with about 35 percent of the vote.
"The election campaign is over, the voters have had their say and we are the strongest party in Parliament," she said at a news conference in Berlin, the capital. "We received a clear mandate to govern."
But Schroeder, 61, and the Social Democrats were having little of that. Even though Schroeder's governing coalition was toppled, his party fared better than predicted. It polled about 34 percent, an achievement that the chancellor portrayed as a virtual victory, given how he was forced to call early elections because of widespread dissatisfaction with a weak economy and record high unemployment.
Franz Muentefering, the Social Democrats' party chairman, said Schroeder deserved a third term. "Mrs. Merkel was being cheered as if she were already the chancellor," Muentefering told reporters. "But it's quite clear that this country doesn't want Mrs. Merkel. I do think it is a personal defeat for her."
Analysts said that despite the Social Democrats' posturing, Schroeder had few realistic prospects for remaining in office. But they also said Merkel had wasted a golden opportunity during the campaign and would be hard-pressed to salvage her candidacy.
"The woman who thought she had everything in her hands now feels it all slipping through her fingers," Heribert Prantl, political editor of the influential Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, wrote in a signed editorial. "Seldom has such a presumed victor looked so disgraced."
Constanze Stelzenmueller, director of the Berlin office of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, agreed. "Angela Merkel may very well be a dead woman walking," she said. "My gut instinct tells me Merkel is in a very difficult position, which is why the Social Democrats are grinning so broadly. Right now, everybody is playing chicken."
The message that the electorate delivered on Sunday was a muddled one. Exit polls showed that many voters were tired of the status quo in Germany -- with its high joblessness and flaccid economy -- but were equally skeptical of the solutions offered by either Merkel or Schroeder. The result was the most splintered vote in decades.
For now, Schroeder's ruling coalition of Social Democrats and Greens will remain in charge, but only until a new alliance emerges that can cobble together a majority of the seats in Parliament. The major parties began that work in earnest on Monday.
Muentefering, for instance, indicated that the Social Democrats would put pressure on the Free Democrats -- an anti-taxation, pro-business party that received about 10 percent of the vote -- to abandon Merkel and join them in a coalition.
The leader of the Free Democrats, Guido Westerwelle, categorically rejected the overture on election night. But Muentefering said he would keep pushing. "Perhaps they were a little too overconfident about yesterday's result," he said.
Similarly, Merkel served notice that her party would try to persuade the Greens to change their stripes, giving them a chance to remain in power under the Christian Democrats, even though the two parties disagree sharply on some issues, such as nuclear energy.
Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, the most prominent Green, said he could not foresee his party marching under Merkel's banner. "She will not be chancellor," he declared. But other Green officials said they were willing to listen.
While the German constitution requires that Parliament reconvene within 30 days of an election, there is no deadline for picking a chancellor or governing majority.
Christian Pestalozza, a constitutional law professor at the Free University of Berlin, dismissed suggestions that Germany was facing a political crisis. He predicted that the parties would soon lower the rhetoric and be more pragmatic in building a coalition.
"According to the constitution, they have all the time they need to take to work this out," he said. "I'm quite sure that after two or three weeks, we'll know what we'll have."
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World news headlines from the Washington Post, including international news and opinion from Africa, North/South America, Asia, Europe and Middle East. Features include world weather, news in Spanish, interactive maps, daily Yomiuri and Iraq coverage.
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U.S. Claims Success in Iraq Despite Onslaught
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BAGHDAD -- Using enemy body counts as a benchmark, the U.S. military claimed gains against Abu Musab Zarqawi's foreign-led fighters last week even as they mounted their deadliest attacks on Iraq's capital.
But by many standards, including increasingly high death tolls in insurgent strikes, Zarqawi's group, al Qaeda in Iraq, could claim to be the side that's gaining after 2 1/2 years of war. August was the third-deadliest month of the war for U.S. troops.
Zarqawi's guerrillas this spring and summer showed themselves to be capable of mounting waves of suicide bombings and car bombings that could kill scores at a time and paralyze the Iraqi capital. Insurgents have also launched dozens of attacks every day in other parts of Iraq and laid open claim this summer to cities and towns in the critical far west, despite hit-and-run offensives by U.S. forces.
Last week, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, declared "great successes" against insurgents. But Baghdad's fortified Green Zone, where Lynch briefed reporters, was under stepped-up security screening and U.S. guard for fear of suicide bombings. Insurgents for three days running last week managed to lob mortar rounds into the Green Zone, the heart of the U.S. and Iraqi administration.
Lynch spoke at the close of a two-day onslaught of bombings and shootings that killed nearly 190 people, the bloodiest days in Baghdad since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
Over 17 days this month, guerrillas across Iraq killed at least 116 Iraqi forces and 346 Iraqi civilians in drive-by shootings, bombings and other violence, according to Iraqi officials.
And in the west, Zarqawi's foreign and Iraqi fighters this month raised the black banners of al Qaeda in Iraq in the border city of Qaim, one of many areas in the region where Iraqi government forces have feared to take up positions or moved out. Al Qaeda fighters recently carried out public executions of men suspected of supporting U.S. forces or the Iraqi government.
"Whoever is protected by Americans is in our sight and in the range of our fire," Zarqawi's group declared in statements posted Thursday in Anbar province's capital of Ramadi, which along with nearby Fallujah is a major stronghold of the estimated 30,000 U.S. forces in the western province. The statement appeared hours after al Qaeda rocket and mortar strikes on U.S. military installations in Ramadi killed one Marine.
The same morning, scores of al Qaeda fighters streamed into the streets of Ramadi, taking up positions with new automatic weapons. Witnesses said one group of insurgents proudly displayed a new rocket launcher that put U.S. armored vehicles in the glowing red beam of its targeting laser.
The fact that American forces still attack entire cities and towns in the west is a sign of how much territory remains out of U.S. and Iraqi government control, said Abu Hatem Dulaimi, a member of the Zarqawi-allied Ansar al-Sunna Army.
"I can say that the legend of the undefeated U.S. Army is gone, owing to our rockets and mines, which are separating them from it day after day," Dulaimi said in a telephone interview. "If they bet that time will be the way to end the resistance, they are wrong, because we are stronger since a year ago or maybe more."
Twenty-five members of Ansar al-Sunna killed themselves and others in suicide attacks last month, he said, and 53 volunteers for suicide attacks have arrived since.
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BAGHDAD -- Using enemy body counts as a benchmark, the U.S. military claimed gains against Abu Musab Zarqawi's foreign-led fighters last week even as they mounted their deadliest attacks on Iraq's capital.
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Lovable to the End
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A stunning upset in the best comedy category, moving memorial tributes to Johnny Carson and Peter Jennings and several outbreaks of desperately needed comic relief helped make the 57th Annual Emmy Awards, telecast live from Los Angeles on CBS last night, one of the more nearly entertaining and least irritating Emmycasts in memory.
The upset occurred when the last Emmy was given out just before 11 p.m. -- a sentimental farewell Emmy to "Everybody Loves Raymond," the CBS sitcom that ended its nine-year run in the spring. It defeated the front-runner, ABC's "Desperate Housewives," which was the most talked-about new show of the 2004-05 TV season.
Emmys did go, however, to "Housewives" co-star Felicity Huffman and to Charles McDougall, who directed the controversial comedy's pilot episode. Wins by "Housewives" and the second most talked-about new show, "Lost," helped ABC to a total of six Emmys (of awards announced for the first time on the show), a close second to HBO, which usually dominates the competition and won seven Emmys.
CBS won five Emmys, Fox won two, and NBC -- currently the fourth-place network -- also won two. Other Emmys were scattered among such smaller networks as Showtime, Comedy Central (winning two for "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," its only program of merit) and PBS (for a "Masterpiece Theatre" production, "The Lost Prince").
Ellen DeGeneres, who won high praise for hosting the delayed Emmys that aired after the tragic terrorist attack of Sept. 11, 2001, did another stellar job last night -- noting that she was working once again in the shadow of a catastrophe, this time Hurricane Katrina. She and some other participants wore magnolias in support of hurricane victims in New Orleans and other cities. In addition, there were repeated public service announcements asking for donations to Habitat for Humanity via the CBS Web site.
David Letterman, who has been averse to awards show appearances since flopping as host of the Oscars in the 1990s, made a rare Emmy visit to tumultuous applause and hosted a tribute to the late Johnny Carson, for nearly 30 years host of "The Tonight Show" and, said Letterman, "the biggest star in the history of television." Letterman came across as dour and desultory, however, suggesting he was anything but happy to be present on the Emmy stage.
The show's loudest and longest standing ovation went to Dan Rather, former anchor of "The CBS Evening News," and Tom Brokaw, former anchor of "NBC Nightly News," who said they'd hoped to be reunited with Peter Jennings, the "ABC World News Tonight" anchor who died last month of cancer. The segment became a tribute to the passing of an era, when Brokaw, Rather and Jennings were part of an American tradition and, said presenter Alan Alda, "anchors in more ways than one."
They represented a time of homogeneity and relative stability that is now fading fast into history. This was an emotional last great farewell. "Peter will have a place in this brotherhood forever," Brokaw said as part of the tribute to Jennings.
Pleas for hurricane relief presumably being nonpartisan and public-spirited, the Emmycast was devoid of the political statements by winners that have erupted in previous years with one exception: Blythe Danner, nominated in three categories and a winner for her role as a psychiatrist's mother in Showtime's "Huff," said of Iraq and the war being waged by American forces and a few allies, "Let's get the heck out of there."
The long evening's most endearing acceptance speech was probably the one given by S. Epatha Merkerson, a familiar presence to viewers of NBC's long-running hit "Law & Order" but a winner last night for her role in HBO's acclaimed movie "Lackawanna Blues." Merkerson, in a low-cut shimmering blue dress, said she'd made notes for a speech but that the paper had slipped down her cleavage when she stored it there.
"It's probably stuck to me," she said, making a few attempts to retrieve it -- finally giving up and saying to her viewing mother, "Ma, I lost it!" -- a statement with particular resonance coming from an actress on a stage in Hollywood.
Other entertaining highlights included a feature that DeGeneres called "Emmy Idol," after Fox's successful "American Idol" talent contest. Various artists popped up to sing a few classic theme songs from old TV shows -- most notably an amusingly countrified Donald Trump, in overalls and a straw hat, teamed with Megan Mullally of "Will & Grace" to sing the theme from "Green Acres." The show's star, Eddie Albert, seen in clips behind the singers, died earlier this year at the age of 99.
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A stunning upset in the best comedy category, moving memorial tributes to Johnny Carson and Peter Jennings and several outbreaks of desperately needed comic relief helped make the 57th Annual Emmy Awards, telecast live from Los Angeles on CBS last night, one of the more nearly entertaining and...
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Water Vapor Discovered on Tiny Moon of Saturn
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The original idea was to fly within 600 miles of Enceladus, orbiting 148,000 miles from Saturn, but some researchers suspected the icy moon might have an atmosphere. Fly closer, they suggested.
"The rest is history," said planetary scientist Robert H. Brown of the University of Arizona's Lunar and Planetary Laboratory. From a height of 109 miles, the Cassini spacecraft trained instruments on a cloud of water vapor venting from fissures at the moon's south pole.
From that moment, tiny Enceladus, only 310 miles in diameter, joined Mars and Jupiter's moon Europa as the solar system's leading candidates for having liquid water beneath their chilly surfaces -- a likely precondition for harboring life. But why the south pole? And how does something so small have liquid water?
"We haven't a clue," Brown said.
Brown calls the discovery of water vapor at Enceladus "one of the most important things ever to come out of planetary science," but for NASA's Cassini, perhaps the most muscular planetary science mission ever launched, it was just another day's work.
Nearly 15 months after Cassini awed an international viewing audience by flying through the rings of Saturn and settling into orbit around the giant gas planet, the spacecraft is operating impeccably, producing data and discoveries that are occupying the professional lives of as many as 500 scientists and engineers.
"We feel like we're drinking from a fire hose," said Torrence V. Johnson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He is a member of Cassini's imaging science team.
Perhaps the mission's most memorable moment came in January, when the European Space Agency's Huygens probe, released by Cassini 11 days earlier, parachuted to the surface of Saturn's largest moon, Titan, penetrating its smoggy atmosphere to record the first clear images of a forbidding world.
Since then, Cassini has made five more passes, and scientists' perception of Titan has begun to expand. They still regard Titan as a "pre-biotic" world, lifeless but rife with the compounds that existed on Earth before life evolved, but they now find its meteorology just as interesting as its chemistry.
"Titan is probably more Earth-like than anyplace we've looked at anywhere," Johnson said, "and we're seeing it every few weeks." Titan quite likely has a weather system based not on water but on liquid methane, which has eroded Titan's ice cliffs to create a landscape reminiscent of Norwegian fjords.
The methane vents from Titan's interior; and although much of it blows away into space and some of it falls back to the surface as hydrocarbon dust particles, scientists are confident that a great deal of it must also fall as rain. No solid body in the solar system except Earth has such a complex weather system.
And even though Cassini has not yet seen methane rain nor found any evidence of the predicted methane oceans, project scientists say rain is the only explanation that fits the landscape. "We're probably talking about some seasonal differences," said J. Hunter Waite Jr. of the University of Michigan. "There is some evidence from the southern hemisphere of a methane lake, and we'll find more."
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The original idea was to fly within 600 miles of Enceladus, orbiting 148,000 miles from Saturn, but some researchers suspected the icy moon might have an atmosphere. Fly closer, they suggested.
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It's Not a Rivalry if the Other Team Never Wins
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It's a good thing the rest of the nation has a football alternative to watching Redskins-Cowboys tonight. This isn't a rivalry; it's a beat-down. The Cowboys have won 14 of the past 15 games in the series against a team that once upon a time was their rival. The Cowboys have beaten the Redskins nine straight at Texas Stadium and 11 of 12 down there. Why would anybody outside of Dallas and Washington want to see the pro football equivalent of Georgetown vs. St. Leo?
The Cowboys win close (9-7 in 2001) and they win easy (31-7 in 1994 and 38-3 in 1993). Also, they beat anybody the Redskins have running the show, from Joe Gibbs to Richie Petitbon to Norv Turner to Terry Robiskie to Marty Schottenheimer to Steve Spurrier, to Gibbs in his second time around. Norv was 1-5 at Texas Stadium (and 0-6 overall in his last half-dozen games) against the Cowboys. Meanwhile, whoever Dallas has wearing a headset wins against the Redskins. It's understandable that Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells have won their fair share in this series, but Chan Gailey? He beat the Redskins twice in two tries down in Texas. Dave Campo won only 15 games in his three-year career as head coach, but one-third of those came against the Redskins, and he was 3-0 at Texas Stadium.
A series that was once unpredictable and dramatic has been nothing but stale and uninteresting for folks who don't really have a rooting interest.
If the Redskins, relegated to the perfunctory 1 p.m. start times for all but six games this year, thought they were going to bore the nation to death with their impotent offense and their Dallas-itis, they were mistaken.
Hurricane Katrina's devastation and some bad decision-making by the NFL mean the Redskins will not have the nation's undivided attention; they'll have to share their prime-time network exposure.
Don't be surprised if Redskins-Cowboys viewership takes a big hit from the New York Giants-New Orleans Saints game, moved from New Orleans to the Meadowlands and from yesterday afternoon to tonight because of the devastation of New Orleans and the Superdome. Of course, it's a game that shouldn't be played on Monday night, nor should it be played eight miles outside of New York City on the Giants' home field. It's a New York-centric decision, an impossibly arrogant presumption that if you can't be where you want to be, you certainly want to be in New York. Boy, it's so nice of the executives on Park Avenue to be so kind to the Saints, who are displaced from Louisiana and have relocated to San Antonio.
Here's what I know to be true about Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, the states where Saints fans could drive and see their team if they want to: They've got football stadiums. They've got 'em in Starkville and Oxford and Hattiesburg in Mississippi. They've got 'em in Baton Rouge in Louisiana, in Birmingham and Auburn and Tuscaloosa in Alabama. We're not talking rinky-dink dumps like the 49ers' home, but big-time college football palaces that seat 60,000 or more and are suitable (if not preferable) as the site of one measly NFL game. San Antonio, where the Saints' families are trying to set up something that resembles home for an indefinite period, might not be ideal, but it is where the Saints are. The Alamodome there was built to host football games. Perhaps Saints fans who have been displaced by this storm but care so passionately about football and all that it means to their community would like to have had the chance to drive a few hours to see a team with "New Orleans" on the uniform, a team representing them.
"America's Team" is playing tonight, you know. No, I'm not talking about the Cowboys. The Saints are the team so many of us root for now, especially after they held together so admirably last week, when football had to be way down the list of priorities, and found the resolve to beat heavily favored Carolina on the road. It was the inspirational moment so far in the NFL and they're the sentimental favorites for the entire season. And their reward for winning the game of the week was this? Give up a home game, play where their people can't come and see them, in New York, no less? Late last week, fewer than 2,000 Saints fans had reportedly purchased tickets to the Saints "home game" in suburban New Jersey.
Giving the Giants an additional home game also is unfair to the other teams in the NFC East. The Cowboys, Eagles and Redskins will play eight home games, not nine like their rival. I'm not suggesting for a second that NFL executives who work on Park Avenue are stacking the deck for their New York homies. But please don't tell me that playing in Giants Stadium is the best possible solution the league could have come up with for the Saints.
But the average football fan may be entirely grateful for not having to watch Redskins-Cowboys. Look, there are results virtually every week that are absurdly unpredictable, like the Saints winning in Charlotte last weekend. But there's nothing to suggest folks would be better off leaving Giants-Saints after halftime to watch Cowboys-Redskins.
The visitors can't figure out who their quarterback is, and they're coming to town on a night when the Cowboys will retire the numbers of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin, their Hall of Fame-bound trio. To quote one league insider anticipating the expected scene at Texas Stadium tonight, "It'll be like the Boston Garden with the Lakers coming to play the Celtics in a playoff game."
In other words, Texas Stadium will be juiced. Maybe Mark Brunell is just the person the Redskins need to restore some competitiveness to this dead series. Then again, maybe folks would rather see the apparently improved Giants and young Eli Manning go against the sentimental favorite Saints. And a victory for the Redskins might start to revive an important rivalry while a victory by the Saints might grab the hearts of millions, and those two things are certainly not equal.
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The Cowboys have beaten the Redskins nine straight at Texas Stadium. Why would anybody outside of Dallas and Washington want to see Monday's game?
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Thicker Than Water
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OCEAN SPRINGS, Miss. -- Hurricanes exhilarated Walter Anderson.
As the story goes, the quirky-genius painter/sculptor/craftsman refused to evacuate the little Gulf island where he was working when Hurricane Betsy roared through here in 1965. He curled up under a little boat on a sand dune and weathered the brutal winds and waters.
Forty years later, much of Anderson's astonishingly original artwork has been maimed or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.
Enthralled by a sense of oneness with his environment, Anderson drew creative strength and spirit from nature, even in its most violent displays. He was a mystic whose passions for art and the natural world went hand in hand with madness.
In a region that takes pride in its eccentrics and artists of all kinds, Anderson and his family came to epitomize the glories -- and now the costs -- of living the artistic life.
On a recent afternoon, Anderson's son John is sorting through the salvaged pieces. It is, he says, "a soggy mess."
He has spread scores of water-soaked original drawings on the back-room floor of Realizations, a gift shop that features reproductions of Anderson's art -- fanciful, colorful paintings and drawings of Gulf Coast birds, trees, alligators, sea life and just about everything else imaginable, all brought to life in a looping, swirling, childlike-yet-sophisticated way. The shop is part of a refurbished train depot.
A few tree-strewn blocks away: The Walter Anderson Museum of Art and community center, which housed exhibits of Anderson's work, stands pretty much unscathed by the wind and water. The art in the museum was safe; many of Anderson's damaged pieces from other places have been taken there for evaluation. But the 28-acre family compound, where several generations of Andersons live, has been pretty much wiped out. Fifteen buildings, including nine family homes, were destroyed, John Anderson reports, and a concrete vault holding most of Walter's art filled with water.
John's home was severely damaged by Katrina, but he is not thinking about that now. He is focused on saving the work of his father, who died of lung cancer several months after the 1965 hurricane. "Words are not appropriate," he says. "There was so much destruction."
Oils are streaked and splattered with mud and salt water. Watercolors are washed out. John Anderson says that more than 80 percent of his father's work -- paintings, drawings, wood and clay sculpture, decorated pottery, block prints, weavings -- was under water at one time or another during the storm.
In a khaki shirt, shorts and duck boots, Anderson, 58, moves among the damaged works -- kneeling on one knee, reaching for art. He has thick blond hair and a bird's eyes -- alarmed, in motion. He is tired and operating on adrenaline. "All of my energy," he wrote to family and friends, "has been spent trying to save a little of Walter Anderson's art."
He added, "The essential cannot be destroyed."
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Complete Coverage on Hurricane Katrina including video, photos and blogs. Get up-to-date news on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, news from New Orleans and more.
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Both Sides Now
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Will the real Niagara Falls please stand up?
Are you Canada's family destination, its Disney and its Vegas tumbled into one? Or are you the lounge club and calzone capital of Upstate New York?
Niagara, you used to have newlyweds in Ramblers with tin cans jangling behind. You had New Yorkers arriving by the trainload. You were the Newport, the Cape May of the North.
Now we're not so sure. Are you a wonder of the world? Are you a spray starch? To the real Maid o' the Mist, the million-gallon Niagara: Please stand up.
To know Niagara Falls these days is to know two mist-split shores: the Canadian city and the American town. Newlyweds still book rooms in both, and some say the negative ions from the rush of the falls cause feelings of attraction. But if you're not into ions, there are all sorts of other, mostly positive lures, like the Canadian side's sleek casinos and space needle towers, and the U.S. side's Italian bakeries and a state park, the nation's oldest, by Frederick Law Olmsted.
Incorporated in 1892, the city of Niagara Falls, N.Y., was the first to use the name that both municipalities now share. The Canadian side just celebrated its civic centennial in 2004, and there were extra floats and fireworks since it has passed its U.S. neighbor in population (78,000 vs. about 50,000) and visitors per year (15 million vs. 8.4 million).
Still, is bigger better? If you have a weekend to spend, which side is a smarter pick for getting close to the roaring water, for nearby things to do, casinos, parks and the like?
Which is the real Niagara -- the coolest for droplet rainbows and hottest for rides and late-night fun? Spray-loving tourists need to know.
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It's time to weigh the positives and negatives of Niagara Falls a la Ontario and Niagara Falls, New York-style to crown a waterfall destination champion.
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Talk About Travel
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2005091919
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The Post's Travel Section Flight Crew will take your comments, questions, suspicions, warnings, gripes, sad tales and happy endings springing from the world of... the world. Of course, the Flight Crew will be happy to answer your travel questions -- but the best thing about this forum, we insist, is that it lets travelers exchange information with other travelers who've been there, done that or otherwise have insights, ideas and information to share. Different members of the Crew will rotate through the captain's chair every week, but the one constant is you, our valued passengers.
We know you have a choice in online travel forums, and speaking for the entire Flight Crew, we want to thank you for flying with us.
You may also browse an archive of previous live travel discussions.
Did you have travel plans to the Gulf coast? Check out our
John Deiner: Welcome aboard this week's journey with the Travel section Flight Crew. I'm your captain this week, with a great gang trolling the aisle, including Gary Lee, Steve Hendrix, Anne McDonough, Andrea Sachs and --- of course -- Our Fare Lady, Carol Sottili.
Going to throw this question out, though I'm not sure what we'll reel in, if anything. I'm wondering what your favorite "surprise hit" was on a trip--you know, those things you dread and turn out to be wonderful. Squirrel World in North Dakota? That Motel 6 in Newark? That dingy little cafe that happened to be the only thing open near your Paris Hotel? Be short and sweet, but mostly be short.
Winner gets two flat things we can mail you in an envelope: a nifty faux-leather document holder and a little even-fauxer-leather-bound notepad. They're from boring travel-industry organizations, but oh-so-functional nonetheless.
Alexandria, Va.: Can you please tell me whether a $675 round trip to Honolulu for spring break would be a good price on average? I checked using sidestep. I'm trying to book early, but wanted to see if I should wait...
Thanks a bunch Flight Crew! Jen
Carol Sottili: That's not bad. The cheapest you ever get is about $550 or so. Another way to try to book is to break it into two flights - here to Los Angeles or San Francisco, and then from LA or SF to Honolulu.
Dogs of Maine: What is the story behind that determined-looking puppy on the cover of yesterday's section?
Anne McDonough: Wasn't that a cutie? I'm not always much for animal photos but that one was adorable. I wasn't the photog so can't tell you what really was motivating that pooch but I imagine the laidback life of Monhegan Island was calling.
Cell phones in New Zealand: Dear Flight Crew,
My Mom asked me to help her figure out how to get her a cell phone in New Zealand. I know she could rent one, but that can be expensive. My question is this. I know my cell phone works all over the world, but I suspect hers does not. We have a cell phone from the UK that I would be happy to give her to use. How can I find out if the UK and New Zealand are on the same frequency. Also - have any of you had experience buying a SIM card once you are in a foreign country so that she can pay for minutes in NZ through a NZ provider using our British phone (ie take out our SIM card and pop in hers and then she would have a NZ number to use while she was there). Any advice you can offer would be appreciated. Thanks so much.
Steve Hendrix: Your mom (or you, more likely) should just call her cell phone carrier and ask what her plan allows. Some deals have the international service embedded, some need to be activated, some are ruinously expensive. (My brother in law was visiting me in Guatemala, blithely chatting away, and then got home to a $500 bill).
Call. The company should be able to give you definitive answers.
Washington, D.C.: Could I trouble you for some thoughts on South America
You have 10 days in early Jan. You will be flying into
either Sao Paolo or Buenos Aires. Where do you go?
1. Buenos Aires and Uruguay (Punta del Esta, maybe
2. Northeastern Brazil beaches--Recife, Natal, Fortaleza,
3. Rio and day trips from there (Ouro Preto, Paraty, etc)
I know these are all wildly different, and honestly I think
I'd be happy doing any of them. I'm just trying to get
opinions of people who may have gone and also to see
how they all stack up in terms of expense...
Gary Lee: These are all excellent choices. I am glad to hear you say that you'd be happy with any of them. I am a fan of all of South America, but my particular favorite in that region is Brazil.
I'd do Rio for a funky urban experience -- and people watching -- for around three days. Then I'd head up to the Northeast. Besides Refice and Natal, Salvador is a real gem in that area.
With that combination, you have city life, beaches, and exotic culture all rolled into one trip.
Anyone else have thoughts for this lucky soul planning a trip to Latin America?
Washington, DC: Hi Flight Crew! My brothers and I are trying to plan a trip to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday and we are thinking the Outer Banks might be what we want to do. What's the best way to go about planning a week there and looking for rental housing for a week(probably shooting for early June)? Any recommendations for a location there that will have a good variety of things to do? (we will have a wide range of ages - 2 60ish people, 3 late 20s, 4 early 20s and one small child).
John Deiner: Hey, DC. Love the Outer Banks, I do. Best time to start planning is in January or so, when the largest selection of houses are still available. (Early June is still a few weeks from the beginning of the busy season, though, so you shouldn't have any problem finding something in your size or price range.)Check with www.outerbanks.org for a list of realtors,many of which have great search engines that spit out a whole list of possibilities.
I love the Duck area -- tons of stuff to do and less busy, plus it's centrally located if you want to do things at the far north of the Banks or down in the Nags Head area.
Washington, D.C. -- need help TODAY please!!!: I hope you can answer this on today's chat. I had reservations for travel to LA on Independence Air for the second week of November. Got a call this morning that they are discontinuing the flight as of end of Sept. They are offering me either a full refund or travel to S.F. on the same dates, for the same price (they will apparently cease the San Diego flights, too).
The only reason I was going to LA is that I caught their $69 each way sale. I have a couple of questions I'm hoping you can answer in time for me to tell them today whether I want to take them up on their S.F. replacement offer: (1) is Flyi likely to be functioning in Nov? If they go bankrupt, am I going to lose my money? Saw your CoGo item on the gas price impact, btw. 2) Is SF in early November just too cold? If I go, I'd like to drive up the coast, or maybe to Napa (or maybe both). Is it going to be too rainy/cold for me to enjoy it??
Hope you can help -- THANKS!!!!
Carol Sottili: I don't like the way that sounds. I certainly hope Independence Air will be flying in November, as the airline has spearheaded lower prices out of Dulles, but as I said last week, it's only a matter of time before an airline will go under. Whether it will be Fly I or US Airways or Delta or ???? or a combination, no one knows. AS for San Francisco, I think you'd have fun there in November. I have fun there no matter what time of year it is. I don't know about driving to Napa then, but the city itself will be fine. Go to www.weather.com for historical averages.
SE, Asia: Heading to Malaysia/Singapore in a few weeks and I have concerns. As a Western woman traveling in a predominantly Muslim country, how should I dress? I'll be predominantly in KL, but can I dress as I would for summer in DC? Thanks,
Gary Lee: There is such a mix of cultures in Malaysia and Singapore that you're likely to be fine dressing as you would in the DC area. The one caveat is that I'd probably advise against very short skirts or low necklines. They might make you stand out too much. Otherwise, I've seen women in both places wearing pants, dresses, etc.
I'm new to the area and the East in general, and I thought I'd check out the coast and the Chesapeake now that Labor Day has passed. I like doing stuff outdoors, and was thinking about maybe taking a ferry to Tangier Island or driving to Assateague, bringing my sleeping bag, and spending a night under the stars. Is this legal here (I used to do it a lot in Oregon)? Are the bugs really bad this time of year? Which island is better, Tangier or Asseteague?
Steve Hendrix: Both are lovely, especially in fall, but they are different. Asseteague is easier to get to but is, paradoxically, wilder than Tangier, which is settled. But it's settled with an old and disappearing watermen's culture that makes for a pretty still enviroment. Asseteague is a National Seashore that mostly unbuilt except for roads and campgrounds.
I'm planning on taking one of the cheap Chinatown buses up to NYC in a few weeks and was wondering if there was any public transportation from the city to the Hudson River Valley about 90 mi north. I wanted to see the Estates there in Hyde Park. Do you know of any conveyance to and from those two points? Thanks a bunch in advance.
Anne McDonough: Hey Fairfax, coming up is a TQA Andrea did on exploring the Hudson Valley region estates. As far as getting from NYC up there, the column mentions NY Waterway if you'd like to go by boat, or you could follow some of these directions from the historic h.v. site: http://www.hudsonvalley.org/ web/plan-trai.html For the cheap buses, you'd want to get off at one of the stops in the West 30s, not Chinatown, so you'd be close to Penn Station (for Amtrak) or the Hudson River (for NY Waterway), or just a few stops from Grand Central (Metro North trains). Check out www.ivymedia.com for the bus times, tickets, etc. The Vaderbilt Mansion, for example, is a Hyde Park mansion that's accessible both by Metro North and Amtrak (from the nps.gov site: The Metro-North Commuter Railroad and Amtrak both stop in Poughkeepsie, about 5 miles south of the park.). From there you'd cab it.
washingtonpost.com: TQA re: Hudson Valley , (July 24, 2005)
Arlington, Va.: I'd like to go to Malta in early November. Any idea how the weather would be? Any recommendations on hotel/packages? I like to book hotel and flights ahead when I travel, but otherwise just play it be ear. Thanks!
John Deiner: Hey, Arl. Malta is a pretty temperate locale, though it can be scorching in summertime. My guess is that you'd have pleasant weather in the Med that time of year. As far as packages go, I had great luck with Academic Tours (www.academictours.com) in New York City, which specializes in Malta. If you can, go with a better quality hotel, as there's a big difference in three stars vs. five stars.
Fairfax, Va.: Getting ready to book a vacation through Apple Vacations. I've got a choice between USAirways and American for my flights. The American flights are little more expensive and go through Miami on the way back, but I'm a little apprehensive of USAir. Since they're merging with America West, have things stabalized? Or should I go ahead and book the American flight and deal with customs in Miami?
Carol Sottili: You don't say when you're going, but I wouldn't hesitate to book US Airways any time in the not-so-distant future. American has problems too. Let's face it, just about every legacy airline has trouble.
Baltimore, seeking week-long Paris apartment for 6: Hi, we are going to Paris for about 5 days next April for mom-in-law's special birthday. It will be 6 adults (3 couples) ranging from mid-70s to early 40s. Looking for a 3 bedroom apt, not too far from city center, or perhaps in Montmartre neighborhood. We see lots of gorgeous places on line that are not too outrageously priced with glowing testimonitals. Can we believe these--is there a site like Trip Advisor that rates overseas short-term apts, too? Also, do you or clicksters have experience in Paris with agencies that arrange for clean, functional, and reasonably priced apts.? Many thanks!
Gary Lee: As a home owner in Paris, this is something I know a bit about.
If you check out ricksteves.com, here is a section where travelers have offered their rants and raves on all sorts of "alternative lodging," including Paris rental apartments.
Also, one site we have used where the prices seem pretty reasonable is www.parisnet.net.
Alexandria,Va: Biggest surprise hit: On a Scandanavian vacation this summer, we stopped in Helsinki twice. The first day we were there, I wasn't so impressed. The second time we stopped in however, our ferry landed in the main port. We happened upon a crepe shop set up in the market there. The BEST crepe of my life awaited me there. Perfectly thin crepe just oozing with rich european chocolate. I ate two and went home happy.
John Deiner: Mmmmmmmmmmmm. Crepes. Thanks for startin' us off, Al.
Fortaleza, Brazil: I was about to buy online two one-way tickets for Ontario-BWI for Oct. 4 when I noticed that Southwest upped the fare about 50% overnight ($99 plus tax to $147 plus tax). Obviously a sale ended. Would it be worthwhile to wait for another sale soon or would it be risking losing even the $147 price?
If I can make a plug for the country in which I now reside (Brazil) as a vacation destination, I note that in November, United will start having two daily non-stop flights from Dulles to Sao Paulo, Varig will add a second daily non-stop from New York to Sao Paulo and TAM will begin flying from New York to SP.
Carol Sottili: Thanks for the Brazil info.
AS for Southwest, the airline offers frequent sales, but there's no telling whether it will have another one before you have to buy. And its sales often require that you purchase 14 days in advance. So I'd probably take the plunge.
Denver, Colo: Our surprise hit happened this past 4th of July in Custer, SD. We decided to roadtrip there for the 4th last minute, and all of the park campgrounds were booked. I found a private campground on a local website and booked us a teepee to camp in. We weren't sure what to expect but we are converts. You don't have to set up a tent, they are so tall you can stand up in them, and there is plenty of room. Plus, that was our first trip to that area and we just loved it - can't wait to go back and explore some more!
John Deiner: Custer's a cool place, isn't it, Denver? That campground sounds like a real find.
Cell phones aboad:: My daughter purchased a phone for her year in England. We took it to Sweden this summer and located a Vodaphone (sp?) store. The clerk popped out the English SIM card, dropped in a Swedish one and we were on our way in less than 10 minutes with prepaid time.
Steve Hendrix: Love it when that works.
Reston, Va.: Spas Anyone? My husband and I are considering our first trip to a spa for a relaxing Thanksgiving. An awesome hiking program is a priority, but we'd also like to come back rested and ready for a stressful year. Any thoughts on Red Mountain or Green Valley in St. George or Rancho La Puerta in Tecate? Thanks!!
Anne McDonough: Coming up is a link to KC's story from last January about Red Mountain, and there's a side bar that goes into detail about 7 other adventure spas, including Green Valley and Rancho La Puerta.
Wanted to give an update for anyone still worried about a London vacation. I traveled over the Labor Day weekend and had a wonderful time. The tubes have all returned to normal, there aren't any armed police around the tube stations and there still were lots of people in the pubs on a Sunday night.
On another note, I'd also like to recommend the little town of Rye in East Sussex for a day trip or weekend. It is the quinticential 17th century British town, cobblestone streets, a parish church with a commanding view from the bell tower, creaky old pubs and of course tourist shoppes. The best part is it's most British tourists as most Americans haven't heard about it. The countryside is probably the prettiest in England IMHO.
Gary Lee: We're delighted -- and not at all surprised -- to hear that the city has snapped back into gear.
Thanks for that tip, too; sounds like some place we'd love to check out.
washingtonpost.com: Not Your Mother's Spa , (Jan. 9, 2005)
Anne McDonough: Thanks, Kim! Here, for the spa-bound.
Bowie, Md.: Hi Crew....interesting situation about parking at DCA...tried to get into the economy lot on Sat 9/3 which was full and got a coupon that would give me the discounted rate regardless where I parked. So far, so good. Then, when returning on 9/7 and tried to exit Lot A...a supervisor had to be called to come to the booth and authorize my coupon. When I said something, I was told, that I could pay $75 or wait to pay $45. I ended up waiting 15 minutes sitting in the car, at the booth, until the supervisor arrived. While I waited, I called the phone number posted on the booth and was told, yes, for each person a supervisor had to come and authorize the coupon. Is this the ultimate in absurdity???
Let me answer your question thus: Yes.
So unlike D.C. to have an extra layer of red tape, isn't it? Thanks for sharing!
Rocvkille, Md: I have a question about changing a reservation on an overseas flight. My daughter is studying abroad for the semester and had planned on her return flight being from Rome to London to Boston. She would like to change and would like to land in the Washington area instead. I know there is a $100 change fee, but the ticket agent who confirmed her seat moved her to a different fare class (a little higher) without asking me if that was okay or if I would like to book another flight. When I looked online and noticed the change, I called the airline. The ticket agent informed me that since there were no seats available in the class in which she is currently booked, they had moved her up and I would have to pay the difference in class fare as well. What do you think about that?
Carol Sottili: That's why you have to check those online confirmations as soon as you get them. You usually have 24 hours to change things, but once that window passes, they say, "Hey, we sent you the confirmation - you should have read it." That happened to me recently, and it wound up costing $200. If you did contact the airline within 24 hours, and they wouldn't help, ask to talk to a supervisor.
Columbia, SC: For the person worried about Independence Air - if you purchased the ticket on your credit card, if they go under before your flight, you can get a full refund on your card since the services weren't delivered. I had tickets on Air South, a short-lived airline based in SC a few years ago, and when they went under, I got all my money refunded from my card. I wouldn't use a debit card, though - I'm not sure what the policy would be then.
Carol Sottili: As long as it's within 90 days, that would work. But then you'd still not have cheap tickets to your destination.
New York, NY: I would like to travel to Australia and New Zealand and am considering an escorted tour package since I will be a a single female traveller (and am lazy). What would you consider as must-sees, particularly in New Zealand? I saw a highlight package tour for 11-days - do you think this is long enough?
Andrea Sachs: If the 11 days are for New Zealand only--then yes. For both, no. Eleven days in Australia is not nearly enough, and then tack on NZ--oh, you need a good lifetime. However, if you are just looking for the highlights then . .. for Australia: Sydney (zoo, outlying beaches, harbor bridge walk, Opera tour, shopping); Great Barrier Reef (snorkel or dive); Melbourne (theater, shopping, eating--though it does feel a bit like Boston, with better accents); Phillip Island for the penguins; and the Great Ocean Road coastal drive, including the 12 Apostles, trekking the Outback. New Zealand is less running around (but lots of hiking and driving. Among the sights: Wellington and the entire South Island (especially Queenstown, for the tram, Xtreme sports).
My advice: Don't try to cover too much terrain.
Follow up from last week-St. Louis: Hi Flight Crew,
I'm the one who in wrote last week about St. Louis fares the week after Thanksgiving. I ended up getting a $168 fare from BWI on Southwest! Just sharing the joy of a cheap fare...woo-hoo!
Carol Sottili: You can save money from BWI when Southwest is having a sale. But if you live in Virginia, like I do, you better pick your flight times carefully.
Washington, DC: My husband and I were scheduled to fly South African
Airways in August on the new Dulles-Jo'burg route. We correctly understood that no visa was required. However, I was denied boarding. U.S. Citizens are required to have "at least one
blank visa page for the purpose of endorsement." I have two blank pages in my passport. I had no totally blank pages in "Visas" but two in "Amendments and Endorsements," the pages at the back of the passport. We were admittedly not aware of this blank page requirement but even if we had been, I probably would have (erroneously) thought that the two empty pages in the "Amendments and Endorsements" section (emphasis on "Endorsements") were adequate.
The instructions from the South African Embassy read:
"Foreigners intending to visit South Africa are
hereby informed that their passports must have at least one
blank visa page for the purpose of endorsement. The
blank page needed for endorsement purposes excludes
pages in a passport reserved for observations and
I had two pages where "endorsements" were permissible. In fact, the U.S. and Indian governments have utilized some of those extra pages as such (including an arrival stamp at Dulles Airport from January). As a side note, ground staff at South African Airways told me my passport might be invalid because of that Dulles stamp. (The U.S. Passport Agency didn't have a problem with it though.)
I suggested to the South African Embassy that for the websites of the embassies and consular sections in the United States it they more explicitly note this requirement and to track the language of the U.S. Passport. As of our departure, only the U.S. Dept. of State's website gives instructions in terms of the U.S. passport.
South African Airways informed us that on average one or two people per flight are denied boarding because of this issue. Indeed, it happened to the woman in line behind me. Ultimately, she was permitted to board because she was going on to Lesotho and not going through immigration at JNB. On the prior flight from IAD, a gentleman was denied boarding. Everyone we spoke to by phone at SAA knew our problem before we even finished our sentence - it's that common. (The issue was never mentioned to us in our calls to SAA before the flight).
I am six months pregnant and this was my last international flight for a while. It was very disappointing to be sent to the Passport Office for more pages in my passport (fully packed, ready to go, had taken a $60 cab ride to Dulles, and got sent on another ride to the Passport Office while our plane departed) and be delayed for two full days waiting for the next flight out of Dulles. We had to cancel our hotel reservations and car rental for the first two days in South Africa. There was an evening flight the day of our departure from JFK but South African Airways refused to let us get on that flight, until we worked our way up the chain (we had restricted but not inexpensive tickets). By that point it was too late. The managing ground staff of SAA was extremely rude and unhelpful. (The Passport Office was quite pleasant and efficient.)
I do appreciate that it is the passengers' responsibility to know the immigration requirements. However, in light of how common this problem is, it might not hurt for South African Airways to spread the word. We searched everywhere on their website for this requirement and it was nowhere to be found (we suggested they add in this info and SAA indicated they thought this was a good suggestion). Another factor for us was that we didn't have a travel agent - we bought our tickets electronically. I did a Google search, however, and most travel agents simply advise to have one blank page in your passport. I'm not sure that advice would have been sufficient for me to realize that the blank pages I did have would not have been adequate. I think a lot of people, upon learning there is no visa requirement, might assume they are set.
In any event, I hope I can spread the word because I
would hate to see this happen to a couple of
Honeymooners on their way to a pre-paid Singita stay.
On another note, our flights were all on time (once we were allowed on). The coach seats on the lower deck were the least comfortable I have ever experienced on an international flight (but I had read about this issue before hand). I would recommend begging and pleading for the coach seats on the upper deck.
Carol Sottili: Anyone heading to South AFrica should read this......
Bethesda, Md.: I would like to take my two young sons (ages 2 and 6) to see Niagara Falls. The older one saw it on TV and wants to go. Do you think they would enjoy it? Do you have any ideas for what else we could do on the way there or back? My friends have mentioned the Canadian wineries but that, of course, won't work. Any family resorts, beautiful parks, etc close by or along the way? Thanks so much.
John Deiner: Hey, Beth. First, your sons will definitely love it...it's so amazing, and there are a lot of family-friendly activities to see/do. In fact, our main story in Sunday's section is covering that exact ground -- look for it this weekend.
as far as the things to do on the way up there or back, I'll throw it out to the Clicksters. Any ideas, gang?
19th and K, Washington, D.C.: Best surprise hit of a trip? In the midst of three and a half weeks in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, staying in a small town called Alamosa, Colo., in the middle of nowhere. Only dinner option was a place that was named, and could be described as, "Chuck Wagon," complete with covered wagon inside.
Next morning, all were starving, and wandered "downtown" and stumbled onto a little breakfast cafe. There, we had the best pancakes any of us had ever had, made with a grain called quinoa that we'd never heard of (this was over ten years ago, who ate health food grains then unless you lived in California?!) but that made them delicious.
Found the stuff back home on the East Coast and have been making great pancakes with it ever since.
John Deiner: Good stuff, 19th. Sounds like a neat little adventure there, with a happy pancaked ending. Thanks for your two cents.
Portland Maine: My boyfriend is going out to Salt Lake City in October for work. He has asked me to go along and I am debating. Can you or the readers give me some ideas on what to do while out there. Thanks as always.
Steve Hendrix: It's a beautiful place, just a little hard to get a drink sometimes. The city is jammed between a wall of Wasatch Mountains and this really giant (you might even say great) lake of brackish water. (Wouldn't Lake of Brackish Water City be a better name for the place?). The city itself has the usual range of good restaurants, and you can drive south a bit to Provo, or up and over to Park City and some of the other ski and resort areas. Great scenery everywhere. Oddly enough, the state government is completely dominated by the Seventh Day Adventist Churh. Or am I confused?
Readers? Any specific tips for Portland?
Per your advice, we checked out Eurail and their prices are pretty steep! And, it's confusing as there seem to be several sites claiming to be "official" - we're not sure who to buy from. I was told by an acquaintance that it'd be really cheap ($25?!) to fly between Spain and Italy. (I doubt it.)
I know this is very much a personal preference question, but if you had 3 weeks, how would you spread it over the Mediterranean? I've spent a lot of time in Greece, so I'm looking for something in Portugal/Spain/Italy - but I just can't decide whether to concentrate on one country, or to spread it between two countries....??? The original thought was Portugal but it started to look like a waste not to do Spain, too, given the time we have. We're flexible, could do up to 4 weeks. Thanks!
Gary Lee: We should all have such choices!
There's a lot that you could so in the Mediterranean in 3-4 weeks. Since you know Greece already, I would suggest dividing your time between Portugal and Spain.
For example, basing yourself in Lisbon and taking trips out to the beach coastal areas would make for a nice start.
From there, you could head up to Spain. I'd start in the Sevilla area and take a week or so to visit that charming city and surrounding Andalucia, including Granada, Corduba, etc.
Barcelona would seem to be a great final stop.
Anyone have thoughts on that part of the world?
Washington DC: Hi All, Quick question: I'm leaving on Sunday for 3 weeks traveling around Scotland and Belgium with only my backpack and travel guides (a 40th birthday present to myself). I've not made any hostel or hotel arrangements, prefering to make them as I go, wherever I go. Some friends think I'm nuts and that I'll be scrambling for a place to sleep all the time. I think I'll be fine. Your opinion(s)? Thanks!
Carol Sottili: Because students are back in school and it's not the high season, I think you'll be fine. Make sure you have a very good hostel/hotel guide, so you'll know your choices. Anyone out there have a great guide they want to recommend?
Washington, DC: The best "surprise" for me was during a trip to Madrid in February of this year. I'm Chinese-American, yet didn't make it to any Chinese New Year festivities here in town through a variety of unforeseen circumstances. I was a little bummed not to be able to celebrate the new year, but oh well.
Then I went to Madrid, which is, of course, a wonderful city in and of itself. While randomly shopping in a store for gifts for States-side friends, I met a very charming Asian young man (raised in Paris, then moved to Madrid) who spoke didn't speak Chinese or English. Thankfully, I took both Spanish and French in college, so we were able to converse relatively well, and he advised me that there was going to be a Chinese New Year celebration in Plaza Mayor just a few hours later!
It was the most wonderful experience. I got to experience a Chinese New Year celebration -- in both Chinese and Spanish! The entire experience got me to thinking what a wonderful, multicultural world we live in, and to appreciate the rich diversity of the world.
John Deiner: Sweet story D.C.--glad you got to catch up to a celebration.
Gaithersburg, Md.: I'm currently trying to plan a trip to go skiing in Banff the week after Christmas. Right now, airfares are running over $600. Should I wait and see if they go down? (they can't possibly go up anymore, could they?)
Carol Sottili: That sounds really high. But it may stay that way because the week after Christmas is the most expensive ski week of the season (and the conditions are often not great). If you need to go that week, you may have to pay up.
East Haddam, Conn: How can I email Brigid Schulte to thank her for the Monhegan Island article in the travel section yesterday?
The artist on the front page is my youngest daughter. The piece made my day and the week too.
Anne McDonough: What a coincidence! We love all feedback (well, we love to good letters, we, shall we say, appreciate the critiques, which is best sent to travel@washpost.com. We'll send it on to Brigid. Thanks!
Arlington, Va.: What are the prices for passports? I hear they are going up shortly.
Andrea Sachs: For first-timers: $97
These are for adults. Kid prices are less. We have not heard that prices are going up (but what isn't these days??). I am awaiting a call back from the State Department, but if they don't get back to me before 2, then check the Way to Go section Sept. 25. We will have info on passport applications.
Washington, DC: Quick question - do I need to get any shots to go to Jamaica? I've heard mixed answers about Hep A among others.
Gary Lee: You don't "need" to have any shots for Jamaica. I've been several times and had no shots and survived without problem. However, for precautionary reasons, you may want to check on the jamaica consular page at http://state.gov, the state department's site, to see whether they recommend any shots for that region.
Annandale, Va.: For the New Yorker considering Australia/New Zealand. I spent 1 week in Mlebourne and 1 week in Sydney and neither one was enough. I'm going back in April for another week in Sydney to see all of the things I missed the first time, plus a week in Adelaide and a couple of days on Kangaroo Island. 11-days will give you a taste which will, hopefully, make you want to go back.
Andrea Sachs: Thanks for the advice. I agree--you need oodles of time to really see it.
Wanted to say thanks...: to Brigid Schulte (I know she works for a different part of the Post, but hoped you could pass this along) for her story on
Maine's Monhegan Island yesterday. I have been interested in Maine since I read about it as a kid, and one of these days am finally going to get there! In addition, I'm just a year out of school and have gotten a ton of great travel tips from you guys I know I'll be using for years to come. So, thanks!
Anne McDonough: Consider it passed along ;)
Alexandria, Va.: Best surprise hit? A whale watching trip off the Isle of Mull in Scotland. The people were incredible, we saw a ton of fabulous animals, and we got to tour the Isle of Muck for about an hour. The tiniest island with some incredible ruins and the greatest name. We went because I had no desire to ride my bike again and it turned out to be the highlight of the trip.
John Deiner: Hey, even seeing ONE whale makes a trip for me...glad you got a glimpse of a ton o' the animals. Thanks for sharing.
Re: Niagara Falls: Just came back, and would highly recommend:
fly into Buffalo, quite cheap on Southwest, an only an hours drive if that much wonderful Butterfly Conservatory that was amazing for adults, so little kids should love it even more stay on the Canadian side, it really is so much nicer only 40 minutes away is a lovely village called Niagara on the Lake, just wonderful to visit They may still be having fireworks at night at the falls. You can get a great view from some of the hotels as well
John Deiner: Great stuff, there. Thanks for the followup.
Silver Spring, Md: I loved your Hamptons bike tour written up several weeks ago. Is it possible to set an itinery for an october trip- 2 of the ferries stop running in October. We are taking a short honeymoon and this sounds great. After October 15. Thank you- I love the travel section!
Andrea Sachs: You could definitely do a variation of it. I don't remember off the top of my head: Which of the two ferries stop?
Ballston, Va.: My favorite surprise and one I'll likely never beat: we got married in CA last year and had to make a couple of trips out west. We were on a strict budget and didn't have much money, but the trips were non-negotiable. I was dreading the booking of six tickets (three trips for two), knowing the chunk it would take out of our wedding budget, when I happened to be browsing around for airfares one afternoon...I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw roundtrip fares on Delta for $129! One stop in Atlanta, taxes and fees included! I quickly booked the trips and within 4 hours, the fare was gone...I still don't know how it happened, but I sure was grateful!
John Deiner: Wow...that's a deal. Just goes to show: When you see a good fare that seems too good to be true, it probably is, so hop on it.
Denver, Colo.: For New Zealand: Last time we were there we bought a NZ SIM card for our tri-band GSM phone at one of the local Vodafone outlets. There's one at the airport in Auckland or around town. Vodafone uses one GSM frequency and I believe Telstra another so your phone probly supports one or both. Tell Mom to have a great time! We love NZ!
Steve Hendrix: There ya go. Acronyms and everything.
Re: NZ Cell Phone: Maybe this helps: I rented a car from Apex last year in New Zealand when I was traveling across the country (alone). It was about $5-6 more per day with additional cost for calls made. It was a breeze, and the people at Apex were very friendly. I made the reservation over the internet, and everything went well.
Steve Hendrix: and another mo-BILE phone option.
Great Falls, Va.: Hi, will be travelling to Puno, Peru in early October. Does the Flight Crew or any readers have any comments or suggestions, must-sees for that area? Thanks!
Gary Lee: The must-see site in that area is Lake Titicaca. Puttering around it would make for a glorious experience. Various companies offer day trips to the floating islands and other outposts on the lake. They'll pick you up at your hotel, take you out on the lake and get you back in the evening. You can arrange this from there.
If you have time, hop over to Cococabana in Bolivia, about an hour's drive from Puno. It's a pretty town with a wonder of a a cathedral and the best views of and excursions around the lake.
Old Town, Va.: Hi Flight Crew!
Wanted to see if anyone else out there plans trips during Thanksgiving or Christmas to purposely avoid the demanding family/relatives and the commercialized holiday gift-giving ordeal? My husband and I are newly married and dreading having to balance my side's two households with his family's so we're looking to escape it all with a trip by ourselves...
Which brings me to...Any ideas for a low to moderate priced 4 or 5 day vacation (must involve a flight, in order for us to justify this!)?...We like beaches, wineries, maybe even skiing?
John Deiner: Hey, Old Town. Here's my suggestion, because I just returned from there and I dug it: San Diego. Can't really ski there, but there a badrillion activities, many of which you don't have to spend much money on, plus a wide range of hotels, many near the coast.
And what a great way to avoid the Christmas family blues . . . by avoiding them!
Person going to the Falls: You may want to take the kids up to Toronto. There is a great zoo there as well as the CN Tower and other interesting things. It is only an hour by car (if the border is moving). On the US side if you drive up there is the Finger Lakes which have a ton of parks and the Little League Hall of Fame in Williamsport and the Corning Glass Factory all on 15.
John Deiner: Great stuff. Thanks for the suggestions.
Re: Niagara Falls: As a native of Buffalo, I have a few ideas for the woman with the young kids, although not sure what time of year she was contemplating. In Niagara Falls, ONT, there is Marineland - sea world/amusement park; and outside of Buffalo, in the suburbs, is Six Flags Darien Lake. Also, about 35 miles south of Rochester (depending on what driving route you take), is Letchworth State Park - frequently known as "Grand Canyon of the East" because of the amazing canyon and waterfalls. Especially beautiful in Fall. As a child, I went for day trips and picnics with my family and I was always amazed by it.
John Deiner: The flood of Niagara suggestions continues, folks.
seventh time a charm?: I've asked this question several times before and never got a response, but maybe you could throw it out to the peanuts. A pal and I are going on a round the world trip to celebrate our 40th birthdays--we're taking four months, starting in Oz/NZ, up through Papua NG, Indonesia, SE Asia, India and China. We want to keep things as flexible as possible and would like ideas on booking an airfare that allows us to do that. We've tried an online booking site that popped out a fare of $6000-$7000, but I'm sure it can be done more cheaply than that. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Carol Sottili: Have you tried a travel agent that works with consolidators? It's difficult to book around-the-world tickets online. Try www.airtreks.com, www.sta-travel.com, www.airbrokers.com, but you'll be better off talking to someone at those companies.
Glover Park, Washington, D.C.: Thinking to go to Panama sometime Jan-Mar. Has anyone done trips focusing on birding there? If so, where? Am considering trip with Ancon Expeditions that includes Darien.
Steve Hendrix: Nobody present knows Ancon personally, GPWDC, but we're high on Panama generally. If you go, make time for a day trip to Barro Colorado Island, home of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. It's not just a worldclass research facility (I once did a profile of the place for International Wildlife magazine and called it Club-Med for Biologists) its a really cool place you go to. With monkeys. Howler monkeys. And stick bugs. (www.stri.org)
N.Falls: There is lots of family frienly things to do. First off if you do this when it is warm enough the Cave of the winds allows you to go under the mist of the bridal veil falls. Truly cool everyone loves it. The Maid of the mist seems to be a required atttraction but is a waste of money.
Also take a picnic over to teh park on goat island it is pretty andlots of space to run around. Another active idea is to hike the whirlpool falls area. there is a cool natural eternal flame to be seem right at the end of the trail. Really neat and a great way to teach the kids about geology. If you are into amusement parks Fantasy island is a nice park for kids and really focused on them. If the kids are a bit older and like a good scare Nightmeres on Clifton hill is scary and year round haunted house. (skip the others near there they are not worth it.)
Also this time of the year you can either hit a Bisons or Bills game.
John Deiner: Hey, native, great stuff here. Man, that Cave of the Winds is incredible -- and I always wondered which one of those haunted houses was worth the money. Thanks for solving that mystery.
Backpacking Tip: For the first time backpacker, GO FOR IT! I did a backpack trip in Norther Europe a few years ago (at 25) and everyone said the same thing. Just be prepared that some places may close with the students back in school. I ran into that in Oslo. When I got there late at night a big sign at the information booth said "No Rooms in Oslo." I took a gamble and went to the major youth hostel anyway. I figured I could look pathetic, and they had to at least have a floor. In the end, someone didn't show for a reservation, and I got the last bed in Oslo.
My overall experience on that and several trips since then are that the guides are good starting place, but nothing beats talking to your fellow travelers. Strike up conversations on trains and at museums and such. You'll find the best places that way.
Carol Sottili: I agree, although I wouldn't recommend it during high season. My daughter did this trip last summer, and she was glad to have reservations in London and Madrid.
Laurel, Md.: If going skiing in Banff around Christmas, don't forget that the daylight lasts from about 10am-2pm. Yes, there are lighted slopes, but also many that close mid-afternoon.
Erie, Pa.: Our best surprise was on on first visit to Washington, DC- almost 20 years ago- with four children in tow. Everything downtown was free! No one told me that fun fact before we visited.
John Deiner: Boy, that would be a great discovery, wouldn't it?? And it's still free, Erie, so come on back. We miss you.
Mediterranean in 3 weeks: For the chatter wanting to know where in the Med to go for 3 weeks, I think you could easily spend all three weeks in either Italy or Spain, as both countries have such varied regions, customs, and terrain. I would say 10-14 days in Portugal would probably be enough for me. You could easily do one week in Portugal (in Porto and Lisbon), then spend the remainder of the time touring the various areas of Spain--I would recommend Barcelona, the Basque Country, and the south with it's North African influences. So much to see!
Gary Lee: Thanks. I like the idea of combining Lisbon and Porto. In Spain, keep in mind that the Basque country is lovely but it's in the northern part of the country.
Andulucia, Barcelona, etc, are all more southern and therefore would not require too much zooming around.
Re: American vs. USAir: I would try to avoid Miami Airport as much as I can. About a month ago we were coming from Jamaica and it was a total chaos. The immigration lines were very long with no clear instructions on who needs to go where. Then luggages were all over the place since people had to wait so long at immigration luggages were being taken and put on the floor (maybe 300-400 of them). Our lugggage belt changed twice making about 80-100 people jump over suitcases to get to the next one. Once we got our suitcases, there was no clear instructions on where to drop them. I hardly made my plane (with 2 hour connection time in between) and my suitcase did not. At national they had only one rep to handle all the missing suitcases, and we were there for about another hour to get a ticket from a robot-like AA customer agent who did not care at all. Go with USAir, at least they still have smiling people who welcome you to the plane - for the first time in years I did not see one person welcoming us to any of the 4 AA planes during this trip and I am a frequent traveler.
Carol Sottili: Yup, Miami can be chaotic. But bad things can happen in Charlotte too - we missed our US Airways connection from Jamaica, and had to sit in the airport in Charlotte for five hours.
re: Malta: I went to Malta last September (a year ago this week, actually!), and I had a great time. Some recommendations:
Get off of Malta and go to Gozo. It's quieter and smaller. I stayed in Xlendi, which is really nice, but only has one real hotel. I actually met a guy on the bus on my way to Xlendi who had an apartment he rented me for 15 lira a night, and I stayed for three nights, so that was a great deal. But I liked Gozo much more than Malta, it's slower and has more natural stuff to do.
If you want to see the Hypogeum (and you do), you have to make reservations. I didn't realize this, and when I did, it was too late. They sell out several weeks in advance, so it's worth it to do it sooner rather than later. The other megalithic temples are also very interesting, and very worth a day trip.
It might too cold for the beach, though, but if it's not, don't stay in Bubbigga on Malta, because what they have is not so much a beach as it is a cement slab. The best beach on Malta is in Mehalia (I'm probably not spelling things right, but you should be able to figure things out).
The buses are pretty reliable, and pretty cheap, great way to get around. It's a really small country, and people are pretty friendly and helpful. Don't expect to see a lot of Americans, but do expect to see lots and lots of British, Dutch and Germans.
John Deiner: Great stuff -- and you're so right about Gozo. Ya gotta get there.
Washington D.C.: Are there any buses that run to the Atlantic City casinos on the weekends that leave from D.C.?
Anne McDonough: Greyhound has weekend service for about $33 one way(www.greyhound.com). Gold Line/Gray Line (800-862-1400, www.graylinedc.com) is about the same price but I believe they give you casino coupons as well, and that's the roundtrip price if you go and come back on the same day.
Surprise hit: The Corn Palace in South Dakota. When we planned this as a stop on our road trip from Chicago to the Rapid City area (there's not much else to stop for between Minnesota and Wall Drug in Wall, SD), I thought, "how corny!" (please forgive my bad joke). But actually it was pretty cool, with murals all made out of different colors of corn. It changes every year, so there's always something new to see when you pass through Mitchell, SD.
John Deiner: If you hadn't said "how corny," I would have. Dang. Beat me to the punchline.
Re: Quinoa: Would the quinoa pancake-making chatter post a recipe for these pancakes?
John Deiner: A challenge! You out there pancake person?
Washington, DC: On September 2 I bought a ticket to Dakar on Royal Air Maroc through Orbitz. Because electronic tickets were not available I was required to pay an additional $30 for 2nd day fedex shipping of my tickets (for some reason Orbitz doesn't allow your tickets to take the slow route). I purchased the ticket with a debit card. I received the ticket in the mail last week, and later checked my bank account. The amount for the shipping of the ticket had been removed, but the far more substantial amount of ticket had not, and was not listed in my pending charges. I know that Orbitz is the intermediary here, and its Royal Air Maroc that needs to charge me. Does this usually take more than 1 week? I'd hate to show up at the airport and be told me ticket (which says 'paid' on it), had not in fact been paid for. I leave in November.
Carol Sottili: I would get on the horn and call Royal Air Maroc to make sure all is right - phone number is (800) 344 6726.
Alexandria, Va.: Best surprise; wrong turn in the Rockies. Driving through Colorado on the way to California, we turned onto what we thought was the route we had selected through the mountains. After the next turn failed to materialize, we eventually realized we were on some smaller road that was not on our map. It was headed west, though, so we decided to keep going rather than turn back. Most beautiful scenery of the trip.
John Deiner: And you lived to tell the tale...bet you got nice pictures to boot. Thanks for sharing.
Burke, Va.: The best travel surprise ever came in a little village in Scotland called Plockton. We has reservations at an in there only because it was on the way to Skye. So we were unprepared for a little park with palm trees(!) on the edge of the water. Add to this the squat lobsters we were served for dinner. They are sort of like crawfish, but the sweetest meat ever!
John Deiner: Sigh. Now we're all hungry here. Thanks, Burke.
Washington, D.C.: Can yo suggest an alternative way to travel to Nantucket for an October wedding other than flying to the island from WDC? I dont like flying in small planes. I am thinking of into Providence on Southwest but how would I get to the ferry in Hyannis other than rental car? Any other ideas or options?
Andrea Sachs: Not all of the planes are teeny-tiny. You could fly into LaGuardia and catch a 34-passenger Colgan Air plane. Otherwise, you will have to take a bus. Bonanza goes from NYC or Providence; you can also catch a bus from Logan airport in Boston. Check out Peter Pan or P&B.
Also, since it's a wedding, perhaps you could car pool?
Washington, DC: My best surprise hit ended up being the destination itself ... St. Thomas, USVI. Original plan to soak up culture and brush up on Spanish in the Dominican Republic was derailed by discomfort with the Haitian coup in early 2004. Thought St. Thomas would be too American, too "touristy" to be truly satisfying. But it was the only caribbean island destination that fit our budget and time constraints at the last minute. Ended up having a ball ... once ou get past the duty free area in Charlotte Amalie, there's plenty of wonderful, distinct music, food, culture and people. Only spent 1 day at St. John -- the touted non-commercial, non-touristy USVI -- and couldn't wait to get back to St. Thomas.
Now a quick question. What's a must-see or must-do site that my friend and I (African American culture vultures and some-time nature freaks) should check out during a short birthday vacation in Belize this weekend (Thurs-Mon)? We're thinking one day trip to a Caye (Ambergris or Caulker) one day trip to the rainforest, and the rest of the time hanging out in Belize City (we're staying there). Thanks!
John Deiner: Nice stuff, DC. As far as Belize goes . . . clicksters?
Andrea Sachs: Oops, sorry forgot to say: For Nantucket, take a bus to the ferry terminal in Hyannis. (Yes, it would be nice if the bus could drive on water, but alas, no.)
Falls Church, Va.: Hey Crew! I'm curious to know if any cruise companies do themed cruises for gay men? I've always loved to wear costumes and if it were mostly gays that would be even better.
Gary Lee: As you may be aware, RSVP and Atlantis are both companies that do gay (and lesbian) cruises. Although I haven't been on one, I suspect there would be occasions on either line for costumes. Check out the travel section of www.outandabout.com for other theme cruises that cater to gay men.
Front Royal, Va.: I have noticed an interesting phenomenon several times recently, and would like your thoughts. It used to be that once an aircraft left the gate it went straight to the taxiway. Now I often see them load more bags after pushing back. When I asked, I was told it was in the interest of customer service to reduce the number of delayed bags. What I suspect, however, is that once the plane leaves the gate that is considered to be the departure time for calculating on-time statistics, so loading bags away from the gate helps them stay on time. What do you think?
Carol Sottili: I'm not much of a conspiracy-theory person, but this one is very interesting. Wouldn't surprise me.
Washington, DC: Two surprise hits on the same trip to England: the first was when my boyfriend and I had been out walking ALL DAY LONG when we went to Covent Garden to try to find Drury Lane (his college is Drury University, which has a Drury Lane through it). I was sort of cranky. We stumbled upon a hidden, small garden (Drury Lane Gardens, of all places!) with benches and low-hanging trees. There was a small playground a few feet away, with several children playing. It was such a lovely, quintessentially English garden- a nice respite from the sightseeing. And it was made even lovelier and more surprising when my boyfriend proposed to me in the gardens!
Second hit: in Birmingham for a wedding. City is very gritty. We went to Cadbury World, the theme park for the Cadbury chocolate line. It has an outlet for chocolate too and we came home with 20 pounds of candy!
Anne McDonough: The first story reminds me of Notting Hill-does your husband say whoopsie daisy and look like Hugh Grant? Sounds like a perfect proposal!
Re Atlantic City: Just a quick followup on the Atlantic City question:
Unable to afford a hotel in AC proper, I booked a room in Absecon, NJ. How far away is that? If I decide to catch the bus (and forego renting a car), would it be difficult and/or pricey to make my way to the casinos by cab?
John Deiner: Here's my best guess: Yes. It'll be expensive. I believe it's at least five or six miles off the Boardwalk, and nothing is cheap in AC, including cabs. Does anyone out there know if there are buses that go out there and bring folks in?
Australia/NZ follow up : Thanks for answering my question re: New Zealand and Australia highlights. Would you know of any good tour companies that specialize in tours there? Thanks!
Steve Hendrix: I had good luck with Newman's South Pacific tours (a big company) in New Zealand. Andrea says good things about packages offered by Qantas Vacations. Costco (a great company) offers packages in those waters, I believe.
Richmond, Va.: Thank you for taking our questions! In your opinion, where on a cruise ship is the best place to get a cabin?
Also, where in Nassau are the best places (beaches) to take small children?
Gary Lee: Unfortunately, can't answer the cabin question. However, I'd recommend the aquarium at the Atlantis resort for the kids.
If that like sealife, they will love it.
Trip Surprise: We were camping in Rocky Mountain National Park on our cross-country drive, and were tired of cooking over a fire. We were also feeling pretty grimy because we hadn't realized til we got there that RMNP does NOT have shower facilities.
We headed out to eat and found a place called The Barn at Elkhorn Stables. They weren't kidding. The restaurant was above the barn. They were just getting the restaurant up and running -- after steak dinners, my husband taught the Eastern European student who was serving how to complete a credit card slip.
While my kids (10 & 11 at the time) played with the ranch dogs and shot pool, the proprietor offered my husband and I the (FREE) use of their staff showers. Words cannot express how great that shower felt!
The owner was extremely gracious, we had a toally unexpected and wonderful evening, and three years later, we still talk about that evening fondly.
On that trip, we also got a picture of our kids at Gene Weingarten's favorite place, Battle Mountain, NV, and stopped for lunch at the picnic area in Donner Pass (can't beleive I didn't get a picture of that sign!).
John Deiner: Whattahoot. Wonder how that place is doing now (the restaurant, not Donner Pass). Thanks for the submission.
St. Paul, Minn.: The Fruit and Spice Park in Homestead, Florida was a welcome and unexpected stop on a trip several years ago to the Everglades. (This was before one of the hurricanes hit and did quite a bit of damage. I don't know what it's like now.) For a nominal fee you could be guided around the grounds and the guide would pick fruits off trees for you to taste. Very unusual mix of vegetation. A great spot!
John Deiner: Sounds cool, St. Paul. Always looking for something off the beaten path in a well-trod area.
Chicago, Ill.: This is a stupid question, but do babies need their own passport or can they be added in the parent's passport?
Anne McDonough: Come on, silly, there are no stupid questions! There are special rules for applying for a passport for minors under 14, which do include infants. Some passport photo places aren't equipped to photograph infants, so don't leave this for the last minute. Here's the official link: http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/minors/minors_834.html
Downtown, Washington, D.C.: Re: Monhegan Island
Brigid Schulte's article was really good, but one thing that could have been mentioned was the ferry ride to get there, which can be quite turbulent. I took the ferry from Boothbay Harbor a few years back, on a really clear day, and still was reaching for the dramamine. And it's a fairly long trip, at least from Boothbay, if I remember correctly.
Fairfax, VA: For Portland, Maine, re: Salt Lake:
Maybe I'm a little biased because I served as a missionary on Temple Square for the LDS Church, but I do recommend Temple Square, the point from which all of Salt Lake emanates and one of the top tourist attractions in the U.S. (even more than the nat'l parks, believe it or not). You get a good history of Utah at least. The Tabernacle is still closed, however. In light of recent events along the Gulf Coast, the Humanitarian Center gives you free tours of how people are helped (and you can ask about recent Katrina aid and how you can contribute). There are shuttles that leave from Temple Square up until some time in the fall, so ask at the West Gate booth of Temple Square if you're there. For non-Churchy things, I love Park City, even off season. This time last year, when I finished my mission, my mom & I went there and I -loved- all the galleries & shopping. For natural history, there's this place called Thanksgiving Point not too far off. Hope this helps.
Steve Hendrix: Thanks for the insider tips.
Anonymous: My sisters, dad and I trudged through the winding streets of Nha Trang on a typically hot, humid day with each person carrying around 4 liters of water bottles. We decided to take a side tour to visit the Nha Trang Cathedral. On our way back to the hotel, my dad spotted a familiar site - a church that he had gone to when he was a young boy. The last time he was at this church was over 40 years ago. We went through the church gates to investigate, and within an hour, my dad was reunited with his childhood friends that he hadn't seen since the Vietnam war.
John Deiner: And we got us a winner. What a nice story. Send your name/address to travel@washpost.com and we'll get your assortment of flat stuff out to you pronto.
As for the rest of you: Thank you! Great job, as always, helping your fellow traveler. Stay tuned this weekend for our reports on Niagara Falls, England and Malibu, Calif.
Till next week . . .
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I'm lost. I'm lost right now in Brasilia, Brazil. I'm out beneath the vast sea of the savanna sky at night, trying to walk the half-hour back from the city center to the hotel, and I know only that I'm on a footpath carved into the red dirt and grass, moving toward lights. I'm alone, and each of the few other walkers I come upon averts his eyes in the manner of strangers in dark, semi-dangerous places. The buildings are off in the vague distance, separated from one another, it seems, by a mile of earth, and all I can hear is the traffic -- the traffic flowing about the city without hitch over six-lane highways and cloverleaf ramps. The car lights flash on the pavement, and I wonder how there can be so many people out driving at 9 on a weeknight. Who are all these people? Where are they going?
I have no idea. Throughout the week I've been here in Brazil's planned, ultramodern capital, the soul of the city has felt remote, as though it were ensconced in a distant room under thick soundproof glass. One morning, when I went down to Brazil's presidential office, the Planalto Palace, I saw three slender and graceful birds -- long-necked great egrets -- picking about on the lawn. The birds were of a piece with the building, which is a long, low rectangle framed by ribs of resplendent white concrete. They were of a piece, really, with the whole of Brasilia, where the major government buildings, all of them designed by Brazil's most esteemed architect, Oscar Niemeyer, are exquisitely curving -- at once monumental and delicate. I wanted to photograph the birds; I sneaked up behind them, my camera held high. I got near them, but then the two palace guards stepped toward me in snappy green uniforms, yelling in Portuguese, a language I do not understand. The guards had rifles strapped to their shoulders. I sprinted away, frustrated.
When you travel, you want the places you visit to blossom for you. You want the scent of jasmine and saffron (or whatever) to engulf you at the marketplace, and you want smiling natives in interesting robes to beckon you into their homes. This happens sometimes. But in Brasilia so far, I've glimpsed that feeling of connection only fleetingly, and in odd moments. At the city's main bus station one afternoon, I asked a woman for directions, and the woman wrapped her hand around my wrist, as though I were a child lost in the supermarket. Then, teetering on high heels, she led me through the crowds and stopped at a certain sign and waited beside me for 15 minutes, stoically silent, until the next bus arrived. I thanked her, got on and waved goodbye out the window -- and then I found that I was still lost.
As I am now, out on the dirt paths of Brasilia at night. The scale out here is too big. I feel as though I'm hiking across the parking lot of a stadium or trudging along the side of the freeway, away from a broken-down car. And so I keep looking for the TV tower, a sort of North Star, and I make my way to my hotel.
The city of Brasilia, population 500,000, has never been known as a welcoming place. Reason, not human warmth, is the organizing principle here. The metropolis was born in the late 1950s, when Brazil's president, Juscelino Kubitschek, decided, with a conviction bordering on megalomania, that coastal Rio de Janeiro, with its choked, skinny streets and decaying vine-covered buildings, was unfit to be a capital. His impoverished nation needed to modernize. "Fifty years' progress in five," the right-leaning nationalist proclaimed, before enlisting thousands of peasants to transform Brazil's most uncharted, unpeopled hinterland into a grand city inside of five years.
The site of present-day Brasilia had long held a certain enchantment. As early as the 1930s, when the land was home to little more than spindly trees, maps in the nation's grade schools identified the place as "the future capital of Brazil." Kubitschek saw Brasilia as the beacon of a modernist world, and he hired a devoutly modern urban planner to make his vision a reality. Lucio Costa, a Brazilian, was a disciple of Le Corbusier, the influential mid-20th-century French architect/professor who eschewed all ornamentation as "bourgeois" and envisioned a high-tech egalitarian future in which all buildings were beautiful in their sleek simplicity. Corbusier famously decreed that houses should be "machines for living in." Costa, in turn, called for an "efficient" capital city in which the TV tower would be a monument, a downtown attraction occupying the same space, geographically and spiritually, that the Washington Monument does in D.C. The street grid in Brasilia would be shaped like an airplane, with two "wings" of avenues and a long thin spine -- the grassy Monumental Axis, lined with government buildings -- forming the core. The automobile, meanwhile, would spirit through the metropolis on its own uncluttered highways, and the open spaces would be protected in perpetuity, so that daily life could unfold in bucolic, pedestrian-friendly environs.
Brasilia did not turn out as planned. What I found was a city defined by its silences. Its core is a wealthy enclave in which building new structures is essentially outlawed. Few children play in the community parks -- they're too pristine -- and residents tend not to shop in their neighborhoods. In this spread-out car city, the shopping mall reigns supreme. A spirit of anomie enveloped the streets around me, and the suicide, divorce and pedestrain-fatality rates in Brasilia are longstanding sources of concern. Visiting there in the 1980s, Australian art critic Robert Hughes called the place "a museum of architectural ideas" and a "utopian horror."
But I'm dubious of such pat critiques, and I couldn't accept that something so huge and multi-tentacled as a city could be wholly without life. I wanted to believe that even Brasilia breathed in some singular way.
My hotel was in a quiet residential sector, in Block No. 707. It was a pension, technically -- a small, family-run place -- and there were just two parties there: me and a young French family of four that seemed to spend all its time sprawled on the couch, watching Portuguese-language soap operas. I had the room right next to the lounge, and the loud, indecipherable noise of the TV blared in through the metal bars on the narrow window over my bed. The noise was no problem, though, because whenever I was awake and at the hotel I was organizing, readying myself for assaults on the city: I would go out and move about on the streets for 12 or 14 hours nonstop, determined to discover some unknown Brasilia. So there I was, alone in my room, poring over maps, gorging on PowerBars, reading the fine print in the guidebooks.
What sang out to me was the story about Niemeyer. He was a hardened outcast when Costa chose him to collaborate on Brasilia, an atheist and a communist in a land of traditional Catholics, and yet there was something dreamy and wistful about him. In designing Brasilia's buildings, Niemeyer once said, he sought "the curved and the sensual line, the curve that I see in the Brazilian hills, in the body of a lover, in the clouds in the sky and in the ocean waves." Later, when Brasilia was mostly completed, he stood aloof from his creation, never residing
in the city, shrugging off all attacks on its livability with koan-like remarks: "Architecture is about curiosity . . . In Brasilia, when the structure was completed, the architecture was present."
I was taken by Niemeyer's wizened sang-froid, and also by his enduring force. Now 97 years old, he is still working in Rio de Janeiro -- and designing small fantastical wisps of concrete that are less buildings than poem-like distillations of his agnostic spirituality. One of Niemeyer's newest structures -- the Antiochian Orthodox Church, completed in 2000 -- sits near an undistinguished mini-mall on the wealthy southern fringe of Brasilia proper. It is a simple structure -- a stark, round, white cylinder of concrete -- and one afternoon I went for a visit. The single, circular upstairs room has no windows on its walls, yet it is airy and bright, suffused by a heavenly light that enters through 16 slits hidden between the overhanging dome and the walls. Here and there, there are bright Byzantine paintings -- of Christ and of Theotokos, the mother of God.
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When you travel, you want the places you visit to blossom for you, but the organizing principle of Brasilia, Brazil, allows for just fleeting feelings of connection and in odd moments.
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Post Magazine: Strip Search
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Lauren Wilcox went looking for her grandparents' Las Vegas. And she found it . . . sort of.
Wilcox, whose article about the entertainment and gambling capital of America appeared in yesterday's Washington Post Magazine , was online Monday, Sept. 19 to field questions and comments.
Lauren Wilcox is a freelance writer who lives in Little Rock, Ark.
Durham, NC: You seemed interested to find the vintage Las Vegas. Were the people at Pogo's Tavern tourists or residents? Did you search for the Las Vegas that people inhabit? Did you talk to folks who live there, to get their take on the town, their impression of the changes made?
Lauren Wilcox: Thanks for writing in. You're right, I was particularly interested in vintage Las Vegas, perhaps because it is the identity that I most strongly associated with the town, but also because today the town seems to be such an odd mix of the past and the present. Everyone I talked to, without exception, loved Las Vegas both then and today, but everyone's reasons were different. Several people I talked to, who said they moved to Vegas to "make a fresh start," loved the mega-hotels and the standard entertainment. A college kid working at an art gallery said her favorite thing in Las Vegas and possibly the world was a Prince impersonator called Purple Reign. The folks at Pogo's (all residents) seemed to live in a smaller, older, desert town, where they knew everyone and the live music was great. I ended up feeling that one thing everyone really liked was that Las Vegas could be whatever they wanted it to be--and there was a feeling that they could be whatever they wanted to be, too.
New York, NY: Did you get a sense of what your grandparents generation opinion is of the current Las Vegas, compared to its heyday?
Lauren Wilcox: Great question. I asked my grandparents about their last visit to Las Vegas, which if I remember correctly was about five or six years ago, and they had the same response they'd always had--that they loved it, and seeing the new hotels going up was so exciting, etc. It made me think that their appreciation of Las Vegas wasn't tied to a particular era, like mine was--that what they liked was more general and abstract, the spirit of possibility and newness available in a city constantly reinventing itself. (My granddad worked in real estate in Detroit for years, so he probably appreciated the growth not just on an aesthetic level.)
Philadelphia, Pa.: As someone interested in history, I found the comment that everything in Las Vegas is torn down before it can become historic. What historic buildings, if any, did you find? (Would the Golden Nugget be the closest, which means it will soon be torn down?)
Lauren Wilcox: Thanks for your question. I thought it was an interesting comment, too. It made me think about what made something historical--that a building would have been part of a town's daily life long enough to be associated with an era that maybe isn't there anymore, or is disappearing. I visited an official historical structure, the old Mormon Fort, built by the town's first settlers on the site of an old spring (which is no longer there). The fort was interesting because it is such a drab, unassuming, utilitarian piece of architecture in a town full of buildings that are just the opposite, but it feels very remote from the Las Vegas you or I would recognize. I did feel that the buildings I liked the best and responded to the most--like the Golden Nugget or other iconic old structures--are not, on the whole, what Las Vegas focuses on, and the whole thrust of the city's development is not about the past at all. Obviously there are some drawbacks to this, from a preservation perspective, but it does give the city's growth a real (if sort of manic) energy, too.
Silver Spring, Md.: Hi Lauren,
Enjoyed the article! I have been traveling to Vegas regularly for almost twenty years now, attending the NAB convention. I have seen some of the change taking place and tend to mourn the loss of the kitschy, red-velvet, rat-pack Vegas of yore.
There is virtually nothing left, as you discovered. One year I played the poker machine in the Landmark Hotel, the next year it was a parking lot. It's now been swallowed up by the Convention Center.
But next trip I will visit the funky spots you found. I'm particularly interested in the neon sign museum!
Lauren Wilcox: Hi Eric, thanks a lot. I would imagine that even for a regular visitor it is easy to get disoriented, with the loss of the usual landmarks (or Landmarks). I got the impression that most of the folks who have moved out there like the new Las Vegas better, but I talked to a few of the old guard--like a woman who worked as a cocktail waitress at the Silver Slipper all her life, until the day it was torn down--who really felt the loss. On the other hand, that same woman told me how much she loved the buffet at the Bellagio, so change can be good...
Syracuse, University: As a former resident of Las Vegas, I was very interested to read your article. Afterwards, however, I was disappointed because I felt that it portrayed Las Vegas negatively and perpetuated the stereotype that real people can't live possibly live normal lives there. By limiting yourself to downtown Las Vegas (which is frankly less inhabited, more run-down and offers little to look at), you deprived yourself of the opportunity to see REAL life in Las Vegas. Additionally, 'history' does exist in Las Vegas, it is simply different than typical 'history'. It is a more recent history, a history that is being formed every day. I wonder, considering your impression of the city, do you think you will ever return?
Lauren Wilcox: Thanks for your comments. Actually, I loved the city, and would go back anytime. I did meet many people living normal lives there, who absolutely loved it, and told me that they wouldn't live anywhere else in the world. But I would also certainly be willing to believe that there was a whole other "real" Las Vegas that I didn't see, and which might take more than a few days to uncover. I also really like your comment that "history" is calibrated differently in Las Vegas than it is in other towns. I believe it, and I know that whatever impressions I got of the town were probably shaped by whatever definitions of history, etc. I showed up with. I'd love to spend more time there, and get a better sense. Thanks again.
Washington, DC: Did you like anything about the new Las Vegas? The mega hotels? The shops? The restaurants?
Lauren Wilcox: For the purposes of the article, I went looking for nontraditional forms of entertainment in Las Vegas--a little tricky to do. But I did do a little sightseeing in the regular places, and I did like what I saw. I think by the end of my visit, I was much more appreciative of the new Las Vegas--having been a little overwhelmed by it at first. But in essence, it has the same extravagant glitz that I suppose it has always had--just packaged differently. It just keeps outdoing itself, I think. I've really never seen anything like it.
Detroit, Mich: How long did it take you to put this article together?
How long were you in Las Vegas gathering information?
Did you do any gambling while you were there? And did you win anything?
Lauren Wilcox: Thanks for writing in, Detroit. It took me a few weeks to put the article together, and I was in Las Vegas for four or five days. I did try to gamble, one night on my way to my hotel room. The lobby was full of quarter slots. I approached one with a quarter, but I couldn't figure out where to put it. Probably for the best.
Thank you for a fascinating piece! I regularly visited Las Vegas in the 70's and 80's, and the era of glamour was winding down, but still in place. Let's face it, the Mob had style!
The corporations that own Vegas have no inkling of the town's glamorous past. My family recalls when people dressed for the evening, yet, it was Vegas itself that (in the 50's) encouraged people to "come as you are". Do you think George Clooney's casino will fit into to a shorts and t-shirt society? Thank you.
Lauren Wilcox: Thanks. Glad to hear your thoughts. I think you've put your finger on something important with the comment about big business. The feeling of old Las Vegas was really more of that of a collection of small, distinctive establishments, whereas today it's more of these huge, sensational casinos and hotels. Both have their appeal, but are quite different. I do think, though, that some of the big hotels and casinos today are quite glamorous and fancy, and part of the fun of the place is getting to be a part of that. On the nights I was out, I felt that people really rose to the occasion, dressing up and getting into it--and that was very fun to see. So perhaps the old Las Vegas still lives.
Washington, D.C.: You should go back and do a second article on the "New Las Vegas" and go to those mega hotels like the Venetian, Bellagio, Wynn - they're all absolutely gorgeous, upscale, have their own individual attractions and the non-gambler can enjoy museums, gondola rides, first class shopping and gourmet restaurants (19 alone at the Wynn hotel). It's the new New York of the West!
Lauren Wilcox: I'd love to do that. All the locals I talked to were very appreciative of the "New York of the West" quality of the town--having these great attractions at their doorstep. I got the feeling it was one of the main reasons people came, and stayed. I also met many folks who had moved there from L.A., when L.A. got prohibitively expensive, and liked it better. Thanks for your comment.
Lauren Wilcox: It looks like that's all we have time for. Many thanks for all your questions and feedback. Viva Las Vegas!
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.
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Lauren Wilcox will be online to field questions and comments about the latest in outerwear and about other trends in the world of fashion.
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New Software to Revamp Census Logistics
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For the next census, in 2010, the General Services Administration must set up 550 offices, each with 6,000 square feet. The offices must be equipped with furniture, computers, telecommunications lines, pens, paper and other things.
By the time the Census Bureau finishes the once-a-decade tally in 2011, as many as 4,000 people could be involved in setting up, working in and then moving out of the offices around the country.
The job previously was handled through e-mail and spreadsheets, but they were not always reliable, said Ron Dovel, the GSA's national account director for the Census 2010 project. He also worked on the 2000 Census.
"In 2000, there were circumstances where people didn't get the latest e-mail and weren't building out the latest plans," he said.
The 2010 Census will be different, Dovel and other GSA officials said. They expect new customer relationship management software to give the GSA and Census officials an updated view of what is going on at each of the 550 sites. They are using version 7.5 of the CRM software from Siebel Systems Inc. of San Mateo, Calif. (The impact, if any, on the census of Oracle Corp.'s pending deal to buy Siebel is not known. Analysts said after the deal was announced last week that they expected Oracle to support Siebel's software, at least for now.)
Officials using the software will be able to access information such as furniture delivery schedules and telecommunications wiring plans and know whom to call with questions or concerns.
The GSA also plans to use the Siebel system for other large projects, such as building federal courthouses and IRS service centers, and smaller projects as varied as information technology infrastructure work and car-buying, said Mary Joy Pizzella, the GSA's associate administrator for the Office of Citizen Services and Communications.
This summer, the GSA awarded Science Applications International Corp. of San Diego a contract worth up to $46.6 million to integrate the customer relationship management tool across the agency over the next five years.
SAIC's federal government operation in McLean is working on the project, as are the Washington area offices of its subcontractors, including Siebel Systems in Reston, Optimos Inc. of Chantilly, Occam Solutions Inc. in Annandale, Washington Consulting Group Inc. of Bethesda and International Business Machines Corp. in Rockville.
The GSA this summer tested the software with the Census Bureau and the IRS to work "the bugs out of the system," said Brad Scott, a GSA regional administrator.
The GSA expects about 950 employees to use the tool initially, and that number could expand to 2,500 in five years, Pizzella said. The most frequent users will be account managers and those who work with agency customers, she said.
The concept of customer relationship management software is not new for the government. It is used by agencies such as the Postal Service, the U.S. Mint, and the National Archives and Records Administration. The private sector has used such tools for years, General Services Administrator Stephen A. Perry said.
"If an organization can identify who is the user of a product or service and what is the value proposition . . . the more you focus on that, the more you focus on what is important," Perry said.
Jason Miller is assistant managing editor of Government Computer News. Information on government technology issues can be found at www.gcn.com
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For the next census, in 2010, the General Services Administration must set up 550 offices, each with 6,000 square feet. The offices must be equipped with furniture, computers, telecommunications lines, pens, paper and other things.
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The Best, Brightest Offer Aid
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Marie Lynn Miranda has been helping people in the Gulf Coast the best way she knows how: She has been helping build online maps densely layered with information, useful to both emergency workers on the ground now, and to people who will study the long-term health risks from Hurricane Katrina.
With the click of a mouse, people can see where the floodwaters may have inundated toxic waste sites or oil wells, and how many of the poorest neighborhoods have been hit.
"We've all made contributions to the Red Cross and stuff like that," the Duke University environmental scientist said, "but this felt like hard, concrete work we could do to help."
At schools across the country, experts in everything from engineering to law to ophthalmology have joined hurricane relief efforts with specialized knowledge rather than basic supplies, trying to design solutions to what has become one of the world's most complicated problems.
Some schools, such as Stanford University and Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, are creating generous leave policies to allow employees to volunteer in the Gulf Coast.
At the University of Michigan, faculty specializing in information technology created a searchable Web site, http://www.KatrinaHousing.net . They took lists of hundreds of thousands of beds available all over the country, vetted them to ensure they were legitimate, and organized them so that people displaced by the storm can click on a city or state and find places to stay.
Many schools have sent teams of medical experts. Duke University Medical Center has two field hospitals in Mississippi. Doctors and nurses from the University of Maryland School of Medicine helped set up six health clinics in Jefferson Parish, and a team from George Washington University went to Baton Rouge last Monday, set up tents and began treating people at shelters.
The University of Virginia sent a telemedicine team to Fort Pickett in south-central Virginia, preparing for possible evacuees to arrive.
Counselors and therapists from Johns Hopkins University have been helping New Orleans area children adjust to new schools, life in the shelters, all the loss and upheaval -- and training others to set up similar efforts. They have worked with a colleague from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to begin play therapy for children too young for conventional counseling and will help train people at Louisiana school systems overwhelmed with evacuees.
The Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine sent a team to work with Louisiana State University in a coliseum packed with animals in crates. Amid hundreds of barking dogs and yowling cats, surgeons and technicians are treating dehydration, chemical burns and illnesses.
Scientists such as Vassilios Papadopoulos of Georgetown University Medical Center have been trying to salvage what they can of research in New Orleans labs. They know they cannot undo the damage to experiments contaminated by water and heat -- sometimes a career's worth of work washed away -- but they can find new space and equipment for scientists to resume work.
Shep Zedaker got another professor to cover his forest ecology class at Virginia Tech and headed south to cut down trees and to train crews in Pascagoula, Miss.
As Miranda read about Katrina, she immediately thought of the research she had done after hurricanes flooded eastern North Carolina. She knew people would have questions about the Gulf Coast, as they struggled to limit damage and to rebuild.
She is working with researchers from schools including the University of California at San Diego, San Diego State University, the University of Kentucky and Columbia University and the Research Triangle Institute to create maps for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Web site. Soon the maps will be interactive, so people can get answers to such questions as "Where might there be radioactive materials and chemicals from flooded hospitals?" and "Could children in this neighborhood have been exposed to pesticides in the water?"
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Complete Coverage on Hurricane Katrina including video, photos and blogs. Get up-to-date news on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, news from New Orleans and more.
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Pentagon May Have Doubts on Preemptive Nuclear Moves
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The Pentagon may be having second thoughts about proposed revisions to its nuclear weapons doctrine that would allow commanders to seek presidential approval for using atomic arms against nations or terrorists who intend to use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons against the United States, its troops or allies.
The draft document, disclosure of which has caused a stir among some members of Congress and arms control advocates, would update rules and procedures for using nuclear weapons to reflect a preemption strategy announced by the Bush administration in 2002. Previous versions of the unclassified doctrine have not included scenarios for using nuclear weapons preemptively or specifically against WMD threats.
On Sept. 9, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Joint Staff said the draft document was undergoing final clearance from the military services and the office of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, and was expected to be signed "in a few weeks" by the Joint Staff director, Lt. Gen. Walter L. Sharp.
But last week, after an article about the draft appeared in The Washington Post, a senior Pentagon official said the doctrine "is a long way from being done. It has a lot of reviews to go through and several changes have already taken place." The official would speak only on the condition of anonymity.
Rep. David L. Hobson (R-Ohio), who called the draft "disturbing" and "representing old, Cold War thinking," said Defense Department officials told him last week that negotiations and discussions on the draft were still underway.
Hobson, who is chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), said: "I'm hopeful more rational minds will look at this. It is a very provocative proposal."
The unclassified draft, "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations," is being written under the direction of Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was removed from a Joint Chiefs of Staff Web site early last week after the publicity about it.
The draft document would update military procedures to provide commanders with instructions on how to request permission to use nuclear weapons to preempt a WMD attack, which the draft's authors argued is vital in deterring a terrorist group or enemy nation. An adversary's leadership must "believe the United States has both the ability and will to preempt or retaliate promptly with responses that are credible and effective," the draft said.
Administration officials have argued for several years in favor of research into the robust nuclear earth penetrator -- sometimes called the bunker buster -- which could destroy stockpiles of those weapons even if they were buried in deep, fortified storage sites. A Bush administration Nuclear Posture Review four years ago pointed out that no weapon in the current stockpile could threaten the growing number of targets being buried.
The draft doctrine "is a logical extrapolation from the [Bush] Nuclear Posture Review," said Frank Gaffney, a Pentagon official in the Reagan administration, who is president and chief executive of the Center for Security Policy.
Gaffney said the United States has paid too little attention since the end of the Cold War to the doctrine governing the use of nuclear weapons.
Arms control specialists and others have criticized the draft. Some say formally planning to use nuclear weapons preemptively increases the likelihood they will be used. Others said endorsement of preemptive strikes will make it tougher to persuade nonnuclear nations to forgo building an atomic arsenal.
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The Pentagon may be having second thoughts about proposed revisions to its nuclear weapons doctrine that would allow commanders to seek presidential approval for using atomic arms against nations or terrorists who intend to use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons against the United States, its...
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Flops Are No Fluke in the Annals of Political Payback
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Long before Michael D. Brown became the poster boy for the overwhelmed and lightly qualified political appointee in Washington, there was Craig Livingstone, a former barroom bouncer who dreamed of bigger things and found them in the Clinton White House.
Livingstone parlayed a stint as an advance man for then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential campaign into a White House job as head of personnel security. He relished the clout of handling background checks of White House employees, swaggering around the West Wing in dark glasses and attending film premieres with beautiful women.
It was all a prologue to a fall. Livingstone quit in June 1996 amid a scandal over the improper requisitioning of more than 400 FBI background reports on employees from previous administrations, most of them Republicans, purportedly in a misguided attempt to clean up the White House access list. Within a few years, he was driving a limousine to make ends meet.
The Livingstone case is a reminder that Brown, a former International Arabian Horse Association commissioner who was just forced out as head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is not so much an aberration as part of a pattern in Washington.
Administrations of both political parties have long track records of appointing cronies who are out of their depth to key executive branch positions, only to see them disappoint or fail, sometimes spectacularly. Such patronage is an artifact of the "spoils system" that President Andrew Jackson brought into office in the 1830s, in which government jobs were doled out as rewards for partisan loyalists, regardless of whether they were qualified.
"You try to help the hands that helped you," said Paul C. Light, a government professor at New York University.
The practice is especially common in the naming of U.S. ambassadors, many of whom earned their posts on the strength of their fundraising prowess. What may be different now, one veteran diplomat said, is that President Bush is putting these people in some key countries, such as Germany and Japan, instead of smaller European and Caribbean postings.
And so it was that in 2001, Bush nominated as ambassador to France Howard H. Leach, a San Francisco financier who raised $100,000 for Bush's presidential bid but did not speak French. (The French noticed.)
There was Deborah Gore Dean, a Georgetown socialite and the niece of onetime Maryland GOP leader Louise Gore, who used her family and social connections to land a top staff job under then-Secretary Samuel R. Pierce Jr. at the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 1984.
In 1993, she was convicted of funneling federal funds to GOP insiders as part of a $2 billion influence-peddling scandal at HUD. Sentenced to 21 months in prison, Dean, who became an antiques dealer, stayed out of jail through appeals until 2002, when she was resentenced to six months of home confinement.
Some analysts say the trend is worsening, as more appointees view a government post as an opportunity to build a résumé and cultivate ties that will serve them well in the private sector. "No question about it," said Light, who has studied 40 years of interviews with political appointees. "We've gone from the 'we' generation of presidential appointees to the 'me' generation."
Although the overmatched appointee and the White House get splattered by the political mess when things go wrong, lawmakers on Capitol Hill bear some blame as well. The Senate confirms the president's choices for many political positions.
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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.
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The Ballot Drama
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For an odd-numbered year, this fall is offering a surprisingly full roster of compelling political races. The drama is coming not from candidates but from ballot measures, with voters in numerous states poised to vote on politically volatile issues from same-sex marriage to rules for drawing congressional districts.
California leads the pack with eight measures on its ballot. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has put three of them there, including one that would change the way the Golden State draws its congressional districts to reduce partisan gerrymandering and another that would cap state spending. Voters will also consider whether parental notifications ought to be required before a minor receives an abortion and whether it should be harder for public employee unions to spend their dues on political activities.
Gay rights are on the line in some states. Texas will consider a constitutional amendment to bar same-sex marriage, while Maine voters will decide whether to repeal a state law banning discrimination against gays. Colorado is considering relaxing a state law, cherished by anti-tax activists, that puts strict limits on government spending. Washington state is expected to vote on two dueling measures on medical malpractice. One, sponsored by doctors, would limit awards and fees in malpractice lawsuits. The other, backed by lawyers, would punish physicians involved in three malpractice "incidents." Evergreen State smokers face a fight with a proposal that would ban lighting up in public places.
Ohio is expected to vote on possible changes to its election rules, including one that would change the way it draws congressional districts. Another would give an independent panel -- rather than the secretary of state -- oversight of its elections. New Jersey voters will vote on whether the state should create an office for an elected lieutenant governor. Until now, it has gotten by without a lieutenant governor, but last year's resignation of Gov. James E. McGreevey (D) in a sex scandal put the question of succession back in debate.
Voters in eight states are expected to weigh in on 39 measures.
Businessman David McSweeney (R), who is challenging freshman Rep. Melissa L. Bean (D) in Illinois's 8th District, was the special guest at a "get to know you" event last week at the National Republican Congressional Committee.
What made it different from the dozens of other meet and greets on Capitol Hill is that it was hosted by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the International Association of Fire Fighters -- two major players in organized labor. It was the first such event for a Republican challenger the groups have hosted since the November election.
Bean's vote in support of the Central American Free Trade Agreement in July enraged many in the labor movement and was the catalyst for this get- even event. Although McSweeney also supported CAFTA, the unions are willing to try to find common ground with him on the issue, given their animosity toward Bean, said a person in attendance.
With Republicans in control of all three branches of the federal government, these unions as well as the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades have done significant bridge-building to the GOP over the past few years.
Earlier this year, NRCC Chairman Thomas M. Reynolds (N.Y.) and Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.) held a meet and greet attended by more than 35 unions and nearly every member of the House Republican freshman class.
Cillizza is a staff writer with washingtonpost.com.
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Latest politics news headlines from Washington DC. Follow 2004 elections, campaigns, Democrats, Republicans, political cartoons, opinions from The Washington Post. Features government policy, government tech, political analysis and reports.
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Musharraf Denies Rape Comments
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Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the president of Pakistan, has denied telling The Washington Post in an interview last week that claiming rape has become a "moneymaking concern" in Pakistan and that many Pakistanis felt it was an easy way to make money and get a Canadian visa.
The comments have outraged women's groups and sparked protests across Pakistan, marring a high-profile trip that Musharraf has made to the United States to promote a moderate image of Pakistan. His trip included speeches to a Jewish group and a women's group while attending the U.N. General Assembly. Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin formally protested the reported remarks in a meeting with Musharraf on the sidelines of the U.N. gathering.
"Let me say with total sincerity that I never said that, and it has been misquoted," Musharraf told the women's group. "These are not my words, and I would go to the extent of saying I am not so silly and stupid to make comments of this sort."
In an interview Saturday with CNN, Musharraf said that the remarks were made by someone else in his presence and not by him.
The rape comments were not the main focus of the article, published Tuesday, which covered a broad range of topics discussed in a 50-minute interview. In the article's 12th paragraph, The Washington Post quoted Musharraf as saying: "This has become a moneymaking concern. A lot of people say if you want to go abroad and get a visa for Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped."
The interview was conducted by three Washington Post reporters and was tape-recorded. A review of the recording yesterday confirmed that Musharraf -- who was surrounded by aides who took notes and also recorded the interview -- was accurately quoted.
Musharraf made the remarks at the end of a nine-minute discussion on the case of Mukhtar Mai, 33, an illiterate woman who spoke publicly about having been gang-raped on the orders of a village council in 2002. Mai won public sympathy and government support after she demanded that the men be charged and convicted. Earlier this year, however, the Bush administration assailed Musharraf when he blocked Mai from coming to the United States to publicize the case.
In the interview, Musharraf said that he is "on the side of women" but that Pakistan is being unfairly "singled out when this curse is happening everywhere in the world." Speaking of another high-profile rape case, he said that he had arranged for a visa and for $50,000 to be given to Shazia Khalid -- a Pakistani medical doctor who was raped by a masked intruder, allegedly an army officer -- so she could leave the country. Khalid has applied for asylum in Canada.
Then, as the reporters prepared to move to the next question, Musharraf interjected the comments about rape as a moneymaking concern, saying it was the "popular term" in Islamabad.
"It is the easiest way of doing it," he continued. "Every second person now wants to come up and get all the [pause] because there is so much of finances. Dr. Shazia, I don't know. But maybe she's a case of money, that she wants to make money. She is again talking all against Pakistan, against whatever we've done. But I know what the realities are."
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Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the president of Pakistan, has denied telling The Washington Post in an interview last week that claiming rape has become a "moneymaking concern" in Pakistan and that many Pakistanis felt it was an easy way to make money and get a Canadian visa.
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Critiquing the Press
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Howard Kurtz was online Monday, Sept. 19, at noon ET to discuss the press and his latest columns.
Read today's Media Notes: The Media Discover the Poor.
Washington, D.C.: Hi Howard - Just a comment in light of the NYTimes charging for online comment- when The Washington Post gets around to making this move, I think it's only fair that those who have a dead tree WP subscription should be able to continue to get free online content. Would you agree? Please pass this idea on those who will be making such decisions. Thanks.
Howard Kurtz: I don't think washingtonpost.com is going to be charging to read our columnists any time soon, if ever. Should that happen, I'm sure people who pay the big bucks for home delivery will get a free pass, as NYT subscribers are. Maybe I'll start using a slogan: "Media Notes, Still Free of Charge."
Louisville, Ky.: Fifty dollars for a year's worth of op-eds really isn't that much, and considering the Times has been giving away online content for the last ten years, it's kind of a bargain. However, it's so hard to want to pay for something that was free yesterday. Do you see The Post following suit? The Post's columnists notwithstanding, these discussions are very popular and I know people would pay $50 to be involved.
Also, do you remember a day when a picture of a president writing a bathroom note would be simply considered funny, and left at that? Do we really need to discuss whether or not he actually wrote it? Yeesh.
Howard Kurtz: Again, I see no hint, signal or other sign that The Post is going to file suit. The truth is, 50 bucks a year is not that much, except that all of us have been conditioned to expect news, opinion, video and everything else on the Web to be free. And the problem is that "free"--aside from the online ad revenue generated so far--is not enough to support a big infrastructure of editors, reporters, photographers, etc. So the NYT is obviously doing this as a trial run to figure out what kind of market there might be for paid content.
Anonymous: On reporting and the poor, I imagine it's true that reporting from the ghetto doesn't goose ratings like the latest Missing White Girl. And I heard Mr. Robinson say yesterday on NBC that problems of race and class don't go away by ignoring them. But can't we ask: have they gone away when the media HAVE spent time on them? Like there's a mathematical formula, that 50 percent more news coverage will cause 50 percent less poverty?
And what would you say to the idea that coverage of the poor tends to disappear when people presume the party in charge loves the poor? Like the way homelessness disappeared in the 1990's...
Howard Kurtz: I don't think for a minute that a greater media focus on poverty will help alleviate poverty, though I suppose it might ratchet up the pressure for politicians to do more, just as Katrina has. But--not to sound too preachy here--we in journalism have a responsibility to cover all of society, and to cover social problems out there, not just to cherry-pick the sexiest or most entertaining issues and market them to an upscale audience. So when thousands of stories are written about New Orleans over the past decade and they're mainly about Mardi Gras and Cajun cooking and not the fact that the city is impoverished and 2/3 black, something, in my view, has gone wrong.
Boston, Mass.: Hi Howard, love your column.
A great example of the media's recent approach to class and poverty was the NYT's series on class published earlier this year.
It read like a survival guide for the rich, obnoxious and confused. The biggest problem it addressed was how to differentiate yourself from tacky people who drive low end Mercedes and go on annual cruises.
You're right, poverty is so 60's.
Howard Kurtz: I thought it was broader than that, but whatever you thought of the series, at least it was an attempt to tackle a difficult subject.
Snarky, Va.: Since you're dealing with the poor today, can we wonder if there will be a story about poor people who can no longer afford to read Bob Herbert? Digital divide, indeed.
Howard Kurtz: Talk about cultural deprivation!
Delmar, N.Y.: Has their been an official announcement from the White House that Karl Rove is in charge of the Gulf reconstruction efforts? If not why have their been some reports such as from Josh Marshall's Talking Points Memo Web site that this is the case? If it is true where is the outrage? Rove's qualification as a political operative who is currently under scrutiny in the Plame matter would seem to make him as qualified to oversee reconstruction as Michael Brown was to be head of FEMA.
Howard Kurtz: Whatever you think of Rove, that strikes me as unfair. He's a political guy, sure, but he's the deputy chief of staff and was involved in the substance of almost all major domestic issues in the first term. The symbolism of naming Rove might be a problem, since he is a divisive symbol, but in terms of policy he's no Michael Brown.
Iowa: Deja vu! The Post reports this morning that the administration is using enemy body counts to bolster their claims of progress in Iraq. Some of us still remember the follow-ups after the Vietnam War that cast serious doubts on the veracity of those always impressive body counts of dead Viet Cong that we heard from the DOD during those years. This would not seem to be the best measure of success to be citing in Iraq.
Howard Kurtz: Fair point, but it's one way to measuring something concrete in a war where progress is very difficult to quantify. Then again, it doesn't matter how many insurgents the U.S. military kills if there are legions of others to take their place.
Frederick, Md.: Interesting piece on the lack of poverty stories in the past few years. Tell me, have you done a database search on the phrase "class warfare"? Because it seems as if the op-editorialists have been actively trying to take class issues off the table for years now.
Howard Kurtz: Class warfare is a charge that Republicans frequently hurl at Democrats when they complain that tax cuts for the rich (or fill in the blank) are hurting those who are less well off. Democrats sometimes use the same epithet to characterize administration policies. But that strikes me as intellectually lazy shorthand. Of course we should have a vigorous debate over how taxes and spending should be distributed in this country. Should Congress go ahead and repeal the estate tax, which affects a tiny fraction of the richest rich people, or spend more money on Katrina victims? If anything, the disaster in New Orleans will probably sharpen the debate.
2/3 Black and Poor...: ...frankly, that describes many of the largest core cities in America, which is why it's not news.
How about all of the LA politicians that are currently facing/under corruption indictments now hoping to siphon off enough "rebuilding" cash to hire good lawyers? Now there's a story with sex appeal.
Howard Kurtz: I think your math is off, but there's no question that poverty is a big problem in many major cities whose popularity is heavily minority. (There are plenty of poor whites, too, especially in some rural areas.) How does that make it "not news"? That's like saying it's not news that cancer or heart attacks kill millions of people because it happens every year. Is poverty worth a story only when the annual Census report comes out and shows that it has increased? Not in my book.
Portland, Maine: I thought tacky ads are what generated revenue for the online department. I have a monkey eating bananas symbolizing the 50 states while I try to read this chat. I might be persuaded to pay $50 for an ad free Post or Times.
Howard Kurtz: That's what Salon does - charges $35 a year for people to be spared the annoying ads. But if you simply gated off an important area to those who did not pay some annual fee, I have no doubt the overall traffic of your Web site would nosedive. The L.A. Times, incidentally, recently abandoned an effort to charge a fee to read its Calendar section online.
New York, N.Y.: You're being extremely naive. Karl Rove's qualifications are that he is the chief political spin-meister. The president is in deep political trouble for bungling the situation, so he sends his political guru to fix it. This should be widely reported on more than just left-wing blog sites.
Howard Kurtz: But it has been widely reported. It's been in The Washington Post, for example.
Monroe, N.Y.: I wanted to comment on your question yesterday on Late Edition regarding reporting in Louisiana: if 80% of New Orleans is in poverty -and, I'll add, perhaps illiterate, why haven't we heard about it?
There are cities in throughout U.S. where this is true. Wealthier people have left many cities, of all sizes, to avoid perceived crime and taxes thought to support the poor (it was these attitudes, in part, that brought G.W. Bush and the Republicans into office in my opinion).
I expect you would agree that the President and Congress should champion this issue? At least, the Democrats and the press have a responsibility to push accountability on this issue (and the increasing budget deficit IMHO).
Howard Kurtz: I'm not offering any policy prescriptions. I'm simply saying that if many of America's major cities are straining under the weight of poverty, and there is a racial aspect to this, and the middle class is leaving, that strikes me as one of the more important stories of our time, not one we should just dip into when disaster strikes.
Columbia, Md.: Howard, since the President stated that the federal response to Katrina was unacceptable and he is accountable for that response, do you think the media will question him as to what mistakes he made in preparing the nation for man-made and natural disasters? I hope the media aggressively pursues that line of questioning.
Howard Kurtz: Reporters have tried in several recent instances. They mostly got "let's not play the blame game" answers until Bush accepted responsibility in his New Orleans speech last Thursday night.
Washington, D.C.: Let me ask a business question here: if it takes 50 bucks (or so) to get a news magazine for a year, why would you get something so insubstantial as NY Times columnists when you get much more news for your dollar elsewhere?
Howard Kurtz: The Times response is that it's also offering video, online-only content and full access to its archives. Whether that's worth the price of a magazine subscription is up to the people who are being asked to pony up.
There have been reports that Michael Kinsley has left the LAT and come to The Post. But, I haven't heard anything else about this. Is this true? What is his role here?
Howard Kurtz: Yup, I wrote about it last week.
Michael Kinsley, L.A. Times Part on 'Unfortunate Note'
Basically, he's going to keep writing his column and do a little consulting with the Web site.
Paying for The Post: I would be delighted to pay for access to washingtonpost.com. I love The Post, and I read most of what I read online. I have a subscription mainly because I feel morally obligated to pay for something I like and learn from and that I know costs lots of bucks to produce.
But this means that I am paying for newsprint that I don't read and having to haul it to the recycling plant whenever the stack gets too high. (I live in an apartment; the recycling procedures here are even more inconvenient than going to the recycling station down the street.)
This is not an ecologically sound approach to obtaining news, and it's a pain in the a-- as well. Please, charge me for web access!
Howard Kurtz: Feel free to send me 10 bucks a year for the privilege of reading my columns if it makes you feel better.
Pittsburgh, Pa.: I admire your optimism that because of Katrina, American media will now begin concentrating on issues like poverty in this nation. Call me cynical, but come the next cute, young, rather well-off white woman goes missing, and it will be "Hurricane, what hurricane?" As it is, Greta, Hannity and Scarborough must be going nuts not being able to give us up-to-the-minute details on Natalee.
Howard Kurtz: But I'm not terribly optimistic. I think it's an opportunity for the media, but it's just as likely that this will all be washed away when the next big story comes along, and when the focus shifts from rescuing people to the now-scattered poor trying to rebuild their lives (a slow process that offers no dramatic pictures).
Raleigh, N.C.: Reading your article today, I was happy to see The Post endorse John Roberts. He comes across as one of the most intelligent lawyers that I've ever seen. He mentioned the other day that a good lawyer could win either side of a case, and I believe that to be true in his case. It also offers an explanation as to why he did some of the pro-bono work he did.
However, you also mentioned that the NYT is opposed to John Roberts in that they aren't sure of his qualifications. How can they not believe that he is qualified after watching the confirmation hearings? Is this just another case of the Times being biased?
Howard Kurtz: Bias is not a question here. The editorial pages of the Post and Times are SUPPOSED to offer their opinions on the issues of the day. The Times is saying that Roberts is legally qualified but dodged so many questions at his confirmation hearings that senators should not reward him with their votes. That may or may not be persuasive, but it's the prerogative of an editorial page.
Laurel, Md.: About poverty as non-news:
But isn't one reason it doesn't get much coverage because:
1. News organizations' diversity guidelines prescribe that they can't publish too many articles and photos of minority group members as poor, sub-educated, or crime perpetrators/victims
2. Social activists complain when too many stories like 1. are published
You can argue chicken/egg about which of 1 and 2 motivates the other. But isn't it true, or at least a reasonable characterization, that news organizations don't want to feed the black-as-poor stereotype, even when true?
Howard Kurtz: I would disagree, though there's no shortage of PC thinking in newsrooms. What news organizations are trying to do is not portray minorities ONLY as criminals and welfare recipients on one hand or focus on Tiger Woods, Oprah and Condoleezza Rice on the other. In other words, there is a broad black middle class out there whose lives should also be reflected in the coverage, but that shouldn't limit coverage of poverty and related issues.
Washington, D.C.: Regarding the NYT paid online content: The Post's Web site, thanks in no small part to online chats like this one, and your terrific Media Notes Extra column, has left the Times site well behind. The only news here is that the Times has found a way to somehow pound a nail into its own coffin. I expect that I have pretty much no reason to visit that site any longer as I get similar reporting and better commentary (for free!) at washingtonpost.com
I'm not subscribing to a paper paper in any event.
Howard Kurtz: Thanks for the endorsement. But nytimes.com has a big following (as you'd expect for a national newspaper, which The Post isn't) and I'm sure the folks in Manhattan will be very happy if this experiment brings in a few million dollars that can then be invested in the Web site.
Silver Spring, Md.: Dear Mr. Kurtz,
I have been following the news in Iraq (as has everyone I suppose) recently. Why have I not seen any front page success stories? I'm sure schools are now running, hospitals are better and, in general, some of the quality of life issues are better for at least some Iraqis. Is the old motto true: "If it bleeds, it leads"? Don't get me wrong, I'm no supporter of the war in Iraq and think we went there under what now appears complete folly. But, here does seem to me to be some one sided reporting on the deaths and not enough good news (if there is any). Thanks.
Howard Kurtz: There have been occasional success story pieces. But I just excerpted a Newsweek report on a U.S.-arranged trip to a successful school that then got overshadowed when more than 100 people were killed in a wave of bombings. The correspondent also said that security was extraordinary for the visiting press contingent, raising the question of how safe the cities are.
Pittsburgh, Pa.: Howard, the bit you did yesterday on CNN's "Reliable Sources" about reporters letting their emotions show while reporting on Katrina to me proves again that, despite U.S. media denials, American lives are more important than foreign lives to them.
Where was the outrage from Shepherd Smith and Anderson Cooper when we were obliterating whole Iraqi neighborhoods during "shock and awe," killing thousands of innocent civilians, children who got their limbs blown off by our "smart bombs?"
Also, during Katrina coverage, suicide bombers killed 152 and injured more than 400 in one day in Iraq. That barely got covered. You think that would have been the case had 152 American soldiers been killed that day?
Howard Kurtz: If your point is that American news organizations care more about the deaths of Americans that the deaths of people in other countries, I'd have a hard time arguing with you. But these same outlets did devote extraordinary resources to covering the impact of the tsunami in places like Sri Lanka. Still, the notion that close to home is more newsworthy is deeply embedded in the journalistic psyche (and, I suspect, in those of readers and viewers). It's why the Miami Herald heavily covers crime in that city and not in Seattle, and is true of every local newspaper and TV station I can think of.
El Segundo, Calif.: Dear Howard,
The MSM coverage of the Katrina disaster affecting the poor has earned much-deserved accolades. There have been some articles mentioning the problem coming soon of the difficulties Gulf-area victims will have with the new bankruptcy law due to take effect in October. Anything in the offing about that?
As a side note, all the reporting done by the MSM has prompted some town hall meetings about more extensive disaster preparedness here in the L.A. area even before the recent L.A. Times headline about the Southland being ill-prepared - big surprise! Keep it up.
Howard Kurtz: Every major newspaper in America, including this one, has done a piece on whether their metropolitan area is prepared for a disaster of Katrina-like dimensions, and the answer has almost always been no.
Bealeton, Va.: But couldn't you make the case that is precisely the black middle-class people of New Orleans who are invisible in this story? Has anyone done a story on a black middle-class family that evacuated? There's not as much drama in that, I'm guessing?
Howard Kurtz: Sure, I've seen such stories about families black and white. And for those whose homes were destroyed or whose jobs have vanished, rebuilding their lives is going to be very difficult. Yes, this lacks the drama of those who either couldn't or didn't evacuate and wound up in hellholes like the Superdome, but is no less an important element of the saga of New Orleans.
Bethesda, Md.: Howie, Love these chats. Turning to Iraq, I'm wondering why the media hasn't made mention over the last couple of years about the Saddam having tried to assassinate Bush Sr. back in the 90's. I'm not an advocate for or against the war, but isn't it a legitimate question as to whether that fact influenced or accelerated W's decision to go to war? And not only is it a worthy question, the answer would be instructive too -- who in the same position could deny some element of revenge? I'm stunned no one has asked W about it. Again I'm raising a media issue, not espousing a cause Thanks.
Howard Kurtz: It was mentioned with some regularity during the runup to war -- sometimes by those who questioned whether W. was trying to avenge his father -- but since Saddam was toppled, I'd say the story, and the media, have moved on.
Oakland, Calif.: I'm an African American in a city that has significant issues with poverty, racism, drugs, and crime. I'm not surprised by the lack of attention these issues get in the press, because they're very difficult to cover. Little things like individual teacher flight, the closing of local manufacturing and service businesses, and petty property crimes just don't make for good coverage.
My question is this -- can we ever expect coverage of other issues to include information on their consequences? For example, you simply cannot have a "free market" for healthcare, because free markets don't work in the case of such extreme price inelasticity. People will pay their last dollar to stay alive; exploitation of people for profits will inevitably result.
Or can we expect coverage of the estate tax to include the inherent impossibility of equal opportunity without some sort of estate tax?
What is preventing this kind of analysis and coverage now? It seems the media has become so afraid of being called liberal that it's abdicated its duties.
Howard Kurtz: I actually don't think these issues are that difficult to cover (compared to, say, a war). It's a challenge to make them into compelling stories, but that's what we in journalism do for a living. If one family breadwinner loses a job and goes on welfare, that's not much of a story. If it happens to hundreds or thousands of people in a city, that's a trend story that the press should be all over. We do this with lots of issues affecting the affluent, such as the growth of McMansions or whether homeowners will be hurt if the housing bubble pops. I just think we should include all races and classes. And to be fair, there are some journalists who have specialized in this and done a terrific job, but it's a relatively small group.
Rockville, Md.: This seems to be the second time a NYT "public editor" has gone public with criticism of Paul Krugman. In neither case have the criticisms seemed that compelling - the alleged distortions, if that's what they are, seem kind of run-of-the-mill for opinion columnists. I'm wondering, does Krugman just rub these guys the wrong way?
Howard Kurtz: Hard to say, but it's interesting that both public editors have tangled with him in a relatively short span of time.
Re. Tsunami coverage: "But these same outlets did devote extraordinary resources to covering the impact of the tsunami in places like Sri Lanka." Yes, they did. But let's also be realistic. They did it because the tsunami gave them dramatic pictures. When was the last time you heard a report on CNN, Fox, MSNBC about Sri Lanka. Two train crashes earlier this year - one in Japan, one in Sri Lanka. The latter was horrible. Guess which one got covered by American media?
Howard Kurtz: I agree that dramatic pictures make television, in particular, more likely to cover a faraway disaster.
Do you really think the The Post isn't a national newspaper?
To paraphrase Sen. Orrin Hatch (re John Roberts), "If that isn't a national newspaper, what is?"
Howard Kurtz: It's not a national newspaper in the sense that--unlike the NYT, WSJ and USA--it isn't sold in 50 states. Very difficult to buy a copy outside of D.C., Maryland and Virginia. It's national in scope, of course, and the Web has made it into a global media outlet, but only in cyberspace.
Philadelphia, Pa.: Do you think that the reason John Roberts is expected to be confirmed easily is because that the press and pundits said so the night he was announced? It seems that the Democrats cause has been lost from the beginning.
Howard Kurtz: Not the night he was announced, no. But within the first couple of weeks, a media consensus formed that Bush had "threaded the needle" by picking an establishment conservative who lacked the incendiary paper trail or other controversial qualities that would trigger a Democratic filibuster. That also reflected what reporters were hearing from senators in both parties. If some of the Roberts memos that were later released had been more explosive, that consensus might have shifted. But they weren't, and it didn't.
Katrina: The Long-Term Consequences: I fear you may be right about the press (and the rest of us) turning away from news of what happens in MS and LA when the images become less compelling and other events come along to distract us.
But I hope you will keep the heat on your colleagues about this. Billions of dollars are being shipped into a situation where there is great need, great potential for waste, and lots of disagreements as to how the money will be spent. This is an issue of concern to anyone who pays taxes.
And we can learn a lot about what helps people start anew by following the Katrina victims. These stories can help to inform national discussions about preparedness, as well as about what it means to care for people who need help.
Howard Kurtz: I will do my best in the heat department. One good sign is that some of the networks and other news organizations are opening bureaus in New Orleans.
Nashville, Tenn.: I noticed that your column footnote on a database search for press coverage during Brown's confirmation hearings. You failed to mention that even as deputy director of FEMA, Brown received only a 42 minute hearing, just one more reason why an independent commission is required on Katrina inquiry. Google "42 Minutes of Shame" for details
Howard Kurtz: Yes, I saw that but didn't have room for it. He never had a confirmation hearing because of the shift of FEMA to Homeland Security, but if he had I'm not sure it would have been much different.
Reporting on the poor: Another reason that "poor blacks dominate city cores" doesn't get covered a lot is that recognizing middle-class flight means that at least some of the Great Society programs wound up creating the culture of dependency that made the situation what it is. I suspect that many of those in power in the MSM are loath to make that admission.
Howard Kurtz: That's your conclusion. Clinton bought that analysis to an extent, which is why he signed a welfare reform bill. Another view would be that poverty is so ingrained across generations that government programs alone can't wipe it out. Another would be that we don't spend enough money on these programs because the poor don't vote in large numbers. Another would be that family breakdown, not the level of government spending, is the key issue, as evidence by the large number of poor families headed by single mothers. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I think journalism needs to do a better job asking these questions.
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.
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Join live discussions from the Washington Post. Feature topics include national, world and DC area news, politics, elections, campaigns, government policy, tech regulation, travel, entertainment, cars, and real estate.
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Brown was online Thursday, Sept. 22, at 3 p.m. ET to discuss her novels and writing style and her appearance at the National Book Festival.
Falls Church, Va.: The introduction to this chat doesn't say what kind of books you write. How would you define your genre?
Sandra Brown: I would define it as romantic suspense. I had my roots in romance and then gradually over the course of many years, but especially since 1990, I've really gone more into suspense, even "Chill Factor" is what I would term a thriller.
Washington, D.C.: Over 65 novels. Where do you get the ideas (not to mention the energy)?
Sandra Brown: Well, about 40 of those books were the shorter genre books and they were written early in my career. For the last 18 years or so, I've only written one book a year.
In terms of where I get the ideas, they come from all different sources and for each book there's a story about how the story came about. But I'm attuned to topical items that are going on and I presume if they interest me, they'll interest my readers. Sometimes ideas come from current events. Other times a character will just step out of my subconscious and introduce himself and other times the idea just pops into my head and I have no clue where it comes from.
Harrisburg, Pa.: There is a Romance Writers group in central Pennsylvania. How easy or difficult is it to enter the world of romance writing and getting published? Are there growing or decreasing opportunities in the field?
Sandra Brown: Oh dear, I really don't know much about that anymore, but I think one good way to acquaint oneself in that market is to join writers groups and this is true not only for romance, but any genre. They can be extremely beneficial.
In fact, very early in my career before I was published, I was encouraged to attend a workshop and it was there that I made contacts that later proved to be of tremendous value to me -- I met agents, editors and other writers -- so friendships were formed and associations formed that are still important to me today, so that's a very good way to not only get feedback on your work but also to kind of get into a league of people with similar interests and ambitions and to kind of tap into the communication grapevine.
Philadelphia, Pa.: You became a writer because you had the time after losing your job. Another upcoming writer in these discussions left her job in order to write. I detect a pattern here. While you probably didn't have a choice over losing your job, do you think you could have broken into the world of being published had you continued working full time at another job?
Sandra Brown: Well, it certainly helped to have more time to which I could devote to writing. However, the job from which I was dismissed was part-time and my full-time job at that point in my life was being the mother of two toddlers. So I started writing when my family made great demands on my time. So I think is what is very important is that if one is driven to write then it's important to make time and it's every day... if it's two hours or 20 minutes... to set aside the time in which to do it.
Arlington, Va.: Have any of your books been turned into movies?
Sandra Brown: I had one book turned into a movie for ABC. It was called "French Silk" and it was in the mid-90s and I've had several others optioned, but for one reason or another they never were produced.
It's an unfulfilled ambition to have one of my novels turned into a feature film.
Boston, Mass.: Who are your favorite authors?
Sandra Brown: I read with such diversity that it's hard to specify one particular author. I love to read John Sanford, but I also read Tracy Chevalier's books -- and these have absolutely nothing in common. So one time I may be reading about a serial killer and the next about the court of King Edward II, so I really read across the board and it's hard to say who my favorite author is.
Washington DC: How do you define the difference between a suspense and a thriller? Is one faster paced or less character-driven than another?
Do you write each day for a specific amount of time, or for a set number of words? What is the secret to your success in completing a book a year?
Sandra Brown: I think that the individual asking the question already knows the difference between a suspense and a thriller. Thriller does indicate possibly a faster paced book. Suspense can be agonizingly slow, but it's that agonizing slowness that makes it so suspenseful, but I do think that to the publishing mind the term thriller would indicate probably more action and adventure possibly and that the pace would be a little bit uptempo.
I do try to write every day. I don't really set a word count or a page count anymore although I used to. I am a little bit kinder to myself and I think it's more important that you have the self discipline to sit down each day and write until your mind is beginning to get muddy with thought and sometimes I will work for four days on one scene and then at other times I'll write 18 pages and it will have gone very quickly, so it just really depends. But if I have a secret to my success, it's no secret at all -- you have to write, write, write. As far as I know whether you're writing your first of 66th book you can only put one word on paper at a time and at some point you've got to put in the time.
Washington, D.C.: I can't make it down to see you at the Book Festival. Will you be making any other appearances in the D.C. area in the near future?
Sandra Brown: No, none is scheduled at the time. I am doing Great Reads in the Park, sponsored by the New York Times and that's in Manhattan on Sunday, Oct. 2 -- a week from Sunday, and it's kind of a book festival to encourage reading and an appreciation of books and I'm on the mystery and thriller panel.
Harrisburg, Pa.: I don't expect you to give too many details, but would you please give us hints on what types of subject areas we may expect from your future works?
Sandra Brown: Well I can only talk about one book at a time. The next book is kind of in the film noir mode. It's set in Savannah, a city which I'm very familiar with and which I love, but I haven't set one of my mainstream novels there and this story just lent itself to that city.
It's about a homicide detective who becomes involved with a district judge's wife.
That's all I'm prepared to say. Use your imagination.
Silver Spring, Md.: How did you get started writing and what is your "ritual"? When do you write best?
Sandra Brown: I'm going to do a radio show in Silver Spring tomorrow!
Well I didn't actually start till I was 30 years old and it was an ambition I'd had for many years and my husband really dared me to stop talking about it and to sit down and do it. I didn't really know I had any talent for it, but once I began it was like all the lights came on. I knew without doubt that it was what I was supposed to do. And I love it and still love it.
I generally, because I started writing when my children were small I took advantage of the schoolday. So I still go to the office about 9 a.m. and do e-mail, correspondence and then try to get in 4 or 5 good hours of writing. But sometimes life interferes and I have to adjust that and go away somewhere and lock myself in a room so I can write without having to run errands.
I love sitting at the keyboard for hours on end playing make believe. My favorite day is when I can write for six or so hours without interruption.
Richmond, Va.: What advice would you give to a person trying to publish their first book?
Sandra Brown: It's really difficult now because I think it's absolutely mandatory that one have a literary agent representing their book to the publishers. Like a lot of the entertainment industry, it's gone the way of namebrands and publishers rely on their namebrand authors and so it's a little bit harder to break in than it once was.
However, and this is a huge however, they're always looking for the new Harry Potter or new Da Vinci Code -- the new publishing phenomenon. So the door isn't closed, it's just that the opening is a little more narrow than it would have been when publishers had a mid-list and would do smaller print runs for smaller authors.
Alexandria, VA: I am continually amazed at your writing and the volumn of books you've put out in your career. It's very motivating to me as an aspiring mystery writer. I wonder, how do you write your novels so quickly and proficiently?
I've been told that in the mystery field, it's easier right now to break into the market with stand-alone novels, versus a series. Do you agree with that assessment, or do you think it's wiser to write a series?
I'm looking forward to the Book Festival. Where can we find you there? Will you be speaking and/or signing at a specific time?
Sandra Brown: I have been asked several times if I would ever consider writing a series, but I think I would become very bored doing that and I very much admire the authors who are able to write a series and keep the character fresh and keep the character compelling to the reader. I think I would soon burn out of things I could have happen to that individual.
And I'm always ready to go on to the next story. I've been asked many times by readers who fell in love with one character or another, but it's not something that interests me at this point. That's not to say I wouldn't ever consider it.
And so I think in answer to this particular question, I would have to say that the writer has to do what feels right to him or her. If a particular character seizes hold and doesn't want to let go, I would say follow it. But I wouldn't write a series just because it is en vogue.
I will be speaking at 10 a.m. Saturday morning in the Mystery and Suspense tent, followed by a book signing and there will be signs directing people where to find particular authors.
It's a great event, by the way. I participated a couple of years ago and last year and it's just really fun for me because I get to meet authors I've had to admire from afar.
New York, N.Y.: I know this is not a question for you, but something I hope will be noted by organizers of book events. As someone who always attends the D.C. Book Festival and the New Yorker Book Festival (and I presume I am not the only one), it will be helpful if organizers could avoid scheduling them on the same day, as happened this year. This might also increase the selection of authors to attend these events, as presumably some had conflicts in choosing which event to attend.
Sandra Brown: Well, since I don't have any part in the scheduling it's hard for me to address this, but if I'm asked to fill out any kind of evaluation sheet for this event, then I'll certainly bring that to the planners' attention.
Washington, D.C.: Do you ever get stuck while writing a novel or does it all just come naturally now, after so much practice? I'm wondering what you might do to steer clear of writer's block?
Sandra Brown: Well, there's always points of the book where I become stuck and I just have to work through it. Sometimes it takes an hour, sometimes a lot longer.
I have found that the cure for writers block is to try to pretend it's not there and to put something on paper and typically, thankfully, usually, it will lead to another thought and I think that the worst thing one can do about a block is to give in to it.
Sandra Brown: I hope that everyone will consider attending the book festival. There is literally something there for everyone, whether they read non-fiction, science, children's books, mysteries, science fiction -- it just about covers the industry. So for anyone who wants an outing on Saturday, it really is a terrific event.
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Talk About Travel
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The Post's Travel Section Flight Crew will take your comments, questions, suspicions, warnings, gripes, sad tales and happy endings springing from the world of... the world. Of course, the Flight Crew will be happy to answer your travel questions -- but the best thing about this forum, we insist, is that it lets travelers exchange information with other travelers who've been there, done that or otherwise have insights, ideas and information to share. Different members of the Crew will rotate through the captain's chair every week, but the one constant is you, our valued passengers.
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Did you have travel plans to the Gulf coast? Check out our
Carol Sottili: Welcome to the chat, although if you live in our region, you may want to step away from the computer and head for the great outdoors: 37 percent humidity and 84 degrees at 1:50 p.m. It doesn't get much better.
We have several questions for you today.
1. Next Sunday is our annual "Way to Go" edition, where we make a noble attempt to detail all manner of travel-related info and resources, including Web sites, specialty travel and local airports. For those of you who are familiar with the section, two questions: Do you find this special section valuable? Is there something the section hasn't done that it should do?
2. Any more tips on favorite attractions, hotels or restaurants that we may have overlooked in our Sunday cover piece on Niagara Falls?
3. I've been hitting the road frequently lately, driving kids to college in Conway, S.C. and St. Louis, Miss., and going to the beach in Ocean City. I've eaten more than my fair share of yucky rest area meals. Any tips on great roadside restaurants? I'll start you off: Holly's Restaurant off Route 50 in Grasonville, Md. The best find gets two books: "Greetings from the Lincoln Highway: America's First Coast-to-Coast Road" by Brian Butko and "Highway A1A Florida at the Edge" by Herbert L. Hiller.
Here today to answer all your travel queries are K.C. Summer, who recently returned from Croatia; John Deiner, our resident Las Vegas/Outer Banks expert who spent last weekend in San Diego; Andrea Sachs, who was just evacuated from the Keys; Cindy Loose, back from a visit to a sea turtle preserve in the Puerto Vallarta, Mexico area; and Steve Hendrix, who recently spent several weeks in Guatemala. And yours truly, who drives kids to college.
Washington, DC: We would like to take our elementary school age kids to Williamsburg for a weekend. I have been to www.gowilliamsburg.com website and there appear to be about 8 different ticket packages. I don't want to go to the theme parks and I don't want to go to Jamestwon/Yorktown (they will go there later in the year on a school trip) can you help me sort this out. What tickets should I get to see Colonial Williamsburg, is there enough to do for 2 full days and are there any less well known things-to-do/places-to- see that I should add to the itinerary (I can add an extra day if needed.)
Cindy Loose: There will be those who disagree, including the folks at Williamsburg, but personally--and for the kids I've taken there over the years--one day in the village is enough. If they like waterparks, I think they'd love a day at Great Wolfe Lodge, which is an indoor waterpark.
Washington, DC: I am concerned about buying (2) RT tickets on Independence air in light of Delta and NW's bankruptcy filings. In yesterday's post there was a note about buying flight insurance, but only if the ticket was bought through a third party. I am not sure I can buy a ticket on IA through a third party? any advice?
Cindy Loose: Any travel agent in a brick and mortar site would sell you an Independence Air ticket, but if you weren't buying other parts of the travel experience from them, they'd probably charge you at least $25 and probably $50, at which point, when you add in the insurance, you could probably just buy it from another carrier that isn't bankrupt for the same price. Orbitz, Travelocity and Expedia also sell Independence Air tickets.
Baltimore, Md: I will be taking my first cruise at the end of this month. However, I have severe motion sickness. I tried Dramamine years ago but it did not help. I also tried the "patch" and while I didn't get seasick, the effect the patch had on me was quite unpleaseant. Any suggestions?
Carol Sottili: If you're going to the Caribbean, you shouldn't get sick. It's usually flatter than a pancake out there. Ginger is good, and you may want to buy the wrist straps designed to stop seasickness - www.sea-band.com.
Re: Roadfood: I have an answer to your Qs 1 and 3: www.roadfood.com. It is a great tool when you are traveling across the US but want to avoid typical highway food stops.
Carol Sottili: Can't wait to spend time looking at that site.
Fairfax Station, Va.: We're thinking about using frequent flyer miles to fly to London for Spring Break. We really want to go to Italy, but using miles to get there seems harder. What do you think of using miles to get to London and then taking Ryan Air to get to Florence or Rome? We're a family of 4, with about 10 days available for the trip.
John Deiner: Hey, Fairfax. That's a great idea, and a top-notch way to go somewhere you actually want to go to with your miles.
I did the same thing last year -- I used frequent-flier miles to get to London, then took EasyJet from there to Milan, where I spent a few days, then onward to Rome via train.
It worked great, though if you can, try to book a budget carrier to Italy that flies out of the same London airport you fly into. Traveling among airports -- with luggage, kids and jet lag in tow -- can be a nightmare. We stayed at an airport hotel the final nite after flying back into London, just to catch a breath from all the travel. Well worth it, and 10 days should be plenty of time to do Rome or Florence right (even better would be to spend a day or two traipsing around London).
As a high school graduation gift, I gave my godson a trip - to any place of his choosing. He hasn't travelled much at all - he's never even been on a plane so as you can imagine it is difficult to winnow down the options. I'd like to provide him with some books or resources that would help guide his choices. Unfortunately, everything I come across is either a guidebook for a particular place or region, or an overwhelming compilation of things to see (e.g. 1,000 Places To See Before You Die). Could you recommend any books or other resources that could help an 18-year-old first-time traveller figure out where to go?
KC Summers: What a lucky godson. You gave him no geographic or economic restrictions whatever? I feel like Ed Sullivan here, but I hear "the youngsters" like a site called myspace.com -- and it has a travel forum. Might be a good place for him to check. Also check Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree forum, that's also very lively and youth-oriented.
One piece of advice -- try to help him pick a destination that he feels some kind of personal connection with, no matter how tenuous, to give the trip more meaning. Maybe a roots thing would get him excited -- if he's Italian, for example, wandering around the boot might mean a lot to him. Or if he's studied Asian history, a trip to Japan? Or for a a grunge fan, knocking around music sites in Seattle? Or for a ROTC type of kid, WWII sites in France?
Anyone have specific resources to recommend for Wash?
Arlington, Va.: I am headed to France next month for 10 days. While in France, I plan to travel between cities using the rail system and have purchased an EUrail pass. When I received the pass, the enclosed materials said I must book "reservations" for travel on the TGV. But then it said book those through my travel agent or at the station while in France. Well, I don't have a travel agent. I would "reserve" a seat just by walking up to the ticket window before boarding my train but am concerned that there will be basically no advance notice and the train will be sold out. Any advice on how I can make reservations in advance (if I even need to)? Thanks!
Carol Sottili: I booked reservations through the same place I bought the rail ticket. You should be able to do this. Be aware that reservations will cost extra, and sometimes it's quite a bit extra. But if you want to make sure you get a seat/berth on a train, it may be a good idea. France in October, however, is not high season, so you may want to go without. Any one out there have bad/good experience with train reservations?
Washington D.C.: Re: Way to Go Section -- I'm not familiar with the section, but it sounds great! One thing I'd love to see is a guide to direct flights from the DC area. Sometimes I want to take a last minute or weekend trip, which doesn't allow for alot of travel time. I'd love to see a list of the three airports, where they fly direct, and on what airline. What do you think?
Carol Sottili: Meanwhile, go to www.mwaa.com and www.bwiairport.com. Your info is there.
Arlington, Va.: "you could probably just buy it from another carrier that isn't bankrupt for the same price."
HAHAHAHAHAHA! And which airline would THAT be? Darn near all of them are in bankruptcy.
But why didn't you give that gal real advice about consumer protection against an airline liquidating?
Cindy Loose: Jet Blue, Southwest, Continental, American, are not in bankruptcy or even close to it, to name four of the biggest.
It's clear she also read the item in the paper, which suggested buying by credit card, since if a service is not provided, the credit card company will refund your money--although there might be some hassle in getting it, and besides, at that point, you might have to pay major bucks to reserve another flight.
Further, if a carrier disappears, other carriers are required by law to provide alternate service as available for $50, which could mean a major hassle finding an empty seat.
If you have better advice, why not share it?
Washington, DC: Thursday to Sunday anniversary trip the first weekend in November. We want to go somewhere relatively warm, not too expensive ($250 or so a night) and accessible (under 5 hour drive or direct flights). Current ideas are Outer Banks or Savannah. Any ideas.
John Deiner: Hey,DC. Depends on your tolerance to driving--Outer Banks can easily exceed five hours, even in the off season. Just one little traffic tie-up . . . and that's a pretty long ride for a long weekend. Plus it could be really chilly down there in early November. I'd pick Savannah of the bunch, or, even better, Sanibel Island or Naples, Fla., via Southwest, USA 3000, Spririt or some other budget carrier. It's a quick flight, and it's beautiful in those parts. Safely out of the hurricane season as well, or at least in the tail of it.
Washington, DC: I spent two weeks in Alaska and reserved a rental car ahead of time through Enterprise. I don't have a car, but am covered for all the insurance except liability, which I planned to buy through Enterprise and which was listed as part of my online reservation. But when I went to pick up the car, they said that liability insurance couldn't be offered by Enterprise - "they hadn't been in Alaska long enough." ???? Have you ever heard of anything like that before?
Cindy Loose: Nope, that's a new one on us. Wonder how long you have to be in a place to sell insurance--like, more than an hour?
Your questions, From Washington DC: Hey Crew! Yes, I love the "Way to Go" section. I usually keep it in my pile of "keep" magazines until a new one comes out. I wouldn't say anything is missing, though I would offer a few websites I like looking at for travel and travel-related information: www.budgettravel.com is the site for the magazine, and always has interesting extras and free "podcasts" to download; www.seatguru.com to find out which are the worst seats on various aircraft.
A great roadside eat is in OhioPyle, PA, not far from Pittsburgh and also Fallingwater (The Wright house)...I can't remember the name, but it's like the only eatery and general store in the town. Cheat, good home cooked food.
Also, Dr. Gridlock had a similar discussion in his Sunday column this weekend. I guess everyone is looking for alternatives to plastic fast food!
Carol Sottili: Look for info on www.seatguru.com in the Way to Go section's Travel Toolbox. Anyone know the name of the restaurant in Ohiopyle? We're familiar with Dr. G's column on the subject, and applaud those suggestions. But how about some farther afield ideas? I drove 14 hours to St. Louis a couple of weeks ago with only one decent meal!
Lexington, Va.: Do I really need anti-malaria medication for a trip to India, as recommended by the CDC? The side effects of the drugs seem so severe. I'm going in January to Rajasthan with a side trip to Agra. So it'll be 70 or so degrees in the day and lots of desert--not prime mosquito conditions, it seems to me. Any advice? Thanks.
Cindy Loose: I'd look to a travel medicine clinic for an answer to that. There's an organization of travel medicine clinics that lists clinics all over. Go to www.istm.org for one near you. You are right that a country-wide advisory isn't specific enough. But a good clinic should be up on the latest nitty gritty.
Bowie, Md.: Hi Crew....a roadside dining treasure??? Dayton's Restaurant in Cambridge, MD (off of Rt 50) just on the other side of the bridge going into Cambridge. THE place for locals...when I stumbled into one time on the way to OC, the waitress said "You're in luck, it's chicken & dumplings day!" Ya know what? I was...DELICIOUS. Never go the shore (or return) without stopping there!
Roadside food?: I don't know if this counts as "roadside," but you can get great Indian food off the Garden State Parkway in Iselin.
Carol Sottili: Anyone know the name?
Rosslyn, Va.: I'm planning on taking a tour to Morocco. The tour operator is Noble Journeys out of Tucson, AZ. How can I research their reputation (besides the BBB)?
Andrea Sachs: Check with some of the travel associations, like ASTA, which accredit travel agencies. Also, ask the company for a list of past travelers to hear from them about their experiences. If the company balks, then you have to wonder: What are they hiding?!? You might also try travel blogs or Web sites like TripAdvisor where guests share their unadulterated views.
Bethesda, Md.: Hi, I am looking for a weekend escape to Europe in October or November, preferably with a non-stop flight to maximize my time in the destination. I've been to Lisbon, Paris, and Brussels before. Thinking about London, Amsterdam, Dublin, or Rejkjavik but open to other suggestions without breaking the bank. Ability to sit back and relax, watching the people and the culture, good food and cafes, and minimum interruptions or hassles are a priority. Any ideas?
KC Summers: I assume you're talking about a long weekend! And of course you know the weather in Europe might be dicey in Oct-Nov, but you'll avoid the summer mobs. To my mind, you can't go wrong with London, so if you haven't been, for god's sake go! They're not too big on the cafe scene, but the food has come a long way and there are wonderful parks (large and small) to while the time away if that's what you want to do. Dublin would be another good bet, and the weather can actually be quite nice there in late fall. I've lucked out there in Nov, anyway. And Ireland's so small you can take a day trip or two and see more than just Dublin.
Alexandria, Va.: Dear All, I am looking to go on a Mediterranean Cruise next summer. Do you have any recommendations as to operators? I would prefer a European operator. I would ideally do this all by ferry but that takes a lot of time. Plus, since it would be for my anniversary I would like it to be a little more cushy. Have seen cruises that hit Alexandria, Egypt - this would be wonderful as well as Istanbul (have been to the Greek islands, would like to see other parts). Thanks
Carol Sottili: European operators to try include www.msccruises.com, www.deilmann-cruises.com, www.swanhellenic.com.
Re. Anti-malarial Medication: It doesn't hurt to carry anti-malarial medication for a just-in-case situation - it's your health. Don't forget to stock up on DEET mosquito repellant to decrease the probability of malaria.
Arlington, Va.: On road trips, my instinct is to follow billboards to local restaurants, and I've rarely been disappointed.
Two recent finds are the Apple House off of 66 West just before Front Royal for mouthwatering homemade donuts.
And off I-68 near Grantsville, MD is Penn Alps, a homey restaurant, store and artists' village. Last year, I had an openfaced turkey sandwich with the best gravy I ever tasted. Unfortunately, I don't drive that way very often.
Dulles, Va.: Good afternoon Flight Crew! Would you or the chatters have any hotel recommendations for Frankfurt, Germany? We had excellent luck with one of your Rome recommendations last year (Daphne Inn -- great place), so I'm hoping lightning will strike twice.
KC Summers: Alas, our Germany expert, Gary Lee, is away today. So let's throw this one out to the clicksters -- anyone know about Frankfurt hotels?
Speaking of rental cars:: The last few times that I've rented a car, they've wanted to charge me insurance for "lost rental time". I probably ought to check with my credit card or auto insurance erson, but is this something that I need to be buying? This strikes me as a junk fee...
When I was a kid, my parents used to pack meals and soft drinks to avoid the cost and awfulness of rest area food. Sort of what one needs to do now on airlines...
Andrea Sachs: I am not sure I know what a lost rental time fee is but I am guessing that it is if you crash their car, this is covering their monetary losses while the car is being fixed. If this is the case, then skip it. Your other insurance, like collision and comprehensive, should cover you enough.
Washington DC and Boston Mass.: Hi! My honey and I want to go away for his "spring break" which is actually Feb 20-24. Since we are both students the budget is kind of tight and neither of us is into the stereotypical spring break mania or skiing. We were wondering if you had any ideas for an interesting, romantic, budget-friendly week. Somewhere not cold is a bonus. We weren't sure if there might be good off season deals somewhere like Bermuda? Thanks for your help!
John Deiner: Hey, DC. Bermuda is a great spot, and it can be done on a budget if you're willing to do-it-yourself a bit.
Look for good airfares on USA 3000, which offers a couple of flights a week. Remember that it won't be real hot then, but it should be pleasant. Then opt to stay in a cottage or efficiency on the island; lots of homeowners open a part of their home or a separate cottage on site to visitors. There are also cottage complexes throughout the island, many near the water, some of them far cheaper than the resorts (that means, of course, that there are some real pricey ones as well).
Then you can cook some of your own meals that way. Use the great bus system instead of renting mopeds, hike on the railway trail, picnic at the beach, eat lunch at the nicer restaurants instead of dinner (when prices can double) and look for signs touting happy hours.
I'm a long-time reader and now a first-time submitter. We are planning a 7 day get-a-away with our 2 sons, ages 18 and 19. We were considering the week before Christmas and possible destinations were the Poconos or Quebec City. We'd like to do a site that would provide skiing, snowboarding, etc. for the boys and relaxation and some site seeing for my wife and myself. Do you have any suggestions for hotels in those areas. We have heard so much about Quebec City being the most European-like city this side of the Atlantic. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated. Keep up the good work.
Cindy Loose: Yes, Quebec City in winter is a fabulous idea. I took my daugther there a couple years ago, and will post the story I did, which should include a details box about places to stay.
Don't miss the toboggan slide at the Frontenac Hotel, and if you have a car, there is a fabulous place outside of town that is a waterpark in summer, and becomes a snow slide extravaganze in winter. (The story should mention the name; what I remember is that my daugther keeps begging to go back there.)
Washington, D.C.: Hello! I have another question about flights from D.C. Is there an easy way to find out if the flight you are booking is continuing on to another city? For instance, I often fly to Syracuse, NY to visit family, but I hate the small DeHaviland or Dash-8 planes that are used. I'd like to book a flight that is continuing on somewhere else, so the plane will be bigger. Any suggestions?
Carol Sottili: No flight is going to connect in Syracuse because it's not a hub. Check out US Airways from DCA - I think it may offer larger jet service. The best way to figure out this sort of thing is to go to the airport Web site and see who goes there - equipment is usually also listed.
Off the road food: I don't know if you consider diner food quality, but growing up on diner food in the northeast I can attest to the high quality and large portions at the Thru-Way Diner just off of I-95 in New Rochelle, NY.
RE: India Malaria Risk: Here's what TRAVEL MEDICINE ADVISOR has to say about malaria in India:
Risk is present below 2000 meters, year-round, throughout the country, including urban areas such as Delhi and Bombay. There is no risk in areas of Himachal Pradesh, Jammu, Kashmir, and Sikkim over 2000 meters. Chloroquine resistance is confirmed, especially in the eastern and northeastern states. Resistance is also increasing in central and western regions. Visitors to risk areas should take a regimen of appropriate, preventative antimalarial medication and take measures to prevent mosquito bites. A travel medicine specialist should be consulted for specific recommendations.
re Eurail pass: You do need to have a reservation to use the rail pass on TGV trains, but they are cheap and are basically just a seat assignment. Booking them at the train station works fine, although TGV sales offices in Paris at least can be really crowded and I would recommend not waiting until the last second. You can sometimes also find SNCF offices outside of train stations and they can help you with this.
Carol Sottili: Thanks. I didn't have that experience, but I wasn't traveling within France.
Arlington, Va.: Yes I do have better advice.
Book a flight on US Airways. We are just about to leave bankruptcy and we're the best darn airline in the world. In. The. World.
(Our PHL operation needs work, I'll grant you that.)
Carol Sottili: Get back to work!
Detroit, Mich.: Can you give some more info on how bankruptcy is going to affect Northwest as a carrier? I know it will continue having flights, but will it cut back on the number of flights a day, or will the prices go up? As a Detroiter, Northwest is often my best bet for flying, with the cheapest flights (usually ~$50 cheaper than the next airline) so I'm concerned about this development. Thanks.
Cindy Loose: NW probably will cut back on flights, but my guess is that they'll keep most of the the direct flights out of Detroit, and cut things like the connections from Detroit to small cities. If you tend to fly from Detroit to a hot spot, as opposed to Detroit to Grand Rapids or something, you'll probably still have plenty of flights to choose from.
As to prices--everybody is going to have to raise prices at some point, assuming jet fuel prices stay high. But Northwest has always been the one to refuse to match the increases of other carriers, and then they'd all back down. With bankruptcy, maybe they'll stop being the spoiler (from theviewpoint of other carriers.) But they can't afford to raise their prices beyond that of the competition. I know that's how a politician would answer a question, but I think it's also as truthful as anyone can be.
Maryland: Heading to Newport RI and mountains in MA in a few weeks. I know to look for fall foliage, Newport mansions, and the harbor area. Would appreciate news on great things off the beaten path and any restaurant recommendations, great or small.
KC Summers: Well, do the cliff walk, for sure. It's great for both wild seaside scenery and to see the mansions from the back doors. Also, I really liked touring Jackie Kennedy's girlhood mansion, Hammersmith Farm. But wait! I just did a Web check and it looks like it was recently sold and will no longer be open to the public for tours. Bummer, because it was a gorgeous house and setting -- I'm a sucker for how-the-rich-people-live house tours.
Other offbeat Newport suggestions for Maryland?
Washington, DC: For the Williamsburg visitor. As a kid my husband's family went to Colonial Williamburg every summer. They never to the amusement parks or Jamestown. Just the Restored area. My husband and his sister are still complaining about this. This summer my in-laws were so excited to show my kids Williamsburg. My husband insisted we go to Busch Gardens and Water Country along with the "Restored Area". We all had a great time. And the ironic finish was my in-laws commenting. "We should have done this when you were a kid." The kids will do better if they have something to look forward to. Busch Gardens in open until the end of October and is so much more enjoyable in the cooler weather.
Alexandria, Va.: If you can stand another Niagara Falls tidbit from a former local...
Goat Island on the American side. It sits in the river near the precipice of the Falls. You can stroll across a small footbridge and, even in this day and age of insurance and lawsuits, walk right up to the water's edge without a fence in sight.
Also, a personal delight is a visit on a cold winter's day where real icy beauty abounds with small ice needles constantly pricking your face and uncovered extremities.
Arlington, Va.: I recently flew on Spirit Airlines for the first time. They sent me an e-mail the day before my flight recommending that I arrive at National 2 1/2 hours before my flight was scheduled to depart. I followed their directions and spent 1 1/2 hours sitting in the airport bar. What is the general recommendation for a domestic flight?
On the same note, National always seems to get people through security quickly. Will Dulles improve in this respect now that they've hired National's former manager?
Steve Hendrix: It's all over the map, Arl, depending on such variables as day of week, time of day, whether you have bags to check and, of course, which airport. With a pre-printed, internet bording pass in hand, I had breeze-through arrivals at National that remind me of the just-in-time, five-minutes-to-take-off days of old. On the other hand, I've run into plenty of security lines that eat up an hour or more of my pre-flight time. Dulles is always a nightmare; National (with far fewer flights) seems always a breeze; BWI varies radically--God help you on a Monday or Friday morning. Personally, I tend to time my step on the departure curb for one hour before flight (w/o bags). That's cut it close a few times, but I've never actually been locked out.
The airlines advise you to get there ealier and earlier from both an err-on-the-early side philosophy and a let's-cover-our-own-tailflaps philosophy (so they can always say "we told you get here 30 hours in advance" if you miss your flight). If you want to do a little research on your own, the TSA maintains averages for all airport security lines based on day and time. Go to www.tsa.gov, to Travelers & Consumers, Air Travel and then Wait Times.
Fairfax, Va.: K.C. By any chance did you visit Baska on the island of Krk, Croatia? I just returned last Friday from a fanatstic trip to Croatia and Prague and found Baska to be a piece of Paradise.
KC Summers: No, and it was frustrating to have to pick and choose from among all those islands! I think there are over 1,000, right? I only had a week, so decided Korcula would be my island, and it was wonderful. Also got in a lot of island/coast scenery as we ferried up the Dalmatian coast from Dubrovnik to Split. Anyway, I also crammed a couple of cities in there, too, further reducing the island time. But wouldn't have missed Split and Zagreb for anything.
Silver Spring, Md.: Dear Flight Crew,
I know you don't have a crystal ball but could you theorize? Now that 4 legacy carriers are in bankruptcy, do you think the government might step in to help them out a la Chrysler in the 80's? Before it was just one or two but now that the whole beast appears to be going belly up, I'm wondering if there might be some low cost government loans available. Mind you, in many ways they brought it on themselves, but to all the people who depend on them for a living, it may be worthwhile to keep the economy churning. Your thoughts?
Cindy Loose: My theory: the government might take over some of the pension obligation of bankrupt airlines. Other than that, I'd be surprised to see a big bailout. It doesn't fit with this administration's economic theories, and even if it did, they've got Katrina and Iraq already driving us into a big hole,and I doubt they'd dig another one. More likely: mergers.
Bowie, Md.: Hi crew....need your help with a wonderful situation! Last week, my spouse won website contest for $5,000 of travel packages on American! Now, this can be used in increments of $1000 or all at once. Decisions, decisions! So....eliminating South America and the Far East(A/A doesn't go there), where would you absolutely HAVE to go?? and would you take one GRAND vacation or perhaps one long weekend in the US and one week in one European city? (Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, etc.) Tough predicament, huh? We're open to all ideas....
Carol Sottili: I'm guessing that you have to book the entire event on American, including hotel, car rentals, etc. I'd start by going to www.aavacations.com to see what's on sale. It also has a kind of neat search engine, where you can plug in how much you want to spend and what activites you enjoy. It's such a personal decision. Do you like to ski? American offers good ski packages. More of a sun person? Hawaii & Caribbean destinations are offered. And most major cities in Europe are on the table.
Washington, DC: I have been considering going to Great Wolf Lodge this fall. We went to Splash Mountain in Erie, PA last fall and loved it. With Splash Mountain there were several hotels attatched that you could book a package. We stayed in the least expensive one. With Great Wolf Lodge there only seems to be the one property and it is not cheap. Is it worth the money to stay on the property?
For the traveler heading to Niagara Falls. If you are driving Erie is a few hours from the Falls and Splash Mountain would make an excellent stop.
Cindy Loose: You are right--Great Wolf requires you to stay there to use the park. I went during the week during the school year to save money. And thanks for reminding me: it is overpriced if you're going on the weekend or on school holidays. Maybe the thing to do is to look for some wierd day off, like teacher training day, that Great Wolf doesn't know about, then you can stay and play for less than $100.
Ashburn, Va.: Hi Crew - I didn't know who else might know this, so I figured I'd throw it out there just in the hopes you guys might have an answer. Does anyone know how Commander's Palace in N.O. fared? I know since it was in the Garden District, it had more of a chance of getting ruined, but my hubby and I loved that place, and would be very sad to hear it was no more. Thanks for the chats!
Cindy Loose: From what I hear it looks good. In fact, I've seen pictures, and from the outside it looks fine. Could take awhile for owners to get inside and make sure it isn't suffering some invisible damage. But like you say, French Quarter wasn't immersed, so I'd be very hopeful.
Washington, DC: I am starting to plan a trip to Hawaii (Maui, Oahu, Kauai) for my birthday in early-mid January. I was wondering if the water temperature will be warm enough for water activities such as cliff jumping, snorkeling/swimming, and kayaking. Also, are there any parts of the islands that will be colder at that time? I heard we should avoid North Shores. Thanks!
John Deiner: Cliff diving? Man, I'm happy just watching waves wash ashore.
But, yeah, DC, you should definitely be able to frolic in the surf that time of year. Weather on the north shores, I believe, is usually rainier than other parts of the island (correct me if I'm wrong here), but most of the big tourist areas have beaches aplenty. And early-mid January is prime whale-watching season off of Maui, which is really cool.
washingtonpost.com: Snow Big Deal , (Jan. 21, 2001)
Cindy Loose: For the Quebec City over winter folks......
Can't believe you forgot New Zealand!!: NZ has a lot of penguins, and wasn't even mentioned in your "places to spot penguins" article. I saw a blue penguin last month in Akaroa. Go further south from there and see lots more - various types.
John Deiner: Sorry we missed those critters in the roundup. Seems as if those are everyone's favorite tuxedoed friends these days. Thanks for the heads-up.
Arlington, VA.: Flight Crew -
I see that K.C. has just returned from Croatia and as I'm thinking of including the Croatian coast, particularly the Istrian Peninsula, on an upcoming trip to Central Europe, I wondered if you had any suggestions. I've been to Dubrovnik and won't be returning there on this trip -- it's just too far given the time I have. Thanks.
KC Summers: I am so high on Croatia right now. As far as I'm concerned you can't go wrong wherever you go in that wonderful country. I didn't make it to Istria, but it sounds fantastic -- it's on my list for next time. Pictures of it just melt your heart. I spent a lot of time ferrying up the coast and it is gorgeous. I would highly recommend the island of Korcula -- it's like a mini-Dubrovnik, a walled city with a highly refined cafe culture, lots of cats wandering around, fantastic fresh fish, cute little museums. Go!
Guatemala-bound: I'm going to Guatemala in November for 5 days. I know it'll be impossible to see it all, but can you recommend a 5 day itinerary that would cover as much as possible? So far Tikal, Antigua, Lake Atitlan are on the list. Is it worth spending any time in Guatemala City if we only have 5 days? I've heard that it can be skipped.
Steve Hendrix: I'm all about Guatemala these days, friend. Been five times in the last year and half!
Definitely skip Guatemala City. For your purposes, it's there to hold the airport and that's it. Antigua, the old colonial capital, is but 40 mins from the airport, so make that your final night.
You've got the basic itinerary right, but five days is pushing it to do it all. Tikal requires a prop flight from G.C. and demands a full day and an overnight. Antigua is just a fabulous city built on old colonial bones (hotels you'll never forget, good shopping/food/cocktails). That's good for at least nights. Lake Atitlan is about 2.5 hours from Antigua by shuttle, so it needs two nights, two. Stay one night in the arrival town of Panajachel for textile shopping (just about as good as the massive twice-weekly market at Chichicastanengo) and then one night at one of the boat-only hotels on the North Shore (Casa del Mundo, the volcano lodge, Villa Sumaya). And take the public launches to the villages of San Marcos, San Pedro.
Can you do it all? If you're brutally effecient. Otherwise you may have to jetison either Tikal or the Lake.
Washington, DC: Is it smart or stupid to book on Delta/Northwest right now?
Cindy Loose: If they have the best price, it's smart to book them, esp. if you aren't booking out a year. They're too big to just disappear overnight. I'd book without a thought for the next three or four months. After that, I'd think about it, but would probably do it anyway. Do not consider that a guarantee, just a studied opinion.
Re: Grandson: I don't know how old he is, but if he's never been on a plane, I'd try to send him somewhere with minimum connections. Some airports are a hassle even for those of us who travel often. Also, if he does not speak foreign languages, or has not been abroad before, I'd start with a destination where people speak or willing to speak the language and are super friendly. I'd hate for him to show up at Charles de Gaulle airport for example, where people have no patience and it is confusing enough for many people not to mention all the people who are trying to take advantage of inexperienced travelers (I love France and the French, but sometimes it is a rough experience). If I were him, I'd pick New Zealand (non-stop from CA, very friendly people, safe, and if somebody else is paying the farthest you can go). But to be practical, I'd probably pick Amsterdam, London, or Brussels. If he is based in one of these destinations, in a couple of days he'll feel well-adjusted and can easily travel to many other locations by train. Before you buy him books, take him to the library and he can browse and pick up various books to narrow down his choices. Good luck!
KC Summers: Great advice. For some reason I was assuming she was going with him, but maybe not. And if not, this definitely makes sense. Thanks, Re.
Burke, Va.: The spouse is going on a business trip to Santiago, Chile sometime this fall. Is this a worthwhile tagalong destination for me? What is there to do? (Hint: I'm more the nature walk-sightseeing type than the restaurant-nightlife type.)
Andrea Sachs: Yes, go! Santiago has a bit of a European flavor to it, with lots of culture, arts and architecture. It's also much less rowdy than some of its South American neighbors. For example, you can see the Coin Palace, now the presidential palace, Cerro Santa Lucia Hill, Valpariaso (an artists' inspiration point 75 miles from the city), the Garden City and the beaches, El Morado National Monument (hiking, horseback riding, wildlife viewing), a condor-spotting tour in the Andes, wine tours--and on and on. For ideas, check with your hotel concierge or Chile's tourism office.
Poolesville, Md.: We want to celebrate combined 10th anniversary, 40th Birthday for Fall of 2006. Intention had been every five years to Hawaii (did honeymoon and fifth anniversary). Had to rule out Hawaii , with 1.5 and four year old, couldn't see the long flights with the kids. We've never been on a cruise before, seemed too "touristy." Grandparents, mid 60's, still active, might come along. Are there Cruise destinations to the Caribbean that are hurricane-free. Is there a cruise line that fits these requirements?
Carol Sottili: No Caribbean destination is totally hurricane proof, plus, if you're leaving from Florida, you have to cruise through a hurricane-prone area before getting to your destination. Cruise lines reserve the right to change itineraries. The ABC islands - Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao - have few hurricanes if you're looking at resorts. Aruba is easiest to get to. If you decide on a cruise, Royal Caribbean would probably be a best bet for your crowd.
Washington, DC: When it comes to trips out to the eastern shore there is a place called "Island BBQ" right behind the Dairy Queen off 50 in Stevensville. Get a pulled pork sandwhich and fries, go to Dairy Queen, you're in heaven. But as a word of warning, Island BBQ is only a carry-out joint. But there are some benches outside you can sit on.
Buzzard Point, Washington, DC: For the Newport question - The Vanderbilt Hall Hotel on Mary Street has a good restauarant and a nice lobby bar. Grab a drink there and bring it with you to their rooftop deck - great view of the city.
Now, on the other hand of the price spectrum, for off-highway dining I like the Doghouse in Delaware, on Route 13 near the Delaware Memorial Bridge. Great foot-long dogs.
KC Summers: Thanks for the tips, BP.
delta buddy pass - where to go? : Hi
I have two buddy passes on Delta. are they basically worthless once they file for bankruptcy?
if not, where would be a good/relatively pain free place to visit from DC (i.e. minimal layovers to reduce chances of being stuck somewhere...)
Cindy Loose: Frequent flyer passes and miles should not be harmed by bankruptcy. They'd be harmed if the carrier went out of business, which is not likely to happen to Delta any time soon. But go ahead and use em in the next six months, to be absolutely safe.
Was wondering if you had any information on JetBlue's expansion plans? Any chance they'll start service out of BWI? They have expanded to LaGuardia and Newark in NYC, so I am hoping they might do the same here. Also, they are starting to take delivery of regional jets, and have not heard of where these will be used. Thanks!
Cindy Loose: I haven't heard of Jet Blue heading to BWI, and I'd think that Southwest would fight that tooth and nail. It would make more sense for them to expand at their current locations. But hey, next week I'll make a couple calls and see if I can get any intellligence on where they might expand.
Germantown, Md.: Anyone know of a car rental Office near where the ships dock in Naples, Italy?
KC Summers: Just throwin' this out.... anyone?
Alexandria, Va.: Last year, United ran a Washington-area promotion designed to prevent defections to Independence Air. I flew enough to earn a free domistic roundtrip. However, whenever I try to redeem this award -- which only can be done on the phone, not via Internet -- I am told I can't use it for any flights that meet my criteria. And I'm not being picky; I'll take anything reasonably close. But all that seems to be offered are redeyes or connections in Los Angeles or San Francisco. (Not really helpful for a promotion aimed at Washingtonians.) Does the company have any sort of customer service line or customer advocate to whom one can plead one's case? The phone agents range from unhelpful to hostile. How do they expect to emerge from bankruptcy if the reward customer loyalty this way? The airline I fly the most, America West, has been very good about award redemptions -- even at the last minute.
Carol Sottili: I vaguely remember the promotion. As for customer service, have you asked to talk with a supervisor? That sometimes helps, although the last time I got a United supervisor on the phone, he was angry and unhelpful, so that may not help. Anyone else out there have problems with this promotion?
Dandridge, Tenn: Re: Frankfurt Hotels, check out the Monopole. Directly across from the railway station; big rooms; good breakfast.
KC Summers: I knew you guys would help out. Thanks, Dandridge.
Anonymous: Help! My wife and I were about to book accommodations in Camp Curry in Yosemite Valley, but noticed that the "heated tent cabins," the best accommodations available on Sept. 29 and 30, have heat usually only from early to mid-October. Dare we risk booking and hope for either warm temps at night or the heat coming on early? Only other accommodations available are $180 a night and up (vs. $39 for Camp Curry).
Cindy Loose: Just checked a chart for temperatures in Yosemite in Sept., and they range from 82-48. I don't consider 48 warm enough, but I guess if you're sleeping bag is a good one.....
McLean, Va.: Hello Flight Crew! I'm interested in jewelry making, and I love all the different beads. Where can I go to get them/see them made? Are there specific tours that cater to this sort of thing? Thank you!
Andrea Sachs: Germany and the Czech Republic have a big glass-making industry, and you can see some of the bead-making there (see our TQA from this week for towns, though that question dealt more with Christmas glass ornaments). A number of tour operators offer tours to some really interesting beady destinations, such as Ghana, New Zealand, Ireland and Jablonec, Czech Republic. Beside doing a Web search, you might want to contact the Bead Museum in D.C. for ideas.
United and Dulles: I have to relate a horrible time that we had at Dulles recently. We were flying United to Boston and it was so horribly confusing. There were three different checkin lines, one for no luggage, one for luggage and one for paper tickets. After waiting in the wrong line for 10 min, we finally got close enough to the sign to see that we were in the wrong line. So, we moved to the other line. We almost missed our flight because Dulles has a 45 minute cut off. But there was no one pulling people out of line and I can't think how one would cut all those people without help. So, when we got to the machine and it told us we couldn't check our bag, we had to go around to the other side and get in yet another line where the most unfriendly and unhelpful ticket person insulted us for not getting out of line soon enough. She finally suggested that we try to get through security and gate check our one bag (a garment bag since we were going for a family wedding). You know an airline customer service staff is in trouble when the TSA people were so nice and let us through. I just couldn't believe how rude they were and I don't think I'll try United again. I'll stick with the USAirways shuttle flights where they have some respect.
Carol Sottili: It can be confusing for someone who doesn't travel much, especially now that the airlines are trying to convince everyone to use the kiosks. Thanks for sharing.
Orlando, Fla: I couldn't help but notice that 31 of the 33 questions answered came from Maryland, Washington DC and Virginia -- the major area where the Washington Post in purchased.
That seems like a ridiculous percentage. Will you keep favoring your local area or will this be a real chat for the US and beyond?
Carol Sottili: Guess what? We have answered all but two questions. So it seems as if the people who are joining are chat must be locals today.
Bethesda's weekend escape: I've never been, so I can't personally comment, but I've always wanted to take a weekend in Iceland. IcelandicAir flies there for relatively cheaply, and it's a pretty quick flight, so I think it would be just fine for a weekend trip.
KC Summers: Yeah, it is quick and can be cheap, but the temp in Nov doesn't sound too much fun -- low 30s and sounds like it's rainy then. A lot of people do do weekends in Reykjavik, though. Especially the youngsters. (I'm kinda liking this Ed Sullivan gig.)
Washington DC: A restaurant recommendation: If you're heading to central VA, stop at Giovanna's Italian Eatery in Madison, on Route 29 about a half an hour north of Charlottesville. We went in figuring that even a place in rural VA couldn't screw up pizza. It turned out to be better than just about anything in DC, and brought back memories of the great pizza I had when I lived in New Jersey.
Derwood, Md.: My husband stays at the Steigenberger Frankfurter Hof in Frankfurt whenever he travels there for work. Loves the place!
Washington, DC: O, travel gurus, please advise...
I'm going to take a much-needed rest in the Keys or Caribbean for about five nights in early/mid-October. First, do you know of a super laid-back, mid-priced dive destination and hotel for this single girl? Honestly, I've looked, but I don't know how to pick. Second, though I'm pretty well traveled, I've never had to consider the possibility of hurricanes in my vacations. I'm not particularly skittish, but what do you do when you're planning?
John Deiner: Hey,DC. We're doing a big splash on the Keys in early November, so we've been researching hotels and such. One thing we're finding is that just about EVERY hotel is a decent dive resort, as charters and such are everywhere. Not sure where you want to go, but I'd suggest finding a spot that meets your budget and do some research. Check sites like tripadvisor.com to see what other travelers say about the resorts, then call the resort to see where the nearest dive charter is. Call PADI or check its Web site for some advice. As for laid-back, that ain't going to be a problem in the Keys.
Funny you should ask about hurricane planning. It's tough, really, since you don't want to cancel/avoid trips to anywhere in the Western Hemisphere where a hurricane might hit. So we cross our fingers and book and hope they blow elsewhere, alsways keeping in mind that a hurricane is a distinct possibility. Our own Andrea Sachs just got back from Key West last night -- one day early because she was evacuated because of Tropical Storm Rita -- and I canceled a trip to Orlando because of Katrina.
Washington, DC: For the Newport traveler. I took a side trip the the Henry David Thoreau site. It was truly woderful. There was a small visitor center and a few signs showing where things used to be. It was quiet and beautiful. Just being at Walden Pond was a thrill for me.
KC Summers: Hey, I did that too. I didn't think of when the person said Newport. Great suggestion. There's a ton of cool stuff to do in that part of New England.
Bronx, NY: Just a comment on the Northwest bankruptcy: A friend of mine is an FA for them, and he says that it's more a union-busting move than a sign of truly dire financial troubles. He hasn't heard anything (yet) about reduced service or ticket prices going up, although both probably will happen. But the airline is too big to just disappear overnight.
Cindy Loose: I agree it's too big to suddenly disappear. But something, somewhere has to give. Fuel price increase alone are going to cost the industry an extra $9 billion, says industry trade group. Even if they're exaggerating by 100 percent, that's alot of money to be lost.
Arlington, Va.: I saw a TV program recently that talked about Roman conquest and development in northern Europe, specifically Germany. Do you know if there are any sort of organized tours of Roman sites in Germany? Or particular places of interest?
Steve Hendrix: We don't know of any ruins-specific tours, Arlington (they're probably are, though). But the German tourist info website, www.visits-to-germany.com, talks about the Roman baths in the Rhineland and other areas. This might be a good querie for their live human operators. They also give a list of travel agents who are certified as "Germany Specialists."
Carol Sottili: Thanks everyone. We answered all the questions in the cue! All that talk of pizza, donuts and diners has made me hungry, but prize goes to the chatter that combined Dairy Queen with barbecue. Now you're talking....Send your address to sottilic@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.
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Washington Post Travel editors and writers take your questions and comments every Monday at 2 p.m. ET.
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Metro: Roads and Rails
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Do you think Metro has grown unreliable and become downright unpleasant? Or are you happy with your commutes on rail and bus? Does the thought of the intercounty connector (ICC) keep you up at night or does it seem like it's long overdue? And what of the moves by Maryland and Virginia to encourage the private sector to build road projects, such as widening the Capital Beltway?
Washington Post staff writer Steven Ginsberg was online Monday, Sept. 19, at 11 a.m. ET to answer your questions, feel your pain and share the drama of getting from Point A to Point B. Lyndsey Layton was off today.
Steve Ginsberg: What say ye commuters? Lyndsey has deserted us again, this time for the great northeast, so it's just you and me today. And if you're a hybrid driver using HOV lanes I want to hear from you at ginsbergs@washpost.com. So let's go...
Annandale, Va.: With the widening of the Capital Beltway project, will they remove the electric power sub-station at the intersection of Gallows Road and I495, and reroute the high voltage power transmission line running along that segment of the Beltway or bury under the Beltway? Thank you very much.
Steve Ginsberg: As far as I know, there are no plans to relocate the sub-station.
Mt Vernon, Va.: When is the idea for a second 'lower' Potomac crossing going to be brought back up? Establishing another bridge or tunnel somewhere south of the Wilson bridge would do wonders to allow the interstate traffic (e.g., N.Y. to Florida) to bypass the Washington area leaving the local highways and bridges for the local regional traffic.
Steve Ginsberg: I'm thinking sometime between now and almost never. The crossing makes some sense from a traffic perspective for reasons you cite and to connect a couple fast growing regions, but it's a killer politically and for that reason it's not likely to happen any time soon.
Maryland: The main problem I have with the Metro is the frequency of trains. It is ridiculous to have to wait 3-5 minutes for a train during the rush hours. This is what leads to the overcrowding. I know Metro will probably say they avg 2 minutes, but I think that is bunk. In a major metropolitan city, trains should be coming 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Does Metro see this as a problem?
Steve Ginsberg: I think they recognize that overcrowding is a problem and I'm sure would love to run more frequent trains. But the solution they're counting on is more cars, not more frequent trains. The system was designed for 8-car trains and now Metro runs mostly 6-car trains during rush hour. Those new cars will start arriving next year (or possibly by the end of this year) and the hope is that will take care of the overcrowding.
Washington, D.C.: Do you know how to get to Merriweather pavilion in MD from Dupont circle and back(late) using public transportation ... or something really cheap?
Steve Ginsberg: I don't know of any way to do that. Anyone?
Congressman Moran and I-66: Congressman Moran has been totally silent on the widening of I-66 within the Beltway, neither backing it or opposing it. It's in HIS district, NOT in Davis's or Wolf's, who both support it.
At the very least, why didn't Moran push for the money for the Columbia Pike light rail project in exchange for I-66?
Steve Ginsberg: I-66 inside the Beltway is a tricky one for a lot of politicians. Many Arlingtonians promise to use their last, dying breath to oppose widening the road inside the Beltway, while drivers in the western suburbs are desperate for more lanes.
It's become an interesting topic in the governor's race, as well. Both candidates are running ads about widening the road. Kilgore has indicated a desire for a full widening, though he hasn't said how he'd accomplish it, while Kaine supports the Warner admin. plan to widen the westbound side within existing right of way.
Rockville, Md.: why doesn't Congress consider moving a few agencies out of Washington to areas where there's high unemployment? This would alleviate the problems with traffic.
Steve Ginsberg: Because every local politician would scream bloody murder. No one in this area wants to lose good job creators, no matter how many traffic problems they might cause. Personally, I don't think moving a couple agencies would do much of anything to help local traffic.
Friendship Heights, D.C.: I've noticed panhandlers stationed in the Friendship Heights Metro station, in that sort of rotunda/mezannine area where you decide whether to exit toward Hecht's, Mazza Gallerie, etc. They sort of loom in the hallway exits and it makes me nervous, esp. at night or other times when there aren't many people around. This isn't allowed, is it? Should I go all the way back down to the station manager and complain? I just have a feeling they're going to react like, "Hello, I have a station to run down HERE." Metro people, if you're listening, can you attend to this situation? Any advice?
Steve Ginsberg: Station managers are responsible for their entire stations, so it's appropriate to bring the problem to their attention. Of course, many of the station managers I've come across would react just like you fear, but still. And Metro does often "listen" to this discussion, so consider your problem posted. (Sometimes they even send in answers.)
Burke, Va.: Hi--as much a comment as a question. Many "experts" have suggested substituting high speed buses for new Metrorail. Over the last couple of years the express lanes of I-395 have really gotten close to the saturation point (and I'm sure it's happening elsewhere!). So do the bus people plan to spend money on roads for these new buses?
Steve Ginsberg: I'm always curious where exactly high-speed buses would go in a region with little spare asphalt. There are a couple obvious possibilities, like the Dulles Access Road (as a substitute for Dulles rail) or on HOV lanes, particularly on I-395. The theory is that if the service was quick and reliable people would take it, thereby reducing the number of cars in the lanes.
Alexandria, Va.: Comment: For two weeks I have been riding the dash bus to work and it has always been punctual. I made the switch to reduce wear on my car (manual) and to reduce congestion. I think alexandria deserves praise for this service.
Question: Is there a federal government body which coordinates and interacts with the three jurisdictions (MD, VA, DC) to facilitate quicker decisions on road construction in the region? I am tired of what seems to be a to little to late policy regarding new construction.
Comment: I don't believe slow road construction is the cause of all traffic issues, I think poor community planning should take a lot of the blame. (i.e. alexandria opening up the eisenhower valley without adding roads)
Steve Ginsberg: The regional body which interacts with the three jurisdictions is the Transportation Policy Board, which is part of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. But its mission isn't really to coordinate construction--that's up to each state and the jurisdictions within them. A lack of regional vision or planning is often cited as a reason for many of our traffic problems.
Re: I-66 inside the beltway: "Many Arlingtonians promise to use their last, dying breath to oppose widening the road inside the Beltway, while drivers in the western suburbs are desperate for more lanes."
As an Arlington resident, I would like to see more parks, farms and just general green-land in the western suburbs. How do I impose my will on those residents/commuters? Also, what is the history of the USDOT and VADOT agreeing not to widen I-66 when it was built and now changing their stance?
Steve Ginsberg: That's funny. You should start a petition drive. The short history of the agreement is that the feds agreed not to widen the road in return for allowing what is there now to be built. That deal has been technically voided through some clever political moves, but the promise remains relevant, particularly in the minds of Arlingtonians.
Baltimore, Md.: I wonder how many six-car trains could be made from the additional cars used to make 8-car trains? Would they be enough to increase train frequency? It seems to me that more frequent trains will do a lot more to alleviate crowding than simply adding more cars to existing trains. I can't imagine how extra cars are going to help the Red Line, for example, when people tend to cluster at the front (if going toward Union Station), or the rear (for easy exit at Gallery Place - the worst designed transfer point in the whole system).
Steve Ginsberg: More cars will definitely help the crowding situation simply by providing more space. And if people cluster at one end or the other of certain trains, it seems to me that would leave you with plenty of uncrowded cars where you could stretch your legs and relax.
Virginia: Jerry Kilgore has promised to widen I-66 inside the Beltway as part of his transportation plan. The NIMBYs in Arlington have been quite vocal against this in the past. Yet for all the times Kilgore has mentioned it in his campaign, I haven't heard a word against it. Has something happened in Arlington to make them reconsider their position?
Steve Ginsberg: No. I think it's either a factor of people not paying attention to this campaign or that Kilgore has provided so little detail that there's nothing really to say that hasn't already been said.
Burke, Va.: I would just like to thank VDOT for finally widening the outer loop exit to the Dulles Toll Road. This simple fix has cut 15 minutes off my afternoon commute!
Steve Ginsberg: Lord have mercy, a happy commuter!
Re: Merriweather Pavilion : What about flex-car?
Steve Ginsberg: That would get you there, but I believe the poster was looking for a transit option.
Moving Jobs away: ..um, they HAVE and they WILL.
Lots of stuff in Senator Byrd's district now, and the military re-org will shift thousands of jobs out of Metro-accessible areas in or near the Beltway to places like Quantico (my job) and Fort Belvoir.
Steve Ginsberg: Right. And the earlier poster was suggesting those jobs be moved out of the region entirely. The opposition we all saw to shifting jobs within the region are evidence of how severe the opposition would be if those jobs were shifted to other states.
Silver Spring, Md.: Re: Dupont to Merriweather Post Pavillion, Sure, this is easy. Take the Red Line up to Bethesda. Buy a car and drive to Merriweather.
Of course, getting from DC to Columbia, MD at rushhour is brutal even WITH a car. Even worse for Nissan Pavillion in Virgina. Traffic has killed both of these venues for me.
Steve Ginsberg: I hear ya. Nissan was built to be BEYOND all the traffic of the DC area and within a blink they were pretty much in the middle of it.
Washington, D.C.: I love that Metro's solution to increased ridership and crowding due to high gas prices is to ask commuters to travel during 'non-peak' hours. If people actually do have the flexibility to do this won't it hurt Metro's revenue since all of those far-suburban people pay so much more to travel at the peak times?
Maybe I'll just start walking to work, I'm fed up with trying to climb over the giant clump of people standing in front of the doors to get to the space in the middle of the car, and not being able to get on a red line train home at 8 PM because there are too many people is a bit frustrating.
Steve Ginsberg: Metro has about 50,000 more riders a day now than they did a year ago, which is way more growth than they're used to and managers think it's because of high gas prices. That's a lot of people to cram into already crammed cars, so I won't go out of my way to slam them for suggesting to people that they leave a little earlier or later if they can. Obviously, most people can't do this, but there's not too much else Metro can do or say until they get some new cars.
Arlington, Va.: I'm curious, then, why any Arlingtonians at all would support either Kaine or Kilgore if both candidates support the widening of I-66, since many (if not most) people in Arlington don't want the road to be widened.
Steve Ginsberg: I'm curious too. I suspect Kaine suits them better since his widening plan would not actually widen the size of the road. State folks say they can squeeze in one extra westbound lane without laying more asphalt. That kind of approach draws less opposition.
Washington, D.C.: We need to re-think this "dedicated funding" issue for Metro. Other transit agencies have "dedicated funding," but they are also a financial mess. Metro is completely unaccountable -- even FOIA does not apply -- so who knows how the money will be spent? The recent cost-effectiveness exemption for Dulles Rail ought to be a big clue -- the money will be wasted. Metro has plenty of dedicated revenue sources right now -- it needs to get its act together before receiving more.
Steve Ginsberg: This is a pretty common argument against a dedicated funding source. Many people feel like there's little accountability of the system and that money is wasted in a variety of ways.
Arlington, Va.: Re: I-66 - don't forget that widening I-66 would severely threaten the Custis bike trail, which sees enough commuters each morning to offset one of those added lanes to 66.
Steve Ginsberg: Not to mention that some people like to use that trail on weekends.
Arlington, Va.: I thought the idea behind the bus rapid transit system was to have dedicated bus-ways with "stations" like the trains have. But instead of putting in rails and the power system and all of that you just put in a concrete or asphalt lane for the buses to go on. Seems like a reasonable idea to me.
Steve Ginsberg: The idea does include dedicated busways, but the problem is that there's nowhere to put them. Many of the region's roads are already as wide as they can be without tearing through neighborhoods, so in many cases bus lanes would have to come from existing roads.
Ashburn, Va.: Steve, have you seen any roads around you that have what look like little black tiles laid across them?? I dont know if it's a new way to gauge speed for the police, or if it's for monitoring traffic, but I've seen a few of them in the last month. Any ideas??
Steve Ginsberg: Haven't seen anything like it. Anyone know what the mysterious tiles are?
re: Nissan Paviloin: In case any promoters are reading this chat, you could bring John and George back from the dead and hold a Beatles reunion concert at Nissan and I would not go. Traffic there and especially out is horrible - until they fix it they won't sell a ticket to me!
Steve Ginsberg: Really? Not even for the Beatles? I think I would go for the Beatles.
The traffic situation out there is part the fault of Prince William County and part the fault of the state. There's a big intersection near the pavilion that the state was supposed to fix but dropped from plans when it realized it didn't really have any money (oops) and the two-lane road that runs in front of it was supposed to be widened by the county but that has stalled for all kinds of reasons.
Public transportation to Merriweather: As a former Columbia resident, the only thing I know of is a private bus service that runs from Columbia to downtown. They used to be called Eyre, and they had a schedule available online. Not sure how late they run though, or how good the weekend service is. But it's worth a shot. Used to be under $4 each way from Columbia to downtown. And they had a stop at the mall, right across the street from Merriweather.
Steve Ginsberg: here's a possibility...
Arlington, Va.: As an Arlingtonian, I do not object to the proposed widening of I-66, what I don't fully understand is the exact reasoning of widening just the westbound movement and not the east. I understand the political motives (hot potato) and the existing Roosevelt Bridge (restriction), but the back-ups occur in both directions, which is not good from an emissions point of view.
Steve Ginsberg: the reason is entirely political. they can do westbound without taking any more land and it helps those who are concerned about evacuating the city if that becomes necessary. I think in their best hopes they'll widen the westbound lane and hope that goes over well and then broach the subject of doing something on the other side.
Bethesda, Md.: Agreement on the extra lane from the Outer Loop to the Toll Road. I was sceptical that it would help, but I am pleasantly surprised.
Steve Ginsberg: another satisfied commuter. I may be out of a job by the end of the day.
Let me get this straight...: The poster from Rockville thinks the federal government should move agencies from this area -- which has a large pool of highly skilled people and employees that have devoted their entire careers to government -- to some random area of the country, where the government would no doubt have to build, buy, or lease new office buildings, and where there is probably nothing close to a sufficient road network or public transportation service, just so that he/she can get a few hundred cars off the road here? Dude, if you're that peeved by traffic, try taking the Metro. Better yet, how about YOU move to these areas of high unemployment?
Steve Ginsberg: Yeah Dude!!! Why don't you think about that DUDE.
In all seriousness, it can never really work like that because job centers form for all sorts of reasons that make perfect sense in almost every regard except traffic.
Springfield, Va.: How does California police their HOT lanes? How can you tell a single driver who paid the toll from a cheater? The police can't enforce the current HOV rules.
Steve Ginsberg: The current way to police HOT lanes is with police. But this is going to be very short-lived. Some companies who operate these roads use videos to snap photos of cars and license plates. If there aren't the required number of people in the cars, the firms mail them a ticket. If that doesn't work police are dispatched next time that license plate hits the highway. And then there is infrared technology that can tell the difference between a human and a dummy. These companies are confident that technology can fix the policing problems and that they can do so very very soon.
Grrrrrr: Okay, all of these whines are easily solved....
Crowded Metro - Rip out the freaking seats and put in wall benches. Viola! Instant space. And don't bore me about the needs of ex-urbanites...no one put a gun to your head and made you ruin perfectly good farmland with a McMansion. This ain't your luxury liner.
I-66 - Fine as it is. Again, no one aimed a firearm and said move to the WVA border, and buy a Stupid User Vehicle (SUV) with a hot tub and 12 seat home theatre in back. Arlington doesn't owe you a subsidy for that bad choice.
Road space - The Imperial Canyonero with the 12 seat mobile theatre takes 2.5 car lengths. With 44% of traffic in the form of SUVs, no wonder road space gets eaten up. Very simple...charge license fees by weight and size. Then use the money to cover the roads. Not too hard.
Wow, I just solved everything easily,a nd using market mechanisms. Wanna bet the SUV/WVA border folks will whine now, and start rationalizing their demanded (and existing) subsidies? I always love subsidies for the well off...doesn't everyone?
Steve Ginsberg: I reckon some of them will start whining and saying completely irrational things like they couldn't afford anything closer than WV and that, heaven forfend, they don't want to live the same lifestyle as you.
almost every regard except traffic: Not if people were adults, and allowed smart growth instead of petulant children demanding huge SUVs and McMansions and low taxes and more services.
Steve Ginsberg: let's say I agree with you that that is part of the problem here, then explain to me what city anywhere in the world has mastered its traffic situation.
Re: metro frequency: Though I admit Metro is not perfect, I just moved from Chicago where I rode the eL everyday. During rush hour, I would wait an average of five to 10 minutes between trains. So for me, I feel I hardly have to wait for a Metro in DC. But alas, I miss being able to enjoy coffee and a bagel on the train in the morning.
Steve Ginsberg: Much as Metro drives many people nuts here, it's pretty common for us to hear that it beats other systems around the country. Washingtonians tend to demand a lot, part of the reason this region has such good schools, subway, etc. But it's worth remembering every now and again that newcomers tend to be very positive on Metro. (give 'em time.)
There's plenty of room for bus rapid transit. We have the HOT lanes on I-95/396, I-66 and the Dulles Toll Road, even some arterial streets, like Route 7 through Tysons (which is over 150 feet wide), Route 29, Route 50, Route 1, etc., etc. We are not lacking in space -- we are lacking in vision.
Steve Ginsberg: well we don't have HOT lanes anywhere just yet. we have HOV lanes. and I agree some existing roads could be used, but in most cases you're talking about converting lanes that are being used today and that, I will guarantee you, will engender some real hostility.
Lower Potomac crossing won't help: Data shows a Lower Potomac crossing wouldn't help, because a surprisingly low number of 95/495 trips are non-regional, through traffic. The transportation funding equation used to allocate funds has to collect that data, and non-regional trips are negligible compared to those to-from here within the region.
Steve Ginsberg: well, not exactly negligible, but you are right that the majority of beltway trips are local. but some argue that a lower potomac crossing would also take some of that local traffic off the streets since many people travel between southern maryland and northern virginia.
Silver Spring, Md.: mtamaryland.com has some information on commuter buses that could work to get from D.C. to Merriweather.
Steve Ginsberg: give this a try...
Washington, D.C.: I read with interest a plan to install GPS systems in buses to alert metrobus users about the location of buses so you know how far away the next bus when you get to the bus stop. But please, I hope they don't spend millions on a signage system that doesn't work so well!! Instead, I'm much rather be able to access a map using the web browser on my cell phone. I know only some phones have this now, but I imagine within the next couple years almost all new phones will include this. hope someone working on this is reading!
Steve Ginsberg: well I'm not sure everyone has a web browser on their cell phones. and the biggest complaint about the bus system is that no one knows when the bus will arrive, so a good sign system would be most welcome.
re: re: Nissan Paviloin: They are building a new bridge over 66 which looks like will empty into Nissan. If you want to see some real traffic nightmares around Nissan and Gainesville wait until this tomorrow though Sunday...The Presidents Cup golf tournament is going in Gainesville with Nissan as the parking lot. 50,000 people or so will be traveling there daily.
Steve Ginsberg: yes indeed and I would recommend avoiding route 29 at all costs.
Washington, D.C.: But there's a REASON why people bunch up in the first car to go to Union Station. LOTS of people transfer to Marc or VRE there, and there's only one, very narrow, escalator upstairs from the track. This leads to Bottleneck City, especially when people don't walk to the left or bring those large dragging suitcases (and since this is Union Station, there are lots of those). If you are one of the first on that escalator, you get up in about two minutes or so. If one of the middle, it can take 5-7 minutes - if at the end, up to 10 or 12. This can mean the difference between catching your train, or missing it and having to wait another half-hour or so to get home. Therefore, adding more train cars is not going to entice people into them. The penalty for being in the rear cars at Union Station is just too high.
Steve Ginsberg: okay, I'll post your thoughts here and maybe Metro will take them into account. Overall, I would guess they would say that trains with more cars makes sense for the whole system, if not necessarily your particular commute.
Steve Ginsberg: thanks for another great chat everybody. see y'all again in two weeks, when Lyndsey will be here and I will not.
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.
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Washington Post staff writer Lyndsey Layton and Steven Ginsberg discussed local travel and transportation.
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Taking Back Islam
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Rarely has a big idea gotten more lip service and less real substance than the argument that there is a war of ideas underway for the soul of the Muslim world. Do a Google search on war of ideas and Muslim, and you get more than 11 million hits. Yet, four years after Sept. 11, 2001, the real battle is only now beginning.
The Bush administration's response has been to throw former White House spinmeister Karen Hughes into the fray. The implication is that Muslims will stop hating America if we can just improve our "public diplomacy" through Hughes's new office at the State Department. Forgive me, but that idea strikes me as dangerously naive. This is not a propaganda problem, nor is it one that the United States can solve.
The war within Islam takes place every day in mosques, study groups and televised sermons. And although it's about ideas, it has deadly consequences, with hundreds dying from suicide car bombings this week in Iraq alone. It's hard for a non-Muslim such as me to fully understand this struggle, but after years of reporting on the Middle East, reading and talking to Muslim friends, I'm beginning to see some connections.
Traditional Islam is under assault from a puritanical fringe group known as the Salafists. The name is drawn from an Arabic word that refers to the seventh-century ancestors who walked with the Prophet Muhammad. For a Christian analogy to the Salafist extremists, think of the fanatical monk Savonarola, who in the 15th century burned the books of Florence in his rage at the corruption of the Medicis. The difference is that the Salafists have access to the Internet and car bombs -- and perhaps far more dangerous weapons.
An important new book by Quintan Wiktorowicz, titled "Radical Islam Rising," makes clear that the Salafists operate like a cult. They draw in vulnerable young people, fill them with ideas that give their lives a fiery new meaning, and send them into battle against the unbelievers. Combating this seductive Salafist preaching requires the same kind of intense "deprogramming" used to wean away converts from other modern cults.
Wiktorowicz researched his book by embedding himself with al-Muhajiroun, an extremist Salafist group based in London. He found that the group preyed on disoriented young Muslims -- not poor or oppressed themselves but confused and looking for meaning. Recruitment often involved a personal crisis that provided the Muslim cultists with a "cognitive opening."
"To many young Muslims, their parents' version of Islam seems archaic, backward and ill-informed," Wiktorowicz explains. Into this spiritual void march the Salafists. They provide a structured life, through a mandatory study session every week in the halaqah , or prayer circle, and a new set of life rules. Among the prohibited activities Wiktorowicz discovered in his research were "playing games," "watching TV," "sleeping a lot and chilling out," and "hanging out with friends."
Frankly, Hughes and her public diplomats aren't going to be much help in deprogramming a young Salafist. Governments can contain the violent cults by making it riskier to join -- so that the confused young Muslim must weigh the danger of deportation or even arrest before joining an extremist group. But the real battle of ideas requires theological ammunition, and that's where there are some interesting new developments.
Traditional Islam is finally starting to fight back against the Salafists and their self-taught, literalist interpretations of the Koran. One of the leaders in this effort is Jordan's King Abdullah, heir to a Hashemite throne that traces its lineage back to Muhammad. He convened an Islamic conference in Amman in July that concluded with a communique on "True Islam and Its Role in Modern Society." It reemphasized the traditional faith -- the four schools of Sunni jurisprudence, the orthodox school of Shiite jurisprudence, the canon set forth over centuries of fatwas and other orthodox interpretations of what Islam means.
Rather than running scared, as mainstream clerics sometimes do when facing the Salafist onslaught, the Amman declaration was proud and emphatic. It drew together fatwas from the leading clerics in Islam, including the sheik of Al-Azhar in Cairo and Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani in Najaf. Another backer was Sheik Yusuf Qaradawi, who has a weekly show on al-Jazeera and is probably the best-known television preacher in the Arab world.
These Islamic leaders sense that their religion is being kidnapped by Salafist radicals with a grab-bag theology, and they are finally beginning to push back. It's a war of ideas they should win, if they can make traditional Islam a vibrant, living faith. Young Muslims don't want to go back to the seventh century; they want to live with dignity in the 21st.
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It's dangerously naive to think that Muslims will stop hating America if we can just improve our "public diplomacy." The real battle of ideas requires theological ammunition.
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By Hook or by Crook, Surviving Storm
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GULFPORT, Miss. -- Hurricane Katrina has transformed Mississippi's mayors into car thieves, and senators into blockade runners. Isolated by the initial hit of the storm and failed by the slow federal response, citizens have fended for themselves in some original and not entirely legal ways. Brent Warr, the Republican mayor of Gulfport, even ordered his police chief to hot-wire a truck.
"When you send your law enforcement out to steal things, that's when you know you're in a different situation," Warr says.
In Gulfport, Warr did everything by the book, right up until he started stealing. His force of 225 police officers and 190 firefighters stayed on the job in 24-hour shifts. Fire Chief Pat Sullivan went into the storm to cut away felled trees from the roads leading to the hospitals. In the city's sea-blue antebellum City Hall, Warr worked without power.
But Gulfport was still without help three days after the storm, and Warr's control over the situation was slipping. Looting broke out downtown. When Warr drove a utility vehicle down U.S. 90, he watched as his longtime family business, Warr's Men's Clothing, was ransacked.
Worst of all, the city was running out of fuel. Generators were about to fail, rescue vehicles were running out of gas. One local hospital radioed that it was on backup power and had no water, and that looters were circling.
Warr turned to his chief of police, Stephen T. Barnes. There was a private fuel transport vehicle -- Warr doesn't remember whose -- parked in a lot behind a chain-link fence. Warr had the lock cut. "Can we hot-wire it?" he asked.
Barnes said, "I wasn't cut out to be a crook; that's why I went into law enforcement."
"Well, can we get someone from the jail to do it?" Warr asked.
Thirty minutes later, the truck was sitting in the City Hall parking lot. That was just one episode in Warr's life of petty crime over the past three weeks.
When the mayor needed to feed the 500 or so exhausted first responders, he stole a stove. The nearby Blowfly Inn, a restaurant and catering company, had a portable kitchen parked in a storage lot. Warr ordered the locks cut and installed the kitchen next to City Hall, where it has been in service ever since, with the owner's permission.
"We were literally fending for ourselves," Warr says. "Sitting in a well complaining because no one will throw you a rope is not going to get you anywhere. Instead, you climb out. You hope someone gives you a hand and pulls you. But either way, we're getting out of the well."
In the three weeks since the storm, Mississippians have in some ways felt as cut off as they did on the day it struck. Sen. Trent Lott (R) says Mississippians "are disenchanted" with the federal response in their state.
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Hurricane Katrina has transformed Mississippi's mayors into car thieves, and senators into blockade runners. Isolated by the initial hit of the storm, citizens have fended for themselves in some original and not entirely legal ways.
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British Arrest Two Affiliated With Sadr
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BAGHDAD, Sept. 18 -- The British army in the southern city of Basra said Sunday that it had arrested two prominent members of a militia affiliated with outspoken Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose armed followers quickly took to the streets to demand the release of the militiamen.
Sheik Ahmed Majid Farttusi and Sayyid Sajjad were detained in an early morning raid and are accused of being involved in attacks that killed at least nine soldiers, according to a statement from coalition forces.
The statement described the two men as leaders of Sadr's Mahdi Army, which clashed with U.S. forces in Baghdad and the southern city of Najaf last year. Another man was also arrested in the raid Sunday but was not identified.
"I am well aware that the people that we have arrested are prominent individuals in Basra," said Brig. John Lorrimer, commander of the British army's 12th Mechanized Brigade. "But let me make it absolutely clear: We have acted against them as individuals, not as members of any particular organization."
Also Sunday, Iraqi officials said a Kurdish member of the National Assembly was killed by gunmen late Saturday north of Baghdad, along with his brother and his driver. Faris Nasir Hussein was the third member of Iraq's parliament to be assassinated since members took office in March. Another assembly member, Haider Qasim, was wounded in the incident.
The men were on their way to a meeting at which the assembly gave final approval to the country's draft constitution and submitted it to the United Nations.
After the arrests in Basra, dozens of Mahdi Army members with assault rifles marched to the provincial governor's office in protest. They withdrew by early afternoon following a meeting with the governor.
The Mahdi Army has remained largely out of the spotlight since last year's uprising against U.S. forces, as the cleric publicly eschewed armed confrontation in favor of the political process, while maintaining his anti-American rhetoric.
But after demonstrators burned Sadr's office in Najaf last month, Mahdi Army members occupied large parts of several southern cities, including Basra, and attacked the offices of a rival Shiite militia, the Badr Organization.
The initial version of the military's statement sent to reporters referred to the Mahdi Army as a "terror organization." A revised version sent about an hour later deleted that reference.
Sayyid Mustafa Yaqoubi, a senior member of Sadr's organization, condemned the arrest of the two men. He said they "have not been active, especially after the closure of the Sadr office in Basra six months ago."
U.S. forces reportedly had detained Farttusi for two days in April 2003, touching off demonstrations in Baghdad.
Elsewhere in Iraq on Sunday, U.S. and Iraqi forces continued to wrap up an offensive that began early this month in the northwestern city of Tall Afar. Six insurgents were killed by American soldiers raiding a pair of "safe houses" there, the military said in a statement.
A U.S. soldier was killed Saturday in a roadside bombing near the western town of Al Asad, the military said in a statement, and four Iraqi soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing in the northern city of Kirkuk, according to Col. Ayad Abdullah of the army's 2nd brigade.
Also in Kirkuk, police announced the arrest of a man known as Abu Ghalib, described as the head of a prominent insurgent cell loyal to Abu Musab Zarqawi, leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, the country's main insurgent group.
Police also said they found the bodies of 24 people in the Tigris River, most of them near Balad, north of Baghdad, according to the Associated Press. The victims had been shot, authorities said.
Aldin reported from Tikrit. Special correspondents Saad Sarhan in Najaf and Omar Fekeiki, Bassam Sebti and Naseer Nouri in Baghdad contributed to this report.
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BAGHDAD, Sept. 18 -- The British army in the southern city of Basra said Sunday that it had arrested two prominent members of a militia affiliated with outspoken Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr, whose armed followers quickly took to the streets to demand the release of the militiamen.
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Pentagon May Have Doubts on Preemptive Nuclear Moves
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The Pentagon may be having second thoughts about proposed revisions to its nuclear weapons doctrine that would allow commanders to seek presidential approval for using atomic arms against nations or terrorists who intend to use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons against the United States, its troops or allies.
The draft document, disclosure of which has caused a stir among some members of Congress and arms control advocates, would update rules and procedures for using nuclear weapons to reflect a preemption strategy announced by the Bush administration in 2002. Previous versions of the unclassified doctrine have not included scenarios for using nuclear weapons preemptively or specifically against WMD threats.
On Sept. 9, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Joint Staff said the draft document was undergoing final clearance from the military services and the office of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, and was expected to be signed "in a few weeks" by the Joint Staff director, Lt. Gen. Walter L. Sharp.
But last week, after an article about the draft appeared in The Washington Post, a senior Pentagon official said the doctrine "is a long way from being done. It has a lot of reviews to go through and several changes have already taken place." The official would speak only on the condition of anonymity.
Rep. David L. Hobson (R-Ohio), who called the draft "disturbing" and "representing old, Cold War thinking," said Defense Department officials told him last week that negotiations and discussions on the draft were still underway.
Hobson, who is chairman of the House Appropriations subcommittee that funds the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), said: "I'm hopeful more rational minds will look at this. It is a very provocative proposal."
The unclassified draft, "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations," is being written under the direction of Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It was removed from a Joint Chiefs of Staff Web site early last week after the publicity about it.
The draft document would update military procedures to provide commanders with instructions on how to request permission to use nuclear weapons to preempt a WMD attack, which the draft's authors argued is vital in deterring a terrorist group or enemy nation. An adversary's leadership must "believe the United States has both the ability and will to preempt or retaliate promptly with responses that are credible and effective," the draft said.
Administration officials have argued for several years in favor of research into the robust nuclear earth penetrator -- sometimes called the bunker buster -- which could destroy stockpiles of those weapons even if they were buried in deep, fortified storage sites. A Bush administration Nuclear Posture Review four years ago pointed out that no weapon in the current stockpile could threaten the growing number of targets being buried.
The draft doctrine "is a logical extrapolation from the [Bush] Nuclear Posture Review," said Frank Gaffney, a Pentagon official in the Reagan administration, who is president and chief executive of the Center for Security Policy.
Gaffney said the United States has paid too little attention since the end of the Cold War to the doctrine governing the use of nuclear weapons.
Arms control specialists and others have criticized the draft. Some say formally planning to use nuclear weapons preemptively increases the likelihood they will be used. Others said endorsement of preemptive strikes will make it tougher to persuade nonnuclear nations to forgo building an atomic arsenal.
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The Pentagon may be having second thoughts about proposed revisions to its nuclear weapons doctrine that would allow commanders to seek presidential approval for using atomic arms against nations or terrorists who intend to use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons against the United States, its...
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The Style Invitational
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How are Groucho Marx's eyebrows like two male rabbits? They both get a rise when they catch sight of a hot bunny.
(1) Groucho Marx's eyebrows (2) The 400-meter dash (3) Sea urchin sushi (4) Two male rabbits (5) $52.20 (6) The gestation period of a hippopotamus (7) The Flying Spaghetti Monster (8) A $400 pair of jeans (9) Deep Throat's throat (10) The Pandacam at the zoo (11) 2 degrees Celsius (12) John Roberts's breakfast
This week's contest, a perennial Style Invitational feature: Choose any two or more items from the truly random list above and describe how they are alike or different, as in the example above. Winner gets the Inker, the official Style Invitational trophy. First runner-up receives a pair of lovely pink and white argyle socks sent to Style magazine critic Peter Carlson to promote something. He says they are unused.
Other runners-up win a coveted Style Invitational Loser T-shirt. Honorable mentions get one of the lusted-after Style Invitational Magnets. One prize per entrant per week. Send your entries by e-mail to losers@washpost.com or, if you really have to, by fax to 202-334-4312. Deadline is Monday, Sept. 26. Results will be published Oct. 16. Put "Week 628" in the subject line of your e-mail, or it risks being ignored as spam. Include your name, postal address and phone number with your entry. Entries are judged on the basis of humor and originality. All entries become the property of The Washington Post. Entries may be edited for taste or content. No purchase required for entry. Employees of The Washington Post, and their immediate relatives, are not eligible for prizes. Pseudonymous entries will be disqualified. The revised title for next week's contest is by Scott Campisi of Wake Village, Tex.
Report from Week 624, in which we asked for limericks featuring words beginning with bd- through bl-:
If you don't want a swimsuit that's teeny, You'll be wise not to try a bikini. Even worse is the thong, Which, unless I am wrong, Would more aptly be called the betweeni. (Brendan Beary, Great Mills)
Alden knew what his friend Miles Standish meant; What his blushing request so outlandish meant. He'd woo fair Priscilla For that gruff old gorilla Who couldn't provide his own blandishment. (David Smith, Santa Cruz, Calif.)
First runner-up, winner of the inept horror movie "Manos: The Hands of Fate":
There once was a little French chamois Who frolicked on rocks near his mamois. His blameless young fun Was soon wrecked by a gun, And he's now washing cars in Miamois. (David Alan Brooks, Llanfair-yn-Neubwll, Wales)
And the winner of the Inker:
Near my hospital room in a line Are my bingo pals, hoping I'm fine. Now the doc's at the door (I'm in N-24), And he's calling my tumor . . . B-9! (Chris Doyle, Forsyth, Mo.)
In the mind is it nobler to die? Or to fight without questioning why? Should I face my life's lot? Should I be, should I not? That's the question; check all that apply. -- Hamlet, State of Denmark (Scott Campisi, Wake Village, Tex.)
Roast beast by the Grinch was allotted To Whos, who responded, besotted, With shouts and applause, While the heart of this Claus Grew three sizes -- and burst his carotid. (Tim Alborn, Port Jefferson, N.Y.)
The doctor says now I'm forbidden To get up and walk -- I'm bedridden. I drank lots of iced tea And I have to go pee But I'm desperately wishing I didn'. (Andrew Hoenig, Rockville)
At the newsstand one frequently sees An assortment of bared double-D's. Don't begrudge the fair sex A few well-toned pecs: We girls want some beefcake, not cheese-. (Pam Sweeney, Germantown)
He was poised, and had calmness within, And the Peace Prize (Nobel) he would win. But Prime Minister Begin Would curse like a pagan When people would call him "Begin." (Sheila Blume, Sayville, N.Y.)
A belch is a short burst of air That in public may cause you despair But it's not quite so crass As the air you might pass Impolitely from your derriere. (Greg McGrew, Leesburg)
Most election reformers believe Contributions are bad. (How naive!) But my Bible instructs What to do with my bucks: Says it's better to give, then receive. (Chris Doyle)
A husband inclined to berate Might admonish a spouse who is late. But this little showdown Will just make her slow down: Cool your heels, zip your lip, and just wait. (Ron Stanley, Reston)
There's an interesting notion aroun' That this limerick can only be foun' When a person can see it Or say it. So be it; That's Berkeleianism, the noun. (Bill Spencer, Exeter, N.H.)
Berries are better by far Than all other kinds of fruit are: They come black and blue, And rasp and mul, too, and huckle and boysen and strawr. (Douglas Frank, Crosby, Tex.)
I wore black and refrained from all merrying As I pondered celestial ferrying. I arrived; my host gazed On my outfit, amazed, As it seems I'd been asked to go berrying. (Sheila Blume)
A bestiality fan (what a creep!) Had a torrid affair with a sheep. The thing she most hated Was that after they mated, He would count her, then go right to sleep. (Melissa Ann Taylor, New York)
If a peddler in Athens declares You'll receive, if you purchase his wares, A free panda that dances, Don't take any chances: Beware of a Greek gifting bears. (Tim Alborn)
At a palace one sultry July Near Paree, a jeune fille caught my eye. She bewitched me that day And I fell right away En amour. It was love at Versailles. (Chris Doyle)
Swapping presents twice yearly, you'll find You'll biannual get back in kind. But if every two years We exchange souvenirs, Then biennial thing -- I won't mind! (Brendan Beary)
The gang who proved war is evadable Now declare, "Any country is raidable, And, for what it is worth, We will not harm the Earth Because people are biodegradable." (Harvey Smith, McLean)
There's another deserving of blame
For divulging a CIA name, But I sit in this cell For refusing to tell Who told me about Valerie Plame. -- Judith Miller, Alexandria (Chris Doyle)
Don't serve pork to an Orthodox Jew. It's not kosher, so he'll say to you, "That's a blasphemy, sir!" The reply I prefer Is: "Well, thanks, it's a blast for me too." (Seth Brown, North Adams, Mass.)
To censors, the bleep was a hit (Though directors go into a snit). It doesn't sound swell But it does the job well, So your virgin ear never hears [bleep]. (Seth Brown)
The blues came from origins rural. The songs paint a sorrowful mural. I'm down with the woe But I'd still like to know: Is "blues" singular or are they plural? (Tom Witte, Montgomery Village)
Begrudge not the winner his spoil, Though in vain goes another week's toil. ' Tis the fool who'd aspire, Like a moth to the fire, To match rhymes with one Christopher Doyle. (Steve Fahey, Kensington)
Next Week: Haven't Seen It, or Hollywouldn't
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How are Groucho Marx's eyebrows like two male rabbits? They both get a rise when they catch sight of a hot bunny. In the mind is it nobler to die? Or to fight without questioning why? Should I face my life's lot? Should I be, should I not? That's the question; check all that...
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Confirm John Roberts
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JOHN G. ROBERTS JR. should be confirmed as chief justice of the United States. He is overwhelmingly well-qualified, possesses an unusually keen legal mind and practices a collegiality of the type an effective chief justice must have. He shows every sign of commitment to restraint and impartiality. Nominees of comparable quality have, after rigorous hearings, been confirmed nearly unanimously. We hope Judge Roberts will similarly be approved by a large bipartisan vote.
This is not to say we expect that as chief justice, Judge Roberts will always rule as we would like. Reading the tea leaves of any justice's future votes is a dicey business. But on a number of important issues, Judge Roberts seems likely to take positions that we will not support. His backing of presidential powers, and willingness to limit civil liberties, appear worrisomely large, while his deference to congressional authority relative to the states may be too small. He appears more suspicious of affirmative action than we think the court should be, and his view of certain civil rights protections has been narrow. Given his comments about precedent and the right to privacy, we do not believe a Chief Justice Roberts will be eager to overturn federal abortion rights. But we recognize that he might end up supporting that unfortunate step, as the late chief justice William H. Rehnquist did unsuccessfully. These are all risks, but they are risks the public incurred in reelecting President Bush.
Judge Roberts represents the best nominee liberals can reasonably expect from a conservative president who promised to appoint judges who shared his philosophy. Before his nomination, we suggested several criteria that Mr. Bush should adopt to garner broad bipartisan support: professional qualifications of the high-
est caliber, a modest conception of the judicial function, a strong belief in the stability of precedent, adherence to judicial philosophy, even where the results are not politically comfortable, and an appreciation that fidelity to the text of the Constitution need not mean cramped interpretations of language that was written for a changing society. Judge Roberts possesses the personal qualities we hoped
for and testified impressively as to his belief in the judicial values. While he almost certainly won't surprise America with generally liberal rulings, he appears almost as unlikely to will-
fully use the law to advance his conservative politics.
For this reason, broad opposition by Democrats to Judge Roberts would send the message that there is no conservative capable of winning their support. While every senator must vote his or her conscience on the nomination, the danger of such a message is considerable. In the short term, Mr. Bush could conclude there is nothing to be gained from considering the concerns of the opposition party in choosing his next nominee. In the longer term, Republicans might feel scant cause to back the next high-quality Democratic nominee, as they largely did with Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.
If presidents cannot predictably garner confirmation for nominees with unblemished careers in private practice and government service, they will gravitate instead to nominees of lower quality who might excite their bases. Mr. Bush deserves credit for making a nomination that, on the merits, warrants support from across the political spectrum. Having done their duty by asking Judge Roberts tough questions, Democrats should not respond by withholding that support.
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JOHN G. ROBERTS JR. should be confirmed as chief justice of the United States. He is overwhelmingly well-qualified, possesses an unusually keen legal mind and practices a collegiality of the type an effective chief justice must have. He shows every sign of commitment to restraint and impartiality. ...
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Lack of Cohesion Bedevils Recovery
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Three weeks after Hurricane Katrina struck, red tape and poor planning have left thousands of evacuees without basic services, according to local and state officials, public policy experts and survivors themselves.
Hundreds of thousands of people from New Orleans and Gulf Coast communities have fled, sometimes to neighboring states and beyond, moving in with friends and family or into shelters, public housing and hotels funded by the Red Cross. With little guidance from federal and state governments -- and no single person or entity in charge of the overall operation -- cities and counties have been left on their own to find survivors homes, schools, jobs and health care. A patchwork of policies has resulted, causing relief agencies to sometimes work at cross-purposes.
President Bush has promised a range of new initiatives to help the evacuees, including $5,000 grants to help the unemployed find jobs, a voucher program for students and more money for state Medicaid programs. But while Bush's promises of additional help have been welcomed, the initial efforts to provide for the evacuees has sometimes been disjointed, confusing and ineffective, local officials said:
· In Houston, some housing shelters have been located so far from the center of town that it has become difficult for evacuees to find jobs.
· In Mississippi, people waiting for promised housing in the form of mobile homes or trailers found themselves in a Catch-22 situation: Even as local officials said they were waiting for FEMA to provide the shelters, officials at the federal agency said they were waiting for local officials to provide the right locations.
· In Mobile, Ala., careful plans by school administrators to cope with a certain number of evacuee children from Mississippi and Louisiana were disrupted when a fax last week gave officials 48 hours' notice that hundreds of additional evacuees were on the way.
· Some services have not reached their targets: At the Dallas convention center free legal resources for evacuees were hardly being used, partly because no one had told survivors how to think through what their legal needs might be.
· Public assistance programs for evacuees are going to vary widely, depending on welfare policies in individual states, meaning that evacuees who happened to be transported to one state are likely to receive very different benefits than those in others.
"I don't see much evidence of overall planning and guidance," said Richard Murray, a public policy expert in Houston, which is hosting thousands of evacuees.
In an e-mail, Murray, who is director of the University of Houston's Center for Public Policy, wrote: "Couple a multi-state disaster of Katrina's magnitude, (including some of the poorer and less well-governed states in the union), add on a dysfunctional federal bureaucracy that had deteriorated in recent years, and a chief executive whose motto seemed to be, until yesterday, the buck stops there, and we get a helluva mess."
As the effort evolves, increasing numbers of federal agencies are getting involved, and officials are hopeful of improved performance. FEMA, which is in charge of organizing immediate assistance in disasters, has set up a housing command. The Department of Education is focused on schooling, the Environmental Protection Agency on making sure evacuated areas are safe to return to, while the Department of Health and Human Services handles health care.
Bush said in a speech to the nation Thursday that Americans "have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency." In his radio address yesterday, the president said that more than 500,000 evacuee families had received emergency help to pay for clothing, food and other essentials. "They will receive broader help in the future," he promised, adding that states that have provided schooling and health care to displaced people will be reimbursed by the federal government.
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Complete Coverage on Hurricane Katrina including video, photos and blogs. Get up-to-date news on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, news from New Orleans and more.
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Old Guard Lurks in Afghanistan Amid Vast Throng of Candidates
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KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 17 -- As campaigning for Afghanistan's first legislative election in more than three decades drew to a close this week, a 60-year-old woman in a chic blazer and a gauzy veil stepped up to the microphone at an outdoor rally.
In the distance, Soraya Parlika could see the white walls of the stadium where officials of the Taliban movement, the repressive and fundamentalist Islamic militia that controlled Afghanistan until late 2001, used to publicly flog women charged with adultery. In front of her, men in turbans waited respectfully for Parlika to speak -- as outwardly unfazed by the fact that the candidate was a woman as they were by the knowledge that she was a communist activist before the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
But along with such signs of recent change, there was clear evidence that Afghanistan remains traditional, conservative and male-dominated. In the crowd of more than 200 people, only 16 were women -- all but two of them covered from head to toe in blue burqas .
"I've decided to focus on getting votes from men," Parlika, a former university administrator, said later with a resigned shrug. "I'd like to get women, too. But it's just very, very difficult to find places to reach women in our conservative society."
Parlika's dilemma was just one of a host of contradictions that have defined the elections, which will be held Sunday and which feature nearly 2,800 candidates competing for 249 seats in the lower house of parliament. About 3,000 will compete for positions on 34 provincial councils that will help choose the upper house.
The chance to represent hitherto powerless groups has attracted thousands of political newcomers to the race, including recent university graduates, members of the nomadic Kuchi tribe and nearly 600 women -- who are guaranteed a little more than one-fourth of the seats. Yet most of the top contenders are power brokers from the past: aging communist generals who worked for the Soviets, rapacious Islamic militia commanders who overthrew the communists before falling at each other's throats, and ex-Taliban ministers who took power from the warring factions.
The elections are a key step in an international agreement intended to ensure Afghanistan's emergence as a stable democracy and to allow the United States and other nations to draw down their forces here in the near future. Yet the balloting will take place amid the most significant resurgence in violence by Taliban guerrillas since their ouster four years ago.
Finally, while Afghans have demonstrated enormous enthusiasm for the election -- about 12.4 million people have registered to vote, 2 million more than for last year's presidential election -- international observers fear that a complicated balloting procedure, combined with intimidation by insurgents and regional strongmen, may prevent voters from expressing their will.
"This election could have produced a parliament that really reflected the wants and needs of the Afghan people to be free from the rule of the gun . . . and for clinics, roads, schools and jobs," said Sam Zarifi of the New York-based Human Rights Watch. "Instead what we may get is a parliament stocked with figures who represent the bloody past and who have very little legitimacy or competence to address the basic needs of the country."
In the final days preceding the vote, however, the most palpable feature of the race was the sheer diversity of candidates.
Bashar Dost, a former planning minister who resigned after accusing foreign assistance organizations of squandering Afghanistan's aid money on fancy cars and equipment, rumbled around Kabul in a large truck passing out handbills to throngs of children. Meanwhile, cell phones across the city buzzed with text messages promoting the virtues of more tech-friendly candidates.
Posters featuring the grinning visage of Sabrina Saghbe, a female basketball player who at 25 is the youngest candidate in the race, were plastered on shop doors under billboards featuring dour photographs of Abdurrab Rasul Sayyaf, a Muslim militia commander with a white, nearly waist-length beard and an even longer record of wartime atrocities.
Bariolai, a 30-year-old day laborer who uses only one name, said he felt his stomach clench with rage every time he passed one of Sayyaf's signs. A resident of the Kabul neighborhood of Afshar, he said he watched Sayyaf's men burst into his house and shoot his father dead during a notorious massacre of ethnic Hazaras there in February 1993.
"If it's a real democratic government, people like that should not win," Bariolai said with a grim shake of his head. "But I hear [Sayyaf] is spending lots of money and has lots of supporters, so he'll probably get in."
In the quest to win votes, or perhaps simply to avoid bad publicity, several notorious contenders have sought to reinvent themselves. In an interview Saturday at his spacious mud-brick mansion in the central province of Logar, Maulvi Qalamuddin, former head of the Taliban religious police that whipped women for failing to wear burqas and carted men off to jail for failing to grow their beards long, insisted, "I've always been against extremism."
A tall man with a bushy black beard and large hands who was once one of the most feared men in Kabul, Qalamuddin spoke in soft, measured tones as he said that irregular elements of the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice carried out such abuses, and that the police under his command never did more than "encourage" Muslims to comply with the Taliban's vision of Islamic law.
Qalamuddin added that he had tried to use his position to moderate some regulations, such as a ban on television. And although he defended most others -- including a prohibition against kite flying ostensibly adopted to prevent men from spying on female neighbors from their rooftops -- Qalamuddin said, "We have other priorities, like reconstruction, right now."
The most serious threat to the elections was the nearly daily violence mounted by suspected Taliban guerrillas in the south and east. In an apparent bid to disrupt the elections, gunmen have killed seven prominent clerics, six candidates and four election workers. On Saturday, a grenade attack killed five police officers south of Kabul, and Afghan and U.S. troops arrested 20 men suspected of trying to blow up the country's largest dam in the southern province of Helmand.
To improve security during the elections, NATO-led forces operating in the north and west have sent an additional 2,000 troops to Afghanistan, while the U.S. military has augmented its forces in Wardak and Logar provinces surrounding Kabul as well as Ghazni city with a battalion of about 700 men.
The battalion's commander, Lt. Col. David Anders, said he expected to find weapons caches in Wardak, but relatively limited Taliban activity. Instead, he said, "we've found dormant cells that have been training and waiting to attack in this time frame."
He said his men of the 1st Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, had killed or detained members of several such units using information from informants captured during several firefights since their arrival at the end of July. But he believed there were still more at large.
By midweek, Anders had deployed every available soldier to drive back and forth across the routes that the ballots would be traveling en route to regional counting centers. With so many men in the field, the base seemed oddly quiet.
Less than a mile away, the provincial headquarters of the joint Afghan-international body running the elections felt just the opposite, as workers rushed to load ballot boxes onto trucks headed to the polls in time for the vote. One of the men, Syed Mohammed Chack, 41, said he had been getting little more than four hours sleep a night.
But he broke into a happy grin when asked if he was enjoying the work. "It's hard, but it makes me so happy," he said. "I feel that I'm doing a service for my people."
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KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 17 -- As campaigning for Afghanistan's first legislative election in more than three decades drew to a close this week, a 60-year-old woman in a chic blazer and a gauzy veil stepped up to the microphone at an outdoor rally.
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As Chief, Roberts Would Be Tested
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Justice John Paul Stevens is widely regarded as one of the most liberal members of the Supreme Court, and regularly spars with conservative Antonin Scalia.
But when he approached an old acquaintance at the American Bar Association's annual meeting in Chicago last month, he was upbeat about President Bush's selection of another cerebral conservative, John G. Roberts Jr., for the court.
"Isn't it great news?" Stevens, 85, said, according to the acquaintance, who asked not to be named because it was a private conversation.
Roberts was still a nominee for associate justice at the time, but Stevens's attitude toward him illustrates an advantage he would bring to the role of chief justice -- a role he is all but certain to play after his four days of hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.
Roberts is a former law clerk and close friend of the man he would replace, the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, and he is a veteran of 39 oral arguments before the court. That makes him a known quantity to all eight justices, a person they understand to be familiar with the personal relationships and bureaucratic rhythms that have grown up over the past 11 years of unchanging membership at the court.
"I have watched Judge Roberts since he has been an advocate before our court," Justice Sandra Day O'Connor said in July, when Roberts was originally slated to replace her when she retired. "And I and my colleagues have been enormously impressed with his scholarship and his skills."
Roberts will need all of those skills, once the Senate completes work on his nomination this month, as he tries to fashion majorities -- and to guide a comfortable-in-its-ways group of jurists through a transitional period.
At 50, Roberts would be considerably younger than the colleagues he leads (Clarence Thomas, 57, is the only current justice younger than 65). He has already heard suggestions from members of the Judiciary Committee for such innovations as television cameras at oral arguments, and has floated his own notions that the court might be able to increase its caseload while publishing fewer dissenting and concurring opinions.
Equally important, Roberts must represent the federal judiciary in its relations with Congress, which have been difficult in recent years.
Lawmakers from both parties have expressed frustration on subjects ranging from the court's striking down of popular statutes to the judiciary's alleged failure to enforce rules of conduct among its own members. Those tensions have resulted in a number of GOP proposals in Congress to limit the courts' jurisdiction over such issues as same-sex marriage and the Pledge of Allegiance.
Armed with little more than the persuasive authority of his office, Roberts would have to defend judicial independence, without alienating the lawmakers who supply the $6 billion annual budget that fuels the federal court system and its 30,000 employees.
"Chief Justice Rehnquist realized a chief justice's political capital does not go very far, and you can use it up pretty quickly," said Russell Wheeler, a guest scholar in the governance studies program at the Brookings Institution.
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Get Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland and national news. Get the latest/breaking news, featuring national security, science and courts. Read news headlines from the nation and from The Washington Post. Visit www.washingtonpost.com/nation today.
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ISO: An Adviser To Trust
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Gotten a good tip on a financial adviser lately?
Consumers who decide they need help in choosing investments may find that choosing an adviser is the first step -- and that winding up with the wrong adviser is a costly misstep.
A few years ago, Michael Kostoff, a retired teacher in St. Augustine, Fla., turned for advice on how to invest her retirement nest egg to Vincent Cervone, a financial adviser recommended by Kostoff's brother-in-law, a doctor.
But instead of safer and more-suitable bonds and large-company stocks, Cervone put the bulk of her $114,000 into highly speculative micro-cap stocks, including NeoMagic Corp. and Cypress Bioscience Inc., according to allegations recounted in an arbitrator's award in June against a firm that helped handle the transactions.
Net loss: her entire investment.
Her brokerage, meanwhile, pocketed $19,000 in trading commissions on the account, according to Kostoff's lawyer, Theodore M. Davis of Brooklyn.
"The motive for making the trades was to generate commissions that were in the brokerage's interest but not my client's interest," Davis alleged.
With more baby boomers worrying about their finances and finding an exploding number of confusing financial products on the market -- variable annuities, wrap accounts, private real estate investment trusts, unit trusts -- the financial-advice business is booming. NASD, the private-sector regulator of the securities industry, says its more than 660,000 registered representatives, also known as stockbrokers, were licensed last year, up more than 58 percent from 1990. Also up: scams. NASD filed 1,396 disciplinary actions last year, up 53 percent from 1992, the earliest figures available.
Mary L. Schapiro, NASD's vice chairwoman, says the need for investors to check out who's giving them financial advice is more acute than ever. "There are firms out there you definitely do not want to do business with," she says.
As it happens, Kostoff was fortunate. Though Cervone has left the industry and his main former employer, Glenn Michael Financial Inc. of Melville, N.Y., had closed its doors, an NASD arbitration panel ruled against the firm that did back-office work for the brokerage. In a rare decision against a so-called clearing firm, the panel ordered Fleet Securities Inc., now part of Automatic Data Processing Inc. of Roseland, N.J., to pay $460,000, including $343,000 in punitive damages, finding that the firm should have known about the "fleecing" of the Kostoff account. A spokeswoman for ADP declined to comment.
Timothy Feil, a lawyer for Cervone, said his client settled a related arbitration case "for a nominal amount" without admitting wrongdoing, and wasn't a party to the arbitration case, which involved a separate firm. Therefore, Feil said, Cervone did not have a chance to present his side of the story.
"We adamantly deny any inference of wrongdoing that may have been made in the award," Feil said.
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Gotten a good tip on a financial adviser lately? Consumers who decide they need help in choosing investments may find that choosing an adviser is the first step -- and that winding up with the wrong adviser is a costly misstep.
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A Crusade to Save College Admissions
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Most people who complain about the college admissions process are like me. We give angry speeches or write fiery columns or spout off at meetings, but never take any personal risks to change the system.
Lloyd Thacker is not like us. The former college admissions officer and high school guidance counselor quit his job at Jesuit High School in Portland, Ore., to lead a crusade against the commercialization of the admissions system. He is still struggling to put his new organization, The Education Conservancy, on solid ground, but his efforts have already made a difference with the publication of his new book, "College Unranked: Ending the College Admissions Frenzy" (Harvard University Press, 220 pages).
It is a collection of essays by some of the most thoughtful people working in college admissions today, including current and former officials of Lewis & Clark College, Vanderbilt University, Harvard College, Pomona College, Grinnell College, Reed College, Pace University, Trinity College, Dartmouth College, the University of Chicago, Saint Mary's College of California, Smith College, Dickinson College, Clark University, Loyola Marymount University and the University of Washington, plus one smart high school counselor, Mark Speyer of the Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School in New York City.
Thacker is the most talked-about person in college admissions today. You can get his book for just $11.53 from amazon.com. But first read some of his words from the introduction:
"It used to be that Americans aspired to go to college; now they hire consultants, take expensive classes, and spend countless hours creating the perfect application to the right college. For many high school students today, gaining admission to college has been reduced to a game to be played, and education to a prize that must be won. Their parents, driven by a desire to do the very best by their children, have unwittingly joined the race.
"On the other side of the admissions desk, deans struggle-- often with their own consciences -- to land the most desirable, though not necessarily the most qualified, students using strategies that rival those of corporate recruiters. College presidents, for their part, must balance the integrity of their academic community with the need to craft an image imposed by the 'ranksters.' As a result, what was once a rite of passage for American youth has become a high-stakes competition with too many players.
"Leading this rapid commercialization of college admissions are the rankings of U.S. News & World Report, along with those of several newcomers to the field of college rankings, the billion-dollar marketing and consulting industry servicing students and colleges alike, certain members of the media, and the corporatization of the College Board (a non-profit organization that sponsors the SAT and now offers online test prep, application prep, scholarship services, Advanced Placement (AP) exams, and enrollment management, among other things)."
"Curiosity, self-discipline, effort, imagination, intellectual verve, sense of wonder, willingness to try new things, empathy, open-mindedness, civility, and tolerance for ambiguity are some of the qualities that define and give value to being a student. They are the same qualities that colleges say they seek in admitting prospective students. Yet they are also qualities that have been betrayed and repressed by the business models that now guide much of college admissions."
If I have any complaint about "College Unranked," it is that there is not enough Thacker in it. He has an unusual perspective, an irresistible writing style and a passion to help students. I hope he is working on another book that tells us more of his story, and what he has discovered.
But the admission pros he recruited for this book also have much to say. It is a testament to the impact Thacker has had on their craft that he has persuaded so many busy people to dedicate time and effort to the book and the Education Conservancy. My favorite commentators in this volume include:
*William M. Shain, dean of undergraduate admissions at Vanderbilt. He told me something I did not know, that bond raters make it easier for colleges to borrow if their freshmen have impressive SAT scores. He is also one of the few admissions deans I have ever seen express concern about the gushy search letters that colleges send to high schoolers. "Excessive recruitment, especially if students are not carefully prescreened, can too easily create an inappropriate expectation of admission, and, in so doing, dangerously distort a student's college choice process," he writes.
*Bruce J. Poch, vice president and dean of admissions, Pomona College. Poch is one of the admissions deans least afraid of expressing his views on the excesses of the process. Among many interesting points, I enjoyed his attack on the chat rooms for applicants that have become so popular on the Princeton Review Web site: "From a sociological standpoint, it is a fascinating but sometimes horrifying glimpse into the panic, rumor mongering, and college-obsessed minds of the authors, but it also is gasoline added to an already enormous fire of confusions," he writes.
*Michael Beseda, vice provost for enrollment, Saint Mary's College of California. He tells what may be the best story in the book: An applicant to his school from a large public high school in the Midwest submitted this four-word essay in response to the standard question asking why she wanted to attend that college: "I want to learn." That was all she wrote. Was she being flippant or deep or ridiculous or what? Unable to resist rewarding such chutzpah, Saint Mary's let her in and she graduated at the top of her class.
*Harold Wingood, dean of admission, Clark University. He wins the reality award for noting, amid all the distress about rejection, that according to UCLA's Cooperative Institutional Research Program, at least 70 percent of college freshmen say they enrolled in their first-choice school.
About the book, and about Thacker, I have only one more observation. The scourge of commercialism is real, but who is to blame for it? Thacker and some of his essayists suggest it is the fault of the business executives who are making money off of test prep and college ranking and educational consulting and a dozen other lucrative offshoots of the American obsession for getting into a brand name school. I, on the other hand, think it is the fault of the customers, that is, you and me.
In a free society, people discover they have needs. Some are rational, like the need to improve little Johnnie's atrocious grammar, and some irrational, like the need to impress their neighbors with a famous college name on the sticker in their car's back window. None of us would want to live in a country where people were prohibited from spending their hard-earned money to pursue legal desires, no matter how nutty they might be. I am not sure what we can do, short of martial law, to keep many of us from writing checks to SAT courses and college guidebook publishers and private schools that send many graduates to the Ivy League.
Thacker, however, has made this issue his life and has thought about it more than I have. He has kindly accepted my invitation to discuss this in a future column, and see if there is any way out of this mess.
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Virginia Governor's Race to Be An Experiment in Voter Turnout
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Last year, the Media Fund was a free-spending titan among the independent groups trying to get Democrat John F. Kerry elected president.
This year, it's back to the old drawing board: A dramatically scaled-back Media Fund hopes to use the Virginia governor's race as a laboratory in a kind of a research-and-development campaign for liberals.
According to Democratic sources, the group plans to use a variety of voter-contact activities -- direct mail, phone banks and even door-to-door canvassing -- in an experiment to divine which combination of methods and issue appeals is most effective in turning out "low propensity" voters in Northern Virginia.
From the Media Fund's perspective, a low-propensity voter probably would vote Democratic -- if he or she bothered to vote at all. These voters turned out in the presidential race last year, but are less likely to vote in an off-year election without prodding.
As a progressive group, the Media Fund of course favors Democratic nominee Timothy M. Kaine over Republican Jerry W. Kilgore. But the effort is not aimed principally at influencing this race, according to one Democratic source familiar with the Media Fund's activities. The idea is to accrue knowledge that might prove useful for Democrats in other races around the country in 2006 and 2008.
The Virginia project was conceived by a handful of strategists who had been affiliated with the liberal group America Coming Together. ACT, once the largest and best-financed of the liberal independent groups that sprouted for the 2004 election, has essentially shuttered its operation.
The experiment is animated by a belief among many in the Democratic consulting world that Republican direct mail, which tends to be more hard-hitting, is more effective in turning out weak partisans in nonpresidential elections. As part of the Media Fund program, different groups of voters in the target area will receive various types of mail. Some will get what are known in the mail industry as "concept pieces," which carry a subtle negative message and are traditionally favored by Democrats, while others will get the more inflammatory mailers.
There's still one catch. With its coffers no longer flush as they were last year, the Media Fund is still soliciting donors to find out if it can pay for its Virginia experiment.
Sen. Trent Lott says he'll decide about running for a fourth term by the end of the year. But Democrats already are considering their options if the veteran Republican does retire.
Mississippians prefer Republicans in statewide races, and at the moment, the heavy favorite to succeed Lott is Rep. Charles W. "Chip" Pickering Jr., a five-term GOP House member.
Democrats believe the political terrain could be becoming more favorable -- in particular if they can mobilize the state's large African American population. "There's a lot of work to be done, but it's doable," said one Democratic political aide.
The Democratic roster of potential open-seat candidates includes Mike Moore, the former state attorney general best known for his lead role in the tobacco wars; former governor Ray Mabus; Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood; and Rep. Gene Taylor, who represents Lott's old district on the Gulf Coast. African American prospects include Mike Espy, the former Mississippi congressman and Clinton agriculture secretary, and James Graves, a justice on the Mississippi Supreme Court.
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Last year, the Media Fund was a free-spending titan among the independent groups trying to get Democrat John F. Kerry elected president. Sen. Trent Lott says he'll decide about running for a fourth term by the end of the year. But Democrats already are considering their options if the veteran......
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Bad Start in Gaza
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ONLY DAYS after the final withdrawal of Israeli forces, the Gaza Strip is on the verge of anarchy. Despite promises to impose law and order, the Palestinian Authority has allowed mobs of looters and armed extremists to rampage through former Jewish settlements, where they have burned or bulldozed synagogues left standing by Israel. Many of the valuable greenhouses that, with the generous help of international donors, were saved for use by the Palestinians have been stripped of equipment as police stood by and watched. Despite a formal agreement with Israel to maintain security, Egypt has allowed thousands of Palestinians to illegally cross its border, including rifle-brandishing militants. If it is not quickly checked, the disorder will destroy Palestinian hopes that the Gaza transfer will become a step toward statehood.
This week's events further undermine the claim of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas that he can impose democratic rule of law in Gaza without directly confronting armed extremist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Mr. Abbas keeps declaring that only Palestinian security forces will be allowed weapons and that "no one is above the law." But he also keeps shrinking from confronting the gunmen who have been parading through former Jewish settlements or punching holes in the border fence between Gaza and Egypt. "We are not going to tolerate chaos after today," Mr. Abbas declared on Tuesday. Yesterday, as the chaos continued, he instead canceled his appearance at a rally organized by his own administration.
Mr. Abbas's problem is in part one of weakness; it's not certain that the security forces loyal to him could impose order by force in Gaza even if he ordered them to. Egypt's failure is far harder to excuse. The government of Hosni Mubarak formally committed itself to send Egyptian troops to replace the Israeli army on the border between Gaza and Egypt and to maintain security. No agreement has yet been reached on opening a crossing, mainly because of Israel's legitimate security concerns. But Egyptian troops this week have allowed thousands of Palestinians to pass back and forth, urged on by Hamas fighters who have blown holes in the fence. Egypt announced that it would put a stop to the traffic by yesterday evening. According to news reports, the crossings continued.
The Gaza withdrawal should have been a step toward an Israeli-Palestinian settlement; instead, it could become a leap away from it. The big winner so far is Hamas, which rejects Israel's existence. In Israel, continuing disorder will give a boost to hard-line challengers to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the architect of the Gaza evacuation. As it is, Mr. Sharon probably will reiterate in an address to the United Nations today that Israel will consider no more territorial withdrawals or other concessions to the Palestinians until militant groups are dismantled. Unless Palestinian and Egyptian leaders take immediate steps to fulfill their commitments in Gaza, they will bear the responsibility for a new stalemate -- or worse -- in the Middle East.
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The Gaza withdrawal should have been a step toward an Israeli-Palestinian settlement; instead it could become a leap away from it. The big winner so far is Hamas, which rejects Israel's existence.
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President Bush Delivers Remarks on Hurricane Katrina Recovery
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SPEAKER: GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
BUSH: Good evening. I am speaking to you from the city of New Orleans -- nearly empty, still partly under water, and waiting for life and hope to return.
Eastward from Lake Pontchartrain, across the Mississippi coast, to Alabama and into Florida, millions of lives were changed in a day by a cruel and wasteful storm.
In the aftermath, we have seen fellow citizens left stunned and uprooted, searching for loved ones and grieving for the dead, and looking for meaning in a tragedy that seems so blind and random.
We have also witnessed the kind of desperation no citizen of this great and generous nation should ever have to know: fellow Americans calling out for food and water, vulnerable people left at the mercy of criminals who had no mercy, and the bodies of the dead lying uncovered and untended in the street.
These days of sorrow and outrage have also been marked by acts of courage and kindness that make all Americans proud.
Coast Guard and other personnel rescued tens of thousands of people from flooded neighborhoods.
BUSH: Religious congregations and families have welcomed strangers as brothers and sisters and neighbors.
In the community of Chalmette, when two men tried to break into a home, the owner invited them to stay -- and took in 15 other people who had no place to go.
At Tulane Hospital for Children, doctors and nurses did not eat for days so patients could have food, and eventually carried the patients on their backs up eight flights of stairs to helicopters.
Many first responders were victims themselves -- wounded healers, with a sense of duty greater than their own suffering.
When I met Steve Scott of the Biloxi Fire Department, he and his colleagues were conducting a house-to-house search for survivors.
BUSH: Steve told me this: "I lost my house and I lost my cars, but I still got my family and I still got my spirit."
Across the Gulf Coast, among people who have lost much and suffered much and given to the limit of their power, we are seeing that same spirit: a core of strength that survives all hurt, a faith in God no storm can take away, and a powerful American determination to clear the ruins and build better than before.
Tonight so many victims of the hurricane and the flood are far from home and friends and familiar things. You need to know that our whole nation cares about you, and in the journey ahead you are not alone.
To all who carry a burden of loss, I extend the deepest sympathy of our country. To every person who has served and sacrificed in this emergency, I offer the gratitude of our country.
BUSH: And tonight I also offer this pledge of the American people: Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes, we will stay as long as it takes, to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives.
And all who question the future of the Crescent City need to know: There is no way to imagine America without New Orleans, and this great city will rise again.
The work of rescue is largely finished; the work of recovery is moving forward. In nearly all of Mississippi, electric power has been restored. Trade is starting to return to the port of New Orleans, and agricultural shipments are moving down the Mississippi River.
All major gasoline pipelines are now in operation, preventing the supply disruptions that many feared. The breaks in the levees have been closed, the pumps are running, and the water here in New Orleans is receding by the hour.
BUSH: Environmental officials are on the ground, taking water samples, identifying and dealing with hazardous debris, and working to get drinking water and waste water treatment systems operating again.
And some very sad duties are being carried out by professionals who gather the dead, treat them with respect, and prepare them for their rest.
In the task of recovery and rebuilding, some of the hardest work is still ahead. And it will require the creative skill and generosity of a united country.
Our first commitment is to meet the immediate needs of those who had to flee their homes and leave all their possessions behind. For these Americans, every night brings uncertainty, every day requires new courage and, in the months to come, will bring more than their fair share of struggles.
The Department of Homeland Security is registering evacuees who are now in shelters, churches or private homes -- whether in the Gulf region or far away.
BUSH: I have signed an order providing immediate assistance to people from the disaster area. As of today, more than 500,000 evacuee families have gotten emergency help to pay for food, clothing and other essentials.
Evacuees who have not yet registered should contact FEMA or the Red Cross. We need to know who you are, because many of you will be eligible for broader assistance in the future.
Many families were separated during the evacuation, and we are working to help you reunite. Please call this number: 1-877-568- 3317. That's 1-877-568-3317. And we will work to bring your family back together and pay for your travel to reach them.
In addition, we are taking steps to ensure that evacuees do not have to travel great distances or navigate bureaucracies to get the benefits that are there for them.
BUSH: The Department of Health and Human Services has sent more than 1,500 health professionals, along with over 50 tons of medical supplies -- including vaccines, antibiotics and medicines for people with chronic conditions such as diabetes.
The Social Security Administration is delivering checks.
The Department of Labor is helping displaced persons apply for temporary jobs and unemployment benefits.
And the Postal Service is registering new addresses so that people can get their mail.
To carry out the first stages of the relief effort and begin rebuilding at once, I have asked for, and the Congress has provided, more than $60 billion. This is an unprecedented response to an unprecedented crisis, which demonstrates the compassion and resolve of our nation.
Our second commitment is to help the citizens of the Gulf Coast to overcome this disaster, put their lives back together and rebuild their communities.
BUSH: Along this coast, for mile after mile, the wind and water swept the land clean. In Mississippi, many thousands of houses were damaged or destroyed. In New Orleans and surrounding parishes, more than a quarter-million houses are no longer safe to live in. Hundreds of thousands of people from across this region will need to find longer-term housing.
Our goal is to get people out of the shelters by the middle of October. So we are providing direct assistance to evacuees that allows them to rent apartments, and many are already moving into places of their own.
A number of states have taken in evacuees and shown them great compassion -- admitting children to school and providing health care. So I will work with the Congress to ensure that states are reimbursed for these extra expenses.
In the disaster area and in cities that have received huge numbers of displaced people, we are beginning to bring in mobile homes and trailers for temporary use.
BUSH: To relieve the burden on local health-care facilities in the region, we are sending extra doctors and nurses to these areas.
We're also providing money that can be used to cover overtime pay for police and fire departments while the cities and towns rebuild.
Near New Orleans, Biloxi and other cities, housing is urgently needed for police and firefighters, other service providers and the many workers who are going to rebuild these cities.
Right now, many are sleeping on ships we have brought to the Port of New Orleans, and more ships are on their way to the region.
And we'll provide mobile homes and supply them with basic services, as close to construction areas as possible, so the rebuilding process can go forward as quickly as possible.
And the federal government will undertake a close partnership with the states of Louisiana and Mississippi, the city of New Orleans and other Gulf Coast cities, so they can rebuild in a sensible, well- planned way.
BUSH: Federal funds will cover the great majority of the costs of repairing public infrastructure in the disaster zone, from roads and bridges to schools and water systems.
Our goal is to get the work done quickly. And taxpayers expect this work to be done honestly and wisely. So we will have a team of inspectors general reviewing all expenditures.
In the rebuilding process, there will be many important decisions and many details to resolve. Yet we are moving forward according to some clear principles.
The federal government will be fully engaged in the mission, but Governor Barbour, Governor Blanco, Mayor Nagin and other state and local leaders will have the primary role in planning for their own future.
Clearly, communities will need to move decisively to change zoning laws and building codes, in order to avoid a repeat of what we have seen.
And in the work of rebuilding, as many jobs as possible should go to the men and women who live in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
BUSH: Our third commitment is this: When communities are rebuilt, they must be even better and stronger than before the storm.
Within the Gulf region are some of the most beautiful and historic places in America. As all of us saw on television, there is also some deep, persistent poverty in this region as well.
That poverty has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America. We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action.
So let us restore all that we have cherished from yesterday, and let us rise above the legacy of inequality.
When the streets are rebuilt, there should be many new businesses, including minority-owned businesses, along those streets.
When the houses are rebuilt, more families should own, not rent, those houses.
When the regional economy revives, local people should be prepared for the jobs being created.
BUSH: Americans want the Gulf Coast not just to survive, but to thrive; not just to cope, but to overcome.
We want evacuees to come home, for the best of reasons -- because they have a real chance at a better life in a place they love.
When one resident of this city who lost his home was asked by a reporter if he would relocate, he said, "No, I will rebuild, but I will build higher."
That is our vision for the future in this city and beyond. We'll not just rebuild, we'll build higher and better.
To meet this goal, I will listen to good ideas from Congress and state and local officials and the private sector.
I believe we should start with three initiatives that the Congress should pass.
Tonight, I propose the creation of a Gulf opportunity zone, encompassing the region of the disaster in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama.
BUSH: Within this zone, we should provide immediate incentives for job-creating investment; tax relief for small businesses; incentives to companies that create jobs; and loans and loan guarantees for small businesses, including minority-owned enterprises, to get them up and running again.
It is entrepreneurship that creates jobs and opportunity. It is entrepreneurship that helps break the cycle of poverty. And we will take the side of entrepreneurs as they lead the economic revival of the Gulf region.
I propose the creation of worker recovery accounts to help those evacuees who need extra help finding work. Under this plan, the federal government would provide accounts of up to $5,000, which these evacuees could draw upon for job training and education to help them get a good job and for child-care expenses during their job search.
And to help lower-income citizens in the hurricane region build new and better lives, I also propose that Congress pass an Urban Homesteading Act.
BUSH: Under this approach, we will identify property in the region owned by the federal government and provide building sites to low-income citizens free of charge, through a lottery. In return, they would pledge to build on the lot, with either a mortgage or help from a charitable organization like Habitat for Humanity.
Homeownership is one of the great strengths of any community, and it must be a central part of our vision for the revival of this region.
In the long run, the New Orleans area has a particular challenge, because much of the city lies below sea level. The people who call it home need to have reassurance that their lives will be safer in the years to come.
Protecting a city that sits lower than the water around it is not easy, but it can and has been done. City and parish officials in New Orleans and state officials in Louisiana will have a large part in the engineering decisions to come.
BUSH: And the Army Corps of Engineers will work at their side to make the flood-protection system stronger than it has ever been.
The work that has begun in the Gulf Coast region will be one of the largest reconstruction efforts the world has ever seen. When that job is done, all Americans will have something to be very proud of.
And all Americans are needed in this common effort.
It is the armies of compassion -- charities and houses of worship and idealistic men and women -- that give our reconstruction effort its humanity. They offer to those who hurt a friendly face, an arm around the shoulder and the reassurance that, in hard times, they can count on someone who cares.
By land, by sea and by air, good people wanting to make a difference deployed to the Gulf Coast. And they have been working around the clock ever since.
BUSH: The cash needed to support the armies of compassion is great, and Americans have given generously.
For example, the private fundraising effort led by former Presidents Bush and Clinton has already received pledges of more than $100 million.
Some of that money is going to the governors, to be used for immediate needs within their states. A portion will also be sent to local houses of worship, to help reimburse them for the expense of helping others.
This evening, the need is still urgent, and I ask the American people to continue donating to the Salvation Army, the Red Cross, other good charities and religious congregations in the region.
It is also essential for the many organizations of our country to reach out to your fellow citizens in the Gulf area. So I have asked USA Freedom Corps to create an information clearinghouse, available at usafreedomcorps.gov, so that families anywhere in the country can find opportunities to help families in the region or a school can support a school.
And I challenge existing organizations -- churches and Scout troops or labor union locals -- to get in touch with their counterparts in Mississippi, Louisiana or Alabama and learn what they can do to help.
BUSH: In this great national enterprise, important work can be done by everyone, and everyone should find their role and do their part.
The government of this nation will do its part as well. Our cities must have clear and up-to-date plans for responding to natural disasters and disease outbreaks or a terrorist attack, for evacuating large numbers of people in an emergency, and for providing the food and water and security they would need.
In a time of terror threats and weapons of mass destruction, the danger to our citizens reaches much wider than a fault line or a flood plain. I consider detailed emergency planning to be a national security priority.
And therefore, I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to undertake an immediate review, in cooperation with local counterparts, of emergency plans in every major city in America.
I also want to know all the facts about the government response to Hurricane Katrina. The storm involved a massive flood, a major supply and security operation, and an evacuation order affecting more than a million people.
BUSH: It was not a normal hurricane, and the normal disaster relief system was not equal to it.
Many of the men and women of the Coast Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the United States military, the National Guard, Homeland Security, and state and local governments performed skillfully under the worst conditions. Yet the system, at every level of government, was not well-coordinated and was overwhelmed in the first few days.
It is now clear that a challenge on this scale requires greater federal authority and a broader role for the armed forces, the institution of our government most capable of massive logistical operations on a moment's notice.
Four years after the frightening experience of September the 11th, Americans have every right to expect a more effective response in a time of emergency.
When the federal government fails to meet such an obligation, I as president am responsible for the problem and for the solution. So I have ordered every Cabinet secretary to participate in a comprehensive review of the government response to the hurricane.
This government will learn the lessons of Hurricane Katrina. We're going to review every action and make necessary changes so that we are better prepared for any challenge of nature or act of evil men that could threaten our people.
BUSH: The United States Congress also has an important oversight function to perform. Congress is preparing an investigation, and I will work with members of both parties to make sure this effort is thorough.
In the life of this nation, we have often been reminded that nature is an awesome force and that all life is fragile. We are the heirs of men and women who lived through those first terrible winters at Jamestown and Plymouth, who rebuilt Chicago after a great fire and San Francisco after a great earthquake, who reclaimed the prairie from the dust bowl of the 1930s.
Every time, the people of this land have come back from fire, flood and storm to build anew and to build better than what we had before.
Americans have never left our destiny to the whims of nature, and we will not start now.
These trials have also reminded us that we are often stronger than we know -- with the help of grace and one another. They remind us of a hope beyond all pain and death -- a God who welcomes the lost to a house not made with hands. And they remind us that we are tied together in this life, in this nation, and that the despair of any touches us all.
I know that when you sit on the steps of a porch where a home once stood or sleep on a cot in a crowded shelter, it is hard to imagine a bright future.
BUSH: But that future will come.
The streets of Biloxi and Gulfport will again be filled with lovely homes and the sound of children playing. The churches of Alabama will have their broken steeples mended and their congregations whole. And here in New Orleans, the street cars will once again rumble down St. Charles and the passionate soul of a great city will return.
In this place, there is a custom for the funerals of jazz musicians. The funeral procession parades slowly through the streets, followed by a band playing a mournful dirge as it moves to the cemetery. Once the casket has been laid in place, the band breaks into a joyful "second line," symbolizing the triumph of the spirit over death.
Tonight the Gulf Coast is still coming through the dirge. Yet we will live to see the second line.
Thank you, and may God bless America.
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NEW ORLEANS SEPTEMBER 15, 2005 SPEAKER: GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
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A Bid to Repair a Presidency
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The main text of President Bush's nationally televised address last night was the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, but the clear subtext was the rebuilding of a presidency that is now at its lowest point ever, confronted by huge and simultaneous challenges at home and abroad -- and facing a country divided along partisan and racial lines.
Hurricane Katrina struck at the core of Bush's presidency by undermining the central assertion of his reelection campaign, that he was a strong and decisive leader who could keep the country safe in a crisis. Never again will the White House be able to point to his often-praised performance after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, without skeptics recalling the fumbling and slow-off-the-mark response of his administration after the hurricane and the flooding in New Orleans.
His response to these criticisms last night was a speech largely shorn of soaring rhetoric and stirring turns of phrase of the kind that marked his efforts to rally the country after the terrorist attacks. Instead, as if recognizing that his own road back will be one marked by steady but small steps, he spoke with workmanlike focus, spelling out the details of what has been done and will be done to help those displaced by the storm.
Katrina has added an enormous new burden to a presidency already bending under the stresses of public dissatisfaction with Bush's policies in Iraq and growing anger over rising gas prices. Bush's objective last night was to set out a strategy and commitment for recovery along the Gulf Coast. But the critical question is whether the damage will limit his ability to govern effectively in the remaining 40 months of his presidency and whether he will successfully rebuild the Gulf Coast and Iraq, let alone win approval for other major initiatives on taxes and Social Security.
In again taking responsibility for the federal government's failures, Bush signaled last night that the White House has decided not to contest the widespread perceptions that his administration failed in the early days of the crisis. By embracing those criticisms, they hope to make the issue a sideshow that will play out sometime in the future. Instead, after a halting start, the White House appears intently focused on demonstrating the president's capacity to manage the huge rebuilding effort ahead.
Bush's advisers believe that, despite the partisan finger-pointing over what happened, most Americans are not looking back and will judge the president on what happens going forward. But as Iraq has shown over the past two years, the facts on the ground shape public confidence in the president more than words or promises.
There is nothing certain about the success he hopes to demonstrate. The rebuilding at Ground Zero in New York has taken four years, and although the work in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast will begin almost immediately, the scope of the reconstruction virtually guarantees debates and delays that could sap public patience. Already there are signs of a brewing battle between business and government elites and organizers working with those displaced over whose voices will be heard in shaping the reconstruction.
Second-term slumps hit every reelected president, but often they come later than this one. Bush has little time to waste to rejuvenate his governing capacity, given the reality that lame-duck status awaits him in the not-too-distant future. But just as it will take time to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, it may take many months for Bush to rebound from what now troubles his presidency. Given the added burdens of Iraq and the economy, the president's road to recovery "will be longer and more difficult," said Ross K. Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University.
The road back will also be contentious. Republicans and Democrats are at swords' points over who should investigate what happened -- a congressional committee as the GOP favors or an independent investigation proposed by the Democrats.
The president also may face opposition to his proposal to give the federal government and the U.S. military greater authority in a time of such disaster. There will be no hesitancy on either side to spend what it takes to rebuild -- Bush last night envisioned one of the largest reconstruction efforts in history -- but already sharp differences are emerging over the policies that animate that rebuilding.
The policies Bush outlined last night bear the distinctive stamp of a conservative president, a hallmark of an executive who has never shrunk from seeking to implement a right-leaning agenda even in the face of a divided country. They are long on tax relief and business grants and loans, and focused on entrepreneurial ideas. Bush already has drawn fire from Democrats for suspending the law that requires contractors to pay prevailing wages on federal projects in the regions, and there will be a battle over the proposal to provide private and parochial school vouchers to children of displaced families.
At other points in his presidency, Bush was strong enough to intimidate and often defeat his Democratic opponents. Although the Democrats remain relatively weak, Bush's own problems have emboldened them to challenge him at every turn and to believe they are better equipped to deal with the challenges in housing, education, health care and urban poverty that the hurricane and flooding have produced. Competing visions of how the federal government should respond will produce a vigorous debate -- far from the united response to 9/11.
The public appears to have little patience with partisan bickering right now, which complicates the Democrats' effort to challenge Bush, but every recent poll indicates the public knows who controls both the White House and the Congress, and Republicans likely will pay a greater price in next year's midterm elections for any perceived failures by Bush or the federal government.
Among the most worrisome elements of the aftermath of Katrina to the administration is the vast racial divide that has opened up over the federal government's response, with an overwhelming majority of African Americans believing the slow reaction was racially motivated and a similarly large majority of whites saying race was not the reason.
Bush and his advisers have denied there was any racial motivation in the government's response, but they know there will be a continuing political cost if they do not turn those perceptions around. The racial gulf threatens not only the administration's hope of slowly attracting more black support at the polls, but also the fabric of an already divided society. "It is something that all leaders across the country need to engage in, and this president will," said a senior administration official.
The president directly addressed the racial divide last night, noting that the Gulf Coast is afflicted with "deep, persistent poverty" and saying that poverty "has roots in a history of racial discrimination, which has cut off generations from the opportunity of America." He pledged bold action to "rise above the legacy of inequality."
For those who doubt Bush's ability to manage multiple challenges, administration officials would point to his nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. as the next chief justice of the United States, which appears to be moving easily through the Senate.
But what confronts him in the Gulf Coast and Iraq is far more complex. His speech last night was only the beginning of the effort to repair his storm-damaged presidency. He has proved in the past his commitment to stay the course once he sets it. The question is whether, in his weakened condition, he can continue to persuade the country to follow.
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The main text of President Bush's nationally televised address was the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, but the clear subtext was the rebuilding of a presidency that is now at its lowest point ever.
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'I'm Not an Ideologue,' Roberts Tells Senate Panel
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John G. Roberts Jr. yesterday summed up his Senate hearings to become the nation's 17th chief justice by declaring, "I'm not an ideologue," brushing aside his early years in the trenches of the conservative Reagan revolution as he portrayed himself as a lawyer and judge devoid of social agendas.
With his confirmation to the Supreme Court virtually assured by solid support among Republicans, who control the Senate, Roberts used the closing moments of his 2 1/2 days of testimony to try -- with uncertain results -- to soothe Democratic skeptics.
Saying that his loyalties are to the Constitution and "the rule of law," Roberts said that he had displayed no ideological bias during his two years as a federal appeals court judge and that he had, during 13 years in private practice, represented clients on all sides of contentious issues.
Some conservatives were alarmed last month over the disclosure that he had helped gay activists win a landmark Supreme Court in 1996. But Roberts testified yesterday that he would have been equally willing to represent the opposing side, the state of Colorado, if it had asked for his help first.
On the other hand, Roberts broke with orthodoxy among Republicans, including President Bush, who say that medical liability lawsuits are out of control. Asked whether he thinks lawyers who represent people in product-liability or medical-malpractice cases are harming the United States, Roberts replied that he did not, citing a former fellow law clerk who he said "does a wonderful job" as a personal injury lawyer.
"If you've looked at what I've done since I took the judicial oath," the nominee said, "that should convince you that I'm not an ideologue."
The careful conclusion of Roberts's 20 hours of testimony leaves one drama unresolved in the Senate role in the first Supreme Court vacancy in 11 years: How many Democrats will join Republicans in voting to give him a seat on the court?
The Judiciary Committee is scheduled to convene for a vote next Thursday, and GOP leaders plan to begin debate on Roberts's confirmation in the full Senate on Sept. 26, with a floor vote sometime that week. That timing would allow Roberts, if confirmed, to join the court when it begins its new term Oct. 3.
Bush originally nominated Roberts to succeed retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor but made him his choice for chief justice after the death of William H. Rehnquist on Sept. 3. Bush has not indicated when he intends to name a successor to O'Connor.
All week, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee complained that Roberts was evasive about his views and values on a range of polarizing issues, including abortion, civil rights, the scope of presidential power and the right to die. Even as the hearing was ending, several Democrats urged him to reveal more of what they called his heart.
"Many of us are struggling with . . . what kind of a justice would you be, John Roberts," implored Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)
The eight Democrats on the panel have not said how they plan to vote. Yesterday, Feinstein and several others vacillated openly.
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Latest politics news headlines from Washington DC. Follow 2004 elections, campaigns, Democrats, Republicans, political cartoons, opinions from The Washington Post. Features government policy, government tech, political analysis and reports.
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Study: Half of All Teens Have Had Oral Sex
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Slightly more than half of American teenagers ages 15 to 19 have engaged in oral sex, with females and males reporting similar levels of experience, according to the most comprehensive national survey of sexual behaviors ever released by the federal government.
The report released yesterday by the National Center for Health Statistics shows that the proportion increases with age to about 70 percent of all 18- and 19-year-olds. That figure is considerably higher for those who also have engaged in intercourse.
Several leaders of organizations that study or work with youth expressed surprise at the level of girls' participation. "You assume that females are more likely to give, males more likely to receive," said Jennifer Manlove, who directs fertility research for the organization Child Trends. "We were surprised that the percentages were similar."
A report by the center nine months ago, based on the same survey, showed that slightly more girls than boys have intercourse before they turn 20. In addition, other national data indicate that the proportion of high school girls who have one-night stands, as well as nonromantic sexual relationships, equals boys.
"This is a point of major social transition," James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a reproductive health organization, said yesterday. "The data are now coming out and roiling the idea that boys are the hunters and young girls are the prey. It absolutely defies the stereotype."
Joe McIllhaney Jr., chairman of the Medical Institute for Sexual Health, said the new data confirm trends he has seen as a physician, but he has doubts about some of Wagoner's conclusions. "I question how much girls enjoy" oral sex, he said."I'd like to know a whole lot more about the pressure boys put on girls."
The data also underscore the fact that many young people -- particularly those from middle- and upper-income white families -- simply do not consider oral sex to be as significant as their parents' generation does. "Oral sex is far less intimate than intercourse. It's a different kind of relationship," said Claire Brindis, professor of pediatrics at the University of California at San Francisco. "At 50 percent, we're talking about a major social norm. It's part of kids' lives."
Bill Albert, communications director for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, put the generational difference this way: "We used to talk about sex in terms of first base, second base and so on. Oral sex was maybe in the dugout." The news for parents, he said, is that they must broaden the discussions they have with their children about sex and be more specific. "If they want their teens to abstain from sex, they need to say exactly what they want their kids to abstain from."
The entire survey, administered in 2002 and 2003, includes a variety of findings about sexual behaviors among 15-to 44-year-olds. For example, almost 11 percent of young women ages 15 to 19 said they had had some kind of sexual experience with a female partner, a figure that also held true for 15-to-44-year-old women in general. Proportions of men reporting same-sex activities were lower.
The findings on oral sex among teens are sure to stir debate over abstinence-only sex education. Supporters of such programs say they have resulted in young people delaying intercourse, but opponents say they also have led young people to substitute other behaviors, especially fellatio and cunnilingus. The new data tend to support this view, showing that nearly one in four virgin teens has engaged in oral sex.
Many teenagers have fully accepted the idea that postponing intercourse is a good thing to do, Brindis said. When they weigh the advantages and disadvantages of intercourse vs. other forms of sex, they decide that they are far more at risk with intercourse, because of possible pregnancy and the greater risk of infection. Teens also consider oral sex more acceptable in their peer group than vaginal sex.
"They're very smart about this issue," Brindis said, "but they may not have been given a strong enough message about the risks of oral sex. Maybe we need to do a better job of showing them they need to use condoms." Oral sex has been associated in clinical studies with several infections, including gonorrhea, syphilis, herpes and the human papillomavirus, which has been linked to cervical cancer. Condoms and other forms of contraception can be used to decrease the health risks of oral sex, but few teens use them.
"If a substantial number of young people are having oral sex, as these numbers indicate, this is a big concern," said Kristin Moore, president of Child Trends, which analyzed the center's most recent findings.
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Slightly more than half of American teenagers, ages 15 to 19, have engaged in oral sex, according to a recent federal study.
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Baghdad Toll Nears 200 as Insurgent Strikes Continue
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BAGHDAD, Sept. 15 -- Insurgents believed to be allied to Abu Musab Zarqawi's group al Qaeda in Iraq kept up bombings in the capital on Thursday, launching strikes that brought the two-day death toll here to more than 190.
The top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, said the surge in bombings represented the kind of occasional spikes in attacks that the military has been expecting. Lynch told reporters, "Zarqawi is on the ropes.''
Three car bombs in a western neighborhood of the capital killed four Iraqi postal workers and 17 police commandos, police and Interior Ministry officials said. Iraqi and U.S. leaders have identified the commandos as Iraq's front line against the insurgency.
Meanwhile, one policeman was killed in a gun battle with insurgents and another officer was found handcuffed and shot in the head, news agencies said. The bodies of seven unidentified men were found in spots around the capital, blindfolded with their hands tied.
Insurgents also managed to land a single mortar round inside the Green Zone, the base for U.S. officials and Iraq's government. There were no casualties and only minimal damage, U.S. officials said.
A day earlier, at least 14 car bombs across Baghdad killed more than 160 people, the majority of them Shiite Muslim civilians -- the war's highest toll for deaths inflicted by insurgent attacks in the capital.
An audiotape released on an al Qaeda-linked Web site after Wednesday's attacks said Zarqawi's group had opened "all-out war'' on Iraq's Shiite majority. The voice sounded the same as that heard in previous, authenticated statements from Zarqawi's group.
Alleged al Qaeda attacks on Thursday also hit the city of Ramadi, capital of the western province of Anbar, a stronghold of foreign-led fighters. Witnesses said al Qaeda-allied fighters rocketed and shelled two U.S. military installations at Ramadi and traded fire with U.S. patrols in the city.
The U.S. military reported one Marine killed in the fighting at Ramadi and said a would-be car bomber also was killed. Iraqi emergency medical workers said Marine snipers killed six al Qaeda fighters.
The two-day barrage of attacks attributed to al Qaeda in Iraq, and the increasing control of towns in the west along the Euphrates River being asserted by foreign-led insurgents, intensified the U.S. military's focus on Zarqawi.
American commanders often have publicly denigrated Zarqawi's role in the insurgency to little more than that of a media-fostered figurehead. On Thursday, however, Lynch discussed Zarqawi in some of the sharpest terms yet, calling him the Americans' main target and saying the United States was winning the fight against him.
"We believe we are experiencing great success against the most crucial element of the insurgency, which is the terrorists and the foreign fighters. The face of that is Zarqawi and al Qaeda in Iraq,'' Lynch said.
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Two suicide car bombers struck back-to-back just half a mile apart in the Iraqi capital Thursday after another bombing hours earlier in the same neighborhood, bringing the day's death toll to at least 31 people in another day of deadly violence in Baghdad, according to Iraqi police.
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Winter Heating Bills Set To Soar
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This summer's gasoline price shock will be followed by a similarly sharp jump in winter heating bills in the Washington area, analysts are warning, and fuel bills will leap even higher if forecasts for unusually cold weather prove true.
Winter heating costs have followed in lockstep with the rise of crude oil and natural gas prices, as supplies of energy commodities strain to keep up with growing demand for fuels worldwide. Natural gas prices paid by consumers have doubled since the beginning of 2000, and the increase in heating oil costs has been almost as great.
Consumers nationwide are expected to spend 34 percent more for heating oil this winter than last, 52 percent more for natural gas, 16 percent more for coal and 11 percent more for electricity, according to the preliminary winter fuel projection by the government's Energy Information Administration. The heaviest burden should fall on natural gas customers in the Midwest, the EIA predicts, with costs 71 percent higher than last winter.
The winter fuel increases will bring total energy spending for the nation to just over $1 trillion this year, 24 percent higher than in 2004, claiming the biggest share of U.S. output since the end of the oil crisis 20 years ago, the EIA said.
The higher fuel prices pose a severe threat to low-income households from the Midwest to the Northeast, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association. "A few years ago, you could heat a home for $500. Now it takes $1,500," said Wolfe, whose association represents state residential heating assistance programs. "Energy has become a lot less affordable for low-income families," and they will face painful spending choices this winter, he said.
The important wild card this winter is not price, but weather. Energy analysts are pointing to forecasts such as the current AccuWeather Inc. projection of an early arrival of much colder winter weather from Maine to the District.
Kenneth Reeves, AccuWeather's senior meteorologist and forecasting director, said winter temperatures in the Northeast are expected to be three degrees lower than a year ago, throughout the winter heating season. A persistent temperature drop over three months of winter has a big impact, he said.
Almost all of the nation east of the Mississippi River is in for colder winter weather, AccuWeather forecasts, citing an unusually large area of warm water off the East Coast, which is expected to linger and draw cold Canadian air to the Northeast.
"It's actually a pretty dreadful forecast if it holds up," said Zeta Rosenberg, senior vice president for ICF Consulting in Fairfax. "It doesn't just drive up demand [for fuel] and prices," she said. "The whole [energy supply] infrastructure gets strained" as harsh weather disrupts fuel deliveries and stresses pipeline operations.
The EIA forecast assumes normal winter weather -- not the harsher conditions projected by AccuWeather. It also assumes that repairs to Gulf Coast oil production and refining facilities from Hurricane Katrina will have been completed by no later than December. If the recovery schedule slips, prices will move above EIA forecasts.
Prices for home heating oil should average $2.52 a gallon over the October-to-March winter heating season in the Northeast region, according to EIA, a 31 percent increase over last winter's average of $1.93 a gallon. Prices in the mid-Atlantic region including the metropolitan Washington area will be slightly lower than in the Northeast, but consumers here will face a similar increase over last year's bills, according to EIA economist David W. Costello.
An equal jump is in store for natural gas, which the EIA expects to rise to $16.64 per one thousand cubic feet at retail, or about $1.60 per therm, the unit used on consumers' heating bills. Last winter, the average customer price in the region was $12.60.
District households and businesses heating with electricity will pay higher prices this winter compared with last because of a price increase that took effect last February. Maryland's electricity rates were raised in 2004, but those in Northern Virginia are essentially frozen at last year's levels.
Washington Gas, which supplies natural gas to nearly 1 million customers in the Washington area, has not completed its winter forecasts. Just over half of the company's gas supplies have already been purchased or are effectively locked in at prices lower than today's gas prices, promising consumers some relief.
For families on the economic margins, the main lifeline is the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which last year paid about one-quarter of the eligible households' heating bills. The District and 20 states, including Maryland but not Virginia, supplement the federal program with state assistance, Wolfe said.
Congressional committees have tentatively earmarked $2.1 billion for the coming winter, up 20 percent from 2002. Wolfe said the program provided an average of $315 per family for about 5 million recipients a year ago. This winter, thousands of new families will need help, he said. The only option for states without heating assistance programs is to make it harder for utilities to cut off delinquent customers in the worst of winter.
"We are in trouble," Wolfe said. "The program is not designed to deal with these kinds of price increases."
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Democrats Dissect Memos From 1980s
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As Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee try to cast doubt on whether John G. Roberts Jr. deserves to become chief justice of the United States, the main club they are wielding are his own words -- as glimpsed in memos he wrote, as a young but well-positioned legal adviser inside the Reagan revolution, on the most polarizing civil rights issues of a generation ago.
For two days, the Democrats have read excerpts -- and at times even handed the nominee copies of his own work -- on voting rights, sex discrimination, affirmative action, racial bias, and the possibility of stripping the Supreme Court of jurisdiction over certain kinds of rights cases.
To try to blunt the impact of this document assault, Roberts has employed a two-pronged strategy: He has asserted that his words and legal reasoning were merely those of a staff lawyer. And he has largely refused to embrace or disavow the views his memos espouse.
In response, as Roberts's confirmation hearings went through a third day, Democrats and their allies among liberal advocacy groups loudly contended that the memos provide a more revealing window onto the nominee's true beliefs than his testimony suggests. "He was an advocate," the Senate's most enduring liberal, Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), said in an interview. "You can't read through those memoranda and not understand that he had a very strong commitment" to conservative values.
The centrality of Roberts's decades-old words to the minority party's strategy makes clear why Democrats worked intensely -- and with limited success -- this summer to pry loose all the nominee's records from his tenure in two Republican administrations. Roberts worked as a special assistant to then-Attorney General William French Smith in 1981 and 1982, then spent four years in the White House counsel's office. He returned to the government in 1989, as deputy solicitor general under President George H.W. Bush.
Lacking papers from his solicitor general's years -- the current Bush administration has refused to release them -- and with a thin record of rulings from Roberts's two years as a federal appellate judge, Democrats are drawing their ammunition from the early Reagan era.
Those were tempestuous years on civil rights, as the conservatives who had entered the government tried to curtail use of the courts to remedy discrimination. "They were flipping the script with respect to whose interests they were going to protect," said Theodore M. Shaw, president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, which is opposing Roberts. "He was in the thick of it."
During the past two days, some of the most extensive questioning of Roberts's memos stems from his work on voting rights. In 1982, following a Supreme Court ruling two years earlier, Congress altered the Voting Rights Act to make clear that the law prohibited voting practices that had the effect of denying any groups the ability to elect candidates of their choice, regardless of whether the practices were specifically intended to have that effect. During Roberts's time in the attorney general's office, the Reagan administration opposed that change, preferring a more restrictive standard that outlawed intentional voting discrimination.
On Tuesday, Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.) attempted to press Roberts on memos he had written on the topic. "Senator, you keep referring to what I supported and what I wanted to do," Roberts replied. "I was a 26-year-old staff lawyer. It was my first job as a lawyer after my clerkships. I was not shaping administration policy."
Yesterday, Kennedy returned to the theme of voting rights, challenging Roberts about the last paragraph of a four-page memo in which Roberts had written that the broader "effects" standard "is not only constitutionally suspect, but also contrary to the most fundamental tenets of the legislative process on which the laws of this country are based." Kennedy asked whether Roberts believes that today.
After a lengthy series of questions, Roberts replied, "And I have no basis for viewing it as constitutionally suspect and I don't." He declined, however, to indicate his views on an extension of the voting rights law.
In a similar vein, the committee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), questioned Roberts about a 1983 memo concerning the proper role of the Supreme Court, in which he had suggested that the court was overburdened and should consider fewer appeals of death penalty cases.
Leahy asked: "Are you saying that judges are just too busy to pay attention to death cases?" Roberts replied that he was not.
Yesterday afternoon, Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) cited a memo co-written by Roberts that had criticized the solicitor general's office for not filing a brief on behalf of Texas in a 1982 case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the state could not forbid illegal immigrants from attending public elementary schools.
Roberts replied that he had been "making the point that the position was inconsistent with the attorney general's litigation policy approach." When Durbin asked what he thought of that case today, Roberts said he had not looked at it in 23 years.
At one point, Sen. Herb Kohl (D-Wis.) asked in exasperation: "You have . . . suggested on numerous occasions that the things that you represented in writing or in an opinion back in the '80s and into the '90s . . . were in many cases the opinions of people for whom you worked, not necessarily your own. I assume, therefore, there are those opinions that you're prepared to disavow?"
Roberts replied: "My view in preparing all the memoranda that people have been talking about was as a staff lawyer. I was promoting the views of the people for whom I worked, and in some instances those are consistent with personal views, and in other instances they may not be.
"In most instances, no one cared terribly much what my personal views were. They were to advance the views of the administration for which I worked."
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Latest politics news headlines from Washington DC. Follow 2004 elections, campaigns, Democrats, Republicans, political cartoons, opinions from The Washington Post. Features government policy, government tech, political analysis and reports.
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House Favors Expanding Hate Crime Law to Protect Gays
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Sex offenders who prey on children would be subject to stringent monitoring requirements and face new mandatory penalties under a bill, passed by the House, that was expanded to include protections for gay men and lesbians under federal hate crime law.
The House voted 371 to 52 yesterday in favor of the Children's Safety Act, which, among its many provisions, creates a national Web site for child sex offenders and stipulates that sex felons face up to 20 years in prison for failing to comply with registration requirements.
Unexpectedly, the House voted 223 to 199 in favor of an amendment by Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) that expands current hate crime law to include some crimes involving sexual orientation, gender and disability. Under current law, the federal government assists local and state authorities prosecuting limited types of crimes based on the victim's race, religion or ethnic background.
The House has been the chief obstacle in numerous previous attempts to expand hate crimes law, and Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights group, said it was an "incredibly historic vote" that could give momentum to similar action in the Senate.
The sex offender bill, which also requires felony offenders to register for life and authorizes the death penalty for sex crimes resulting in the killing of a child, responds to what House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-Wis.), said was a "national crisis" in child sex offenses. He said that of about 550,000 convicted sex offenders in the nation, the whereabouts of 100,000 are unknown.
Sensenbrenner said the legislation would get favorable treatment in the Senate. The White House expressed support, saying that even though sex crimes against children have declined significantly in recent years, more needs to be done. It noted that the legislation codified the online National Sex Offender Public Registry that the Justice Department launched earlier this year.
The legislation brings together parts of numerous proposals to protect children from sex offenders.
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Latest politics news headlines from Washington DC. Follow 2004 elections, campaigns, Democrats, Republicans, political cartoons, opinions from The Washington Post. Features government policy, government tech, political analysis and reports.
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Massachusetts Lawmakers Reject Bid to Stop Same-Sex Marriages
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BOSTON, Sept. 14 -- Amid a pep-rally atmosphere, Massachusetts legislators on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to halt same-sex marriages here -- showing how quickly gay nuptials have moved from being a court-ordered imposition to a powerful political cause.
By a vote of 157 to 39, members of the House and the Senate meeting together voted down a proposed constitutional amendment that would have eliminated the same-sex marriages legalized two years ago and replaced them with "civil unions" for gay couples.
Instead, the vote leaves same-sex marriage as the status quo in Massachusetts, and it now seems likely to remain so until at least 2008.
But, in a broader sense, the vote also illuminated how widely Massachusetts has diverged from much of the nation, where several dozen states have passed laws limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. California's lawmakers have passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage. It is now sitting on the desk of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), who has said he will veto it.
Politicians here credit the weddings themselves with shifting the political momentum, saying their growing ordinariness has defused some of the opposition.
"The difference is that we have marriage," said state Sen. Jarrett T. Barrios (D) after the vote, while other supporters screamed and cheered nearby in a rally under a mural of the Boston Tea Party. "We've got a world that hasn't changed."
The issue of same-sex marriage has been on the front burner of politics here since November 2003, when the state's Supreme Court ruled in favor of seven same-sex couples who had pressed for the right to wed.
The court found that "the right to marry means little if it does not include the right to marry the person of one's choice" -- making Massachusetts the first state to offer gay couples more than civil unions.
Weeks of emotional debate followed, as some state legislators sought to nullify the court's ruling. Finally, plans were made to amend the state constitution to permit civil unions but ban marriage. But such amendments require votes in two successive sessions of the state legislature.
The proposal passed in March 2004 but still required another vote; it was the measure turned down on Wednesday.
In the meantime, the weddings began. Since the first one on May 17, 2004, more than 6,100 gay couples have wed, accounting for about 17 percent of all the state's weddings during that period.
Each one made the idea of same-sex marriage more acceptable, observers say.
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BOSTON, Sept. 14 -- Amid a pep-rally atmosphere, Massachusetts legislators on Wednesday overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to halt same-sex marriages here -- showing how quickly gay nuptials have moved from being a court-ordered imposition to a powerful political cause.
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UNITED NATIONS -- A global treaty to fight corruption go into force in 90 days, empowering nations to prosecute officials accused of stealing public funds and to override bank secrecy laws to ensure stolen public money can be recovered.
Ecuador on Thursday became the 30th country to notify the United Nations that it had ratified the U.N. Convention Against Corruption, the number needed to put the document into effect. The treaty has been signed by 128 nations.
The treaty covers a broad range of issues, including bribery by corporate bodies, embezzlement, fraud, theft and extortion. It also provides broader powers to fight money laundering.
"This dream has become a reality," the executive director of the U.N. Office of Drugs and Crime, Antonio Maria Costa, said in inviting other countries to join the convention.
"As of today, countries can no longer hide behind banking secrecy. Until yesterday, there was no obligation for a repatriation of (stolen) assets," he said at a news conference.
Officials in the past have given the example of over $9 million in bribes deposited by a former Mexican prosecutor in a U.S. bank. After six years of haggling, the United States turned over less than one-tenth of that amount to Mexico in 2003.
Costa said he had recently visited Nigeria and concluded that "of the several billions of dollars stolen over just a few years, especially by former President (Gen. Sani) Abacha, only a fraction can be found."
He said stolen funds tended to be dispersed among yachts, airplanes and villas, as well as divided up among many bank accounts.
He conceded the United Nations could not act as an enforcer of the treaty, which instead provides countries with the means to pursue criminals.
Costa said it would be up to individual nations to decide whether to go after high-level criminals. The treaty allows the screening of officials through financial disclosures and checks on whether their wealth matches their incomes.
"It's important not only because it implicates those involved but also it facilitates the recuperation of stolen money," Ecuador's Foreign Minister Antonio Parra said after a signing ceremony that brought the treaty into force.
Ecuador itself is known for corrupt politics. In August, the then-president of the state oil company, Petroecuador, Carlos Pareja, said he had discovered more than 1,000 cases of corruption involving contracts under deposed President Lucio Gutierrez.
The ratification of the convention comes a week after investigators criticized alleged corruption within the United Nations, accusing officials of mismanaging the oil-for-food program in Iraq.
Officials started work on the treaty in 2001, and the first countries signed on in Merida, Mexico, in 2003.
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UNITED NATIONS -- A global treaty to fight corruption go into force in 90 days, empowering nations to prosecute officials accused of stealing public funds and to override bank secrecy laws to ensure stolen public money can be recovered.
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With the debut of the Washington Nationals, a professional baseball team is representing Washington, D.C., for the first time since Sept. 30, 1971.
Washington Post sports columnist Thomas Boswell was online Friday, Sept. 16, at 11 a.m. ET to take your questions and comments on the team, Major League Baseball and his recent columns.
See a Sample/Sign Up Now
Thanks, NY: Finally, after a season of F-Rob, we see a manager (Willie Randolph) on another team making puzzling late-game decisions to his team's detriment. I saw Randolph's defense of not playing the infield at double-play depth in the ninth, but what about pitching to Castilla in the 10th? Did he not realize Osik was on deck?
Tom Boswell: Randolph claimed afterward that he (and his staff) didn't know that Schneider could not play because of his sore shoulder. So, they thought Schneider would pinch-hit for Osik. A really bad mistake. Schneider's condition had been reported in the papers and was even on the Nats MLB website. Just a complete screw up. Randolph is one of my favorite people, but his first year as a manager has NOT gone well.
(After the game Schneider told me, "Hey, I can lift it shoulder high today. I'm getting MUCH better. He refuses to take an MRI. Hey, why do that? It might show a real injury, then he couldn't play. If he just ignores the injury "maybe it'll feel better." If a couple of Nats pitchers had taken this view __not one I'm recommending__ the Nats prospects might be quite different.
Washington, DC: So if Schilling hadn't put together that incredible start on Saturday, the Yankees would be in first place today. The AL East is going to be an interesting battle down the stretch, especially with the last series of the season being the Yankees at Fenway.
So do the Sox hold out or will the Yanks end up pulling the edge?
Tom Boswell: Everybody has talked about whether the yankees would miss the playoffs. My prediction, subject to multiple revisions, is that the Red Sox __without an effective Schilling or Foulke__ will be the team that misses the playoffs. Red Sox pitching is lousy. Yankees are detremined, despite all their problems (10 wins this year after trailing by 10-or-more runs).
Will it be A's or Angels in the West. (My sentiment is with the A's.) And I hope the Indians make the wildcard. I don't dislike any of the teams involved, so any of the outcomes are all right with me.
It would have been nice to see one more Yankee-Red Sox battle, but I have a feeling that one of them won't make it to October.
Ottawa, Ontario: A comment, rather than a question - as a long-time (and since 1994, long-suffering) Expos fan, I am thrilled with what has happened this year with the Nationals, and delighted that I have been able to follow the season through your coverage and that of your colleagues. Thanks for that, particularly the way you see things in a larger context, which helps a lot with keeping things (both the great first-half and the, shall we say, less-than-stirling second half) in perspective.
Meaningful games in mid-September! There are LOT of baseball fans who wish they had that right now. Enjoy the ride folks.
Tom Boswell: Nice to think that there are still a few loyal Expo fans who still get to enjoy this season.
Alexandria, Va.: So you might give up your Orioles tickets and become a "free agent" -- does that mean you're including the Bowie Baysox as an option?
Actually I'm in the same boat -- sharing in an O's package for many years, and now owning a Nats package. Will probably keep the O's for one more year for the interleague games, but I was surprised at how quickly my interest in going up there dropped this year. The facility and the food may be better in Baltimore, but it's been a lot more fun (and a lot less travel) going to RFK.
Tom Boswell: Pat Gillick said to me, years ago, when he weas O's general manager, "You are watching the destruction of a great franchise."
Pretty unusual for somebody to say that while he is still the GM!
Nobody's ruined the Baysox yet!
Somebody should make up "Free The Oriole 25" T-shirts.
I keep think that, years from now, I'll wish I'd kept a least a small number of O's tickets. They can't stay bad forever. And it si a GREAT ballpark. But it gets harder. As a customer paying (very) high prices, the gall rises higher each year.
Ashburn, Va.: Can they just make up their minds!!!!!!! Win and make a real run at the wild card or lose and let us start the Hot Stove league!! These last few weeks have been like sitting in the dentist chair praying that the novacane has kicked in before he starts drilling!!! On the other hand, we could be the O's fans stuck with our big $$$ players watching in the stands...Thank God for the NATS!!!!
Tom Boswell: The wildcard race is actually even closer than it looks. The Nats schedule is just want it seems. But Florida has SIX games left with Atlanta. Phils have three with Atlanta and are now starting a nine-game road trip.
The Nats, as rotations now stand, will miss Pedro Martinez in BOTH their series with the Mets, including next weekend, while both the Phils and Marlins WILL face Pedro. Nice break.
The wildcard race may come down to how well the Brewers, who really want to finish above .500 and are a decent young team, and the talented but screwed-up Cubs, can do in their 10 remaining games against the Astros.
Just returned from a business trip to Lost Wages, where on Tuesday night I found myself in the hotel's sports book watching all three games impacting the NL Wild Card race simultaneously (I couldn't have watched the Nats game if I were here, but that's another rant).
This is how bizarre this race has become: I was rooting for the Phillies to beat Houston Tuesday, but for just the opposite result last night. Am I sick or what?
Tom Boswell: No, you're a baseball fan!
Frank Robinson said yesterday that his daily double for the night games was for Atlanta to beat Philadelphia and Houston to beat Florida. He got both his wishes.
Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.: So maybe we can put away all this talk of calling it curtains for Vinny. Guzman I can understand, but Vinny? come on, can we leave the man alone?
Tom Boswell: Yesterday I FINALLY figured this one out.
When Castilla arrived, Bowden said he hoped that he could hit as well as he had in his two years in Atlanta ('02-'03) and field well.
In Atlanta, Castilla averaged 543 at bats, 61 runs, 26 doubles, 2 triples, 17 homers, 69 rbi and hit .255 with a .704 OPS.
Well, right now, Castilla __playing most of the year on one knee__ is on pace for 522 at bats, 59 runs, 35 doubles, one triple, 13 homers, 72 RBI while hitting .251 with an OPS of .719.
So, Castilla is producing EXACTLY the numbers that Bowden wanted cfrom him.
However, it looks like Ryan Ziummerman __right now__ might well produce more. He looks more than impressive. But Castilla is important in the clubhouse and has been in the playoffs four times. He's a trouper, and starting to hit. (His knee finally hurts a little less.)
So, you're right: "Leave the man alone."
Arlington, Va.: Mr. Bos -
I have a 41-game package, and my seats are just a couple rows up in left field. Will you consider me a failure as a fan if I don't mercilessly remind Barry Bonds what a disgusting human being he is at both the Tuesday and Thursday games? (I'm hoping you say "yes," just so I'll have an excuse to be obnoxious.)
Tom Boswell: Be kind if you feel like it. However, it's a fact that his lawyer, last December, acknowledged that Bonds had used both the "clear" and the "cream" version of the BALCO steroids. But, of course, Bonds claimed he didn't know what they were.
I would say that the liklihood that Bonds is not a conscious cheater is quite small. Your response to him may depend on your generosity of spirit, your adherence to a high "burden of proof" or, of course, plain old-fashioned gullibility.
Silver Spring, Md.: Over the years I have enjoyed reading your columns and participating in these chats. But your column yesterday on Barry Bonds really disappointed me. In the column you encouraged Nats fans attending the game to go after Barry Bonds. I don't think that's appropriate material for an influential newspaper from an extremely well-respected and accomplished writer. I don't have a problem with you writing what you think of Bonds as a person and player, but you shouldn't instruct the fans on how to behave toward him or provide them with a justification for inappropriate behavior. Your words could very easily influence someone to throw something on the field or even, if they are very drunk, go out on the field itself to confront him. There is already enough bad behavior at sporting events. Why are you encouraging more of it?
washingtonpost.com: For Bonds at RFK, All Signs Point to . . . ? (Post, Sept. 15)
Tom Boswell: I doubt that Bonds arrival in town, or his past history, or the possibility that fans might react __as they have to Palmeiro__ would have gone unnoticed if I hadn't written about it.
Tuesday is a fan referendum. But a vocal one. It is NOT an opportunity to throw things at players __unless you want to go to jail. Let me say that throwing anything at a defenseless athlete is certainly at least as bad as being cheating in a sport.
The Atlanta Braves have been consistently successful since the early '90s due in large part to their farm system. You identified that The Nats farm system is pretty much a wasteland at this point. If the GM of the team next season identifies the repairing of the minors as top priority, and decided to trade veterans to replenish it, would you consider that a good move? It would be a bitter bill to trade some of these guys, I know that. But The Marlins have a $60 mill. payroll this year. If the new owners jack ours up from the $48m level to, say, $66m next season, the team could still acquire free agents, keep the team competitive, & build a long term dynamo of a team. What do you think?
Tom Boswell: The Nats, because of their strong play, may have some players __including some young players__ whose trade value is as high now as it will ever be. I would certainly take such trade possibilities seriously. This is an organization which __76-71 at the ML level or not__ does NOT have the depth of talent that produces sustained success.
There will, among other things, be a great deb ate on whether or not to trade Wilkerson or Church. Did Wilkerson just have one poor year __in which case it would be idiotic to trade such a very-good-not-great core player? Or is this the "real" Wilkerson. (Put me down as 100% DON'T trade him.) As for Church, he got hurt in the minors, he got hurt this year. But he is an absolujtely beautiful looking players. He hit over .365 in May-June combined. (He also hasn't had ANY home runs since he ran into the wall in Pittsburgh.) Church is a tough call because there will be offers. Can you afford to have two key players who are as talented, but as injury prone, year after year, as Nick Johnson and Church.
No respect: To me, it has appeared that the Nats get no respect outside of DC. For one, the payroll on this team is much less than the top contenders in the NL (outside of pitching which has been great, there is NO superstar on offense). Second, we don't have ownership or TV deal that would enhance fans to the Nats.
So in my book, playoffs or no playoffs the Nats have been a real positive for DC and sport fans alike.
Tom Boswell: Agree on all points. This last Mets sweep underlines everything that has been best about the team all year and take some (just some) of the bitter taste of clubhouse squabbling out of the analysis.
As I mentioned on Tony's radio show this week, I sometimes think that D.C. does not yet have a clear view of the SHAPE of this season. It's really very well defined. A 24-25 start. A major 26-6 hot streak. A major 9-24 slump. And, since August 11, a stable, competitive __but severely pitching-depleted__ period of 16-15 play.
IOW, the Nats have NOT been in a slump since July 4th. That's nonsense. They were in a very bad slump for five weeks. They have now been OUT of that slump for as long as they were IN it.
Now, what happens the last 15 games? With Carasco in the rotation! With Loaiza pitching on three days rest at least once and perhaps twice on the last day of the season. And with ANOTHER platooon-pitching game on tap next weekend against the Mets when Carasco can't start.
By the way, if his arm doesn't fall off his 35-year-old shoulder, and he can throw 75 pitches, as he did in his last start, it's conceivable that Carasco could be a perfectly effective five-inning starter in his three up-coming turns. He has great stuff. OTOH, he's never done it before. The Nats front office is still stunned (and not happy) that Halama, who has a long history as a competent starter, couldn't give them a professional performance in his three starts. Yes, Frank yerked him too soon. But the Nats still lost his three starts by 25-2. Bad front office pick-up. But poor performance by a veteran.
Burke, Va.: Boz -- does Bowden return next season or do you see a guy like Gerry Hunsicker being here?
Tom Boswell: As I pointed out, Bowden did not make a mistake on Castilla. He got his money's worth. So everybody can just drop that one.
On Guzman, he's hitting .302 in September! He has 10 extra-base hits in his last 71 at bats! He may be the team's hottest hitter. I don't think __after watching him hit .270+ of the last three weeks__ that you don't give him a chance to be the starting shortstop next spring, assuming he continues to hit decently in the last 15 games.
As Earl Weaver always told us, "Stick with 'em." Guzman's home run yesterday may not be the last of the surprises from him. You may even see him batting second __and approve of it__ before October 2.
Bowden gets big points for adding Loaiza (when nobody wanted him), Byrd (a steal for Chavez), Spivey (who'll be good trade bait over the winter), Drese (who may still be a $0 steal after arm surgery), Wilson (a 99-RBI pace in his 55 games as a Nat) and Carasco.
BUT, ultimately, no matter how much Robinson wanted to get rid of Ohka (11th win yesterday) and Day, it is still the GM's responsibility to make sure that a contending team has five starting pitchers in September. Not all quality, but at least warm bodies. I have NEVER seen a team end up with three starters __all pitching on fumes, by the way__ and a 10-man bullpen where you are risking the health of several arms. If anything costs Bowden a return invitation, that will be it. But OVERALL I had seldom seen a GM get so little credit for so many moves that were very good to decent. And even Guzman is not a total disaster __yet.
Don't be in a hurry to dump Bowden unless you are SURE you have somebody better. If he leaves the Nats and he and his core people AREN'T hired by somebody else, then the game has gone nuts.
Washington, D.C.: Yesterday in the 9th, how can Frank use Baerga to pinch hit instead of Short. Short already has more homeruns and has a good chance to at least get a sacrifice fly with one out and Watson on 3rd base. Might have saved us an inning. Why I dont necessarily agree with Moneyball, Frank's gut thing is starting to wear thin.
Tom Boswell: What about Jose Vidro, who was available on the bench and has a career average (.302) which is eight points higher than Frank's career average (.294).
OK, Baerga is a proven pinch hitter. Not special, but adequate.
Frank's addiction to veteran players gets on everybody's nerves. But it's his way. Short had a fine pinch-hit at bat against Glavine __ending in a 3-2 pitch base hit__ on Tuesday.
Boston, Mass.: What can you tell us about Rafael Palmiero? The man seems to be in utter denial that he is a cheater. I've kind of been appalled over some of the quotes recently attributed to him. For example: "I've always done things the right way" and "I've always played within the rules."
I wanted to forgive Raffy but his persistant refusal to apologize or show any sort of contrition makes me downright angry. (And I'm sorry to get political, but it reminds me of a certain friend of his in the executive branch.)
Please tell us what you make of his behavior.
Tom Boswell: I've known him for 15 years and I am mystified. And sad.
The secret places of the human heart __and conscience.
Anonymous: Just curious. John Patterson's performance on the field this year has been a huge, huge plus. Tom, are you with Frank, and apparently some of the players, in the feeling that he's not coming back as soon as he should (especially with guys like Wilky & Castilla playing every game since the Spring with serious injuries).
Tom Boswell: Leave Patterson alone. Frank was over the line this time. Patterson has pitched hurt, come back early. The guy was sick as a dog. He left one game becasue he was so sick and was ineffective in another. He's a tall lean guy who needs to get semi-healthy, get his strength back and pitch four good games down the stretch.
This "tough guy" stuff can go to far. Patterson is definitely "a bridge to far" on this one. Sometimes, Frank just gets too cantankerous.
Tom Boswell: In answer to several questions along new-ownership lines, I'm hearing rumors that Selig and Co may be considering anolther shamelessly cynical "bag job" like the way the Red Sox were handed to Henry-Lucchino because they were "baseball insiders" rather than the high bidders. It worked with the Red Sox. But ifr Jeff Smulyan (and Stan Kasten) are awarded the Nationals, it may be a disastrous decision for baseball, Washington and the Nationals.
Smulyan's credential as a baseball owner are brief and tissue thin. He's just part of the club. That's it. Nothing else on his side. He's not even particualrly deep-pocketed compared to others in the hunt. As for Kasten (playing the Lucchino role), if he's so hot, then maybe one of the LOCAL Washington grousp will pick him up as team president. Kasten is first rate. But he's no reason to give the team to Smulyan when D.C. has at last two totally viable LOCAL ownership group __Malek and Lerner.
The D.C. City Council and the public have every right to go bonkers if local ownership is bypassed __especially for undistiunguished outside ownership that smacks of Bud's Buddy string-pulling.
If the Nationals don't go to local owners, especially since, according to my sources, both Zients-Malek and lerner are willing to hit the magic $450-million-or-higher price, then the Council has every right to start thinking about doing a major refurbishment of RFK Stadium but NOT take the risk of spending $535-million on a new Anacostia River ballpark.
Doesn't Bud remember the most important name in D.C. baseball history: BOB SHORT.
I doubt that Washington will tolerate __or risk__ another carpetbagger owning a local baseball team. And it shouldn't. An 11th-hour end-run that gives Smulyan the team would be exactly like The Worst of Baseball. So, I fear it.
I know folks at MLB sometimes read this chat. Tell them that this Smulyan rumor is a ticking bomb. D.C. would be crazy to sign off on a stadium lease at a moment when it seems like the new team __now viewed as a gold mine__ might be handed off a "member of the baseball lodge."
The Malek group has worked for six years to bring baseball to D.C. The Lerner family would be eminently qualified __rich, philanthropic, the deepest imaginable local roots. OK, they never lifted a finger to help Washington get a team but, once it arrived and was a success, they said, "Wow, let's buy it!" But that's tolerable.
If you want to see long-time Washingtonians __like me and MANY others__ go ballistic, just try to jam an outside owner (who is a minor baseball insider) down our throats after various Washington business people and politicans have spent 30+ years trying to get a team.
I thought enough of us had made this point clear to Selig. Doesn't he remember the joys of dealing with Linda Cropp? Does the name Marion Bary ring a bell?
I hope that this Smulyan rumor is simply that __ a rumor. But in baseball, 11th-houyr rumors have a way of turning out to be The Secret Smelly Plan All Along.
Brooklyn, N.Y.: Pujols or Jones for MVP? Who do you pick and why? This is just too close I don't think I could choose.
Tom Boswell: Jones. Cards were going to win their division even if Pujols had an average year. Without a MONSTER career season for Andruw, the Braves might not even have made the playoffs as a wildcard. To me, Jones DEFINES an MVP year __a great player rising to another level for months when his team desperately needs him.
Plus, Jones is a GREAT centerfielder. Pujols is a first baseman, for heaven sake __a position of minimal defensive value, unless you're Keith Hernandez, which he isn't.
Everybody says this should be close. It's not. It's Jones.
New York: Tom- Enjoy your column(s). We saw our Nats play the Mets this week at Shea. The difference with the way the teams are managed is mind-boggling. The Mets are never engaged in the game, sleepwalking at Shea. The Nata, probably less talented than the Mets, are totally hustling, down and dirty ballplayers with a tremendous amount of heart!! They did us proud at Shea this week. Question: Do you have any feelings as who the new owners will be?? Any rumors, something juicy to share with us??
Tom Boswell: The Mets drip with talent. They have outscored the league by 64 runs, which should translate to about 88-89 wins. The Nats are really not terribly gifted. Okay, if they were ever semi-healthy maybe we'd get a better "read" on that. But the Nats have now been outscored by 31 runs, which ought to project a 77-85 type season.
Managing/motivation is a big part of the difference. Randolph is stoic and restrained by nature __dignified. That's just him. Frank has been a fiery demanding leader all his life, especially IN games. Willie may work more hours. Maybe many more. But Frank has more impact. Willie may, yesterday aside, be a better (more conventional) tactician. But Frank's hunch moves __his willingness to take blame if they blow up (and, man, some of them are beauts)__ set an example of an aggressive don't-be-afraid-to-lose attitude.
This week, the Mets were dead when they should have been alive. The Nats, for all the bitching about Frank, all his fussin' and feudin' with players, were able to suck it up and not quit when everybody had them in the ground for about the fourth or fifth time.
The crowd at Shea yesterday could not have been more than 3,000-4,000 at game time and 5,000 later. I thought I was back at a Senators game in '71. Barry looked up the attendance at RFK on the day it was announced that the Nats were moving to Texas. It was 1,072. That's "paid." Who knows how many actually came. (That year. in one of the few stories that a copyboy-coffee-fetcher was allowed to write, I said that "the crowd for yesterday's twi-night doubleheader at RFK were lined up outside the ticket window two wide and one deep.")
I loved your article about Bonds. It didn't give me any crazy ideas about running on the field or throwing anything at him. Anyone with the capacity of behaving wouldn't need to be provoked by a newspaper article. I will make a shirt or sign and boo vigorously. Peace!
Tom Boswell: Thanks more in the proper spirit of the thing, I'd say. Thanks.
Still Blacked Out: T-Boz, my favorite baseball columnist and favorite member of TLC, I hope I'm not too late to get in this week. OK, please tell us that an ownership group will not stand idly by while fans miss out on the chance to see an 3 game sweep on the Mets next year when the Nats are on the road.
This is sickening, radio is great, but this ain't the 20's, we should have TV. A new owner will step in and make sure the games get on the air. I mean we gave Angelso 75 million, so even if he gives us $21M a year for the next three years to not show the games, it only costs him 9M to stifle the growth of a fanbase....This is beyond ridiculous and MLB is leading the charge.
Please help Tom, you're our only hope....
Tom Boswell: A similar Tv deal greed war in New York, involving the Mets, took about 18 months to be resolved. Finally, about 1 million fans, who couldn't see their team, got "justice."
When the rich and the greedy, with lawyers by the phalax, get involved, it takes some time. Let 'em both bleed! MASN is losing a bundle by paying the Nats $20+ million NOT to resell their broaqdcasts. And Comcast is taking a well-deserved PR drubbing for refusing to buy the games because...well, because they want to keep their MONOPOLY and drive MASN out of business. (What is this, 1875 in the Ohio oil fields? Too bad that fans are losing MUCH more.
Crystal City, Va.: I've kind of been in the camp of saying the Guzman move was a disaster from a contract point. His play was surprisingly poor for most of the year, but I agree you have to give him a shot next year, and probably Vinnie as well. If oneof them plays poorly for the first half, then RZ comes up from AAA.
Does Minaya deserve a bit more credit than Bowden? Carl Everett for Majewski and Jon Rauch . A lefty set up guy for Ryan Church. Vazquez for Johnson and J Rivera, who became Jose Guillen. Yes, I'd love to have Grady Sizemore, Cliff Lee, and Brandon Phillips, but the Expos were in a Wild card race and all those guys were 3 years away from contributing (Sizemore only got a chance to play because Juan Gonzalez and Jody Gerut were hurt). Minaya signed Livan and left here with all those pitching prospects and middle infielders (Izturis, Machado, Harris) in place so Bowden could deal or release them
Tom Boswell: Good points on Minaya. Thanks.
Arlington, Va.: A little inconsistent there, aren't we?
You defend Patterson and refute the toughness argument. But when Church was going through his injury difficulties, you were quick to pile on.
Which is it? Does toughness matter or not?
Tom Boswell: My remarks on Church are simply part of covering the team. You can't bring up his name within the organization or the clubhouse without this issue being the first subject __with illustrations going back throughout his minor-league days.
I'm a huge fan of Church's talent and haven't seen him long enough to judge on the toughness-vs.-injury issue. BUT yesterday all the rookies had their clothes taken and replaced with women's clothes as a standard prank. Only one player __who had to wear a dress last year__ found that he'd have to wear one AGAIN this year. Never seen that before. Few missed noting it. I asked Church why he was so angry looking when the dress he had to wear "wasn't that bad." He said, "I had to do this LAST year."
Clubhouses are hard-edged places and all judgments are not fair. But to ignore this subject __about a player who is so obviously talented, smart and aware of his "rep," which he doesn't think he deserves__ is simply not to cover the team candidly.
Crofton, Md.: You ought to turn those paragraphs about local ownership of the Nats into a column...
Tom Boswell: It's safe to say that's under consideration.
Natsville: Isn't ironic that because the Nats were so successful this year, they have made a mint for the MLB owners who dragged them through the mud for 3 seasons?
Can't we find a tougher word than that?
Reality Check, Va.: That Burke answer is just INSANE-that's all there is to it. Guzman, despite what he may or may not do for the rest of the year, was historically terrible. Day for Wilson was questionable, Ohka for Spivey (trade bait?!?!?) questionable, Vargas (who COULD HAVE BEEN SENT TO THE MINORS WITH NO PENALTY) & Kim inexcusable.
Plus, no one EVER mentions the draft picks lost because of the Guzman(?) & Castilla signings.
Good things Bowden is responsible for: Loaiza, Carrasco, Guillen (maybe -- he's borderline loony, and those he was traded for aren't that much worse)
Tom Boswell: Oh, I forgot Guillen, didn;t I?
Day is doing nothing but getting bombed in Colorado (like last night). Check Wilson's numbers as a Nat. Exactly what Bowden said he wanted/expected to get __.250, but with punch.
Vargas looks like one of the worst moves of the year. But try to find ONE PERSON in all of baseball who dreamed he'd make such a transformation from Nobody to Decent Starter. This is the classic "secoind guess." Kim was an awful move. He wasn't much, but he was The Only Insurance Policy in the whole organization. At the time of Ohka-Spivey, Bowden was still aiming too high __thought he had the reincarnation of his out-of-the-blue Reds team that won 95+. So, he thought he HAD to get Spivey to cover until Vidro returned. So, he misread the basic level of his team. However, he also got Drese the same day. In essence, he traded Ohka for Spivey and Drese. The REAL problems is that everybody __including me, in this chat and other places__ said, "Look at Drese's numbers in Texas. They SCREAM "arm trouble."
But Bowden didn't hear the screaming. After a couple of exceptional starts (1-0 in Anaheim), Drese blew. Bowden should have smelled it, should have had backup and didn't. Isn't it easy after the fact. But that's how these things are graded in baseball. You act in real time, then get rehired or fired in hindsight.
Washington, D.C.: Admittedly its late - but are there any starting pitchers that might be available now somehow.
Tom Boswell: Yes, there are two available on waivers. I haven't found out their names. Neither is great __just useable. But, to get one of them for 15 games, you'd have to give up a prospect, and not a small one.
Soooo, many questions. Funny what one little three-game sweep will do!
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Senator Helms: "Here's Where I Stand"
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In his newly released memoir "Here's Where I Stand," retired North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) gives a candid account of his three decades in the U.S. Senate and the hot-button issues he was involved in, from Roe v. Wade to the AIDS crisis. Helms recounts his childhood in a small North Carolina town and his first run for political office, as well as his encounters with figures such as Presidents Richard Nixon , Jimmy Carter , and Ronald Reagan . Helms addresses a myriad of developments in his professional life, such as conservatism, the role of the Religious Right, and his tenure as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Retired North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) was online Friday, Sept. 16, at noon ET to discuss his newly released book, "Where I Stand: A Memoir," and his career in the Senate.
Read The Washington Post's review of "Where I Stand" here.
Burlington, N.C.: You said in your book that you saved taxpayers a great deal of money by not employing press secretaries. Do you feel that politicians today are too poll driven and press conscious?
Senator Jesse Helms: It seems to me that many elected officials are surrounded by staffers who encourage them to make decisions based on poll numbers and anticipated public or media response.
Takoma Park, Md.: Senator Helms,
First I want to praise you for recognizing that AIDS doesn't discriminate, and that it's not a black/gay/poor etc disease, but a human disease. Please continue to fight to end this horrible plague on humanity.
My question: Have you changed your opinion on the issue of gay civil rights, in particular marriage equality?
Senator Jesse Helms: First,let me say that I believe all citizens have rights guaranteed by our founders and described in our constitution.
Secondly, let me say that I believe that the institution of marriage pre-dates any human laws and was originated by God as the union of a man and a woman. We ought not to tamper with God's directives.
Philadelphia, Pa.: What was it that made you decide to go into public office? Were there particular goals who wanted to obtain while in office and, if so, what are some of the issues that first concerned you?
Senator Jesse Helms: I went into public service at the urging of others who thought I would stand up for conservative principles if I got elected -- which I never expected I would be. I was concerned about the growth of the Federal government and the intrusion into so many areas that had always been the responsibility of the individual states. And, I was concerned about our national drift away from traditional values.
Lyme, Conn.: The current Bush administration has abandoned the policies of even the elder Bush administration that the United States is more willing to act alone with building international consensus before it acts. Do you believe one philosophy is better than the other?
Senator Jesse Helms: I believe that our overarching principles must be protecting our national sovereignty, promoting a strong national defense and pursuing a moral foreign policy. Then, each issue must be examined individually. There are times when allies rally around and that is good, but there are times when we must act in our national interest even if ultimately that means standing alone.
Harrisburg, Pa.: What do you believe should have been the American response to mass deaths in Sudan? What should our policies have been?
Senator Jesse Helms: I believe we should have a moral foreign policy and that we must always speak out against abuse and urge the world community to take that same stand. The role of the UN peacekeeping forces is to step into these tragic situations.
New York, N.Y.: Where do you stand now of gay and lesbian issues? I am a lesbian and do not support the gay marriage issue, but do support Civil Unions. Do you support Civil Unions at all? Thanks.
Senator Jesse Helms: These are issues for the legislatures and the courts to adjudicate.
Jamestown, N.Y.: Who's the best conservative candidate for president in 2008 who can win against the likely Democrat candidate?
Senator Jesse Helms: As long and drawn out as the process may seem, primaries are an excellent proving ground for candidates. Naturally I hope a strong conservative wins in '08 over any liberal opponent.
Bethesda, Md.: Senator, thank you for your service. We did know where you stood, and this is in sharp contrast to those in the Senate today. For example, Sen. Feinstein said yesterday she didn't know whether she would vote for or against Judge Roberts, and Sen. Schumer said he had an open mind!
Balderdash. Why do you think the press lets these people get away with assertions such as that?
Senator Jesse Helms: It's always been my impression that the press is a little more generous with its treatment of liberals.
Roselle, Ill.: Senator, Thanks for taking my question. Please, could you explain to me why Republicans did not bat an eye lid when it came to spending $300 billion on nation building in Iraq but are having all sorts of deficit jitters when it comes to spending (possibly) $200 billion in our own country,rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina? Might it be because it overwhelmingly involves blacks here in this country or is just rank insensitivity towards this country's poor?
Senator Jesse Helms: Your question is based on false assumptions.
Winston-Salem, N.C.: It strikes me that you were overly kind to Jimmy Carter in your book. What did you REALLY think of him? How would you describe him, as president, in one word: poor, fair, good, or excellent?
Senator Jesse Helms: I'll let history make that decision.
I applaud what he's done with Habitat for Humanity.
Washington, D.C.: In your opinion and ideal world, what should the federal government be involved in vs not involved in?
Senator Jesse Helms: The answer to this would take a book --- and I happen to have written one.
San Francisco, Calif.: What present politician do you admire most?
Senator Jesse Helms: I have lots of favorites. The more conservative they are, the better I like them.
Washington, D.C.: What do you see yourself doing during the next few years?
Senator Jesse Helms: I'm looking forward to spending more time with my family.
Providence, R.I.: Mr. Helms, in your memoirs you have said that integration should not have been forced on the south by the federal government, instead local authorities should have been left to determine the matter themselves. Do you believe that the south would have voluntarily ended segregation? And if so why do you believe this?
Senator Jesse Helms: I know the people of the South and they are good people. That is why I believed that they would do what was right and do it in a way that did not create animosities.
Cleveland, Ohio: Senator Helms, thank you for taking your civic responsibilities so seriously during your years of service.
I am a law student who is contemplating either a career in public service or at the least devoting a large portion of my practice to it. What advice can you offer on balancing the desire to genuinely help one's community as a young professional and as a concerned citizen?
Senator Jesse Helms: I applaud your interest in public service and know that many young people go directly into such a career from law school. That is good, but in the long term it is often helpful to bring to public service the experience of working in the private sector. Of course, you may find like I have, that over the years your career will take you in and out of public service and that offers a good balance, too.
Do you feel that President Bush has been a disappointment as a fiscal conservative?
Senator Jesse Helms: It is not fair to judge the President before his term is over so I will not comment specifically. I can say that in all my years in public office, in fact in all my years of life, no President has ever been as fiscally cautious as I would have wanted him to be.
St. Louis, Mo.: Senator Helms, you have indicated that you believe that the individual States would have ultimately done the "right" thing with regard to civil rights if left to themselves. I would submit that the history of the United States prior to the Civil Rights movement does not support that assertion. What is your basis for the assertion?
Senator Jesse Helms: My basis for my belief is that I was there. I knew people of good will who were making great progress.
Baltimore, Md.: Will we ever again see a balanced federal budget?
Senator Jesse Helms: We can hope.
Birmingham, Ala.: Did you ever support Gov. George Wallace for President and if so, when and what was the scope of your involvement?
Washington, D.C.: From what you know, what type of chief justice do you think John Roberts will make?
What standard did you use to vote for/against Supreme Court justices? How did you vote on Ginsburg?
Senator Jesse Helms: I do not know Judge Roberts but I trust the opinion of people like Fred Thompson who have gotten to know him well.
My criteria for approving judges has always been based on their commitment to uphold the Constitution and not take on the role of unelected lawmakers.
Winston-Salem, N.C.: A lot of D.C.-types criticized the way now-Sen. Burr ran his campaign last year, yet he won comfortably. What are your thoughts on his campaigning style/strategy, and how do you think he's doing thus far in his first year in the U.S. Senate?
Senator Jesse Helms: I think Senator Burr is doing a great job in his first year. I'm proud to have had the opportunity to campaign for him.
Washington, D.C.: Any predictions for the 2008 Presidential race?
Senator Jesse Helms: No, it's much too early. I'm interested, as always, in the size of the crowd at the starting gate.
Do you feel that the labels "conservative" and "liberal" are sometimes overused, and at times in a derogatory manner?
Senator Jesse Helms: I'm more inclined to say they are often misused or mis-appropriated.
Washington, D.C.: How do you feel about Ken Mehlman's apology for the "Southern Strategy?"
Senator Jesse Helms: How can you apologize for something that, to my knowledge, never existed?
Boise, Idaho: Did LBJ's support for civil rights legislation surprise you?
Senator Jesse Helms: I did not know him personally so I did not know his views.
London, U.K.: Could you comment on your work with the United Cerebral Palsy organization? Thank you.
Senator Jesse Helms: It has been one of my favorite causes for many years. They do wonderful work in caring for children.
Burlington, N.C.: What are views on the U.S. relationship with China over the past 10 years?
Senator Jesse Helms: I appreciate the opportunities open to American business as a result of a closer relationship with China. At the same time, I do not think we should do anything that would indicate a reduced commitment to the independence of Taiwan or the rights of Chinese citizens to enjoy the free exercise of their religion -- or pursue their hope for a democratic society.
washingtonpost.com: Thank you all for joining us today.
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Tell Me About It
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Appearing every Wednesday and Friday in The Washington Post Style section and in Sunday Source, Tell Me About It Bæfers readers advice based on the experiences of someone who's been there -- really recently. Carolyn Hax is a 30-something repatriated New Englander with a liberal arts degree and a lot of opinions and that's about it, really, when you get right down to it. Oh, and the shoes. A lot of shoes.
washingtonpost.com: Carolyn is running a few minutes late, but she'll be here, so stay tuned. -- Liz
Carolyn Hax: Hi guys. Sorry for the delay.
Atlantic City, N.J.: Submitting early ... I have been married for about two years to a man who is a little too honest at times. He told me that his brother (in confidence) tried to convince him not to continue to date me, not to move in with me, and then not to marry me, all the way up to the point where he kept asking him "are you sure about this?" as they were waiting for me to walk down the aisle! To some, it might seem like brotherly concern but my feelings are hurt and I can't seem to get over it. I don't know what I could have done to make his brother so anti-me. I never really liked him before all this (he is pompous and self-centered), but I was always polite to him. I hate family gatherings because of him, so I really need to get over it. Help!
Carolyn Hax: This is high on the easier-said-than-done scale, but it sounds to me like having this guy as your enemy is a compliment.
And if that's too extreme an interpretation, you can still say to yourself quite credibly that you and the brother are very, very different people, who at best aren't going to warm to each other naturally. When he was arguing against you, he was probably seeing you though his eyes, not his brother's (ie, the self-centered vibe you get from him). The persistence falls under the same interpretation--he wanted a different sister-in-law for himself, who better suited his tastes. This happens ALL the time, with self-centered people and non-. All you can do is keep reminding yourself that you wouldn't have chosen him, either, and shrug him off.
Arlington, Va.: About the crappy relationships... is it possible to know it's crappy and end it with out really figuring out the reason you started the crapy relationship? Or is this how the cycle of always seeming to be in bad relationships starts?
Carolyn Hax: Certainly you can let a crappy relationship or two go by without explanation, as long as you're getting yourself out before it becomes a huge life-sucking exercise in indecisiveness. But if the only relationships you find yourself in are crappy ones, then you're in a cycle that I don't think you can end without identifying the source. Unless, I suppose, you luck into the right person, but I think you still need to be healthy enough to recognize that something is (finally) healthy.
Los Angeles, Calif.: I noticed that Dan Savage mentioned you in his column this week. I wonder- is there some sorta Advice Columnists Guild of America, complete with annual gala schmoozefest? Have you met Dan Savage at said event? Is he as ricockulously cool as he is in print? Thank you.
Carolyn Hax: I pity the caterer at that gala.
I've met Dan once, at an editors' conference where we were on a panle together, and he is funny as s---. There's also the occasional flurry of emails when one of us needs something advice-ish.
Concerned, D.C.: My best friend fell for an idiot. They dated briefly and it ended, because he is an idiot. Now my friend is in turmoil over this idiot and I can't understand why? He is, as I have mentioned, an idiot. Any tips on helping move her along in the recovering process?
Carolyn Hax: Whatever you do, don't be the first to use the I-word. And if she ever opens the door by using it herself, don't use it then, either. What you can do next time she airs her turmoil, if you're quick on your feet, is lead her to conclude he's an idiot with carefully worded questions--like, oh, I don't know (being not quick on my feet ...), were you happy with the way he treated you, did you hear warning bells that you subsequently tuned out, did you like who you were with this guy. Stuff like that.
Washington, D.C.: Hi, Carolyn, I wanted to ask a question about about last Wednesday's column (Sept. 7), but I wasn't here last week; I hope you will indulge me now. You wrote that it is "clear that a marriage is more important than a brother."
Do you really believe that? I don't actually have siblings or a marriage, but I don't think I could be comfortable prioritizing a fiance(e) over a brother or sister with whom I had been partnered from the beginning of life. The prior commitment takes precedence, don't you think?
That's not to say that I agree with the brother in question, the circumstances of who is right and wrong may alter things...
Carolyn Hax: Thanks for the chance to elaborate. I gave this a huge amount of thought, and I believe in what I wrote. I also managed somehow--probably through too many rewritings, which is what I often do when I put huge amounts of thought into things--to muddy what I was saying by the misuse of "clear." What I meant to establish as clear is that a brother is more important than a wedding. I didn't mean to extend the certainty to the much grayer issue of marriage vs. sibling.
Even though, like I said, I believe that, too. When you get married (using marriage here to represent all unions intended to be for life), you obviously keep your family and friends, too, but the focus of your daily life, your greatest energy and your future goals has to be your spouse. Or else you're not really in the marriage. That means, when the needs of a sibling clash squarely with the needs of a spouse, and neither party is being evil, the spouse's needs prevail. They have to. That's what the vows are about.
Obviously (and here's where the gray comes in) if the marriage ends in divorce, you've got no spouse and you still have your siblings. But if you're prioritizing your siblings with an eye to the fact that your marriage could end one day, then your marriage is probably going to end sooner than you think.
Hope that clears it up.
Dadsville, Va.: Hi -- just found out I'm going to be a dad. Could use a little encouragement from you and the peanuts on how while this will be a life altering experience, I'm not going to completely lose touch with my old freer self. And that I'll still have time to do "me" things.
Carolyn Hax: Slowly, you don't want to hyperventilate.
You will have very little time for "me" things early on. Get used to that idea now. You will need to -make- some "me" time--meaning, block it out on the calendar, plan for it, hire someone to cover it, defend it against duty encroachment--and you will need to take great care to make sure your "me" time doesn't elbow aside mommy's "me" time or your also-absolutely-essential couple time--but we;re talking a once-a-week thing at best here, unless you have a team of grannies or nannies. And it's to recharge you, not to give you your old life back.
At first. In time, you will slowly regain freedom and flexibility. The key is to keep your expectations low and let yourself be pleasantly surprised.
Part of that pleasant surprise, I hope, will be how much you love love love your kid. That's what makes a sacrifice that seems scary now feel automatic and (mostly) ungrudging when you get there.
Really. It's amazing. I swear.
re: marriage vs. siblings: Also, your marriage is something you've chosen to enter into with a person you've chosen to spend your life with. Your siblings are random people you're thrown together with due to circumstances completely beyond your control.
Obviously, we have greater responsibility to the commitment we've chosen to make rather than the one we have no say in.
Out West: Do you think there is truly a "I'm just not ready for a relationship with anyone answer" or is it really a "just not ready for one with you". A guy I really like started pursing a relationship with me, only to back off in the first couple of weeks because as he says, he really likes me but isn't ready for another committment (just got out of a long term relationship) and he thinks if we date, he is going to like me too much to not be in a relationship. Off course that means I'm not going to wait (sucks to be me -- I really liked him). But what I really think is if he had found a girl he wasn't willing to lose, he would totally change his mind, it's just that he is willing to lose me. Am I wrong here?
Carolyn Hax: Probably not. Or, probably. You know what? It doesn't matter. He just isn't the guy. Oh well. I'm sorry.
Washington, D.C.: What if the reason I'm in the crappy relationship is because I loved the guy before we started dating, but the reason it's crappy is because he's a crappy boyfriend (not particularly emotional or understanding of my emotions/needs)? Am I basically too afraid of being single to realize that we really were better as friends?
Carolyn Hax: But you already realize it. You're just hoping one day he'll wake up, realize how amazing you are and start treating you the way you want him to. No one can blame you for that. But I think you will start to blame yourself if you hang onto this hope beyond the point where the flashing purple GIVE UP signs start keeping you awake at night.
Re: Crappy Relationship (Washington, D.C.): Carolyn, I can't decide if I am in a crappy relationship or a crappy non-relationship.
Maybe you could date this guy for awhile and tell me what you think. Don't worry, you wouldn't have to do very much. He's leaving on business (international) for six weeks only to return in time to take a three week vacation to another far-away place. Oh, and he has this fun habit of making "tentative" plans and then not calling to cancel until hours after we were supposed to get together. Plus, he confided in me once that having sex once a month would be fine with him.
P.S. We're both professionals in our 20s.
Fun, no? In exchange for your generosity, I'll watch the twins for one night. I'm a great babysitter.
Carolyn Hax: Plus, you're free for the next nine weeks, every night but one.
But if it's okay with you, I'd rather be the chair umpire on this one. Tempting as your offer may be.
Fairfax, Va.: I laughed out loud when I read today's first letter, because my sister-in-law could have written it. Good answer from you, because if she thinks that her actions are going to get her respect, she's dead wrong. My mom has gone to a lot of effort to hide all traces of my brother's life before marriage (he's past 30, so it isn't like this was the first girl he ever dated) and to protect SIL's delicate feelings, but mostly the overreacting has gotten SIL plenty of eye rolling and "whatevers" from the rest of the family. Respect? Not a chance.
Carolyn Hax: I got a great letter in response to that answer ... let me dig it up and I'll post it. (Teaser: It's from her soul mate.)
Carolyn Hax: This'll take a minute, so how bout a sing-along--the big number around here right now is, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." Carry on.
Carolyn Hax: "Boy I don't know where you are coming from, your answer reflects an immature mind, and you are giving advice? Being a guy this is my viewpoint. Rather than leaving the room, I would have shoved off with my mate, especially since he agreed. Your column is now on our no read list."
re: not ready to be in a relationship: The example given by Out West doesn't quite add up this way, but I think it is quite possible to just not be ready for a relationship. For example, if you're still in love with the person who left you and you know you'd just fall into their arms if they came back, you might not want to get involved in a romantic relationship with someone you like and respect until you're certain that you wouldn't drop them if the one who left you came back.
Carolyn Hax: That's a good example, thanks. There are others, too, like feeling too close to the breakup to trust your own judgment. Or you just got through making a promise to yourself that you'd use this new freedom to start following through on X project or Y dream that you've put off pursuing.
Semi-Fluff He, re: Hey Carolyn - parenting opinion sought:
Do you swear in front of your kids? I mean like your "funny as s---" comment above. Just wondering.
I do, though I don't make a point of doing it to be difficult or anything.
Carolyn Hax: We've replaced all* pet profanities with "shneesh."** It was bumpy at first, but we started when they were too small to parrot us so we had time for it to become habit. It was a lot easier than altering our basic speech patterns, which have a fair*** number of insert-profanity-here beats. Like the phrase, "Funny as ----."
* We don't bat 1.000, but closer than we had any right to hope.
** What Percy used to say when he was learning to talk.
Okay, that's it for cutesy kid *%^($ today, I promise.
Washington, D.C.: What do you think about a guy who denies that his exes even exist? When one of his relationship ends, he can't even stand to hear the name of that girl. I once mentioned the name of a girl he dated over a year ago and he got mad at me for mentioning her name.
Carolyn Hax: This is why EXIT signs are illuminated and red.
New York, N.Y.: Online only please!
Carolyn and peanuts... I'm pretty sure my boyfriend is going to propose to me soon -- and this is a problem. I love him very much and we have so much in common, but, and it is a big but, the sex is less than great, mainly because he, um doesn't measure up. I can't imagine marrying someone who can't meet all my needs. How do I break up with him and not mention why? He is already self-conscious about it -- and if I say it is the reason I can't marry him, I would worry about him having to spend a decade in therapy. Because we have some much in common, we're growing apart or we are different people wouldn't really fly.
Carolyn Hax: 1. Please break up now, since an imminent proposal (I trust your judgment here) means you're leading him to believe there's a future when there isn't one.
2. The truth in less-painful form is that you feel more like great old friends than boyfriend-girlfriend, and you feel there's more out there, and even if you're wrong you have to try--or else wonder the rest of your life.
And to the guy who's reading this and gets dumped exactly this way in the next week: It's probably just a coincidence. Really. Thousands and thousands of people reading this.
Thanksgiving: I know it's too early to be thinking about this, but what do you do when you just want to spend a nice quiet day at home on Thanksgiving with your spouse -- with no other family obligations? We love our families but just don't feel like doing all that running around to his parents/my parents house to please everyone else. It's just too stressful. And don't suggest I have them all over to our house to avoid the running. Tried that. disaster. His family = uptight and conservative. My family = loud, liberal, pot smokers.
Carolyn Hax: Didn't we hear from you last fall?
"We've decided to spend a quiet Thanksgiving at home this year, just us." Make it pro-you and not anti-them, even if the response you get forces you to say to them explicitly, "This is pro-us, not anti-family." Though the true Thanksgiving bird is anyone who guilt-trips you for making this decision.
This is a testament about why family ties are not as strong in the US as they are in foreign countries. Just because you are born into a family and have no choice in the matter shouldn't mean that you forsake loyalty, blood ties and those people who have been there for you from the beginning because you got married.
I'm not trying to sound bitter, but as a single person, my family and friends matter a lot to me and I invest a lot of energy and time into these special relationships. But according to your logic, all that turns into bubcuss once any of us gets married. Why should the bond of marriage be more important than any other special bond?
Carolyn Hax: Yeah, I'm completely distracted now.
What was I going to say.
Oh, I was going to steer you back to the "you obviously keep your family and friends, too," since I type these things because I actually mean them, and not just to provide speed bumps on the road to Huffyburg.
And some relationships have to be more important than others when you live a life that forces you to make difficult choices, and set priorities, and upset one person in order to please another (yourself included in both sets of people). If anyone out there has found a way to avoid these things, then please do share with the rest of us.
Carolyn Hax: As for our way vs. that in other countries, our geographic sprawl and economic structure have imposed on us cultural choices that don't necessarily make us family-forsaking monsters.
Advice to Dadsville: Rather than bring this up with a columnist and a bunch of strangers, he'd be better off discussing this concern with that lady who just moved to "Momsville." She's got the same conerns and they need to be open and honest about it.
Carolyn Hax: True, I suppose. But I also think there's something to be said for exploring the feelings a bit beforehand, and collecting a few other viewpoints, so you don't come home and dump, "I'm not sure I can hadle this," on the lap of someone so pregnant she no longer has a lap.
Washington, D.C.: Regarding me-time for new parents: What do you do when your spouse doesn't believe in me-time, at ALL? Our child is TWO and my husband and I have yet to have an evening out by ourselves. I've taken a very few blocks of a few hours of me-time (we're talking half a dozen in two years), always offering (pretty much insisting) that my husband take an equal or greater amount of time, but he never has. He says he doesn't need me-time, and that I shouldn't have decided to have a kid if I wanted any. I've pretty much resigned myself to not having any personal time or adults-only/couples time, but I really think that just a few hours once a MONTH would keep stress at bay and help me feel recharged. When I've pressed the issue, he's told me that if I'm going to be an absentee parent, he might as well just divorce me and get full custody and have me pay child support (this is for suggesting a once-a-month break). I definitely don't want a divorce, and we don't have any other problems in our marriage aside from this issue. Should I just let it go?
Carolyn Hax: Oh my goodness no. Wow. I have a hard time believing everything else is hunky-dory with someone who's so controlling and hostile.
I'm sorry, I fear this post is going to be preceded by a longer-than-usual gap of dead air, because I am speechless.
I would say that an hour or two of "me" time, on a weekly basis, makes people -better- parents, not absentee ones, because it helps clear the mind--does he not believe in sleep at the end of the day? This is merely the emotional equivalent. And, it helps kids adjust to having other people in their lives ... but letting that stand as my answer would dignify his absolutely horrifying words to you.
Any chance he's a couple beans short of a soup?
That would put a nicer, if obviously difficult, face on it.
Anyway. Must regain powers of speech. I urge you to find a way, somehow, to talk to a good marriage and family therapist--go alone to begin with, so you can talk freely about what your husband says to you in response to your request for time off. Maybe you can take your 2-year-old and bring along a family member or good friend to babysit for the hour? I hate the subterfuge but I think it's a lesser evil.
Re: New York: Unless New York has managed to hide all indications that she is dissatisfied with her sex life from her boyfriend, I think he'll figure it out. And he'll ask. And if he does, I think she should answer more or less truthfully. She could place the emphasis on the fact that she just wouldn't be happy with a bad sex life for the next 40 years, instead of on his...inadequacies. But if she denies it I think it'd just make it worse. The only thing worse than being dumped is being dumped by someone who's obviously lying.
Carolyn Hax: Good point, thanks. I also think she can say "WE don't work well physically," because that's probably a lot more accurate anyway than, "You're inadequate." He could be great for someone else. This is why human variety is so unassailably great, even when it can make for a really miserable afternoon of bathing-suit shopping.
Bubkes: I think it's crap that you mocked someone for misspelling the word bubkes. I'm speaking to both of you...
washingtonpost.com: Bob Cuss... is that you?
Oh come on. You know we leave spelling and grammar alone here. That was just a particularly funny misspelling.
Absentee Parent?!: I have a hard time believing that the writer has no other problems in the marriage other than this -- but, then again, this is so huge maybe it obscures all the others. Really, so scary, that someone would (a) believe that a few hours off a month constitutes absentee parenting, and (b) would threaten to divoce/seek full custody over a few hours a month -- don't know much about the D.C. courts, but am pretty sure that no court would consider that an unreasonable request/grounds for granting sole custody to him -- just to put her mind at rest on that point. In addition to a therapist, might want to talk to a lawyer friend up there -- not for divorce advice, but just so she knows how empty that threat is/can stand firm on her desire for some time off. Jeez.
Carolyn Hax: Thanks. I just can't get my mind around the fact that someone would just toss off a threat like that, for any reason.
I'm posting this for the good information in it, but also to show that I;m not the only one saying this is an intolerable line for the husband to be drawing.
re: Me-Time: We've been married 23 years and rarely took any "me time" outside the house. What happened to that time between putting the kids to bed and going to bed yourself? Isn't that "me time" enough?
Carolyn Hax: If it is for you, then I'm not going to argue otherwise. But to speak only for myself, the change of scenery of a restaurant or a friend's house or a concert has proven restorative beyond measure to this home-based writer and zookeeper. I like the world. I miss it. And 30 minutes into it, I miss the zoo.
New York: I've been married for a year and a half. The relationship has been up and down. We moved to a place where we had no friends and I ended up with a lousy job and have been fairly unhappy since.
I just moved back to NYC to start a new job while wife is back home until she finds one here. I was a bachelor here for about five years until I met my wife and enjoyed myself. Now that I'm back and on my own and in a more exciting place, I'm starting to think that I should be a bachelor again. Everything just seemed so much simpler and easy then and I'm still young enough to do it again. We're also close to trying to have kids which I thought I was excited about until I came back here.
I just feel like if I'm going to make a change I need to do it now...I'm really starting to freak out that I'm even having these thoughts. Does that mean there's something wrong with my marriage or I'm just reacting like any other normal man whos afraid of getting old and leaving his youth behind? advice? thanks
Carolyn Hax: I think you should talk about this with your wife. And I advise this knowing the truth could hurt her terribly. But the alternatives include 1. her feeling the same way but not knowing how to raise the issue with you, which could make this the best conversation of your lives--or 2. your never saying how you feel and her sensing, miserably, that you're there without really being -there-, which could make this the worst non-conversation of your lives.
Of course, there's also the possibility that this is just a blip, a normal "ahhhh" moment that many feel in the happiest marriages when they're ALONE for once, and that telling her would take the light out of your marriage--so before you launch into The Conversation, scour your soul for any hunches, insights, truths you're not telling yourself. It could be as simple as waiting till you spend time with her next, and seeing how you react to that.
Re: me-time: I hate to say it, but I agree with Washington, D.C.'s husband. Actually, I don't hate to say it. I feel the same way he does.
You don't raise a child when you feel up for it, or when it's convenient to you. If the parent(s) are unwilling to make that 24/7 commitment, the time to think about that is before having sex. "Me" disappears when "me" has to take care of raising a child 24/7. You are no longer "me," you are "the child's parent." Note that "the child" comes first.
Before you or any of the readers ask, no, I don't have children. Because of job commitments, I'm unable to commit to children, and I would be absolutely unwilling to foist them off for somebody else to raise. That's what's wrong with so many children today.
Carolyn Hax: THANK YOU for not having children. When two hours a week of time away hits your eyes as "foist[ing] them off for somebody else to raise," then your eyes are seeing parenthood through a deeply distorting lens.
I refuse to have my commitment to my children questioned because I need to go to the dentist or get a haircut. Not that those are even close to the only times my kids are in someone else's care, but they're two normal reasons the 24/7 viewpoint is a fall-off-your-chair laugher. Do I stop being a parent when I'm apart from my kids? Of course not. Which is why I choose the places I go and the people who care for them as carefully as I've made any decision in my life. A parent is a parent 24/7, but to spend 24/7 withholding kids from the world--and not -trusting- the world to help take care of them--is to do a grave disservice to the kids.
Me-time for spouses: My husband and I don't have kids, but I've been struggling with the me-time issue anyway. He thinks that we should only need each other. He doesn't have, or want, any friends that he sees socially. And he doesn't have any interests that he pursues without me (other than his work). I've got my work and exercising as "me" things, and one girl friend that I see about once a week. Other than that, it's all "us" all the time. I think I would be happier if I could pursue some other interests, but whenever I bring it up he gets very depressed and asks me why he isn't "enough" for me, since I am "enough" for him. Any ideas on how to get through to him (ps, he is opposed to therapy of any kind).
Carolyn Hax: Of course he is, because he knows he's wrong. This is a deeply insecure man. He is clinging to you the only way he knows how, by keeping you from the whole world. He doesn't trust you to see the rest of the world and still want to be with him. (There is a very fine line between this attitude and abuse (www.peaceathome.org).)
Do not yield to such unhealthy demands. Handle them sensitively, because this is your husband after all, but do not yield. Go to counseling and explain that you're going with or without him; gently insist on taking the time you need; reassure him that you love him without ladling it on just to get out the door. "I love you, and I'm seeing my friend because I like my friend, and because our love is not so fragile that we can't survive missing each other occasionally." Be careful, too. If you get scared, trust it.
And note to anyone who is in the early stages of a relationship like this: This kind of all-we-need-is-each-other BS is not romantic, it's desperate. Please don't rationalize away your reservations about it.
Re: NY Husband: Yikes! That one is scaring me because it could be my husband!
Probably not but I'm ambivelent about the separation; sometimes I am happy about the extra time and freedom and other times I miss him terribly. I'd definitely want to know if he was feeling how he is BUT I'd definitely want him to wait it out a bit because feelings change.
He was miserable WHERE he was so that factors into it a great deal. (Same with my husband -- eerie...)
Carolyn Hax: Thank you, what a great look at the other side.
Siblings v. Marriage: I don't understand why this is actually an issue for anyone. Wouldn't it be weird if mom and dad picked their sibling over each other? That's exactly what it is. Instead of thinking about it from the vantange point of the sibling, note how your parents probably focused on each other and you rather than the family they were born into.
p.s. I did think that single person sounded bitter by the way.
p.p.s. I do think the US is less natal family oriented than other societies but I don't this is the greatest example and that our culture is necessarily a bad thing.
Carolyn Hax: Another great post, didn't see it till now. Perfect framing of the argument, to use mom and dad. Thanks.
The controlling father in your last post: ...could have been my Dad growing up.
she owes it to her kid to do something, anything. Or her kids will grow up very anti-marriage and avoid commitment like the plague.
-- signed, a daughter who saw it all.
Carolyn Hax: Last word, thanks, since I also just saw the clock. Whooie got meself all caught up today. Thanks, guys, and type to you next week. Same bat time, same bat angst ...
kids need me time, too: One really good thing to remember is that child development shows that children (especially when they start to hit toddlerhood) actually need to be away from parents for some amounts of time to develop appropriate senses of self and to get over separation anxiety. Your children will be part of the whole world, not just your world.
Carolyn Hax: Thank you thank you for the reinforcement.
Bob Cuss here: Is there a more inmature response than storming out of a room? Whether you say something beforehand or not, isn't the ADULT thing to always discuss your problem rationally and give the offender an opportunity to respond?
Carolyn Hax: I think the more immature thing would be to stop to moon everyone as you storm out. Not to be contrary or anything.
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Welcome to Real Estate Live, an online discussion of the Washington area housing market, featuring Post Real Estate editor Maryann Haggerty .
Maryann's been with The Post for 18 years and has served as real estate editor for the last five years. She's been a business and real estate editor and reporter for about 25 years. In all that time, she still hasn't figured out where you can find a lovely but inexpensive house in a charming neighborhood.
Today, we discussed the specifics of the market, from condos and investment properties to contracts and mortgages.
Maryann Haggerty: Hello, folks. In downtown D.C., the sun seems to have peeked out, so I hope that's a good sign. Thanks for joining this discussion.
Why don't I start off with a few numbers? As the regulars here know, I have no clue whether there's a housing bubble out there. But I do have a report on my desk, from the National Association of Business Economics, which surveyed a panel of 202 economists.
Of those experts, only 14 percent believe there is a national housing bubble, but 79 percent believe there are major local bubbles in various areas. (But they don't say which ones!) Of those, 83 percent said they would buy a primary residence at today's prices, but just 17 percent would buy investment property.
So let's hear what you have to say!
Sterling, Va.: Maryann, I'm a firm believer in statistics, but I don't have access to MRIS. Do you have any idea what the year-over-year home sales figures for August 2005 look like? Is there sign of a housing slowdown in the NW section of D.C.? Any anecdotes? Thanks.
Maryann Haggerty: I just pulled up a few MRIS reports, and here's what they show. (Please, folks, don't ask me about every county in the region. These reports are set up in a way that makes it cumbersome to get more details. So I've just sampled some biggies.)
So, for you number wonks:
In Northern Virginia (Fairfax/Arlington/Alexandria/Falls Church): 3,112 units (houses & condos) were sold in August, down 8 percent from August 2004. Time on market increased to 21 days from 18. Inventory numbers are sliced-and-diced differently, SO: Fairfax County only, single-family only: Inventory of unsold houses is way up, about 60 percent higher, to 3,350.
Montgomery: Units sold dropped 7 percent, to 1,767 from 1,897. Days on market also dropped, though, to 22 from 25. Single-family inventory up 15 percent.
In D.C.: There were 1,012 units sold, up 20 percent from 841 last year. Days on market crept up to 28 from 27. Inventory of unsold single-family houses rose 17 percent.
In both areas, prices popped WAY up -- maybe 18 percent in Montgomery, 25 percent in the others.
As far as Northwest only -- too small an area for me to measure in this circumstance.
Falls Church, Va.: I am 25 and about to get married. My wife to be and myself make a combined income of $160,000 a year. After pricing out some real estate options and calculating our earning from our condo we would have about $120,000 in cash for a down payment. This would barely allow us to buy a small $600,000 to $700,000 rambler home in McLean.
How come people with much lower incomes then us are living in $800,000 to $900,000 homes? Isn't real estate out of whack if the person living in the home couldn't afford to buy it? The average household income for Fairfax County is $80,000 and our income is much higher.
Maryann Haggerty: People are living in those houses for one of three reasons:
-- They have lived there a long time
-- They bought the house with equity they built up in another house they lived in for a long time
--T hey came into a lot of cash otherwise.
This brings up something I have been thinking about: We seem to have lost the perspective that a house, as a financial investment, is not supposed to be a lottery ticket. It is supposed to be an inflation hedge. Homeownership is defensive investing. So the housing market is NOT out of whack if someone is living in a house that they couldn't afford to buy today. Rather, their inflation hedge has allowed them to maintain their lifestyle.
Capitol Hill: Hi Maryann -- two weeks is too long between chats! I'm sure you're swimming in questions. We're would-be buyers in North Capitol Hill with a pretty low price range (by D.C. standards). Capitol Hill North is awash with overpriced properties that just aren't selling. Inventory grows every day and we're just astounded by the number of sellers that aren't lowering their prices at all, despite sitting on the market for six weeks or more.
What are your thoughts on putting in offers that are lower-than-list prices? It doesn't seem like folks in D.C. are doing that, though it makes sense for buyers to start taking control of things and putting in offers that are more in line with the condition and neighborhood of the property. We've been searching for a place all summer, and things have been pretty gloomy at times, but I feel a change in the air... perhaps from a "seller's" to a "buyer's" market?
Maryann Haggerty: Put in a bid for what you think the property is worth. The seller can only say no. (Well, sometimes they can get very insulted and say "no" in a sorta nasty way, but that's their right. It doesn't hurt you.)
Here's a sort-of rule about real estate markets in transition: Sellers can be very reluctant, almost stubborn, about lowering their prices. And those sellers who put their houses on the market as a test -- "If we make an obscene profit on this house, we'll sell and take a round-the-world trip" -- are the most unlikely to cut prices. But people who really do want to sell -- say, they have a job offer in another city -- may accept a lower price.
Concerned Agent, Alexandria, Va.: Hi Maryann,
I enjoy this discussion forum, and I know it is very informative for the regular Joe/Jane. My comment/question is as follows: The numbers of properties for sale around the D.C. Metropolitan area have dramatically risen, and prices have flattened out or even dipped in the certain localities. But I still see some real estate agents pushing buyers aggressively to put contracts beyond the sale price.
This may have been the "norm" back a few months ago, but the greedy agents, and the uneducated buyers, are ignoring the new reality on the ground. I am a licensed agent in VA, and I just did a quick number crunching for the Fairfax county area properties using MRIS. If you want to buy a property under $500,000 then you have a choice of 1,729 properties (Condo/Fee simple) available for sale (this doesn't include the condo conversions that are popping up everywhere in the county).
And of these properties, about 33% or 586 properties have been on the market longer than 30 or more days. Again, this is just in Fairfax County. If you add the surrounding counties and cities the number of listings would be even more. Please warn your readers that they don't have to jump on the first property they see, and should be aware of agents who try to push them into buying.
Maryann Haggerty: Here's some advice from an agent in the field, who came up with some more interesting results from those same MRIS numbers I crunched...
Picking a realtor: Hi. I am in the Shenandoah Valley and was wondering if you could give me some pointers on picking a realtor to sell my home. Since November and December are bad selling months, I am going to try to sell myself for these two months and then, if no luck, pick a realtor to sell.
Maryann Haggerty: I'll parrot columnist Bob Bruss' good advice on this one. Look around your neighborhood and talk to your neighbors. Determine which agents have been the most successful there. Interview at least three of them. Find out how they would price and market your house. Have them explain what they would do to earn that commission. Get references and check them. Then, based on your research, pick the one with whom you are most comfortable, and sign a three-month listing agreement.
Bethesda, Md.: Hi, Maryann: Our condo has been on the market a week today, and there hasn't been a tremendous amount of interest (mostly neighbors at the open houses, not many agents bringing in clients). We priced it slightly below what the last comparable unit in the building went for. We don't want to carry two mortgages forever, but are not desperate to sell. My husband thinks it may take 30 to 60 days, but I keep telling him that's out in the real world, not in our market, unless you're talking about really expensive properties. Ours is less than $300,000. How long should we sit tight before we decide to drop the price?
Maryann Haggerty: Well, a lot longer than a week!
Gaithersburg, Md.: I'm a new real estate agent in Montgomery County. Do you suppose real estate buyers/sellers are now more educated than in the past? What would you suggest are some of the main things new realtors must worry about in a market like the current one?
Maryann Haggerty: Yes, I do think buyers and sellers are a lot more educated. The heightened interest in the subject over the years, plus the increasingly easy access to information, have made the clueless consumer more of a rarity.
What should a new agent worry about? Well, first, you have to realize that many many of the new agents who jumped into the business because it looked like easy money are going to fail. They always do. Those who succeed will be those who take their business seriously -- it's a business, not a hobby -- work hard & provide excellent customer service.
Virginia: I bought a house directly from the owner. There was an addition built in the '70's; I don't think that it was done with a permit. What problems, if any, will I face when I go to sell the house?
Maryann Haggerty: When you sell that house, you should disclose that the addition is unpermitted. If there are structural problems, that could turn a buyer off.
You may want to investigate the as-built permit process, to get legal. Or, if you don't want to do that for any reason, at least do yourself a favor. Have a good electrician in to look over that very important system & make sure it is safe. OK?
Alexandria, Va: How can I back out of a new home pre-construction purchase without losing my initial escrow down payment of $20,000 (May '05)? The home will not be ready until July 2006 and the builder is having a hard time selling the homes. I just received their loan papers to start the mortgage process. Thanks, AK.
Maryann Haggerty: Read your contract. See what you have committed to. Maybe have a lawyer read it. You may have some outs there -- but the truth is that standard new-home contracts are tilted VERY heavily in the favor of the builder.
Cleveland Park: My wife and I currently live in one-bedroom condo that we purchased last year. We are interested in buying a small row home in Capitol Hill this winter or early spring. Is that too soon to move and sell the condo? What is your outlook on Capitol Hill area? Thanks for your help!
Maryann Haggerty: Well, think strongly about making sure you live in the condo AT LEAST two full years, so you don't lose your capital gains tax exemption on any profit you make! "I just feel like moving" is not a good enough reason for the IRS to allow you a partial exemption.
And what do I think about the Hill? Well, I live there and I love it. I think prices have climbed at a sometimes-astonishing rate, but I also know that there are people, some of them first-time buyers, who have bought there recently. Your equity from the condo will help you in the affordability part of the game.
Elkridge, Md.: Maryann, I've got a 1935 bungalow with the bedrooms and 1.5 baths. I'm going to have (1) an alarm system installed that's monitored by a company and (2) a propane-fueled backup generator installed permanently and hooked up to my electrical system (just to differentiate between it and the generators that can be temporarily hooked up).
In general, can you tell me how these two will affect my home's value? And what percentage of the cost will be recovered when I sell the house? Thanks!
Maryann Haggerty: Those will likely have little effect on home value. The alarm system is pretty much a standard in many neighborhoods. If that's the case in your neighborhood, you need to add it just to come up to even with the neighbors. (But your insurance company will give you a price break on your rate, so that helps.) I doubt you can put a dollar value on amount you get back on the addition of the backup generator, either. Off the top of my head, I would say some, but by no means all, of your investment. (Unless you happen to sell right after a big power outage!)
Both of these are the kind of upgrades you make because YOU want them, not because they're a big added bonanza at sales time.
Norwalk, Conn.: I may relocate to Northern Virginia next year. We heard Route 66 is a mess. May try to be near Dulles Toll Road. Is the transportation issue down there hurting the resale of condos and houses? Realistically, what time of the morning do you need to leave in order to avoid the gridlock?
Maryann Haggerty: Oh, lord. Gridlock. I-66 is a mess (and a carpool-only mess during many hours). The toll road ain't so hot either. Despite all logical thought, horrible traffic and $3-a-mile gas don't seem to be depressing those markets, though.
What time do you need to leave? Depends what time you need to be where you need to be. I'd allow more than a hour in the main rush (even though "rush" has become a quaint old-fashioned concept here) to get from Dulles area to Arlington. Add even more time for downtown. Sometimes you're better off leaving AFTER rush, but not everyone's boss likes that idea.
Before you pick a location to live, please try to test the commute in real time, more than once.
North Bethesda, Md.: We are thinking of purchasing in the North Bethesda area and wondered what you've heard about the likelihood of the Canyon Ranch project coming to that area. The real estate agents have said that the Canyon Ranch would make North Bethesda the "new" place to be in the area, but others have said that the Canyon Ranch development is not going to happen at all.
Have you or your audience heard anything about this project? And, assuming that this upscale spa does settle in, what would it mean for real estate values? Thanks for your advice!
Maryann Haggerty: That's been a squishy project -- it's not for sure yet, and not NOT for sure. Keep an eye on The Post for updates -- we do have reporters following it. Big commercial real estate projects often take a long time to pull together.
Now, what effect would this have on the neighborhood real estate market? Well, it will add about 400 high-end condos, plus apartments and hotel rooms. It may just improve the general tone of the place (or maybe it just worsens traffic, who knows?). But I don't see that it will by itself raise demand for other homes in the area. I mean, who do you know that decides where to live based on which spas are in the neighborhood?
Odenton, Md.: I recently purchased a townhouse in Odenton very close to Ft. Meade, where thousands of new jobs are expected in the next year or so. What, if any, impact would you expect this to have on property values in the area, especially in light of the apparently slowing housing "bubble?"
Maryann Haggerty: I think Ft. Meade is one of those areas that is likely, in fact, to see a positive effect from the base-closing-and-realignment process.
Simple equation: More jobs means more housing demand. And some of those jobs are moving far enough that people may want to move. (Unlike, say, Arlington-to-south Fairfax. It's just not all that far.)
Arlington, Va.: What would you tell a relative who was contemplating an interest-only mortgage in order to make the payments affordable to get a house in a "nicer" area? Let's say they were a young (30-something), married, two-wage household. I am just concerned because, if they want kids, how will they ever start paying off the loan if they can barely afford it now, and they have all the expenses (and possible lost income from the mom working less) of parenthood?
Maryann Haggerty: I would tell them to be very careful and work out their future budget. Do they have a realistic hope that salary will jump in the five years before they get the big payment shtick? (I mean, things are different for a lawyer on partner track vs., let's say, an environmental activist.) If I were really worried, I might give them a copy of the book "The Two-Income Trap," which is a big dose of cold-water reality in this circumstance.
Columbia Heights, Washington, D.C.: I am facing a dilemma between paying off credit card debt and the idea of jumping in and buying my first home in D.C. At my current rate, I'll have the credit card debt paid off in a year. I'm concerned about the rising prices in D.C. and worry that I ought to own and stop wasting my money on rent. I have access to enough money for a down payment and closing costs from my 401(k) plan right now. What are your thoughts?
Maryann Haggerty: Pay down credit card debt first. It will screw up your credit rating. And try to avoid dipping into your 401(k) if at all possible. Please.
Fairfax, Va,: Hi Maryann -- I am totally addicted to these chats!
Quick question -- how did you get access to the MRIS? Are you an agent? Or do you get special privileges as a journalist who writes about these things?
Maryann Haggerty: Not an agent, no special privileges at all. For the kind of numbers I quoted at the top of the chat, just go to www.mris.com and look for market statistics! They're not necessarily easy or fun to read, but they're all there. (Inventory stats -- again, public -- are at www.nvar.com and www.gcaar.com.)
Much of the job of journalists these days -- particularly business journalists, which is what I consider myself -- is to sort through the almost infinite amount of data available publicly and boil it down to digestible chunks. I spend 20 minutes with a calculator so that 20 of you have to spend just one minute reading...
Washington, D.C.: Do you think the Washington, D.C., market slowed down because we are about to have a new mayor in 2006? What impact would the new mayor have on the market? In what section or neighborhood of the city would the market take off as it did in LeDroit Park, 14th & U St., Brookland, etc.?
Maryann Haggerty: Oh, geez, I think these are totally disconnected cause and effect!
(Of course, I also remember all the infuriated residents of Northwest who swore they would sell after Barry was re-elected that last time. And I can't remember one of them that actually did so.)
Dallas, Texas: I've been wondering about two things recently since I have many friends who are currently renting houses. It appears that the rent they are paying is significantly less what the house payment would be if the house would sell. Isn't this some indication of a bubble? If housing itself is so in demand wouldn't these rents also be climbing to significant levels since the demand is for housing?
Has there been any studies of the housing rental market vs. buying in the D.C. area? Wouldn't this give more of an indication of what the true value of the market? I'm confounded with the idea that we try to compare apartment vacancies and rent to the housing market to indicate a bubble. I would say the population of those seeking to rent apartments is the same population that at any given time would be actively trying to purchase a house. Any thoughts? Also, any idea what percentage of home loads are now unconventional (interest only, etc)?
Maryann Haggerty: Indeed, when rents are significantly less than ownership costs, that is an indication of a bubble. I haven't seen any studies on this question in this market, and we haven't had the time to do one ourselves. It might be worth buckling down to some day soon.
This was in a story I edited recently: "Nationally, interest-only and adjustable products made up 63 percent of mortgages written in the second half of 2004, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association."
I've been a realtor for 3 1/2 years and recently joined a group of investors who want me to find "distressed" properties. I've been studying about foreclosures, pre-foreclosures, etc. Is there a "simple" way to find distressed properties? These folks want to nearly double their investment, and have rehab teams, etc. to help improve properties. Thanks so much for your help!
Maryann Haggerty: If it was simple, everyone would be doing it. Sorry.
Richmond, Va.: I recently moved to Richmond after many years in Northern Virginia, and I keep meeting so many former Northern Virginians! They ALL have moved down here for a better standard of living -- much lower housing costs, less traffic, etc.
I love it here, especially my beautiful, affordable house, in one of the best neighborhoods in the city, walking distance to shops and restaurants, and my 11-minute, seven-mile commute to work. Ah, life is good.
Maryann Haggerty: I also like Richmond -- but guess what, it's a two-plus-hour commute from my job! I still remember standing on one highway overpass or the other at 5 p.m. on a work day and looking down and seeing almost NO traffic! Of course, from where I was standing, you could see the state house, which is a reminder that downstate politicians have lavished major bucks on the Richmond infrastructure while turning their backs on Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads, the two areas that actually produce jobs.
Washington, D.C.: I'm still reeling from a horrible homebuying experience, which eventually ended with me getting out of the contract. In brief, the seller and listing agent were unresponsive and shady, renovation work substandard and even dangerous, and the closing process revealed one problem after another and culminated in major (preventable) damage done to the house a few days before closing.
The house was off-market for a several weeks and recently re-listed again for $50,000 above the original list-price (and $25,000 above what we planned on paying) with a write-up that indicated the house was back on the market after "additional renovations." Curiosity led us to attend a recent open house, and little of the damage was really corrected. The house is in far worse shape than when we originally contracted on it.
We really don't want to see another person go through the experience we did with this seller and agent, especially for a jacked-up price. Do you have any recommendations for actions we could take that might save someone else some grief?
Maryann Haggerty: Not really. You'd be in some trouble if you stood outside during open houses with a sign that said, "Liars!," right? These "bad" properties do become known within the real estate agent community; a good buyer's agent will steer clients away. But if a homebuyer is so desperate to buy a roof that she waives all her consumer protections -- things like inspection contingencies -- well, it's tough to protect people from themselves.
Vienna, Va.: Please tell me what I should be extra careful of when selling a house on my own, (i.e., for sale by owner)? Would it be worth it to pay to get on MLS? Is it mandatory to pay commission to the buyer's agent? If so, what percentage? Any advices on for-sale-by-owner would be appreciated.
Maryann Haggerty: Read some books on this, please. There are plenty of them. If you go into the process knowing as little as I'm guessing you do, you might as well just invest in a kick-me sign.
Specifically: The MLS is the most comprehensive way for buyers to find you -- at least, buyers who work with agents. If an agent brings you a buyer, you will in all likelihood have to pay 3 percent commission.
If, though some fluke, you put a sign out in your front yard and a buyer without an agent shows up with a checkbook -- well, you've avoided all those costs. But at least -- please please please -- get a good lawyer involved in the transaction.
Herndon, Va.: An hour from Dulles to Arlington? I commute every day from Herndon to Rosslyn, and it never takes more than 30 minutes. Of course, I leave home at 5:45 a.m.
Maryann Haggerty: You leave home at 5:45. am.
Mount Airy, Md.: Can you comment on 1031 exchanges for the novice? Tenant in Common or NNN leases in conjunction with a 1031 might offer improved yield and simplicity. Also, is it hard to place such an investment over into your IRA and what pros and cons are associated with that?
Maryann Haggerty: Ahh, once again I get to quote Bob Bruss: "Please consult you tax and financial advisers."
To McLean: You need to talk to a lender or mortgage broker. Unless you have a ton of debt, $120,000 for a down payment and an income of $160,000 will get you into something well above a starter box.
How about someone build 400 low-end condos that some of us real middle-class working folks can afford? You know, the basic ones that let you live your life in a place of your own with a kitchen, one or two bedrooms and the very basics of everything? The type that sell under $200,000? That would be a nice dream.
You know, places for the under $150,000 a year people this area has priced out, and the governments don't care about.
Maryann Haggerty: Nice idea, but who's going to subsidize them? That's the real problem. We live in a system where development is spurred by the profit motive. And if you think that there's a profit in the plain-vanilla-condo business, maybe you want to become a developer yourself. That may sound cold -- it IS cold -- but people have been known to do it.
Arlington, Va.: Hope I'm not too late. I have a bone to pick with a lot of the posters on this chat. Prince George's County is NOT affordable. It seems like Prince George's County is often mentioned when people complain about having to live far away to afford a single family home.
My wife and I make about $80,000 and are increasingly discouraged about buying our first home. We knew nothing about the area and looked at lots of different communities. Sure, if I had $300,000 to spend on a condo in Arlington, I might choose to buy a bungalow in Hyattsville or Mount Rainier. But I don't have $300,000 to spend on house/condo/whatever. $300,000 is not affordable!
The newer suburban parts of the county are just as bad as suburban Virginia. No, thanks, I can't spend $900,000 on a new house with granite countertops. I'm not moving to Pennsylvania, so it looks like I'll stay in my apartment for awhile.
Maryann Haggerty: "Affordable" is obviously a relative concept. But a $300,000 house will involve a mortgage payment of about $1,800 a month -- less if you have a good-sized down payment. Many people pay more than that for an apartment each month. And guess what? At $80,000 a year, you probably CAN afford that. (My quick back-of-the-envelope calculation shows that one-quarter of your gross income is $1,667 per month.) As one poster said a few minutes ago, maybe you want to talk to a banker. It's not about the big up-front price tag. It's about monthly costs.
RE: 401(k): Using your 401(k) money for a down payment on a house is a horrible idea. Not only are there penalties if you do not pay it back in a certain amount of time, you lose all the compound interest you would be making during that time, as well as the contributions you WOULD be adding if you did not have to pay on the original loan (neither of which you can play catch-up).
I say, if you cannot afford to pay the down payment by other means, then you just can't afford it, period.
Maryann Haggerty: Thanks. That's what I tried to say, but I was typing much more quickly.
Springfield, Va.: I am trying to start investing in real estate. I have a townhouse with a low rate and over $200,000 in equity. Is it wise to get a home equity line since the rates are still down and use it to buy my next piece of property?
Maryann Haggerty: Do the numbers work on the property you want to buy? Can you make the payments? Is that your cheapest source of money? If things go less-than-perfectly, can you STILL make the payments and not lose your primary residence?
It's all about math, I'm afraid.
Washington, D.C.: Hi, I love your chat. I want to ask you a question I've never seen being asked before. How important is a green card in today's loan approval decision? I've been in the United States for nearly a decade, my green card application is pending approval.
In the past, I didn't have problem getting a good loan for my current residence and several refinance afterwards. But for I'm going to move to a new house, and the loan officer asked for my green card. Do you know big difference a green card will make? (I assume higher rate and maybe tougher terms for people without green card.) Thanks.
Maryann Haggerty: There are lenders -- some big respectable ones -- who will increasingly lend on a Taxpayer Identification Number only. And if you have a green card application pending (don't quote me on this, I'm not an immigration specialist) then you're legal, right? Shop around.
Even if you're not Hispanic, many of these loans are aimed at the Hispanic market, so you may want to check with a nonprofit that concentrates on that market to find out more details.
Rockville, Md.: My neighbor has a large gum tree in his yard and portions of it hang over my house. I recently had some trees removed my my yard and the contractor noted I should have those branches that hang over my house trimmed back.
How should I go about getting my neighbor to trim his tree? Who's responsible if those branches fall and damage my property?
Maryann Haggerty: Branches on your side of the line are your responsibility. You get to trim them.
If the tree is a real danger -- i.e., it looks like it's going to fall -- then you should notify your neighbor of the problem. But if a branch drops, and you haven't trimmed it -- that's not his problem.
Also, in terms of real life, just talk, please, OK? He's your neighbor, not your enemy.
Maryann Haggerty: Thanks, folks. I have to run -- there's a meeting to get to.
Tomorrow's Real Estate section features a cool story on how to choose materials for an environmentally sensitive kitchen renovation. Of course, there's all the usual good consumer advice. So pick up a copy, OK? It looks prettier on paper, and makes for a nice way to relax with your Saturday morning coffee, wherever you may have that coffee!
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.
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Join Post Real Estate Editor Maryann Haggerty as she discusses all aspects of the local real estate market.
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Bush to Request More Aid Funding
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President Bush will call tonight for an unprecedented federal commitment to rebuild New Orleans and other areas obliterated by Hurricane Katrina, putting the United States on pace to spend more in the next year on the storm's aftermath than it has over three years on the Iraq war, according to White House and congressional officials.
With the federal tab for Katrina already nearly quadruple the cost of the country's previous most expensive natural disaster cleanup, Bush plans to offer federal assistance to help flood victims find jobs, get housing and health care, and attend school, according to White House aides.
In a speech from the flood zone, Bush will commit the federal government to what many predict will become the largest reconstruction effort ever on U.S. soil.
The president will call on Washington to resist spending money unwisely, but some in his own party are already starting to recoil at a price tag expected to exceed $200 billion -- about the cost of the Iraq war and reconstruction efforts. As emergency expenditures soar -- with new commitments as high as $2 billion a day -- some budget analysts and conservative groups are warning that the Katrina spending has combined with earlier fiscal decisions in ways that will wreak havoc on the government's finances for years to come.
Bush and Republican congressional leaders, by contrast, are calculating that the U.S. economy can safely absorb a sharp spike in spending and budget deficits, and that the only way to regain public confidence after the stumbling early response to the disaster is to spend whatever it takes to rebuild the region and help Katrina's victims get back on their feet.
"I think absolutely it's going to convert the political landscape in Washington," Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) said of Katrina's impact. "We do have a social safety net in this country. Those aren't just words. Government has a role to play in people's lives."
Hours before Bush speaks, the Louisiana congressional delegation will present its tab for reconstruction and rebuilding efforts, which could put pressure on Bush to spend money in areas not currently on his agenda. In addition, aides said yesterday that nearly 2.5 million have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help and that Education Department officials estimate the number of displaced students to be approaching 400,000. Officials from several departments raced yesterday to complete proposals that Bush can talk about in his speech and in the days to follow.
The Education Department, for instance, is readying plans to waive No Child Left Behind requirements for some states; to provide cash assistance to school districts absorbing students; and to finance new schoolbooks, demolition and reconstruction of school buildings, and temporary trailers and new teachers for schools bursting with Katrina evacuees, Republican aides said.
The way in which the administration plans to spend money -- and not just the amount -- is raising caution flags. In a letter he plans to send to Bush today, Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ohio) said the president should scrap the administration's plan to deploy as many as 300,000 mobile homes to temporarily house people. Turner said the victims would be better served by market-rate and subsidized housing already in place in other regions of the country. A dozen Republicans also lobbied Bush to appoint a disaster czar to oversee the reconstruction and relief efforts in the South, an idea the president has, thus far, resisted.
Administration officials concede that the hurricane and its aftermath could push the budget deficit back above $400 billion next year, or about 3 percent of the country's gross domestic product, just as the tide of federal red ink that rolled over Washington during Bush's first term had begun to recede.
Since Katrina struck, Congress has already spent $62.3 billion, dwarfing the inflation-adjusted $17.8 billion that Congress spent on hurricanes Andrew, Iniki and Omar, which struck in 1992, and the $15.2 billion emergency appropriation for the Northridge, Calif., earthquake of 1994. The entire Persian Gulf War of 1991 cost less than $83 billion in today's dollars.
The libertarian Cato Institute warned yesterday of a looming "budget disaster." In meetings with GOP congressional leaders and White House aides, some Republican lawmakers have expressed alarm about the growing price tag and concern that vast sums could be wasted without proper oversight.
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President Bush will call tonight for an unprecedented federal commitment to rebuild New Orleans and other areas obliterated by Hurricane Katrina, putting the United States on pace to spend more in the next year on the storm's aftermath than it has over three years on the Iraq war.
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AOL, Microsoft Discussing Possible Internet Joint Venture
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Microsoft Corp. is considering acquiring a stake in Time Warner Inc.'s America Online Inc. unit, one of a number of possible Internet joint ventures the two companies are discussing, people familiar with the talks said.
While no transaction is imminent, a broad range of options is under review, said sources who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are confidential. Those options include combining Microsoft's MSN online service with Dulles-based AOL, establishing a combined advertising sales force and enabling users of their separate instant messaging services to communicate with each other.
The talks, reported yesterday by the New York Post, are part of a broader set of discussions between Microsoft and Time Warner that began following an antitrust settlement between the companies two years ago. As part of that, the corporate giants have been working together closely on the development of digital rights technology that would enable computer users to download motion pictures for a fee.
The prospect of Microsoft acquiring a stake in AOL grew out of a Microsoft proposal earlier this year to make its MSN search engine the main search provider on AOL, replacing Google Inc. "Microsoft is looking to put more eyeballs in front of its search engine," said David Card, an analyst with Jupiter Research.
But AOL turned the offer down. Such a move would have given Microsoft the kind of clout it has been seeking in its fierce battle with fast-growing search engine leader Google, which earned more money from its partnership with AOL last year than from any other relationship.
After AOL rejected the MSN search proposal, the parties began examining other ways to combine forces online that would lead investors to assign greater value to their Internet operations.
"It is no big secret that Microsoft and Time Warner have gotten closer over the last couple of years," said Scott Kessler, an analyst with Standard & Poor's Corp. "The fact that there are these talks is not a surprise. The question ultimately would be how this would be structured, what the price would be and those types of things. A lot of folks observing this are taking a wait-and-see attitude."
Google, which Wednesday raised more than $4 billion by selling fresh stock to the public, also reaffirmed its close ties to America Online. Google provides search and ads for AOL in the United States and Europe.
"Google and AOL have a healthy global partnership, and AOL remains a valued partner," Google spokesman Michael Mayzel said yesterday.
Officials from Microsoft and Time Warner declined to comment publicly on the prospects for a deal.
In its discussions with Microsoft, Time Warner has made it clear that it wants to continue to own a substantial chunk of AOL, sources said. America Online gives the New York-based media giant an Internet presence. AOL has roughly 20 million subscribers -- and generates a mountain of cash annually. Through the main AOL Internet service and other properties including Moviefone and MapQuest, the entire AOL network has a monthly audience of about 112 million computer users, according to ComScore Media Metrix.
One possible outcome would be for Time Warner and Microsoft to each own stakes in a combined AOL-MSN operation. In that event, sources said, Microsoft probably would also pay Time Warner cash, since AOL has a more robust business than MSN. Both sides are continuing to analyze exactly what businesses they might be willing to put into a combined operation and what each would seek from the other party.
The high-level discussions about a possible transaction have involved senior officials from Time Warner and Microsoft, as well as top executives of their respective AOL and MSN units. They are occurring against the backdrop of shareholder activist Carl C. Icahn pressing Time Warner to spin off its cable television division and take other steps to boost its flat stock price. But sources said the discussions predate Icahn's recent arrival on the scene and are part of Time Warner's continuing efforts to translate its far-flung media holdings, including Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., People magazine and Home Box Office Inc., into a higher stock price.
Another possibility that has been discussed is putting AOL and MSN into a newly created entity that would sell stock to the public, with Time Warner and Microsoft continuing to be its major shareholders. This move would be aimed in part at ramping up the size of AOL and MSN to compete better with their larger rival, Yahoo Inc., and its 119 million unique users.
One source familiar with the talks said he considered a transaction combining AOL and MSN as complicated and a long shot. But he said that if the parties can figure out how to create more value by joining forces, a deal of some kind remains possible.
The main driver behind the discussions appears to be that AOL and MSN want to participate more fully in the growth in online advertising. "Google and Yahoo are growing faster in ad revenue than the other two," Jupiter's Card added.
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Microsoft Corp. is considering acquiring a stake in Time Warner Inc.'s America Online Inc. unit, one of a number of possible Internet joint ventures the two companies are discussing, people familiar with the talks said.
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Rupert Murdoch, Bending With the Wind
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Could the post-Katrina mood swing take the heat off the bellicose Fox News brand?
Its media competitors keep scanning its ratings -- in vain at the moment -- for signs that Rupert Murdoch's cable station will wilt along with President Bush's poll numbers. At New York gatherings, one much-masticated indicator of possible zeitgeist shift is that even though Fox still leads the pack, CNN's increases during Katrina were greater in percentage terms than Fox's.
Transatlantic Murdoch watchers can tell you that all this is wishful thinking even without the demonic TV skills of Fox's supremo Roger Ailes. Less publicized than Murdoch's fierce political conservatism -- undoubtedly his private conviction -- is his readiness to turn on a dime when it's commercially expedient. That suppleness is one of the things that make him such a formidable opponent. Nothing distracts him from his business goals -- not ideology, not friendship, not some inconvenient promise, not even family.
No one in London believed that the Sun, Murdoch's rabidly Thatcherite tab, would ever support the Labor Party. But in the 1997 election Rupert was quick to spot Tony Blair's rising star. The tabloid cowboy editor, Piers Morgan, kept a diary of working for Murdoch while editing his scandal sheet the News of the World and wrote a book that rode the bestseller list all summer in Britain. "The Tories look like dying donkeys," he notes in a diary entry in August 1995, "and Blair is starting to resonate with the public as a fresh, dynamic, viable alternative. Murdoch doesn't back losers and he is talking in a way that suggests he might ditch the Tories."
That shift had begun privately in 1994, when Blair and Murdoch met for the first time over dinner in an upstairs room in the Belgravia restaurant Mosimann's, as another of Murdoch's Boswells, Sunday Times Editor Andrew Neil, records in his memoir: "Blair indicated that media ownership would not be onerous under Labour; Rupert that his newspapers were not wedded to the Tories."
The comparisons often made with William Randolph Hearst are misleading. Like Hearst, Murdoch was a liberal populist as a young man and moved far to the right in middle age. But Hearst, once he switched, kept his flag flying from the same ideological pole. When the vehemently anti-communist Rupert wanted to expand his television beachhead in Asia, he didn't hesitate to cancel a book contract by his HarperCollins imprint with the former governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten, rather than risk alienating the Chinese. Bruce Page, author of "The Murdoch Archipelago," described to me Murdoch's outwardly authoritarian character as "fluid nothingness at the core -- less a matter of drives than lack of the containing structure found in normal people."
Friends and colleagues were all floored in 1998 when he suddenly dispatched Anna, his second wife of 31 years, with breathtaking speed, fired her from the News Corp. board and married a 32-year-old go-getter, Wendi Deng. Anna, it's said, had wanted Rupert to ease down the work drive. Rather than change his life, he changed his wife, a familiar pattern in other moguls but surprising for the famously uxorious Rupert.
New York magazine's cover story this week is an epic survey of the dynastic dilemmas of Rupert Murdoch since the arrival of two new heirs and the departure from the company of his eldest son, Lachlan. But the question of what happens in the unlikely event he ever dies is irrelevant -- at least in the news arm of his organization. Even when not physically present, he lives so pervasively in the heads of his executives that he will find a way to channel his influence from wherever. Morgan's diaries bristle with paranoia about such psychic interventions. Whether he was yanking a photo of a dead gangster off the front page because someone told him Rupert hates pictures of dead celebrities ("stiffs don't sell papers") or ruminating that a fellow editor had been forced out for backing Margaret Thatcher's opponent in the Tory leadership contest, Piers couldn't get the boss out of his brain. (God knows he hung around in my own head for a time when he fired my husband, Harold Evans, as editor of the Times of London.)
Murdoch's newspapers -- British, American and Australian alike -- operate on a policy of what the historian Michael Marrus, author of "Vichy France and the Jews," has called "anticipatory compliance." French authorities were never instructed to round up the Jews but did so because that's what they thought their conquerors wanted. There was a memorable Vichy moment in the New York Post at the end of August when the Iraq constitution deadline fell apart for the last time and the Page One screamer read "IRAQ DEAL!"
The difference between Fox News and Murdoch's other news outfits is that Ailes is almost as formidable a figure as the boss. And Ailes is a former GOP operative to boot. During the Katrina crisis Fox has excelled at the basics of covering the story while toning down some of the political bluster. Ailes does not spend his day reading Rupert's tea leaves, but if Bush continues to slump in the polls, a shift of gravity to the center -- or any rate a lowering of the bullhorn -- might ultimately serve his interests as well as Rupert's. Being constantly tagged as a Bush stooge has become a drag for Ailes, whose success at Fox owes more to his inventive TV gifts than to Republican positioning.
Recent friendly meetings between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Murdoch, recorded in the New York Observer, may be early signs of embryonic bet-hedging. Has Rupert begun to stir and put his loyalties in play again? Given his oft-expressed contempt for "gabfests" (second only to Bleeding Heart Journalism as a Murdochian term of abuse), it's interesting that he will be showing up for the Clinton Global Initiative that starts in New York today.
Murdoch knows that occasionally shifting his political support in an unexpected direction is a tactic that increases his power. It means no one can ever take him for granted, and it is an effective means of convincing politicians that helping him with his business interests is both prudent and wise -- that what's good for the News Corp. is good for America/Britain/Australia.
When Murdoch's executives start publishing diaries about working for Rupert in the Dubya years, my guess is you will see an entry, dated sometime in 2005 or 2006, about the shift in mood on the day he first murmurs that the neocons "have started to look like dying elephants."
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Could the post-Katrina mood swing take the heat off the bellicose Fox News brand?
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Global Health Chief to Leave Gates Foundation
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Richard D. Klausner, global health director for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and former chief of the National Cancer Institute, said yesterday that he will leave the Seattle foundation Dec. 31 to start a new venture.
Klausner said his decision to resign has "absolutely" nothing to do with revelations on Friday that congressional investigators looking into possible financial improprieties during his tenure at the NCI have asked the Government Accountability Office to expand that inquiry.
Capping a multiyear investigation, the House Energy and Commerce Committee in August sent a 17-page confidential letter to the GAO outlining accumulated evidence against Klausner, according to Friday's issue of the Cancer Letter, a privately published investigative newsletter.
The congressional letter to the GAO, which the Cancer Letter posted on the Web late last week, suggests that Klausner did not properly recuse himself from a decision to award a large NCI contract to Harvard University when Klausner was applying for various jobs there, including the university's presidency.
If the GAO does pursue the issues raised by the committee, it could lead to a painful new chapter for the health agency, which just finished rewriting its rules on employee conflict of interest after a series of difficult congressional hearings. While the recent policy changes were implemented to minimize employee financial conflicts, the new questions relate to how the agency procures scientific goods and services through its contracts.
Contacted by e-mail yesterday, Klausner -- who served as NCI director from 1995 to 2001 -- said the timing of his departure from the Gates Foundation was unrelated to the investigations. He said he will reveal details of his new venture "in a few weeks."
"I am very happy with this decision and my time at the Gates Foundation," he added.
Joe Cerrell, director of global health advocacy for the Gates Foundation, echoed that view in a telephone interview, saying the timing was "purely coincidental."
Klausner has for "several months" been talking to the foundation's president, Patty Stonesifer, about moving on to something new, Cerrell said. Those discussions culminated in a "mutual decision" that Klausner would leave his $442,000-a-year job at the foundation, Cerrell said, which donates billions of dollars to the battle against global health scourges such as tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS.
At the center of the congressional inquiry was a contractual arrangement between the NCI and Harvard to create a "molecular target laboratory." The lab would help identify molecules with the potential to influence biochemical pathways involved in causing or preventing illness.
According to the letter from Congress to the GAO, Klausner recused himself from all issues having to do with Harvard for two one-year periods: once starting in June 1999, while he was being considered for a job with a Harvard affiliate, and once starting in December 2000, when he applied for the presidency. Nonetheless, the letter to GAO states, "documents and witness statements provide reasonable grounds to believe that [Klausner] participated personally and substantially as a government employee in matters affecting Harvard."
Among the letter's allegations are that Klausner appointed several members of an independent review group that assessed Harvard's bid for the contract and maintained communications with Harvard researchers, which may have helped them win, in 2002, the coveted $40 million, five-year contract.
Klausner later became a board member and adviser to a company co-founded by some of the Harvard scientists who won the NCI contract.
Klausner has repeatedly said that his activities were approved by National Institutes of Health ethics officers and violated no rules.
An NIH spokesman reiterated yesterday the agency's long-standing promise to fully cooperate with the committee and the GAO.
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Richard D. Klausner, global health director for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and former chief of the National Cancer Institute, said yesterday that he will leave the Seattle foundation Dec. 31 to start a new venture.
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Rock Climbers Chafe at Park Service Restraints
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Christopher Paik has been climbing the steep rock face of Mather Gorge at Great Falls Park for 10 years. Like many other rock climbers, he believed injury was just about the only thing that could keep him from the sport.
But that was before the National Park Service announced a plan that could restrict climbing in the park to preserve the landscape and restore such rare plant species as the Nantucket shadbush and flattened spikerush.
Now Paik and other climbers say the use of the popular cliffs and ledges that attract hundreds of rock climbers to the Virginia side of the river each week is in jeopardy.
"They want to reduce the impact [on the land], and the way to do that is by restricting climbing," said Paik, 44, a lawyer for the Securities and Exchange Commission. "But the view [of climbers] is that practically speaking, the restrictions would ban climbing."
"The plan is not to close off all rock climbing," said Patrick Gregerson, chief of park planning for the national capital region. "It's to close off a few routes that have potential [for plant species] to come back."
Gregerson noted that park officials plan to work with the climbing community to draft a climbing management plan.
The park is at the northern end of the 15-mile Potomac River Gorge, which is one of the country's most ecologically diverse areas with more than 200 rare plant species, officials said. Each year, nearly 500,000 people visit the 800-acre park to hike, bike, ride horses, kayak, rock climb and fish.
Although officials said there is no evidence that climbers have damaged the rare plant life, there is evidence that over time the thousands of visitors who have clambered over the park's ledges have unintentionally trampled tree roots and thinned vegetation. Moreover, officials said they have an obligation to safeguard threatened plant species, at least one of which -- the Nantucket shadbush -- is so rare in Virginia, it can be seen only in the park.
"What we can say for sure is that there are a number of state-listed rare plants that grow within the climbing areas," said Brent Steury, a natural resources program manager for the Park Service. "To what degree they're impacted by rock climbing, we don't know. But if they're there, and they are, the rock climbers have the potential to impact these rare species."
In an effort to reduce that impact, officials released a proposal last month to close off some cliffs to climbers and install static anchors in other locations where climbers could tie their safety ropes in order to climb. Currently, climbers pick their own spots along the gorge's mile-long cliff face and affix their ropes to rocks and trees. The plan also suggests regulating safety and access to the area by requiring climbers to have permits.
The permits, officials said, could require climbers to specify where on the cliffs they plan to be and could help rangers and emergency workers locate climbers in the event of an accident.
Climbers have been enjoying use of the park's 70-foot cliffs since the 1930s, largely unfettered by rules or restrictions.
Local climbers said they would be happy to accommodate reasonable restrictions to preserve the landscape. But they worried that the proposal to limit where they could drop their ropes would not only greatly reduce access to the cliffs and cause crowding but also that the need for permits would be an unnecessary hassle and discourage climbers from visiting the park.
"I don't think anyone intended for [the plan] to have this serious an impact," said John Gregory, 55, vice chairman of the Blue Ridge chapter of the American Alpine Club and a climber of Mather Gorge for 30 years. "I don't think anyone intended to stop climbing. But when you look at the sum total of the effects, that's what's going to happen."
A public hearing on the draft plan will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at the park's Great Falls Visitor Center. A comment period will follow.
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Get Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia news. Includes news headlines from The Washington Post. Get info/values for Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia homes. Features schools, crime, government, traffic, lottery, religion, obituaries.
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As Questioning Begins, Euphemisms Abound
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Early in yesterday's hearing into his nomination to be chief justice, John G. Roberts Jr. took the Senate Judiciary Committee in an unexpected direction, praising Justice Robert H. Jackson, who served as Franklin D. Roosevelt's attorney general before joining the high court.
"As he went on the court," Roberts told the senators, "he took an entirely different view of a lot of issues, in one famous case even disagreeing with one of his own prior opinions. He wrote a long opinion about how he can't believe he once held those views."
The committee's ranking Democrat, Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), was puzzled. "Are you sending us a message?" the senator asked. Laughter bubbled from the gallery.
Roberts added that Jackson "recognized, when he became a member of the Supreme Court, that his job had changed And he took a different perspective. And that's, again, one reason many admire him, including myself." A couple of the conservatives on the committee looked up anxiously.
The exchange was emblematic of Roberts's performance on the first day fielding questions. Roberts, star litigator, adviser to presidents and top-flight jurist, showed that he could be something else: the very model of an enigmatic nominee. The Roberts who answered questions for eight hours yesterday was very much the Roberts who emerged in his writings released over the summer. He maddened the committee's Democrats, delighted its Republicans and charmed most of both.
He was sharp-tongued. When Leahy made a skeptical query about one of Roberts's Reagan administration memos, the nominee retorted: "Senator, you're vastly over-reading the memorandum."
He was quick on his feet. When Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) fired off a series of questions without allowing Roberts to answer, the nominee finally replied: "Well, I was about to lay it out. You said you didn't want to hear about it." The room filled with laughter. Biden did not smile.
And he showed flashes of wit. Asked about an old memo he wrote supporting judicial term limits, he admitted: "You know, that would be one of those memos that I no longer agree with, senator. I didn't fully appreciate what was involved in the confirmation process when I wrote that."
Asked about the views of Justice David H. Souter, Roberts replied: "Well, I don't want to directly comment on what Justice Souter said. He is either going to be a colleague or continue to be one of my bosses."
In constitutional matters, the nominee proved deft at saying much and giving away little. The only time Roberts seemed flustered was when Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) dropped the legalese. "I think it stinks that somebody can burn the flag, and that's called speech. What do you think about that?"
"Well," Roberts began, then paused, searching for words.
What Roberts did best -- or, at least, most -- was deflect questions on charged issues.
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Early in yesterday's hearing into his nomination to be chief justice, John G. Roberts Jr. took the Senate Judiciary Committee in an unexpected direction, praising Justice Robert H. Jackson, who served as Franklin D. Roosevelt's attorney general before joining the high court.
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Roberts Avoids Specifics on Abortion Issue
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John G. Roberts Jr. testified yesterday that he believes that the Constitution protects the right to privacy, the legal underpinning of the nation's landmark abortion law, but he refused to say whether he would vote to uphold Roe v. Wade if he is confirmed as chief justice of the United States.
In a day of sometimes testy exchanges with senators, Roberts distanced himself repeatedly from his conservative writings as a young legal adviser to President Ronald Reagan, including a memo in which he had disparaged privacy as "amorphous" and a "so-called right" not spelled out in the Constitution.
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Democrats pressed him aggressively, seeking to elicit his views on abortion and a range of other volatile civil rights issues by reminding him of stances he had advocated in the past. But time and again throughout the first full day of questioning at his Senate confirmation hearing, Roberts refused to divulge the way he would rule on matters of voting rights, gender equity, fair housing and the role of religion in public life.
He deflected some questions by asserting it would be improper to foreshadow his views on cases that might come before the Supreme Court. At other times, he shielded his personal views by saying his early writings simply mirrored the policies of two Republican presidents for whom he worked.
"Senator, I was a staff lawyer; I didn't have a position," Roberts said in a typical exchange, when asked about a memo from the early 1980s advocating a policy that would have allowed colleges to receive federal funds even if some of their programs discriminated against women.
The eight-hour hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee gave senators their first chance to publicly grill Roberts, 50, nominated by President Bush to succeed the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. Republicans, who control the committee and the full Senate, praised Roberts and defended his refusal to answer questions because the issues they involve could someday come before the high court.
With the political fallout of Hurricane Katrina hovering over the proceedings, amid evidence that poor people and minorities have suffered the most in the disaster, Republicans also sought to portray Bush's nominee as a former lawyer who had at times displayed compassion for the dispossessed.
But Democrats suggested that Roberts might be a stealth nominee who would shift the court more sharply rightward than his careful testimony suggests. They repeatedly read to him his own words from government memos he had written in the 1980s -- excerpts from tens of thousands of documents released in recent weeks from his time as a federal lawyer -- and demanded to know whether they reflected his personal views, then and now.
"His answers are misleading," an exasperated Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) told committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.).
"They may be misleading," Specter shot back, "but they are his answers." When the laughter in the marble hearing room died down, Roberts said: "With respect, they are my answers. And, with respect, they're not misleading, they're accurate."
Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) sought to persuade a reluctant Roberts to say that he would be the ideological heir to Rehnquist, for whom the nominee once worked as a law clerk. Finally, Roberts agreed that his nomination would not lead to "a dramatic departure" from the Rehnquist court.
Specter, who supports abortion rights, and several Democrats challenged Roberts especially hard on his views of Roe , the 1973 decision establishing that women have a constitutional right to privacy that includes the right to an abortion. Because Roe has stood for 32 years, much of the discussion centered on when and why a settled ruling should be overturned.
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John G. Roberts Jr. testified yesterday that he believes that the Constitution protects the right to privacy, the legal underpinning of the nation's landmark abortion law, but he refused to say whether he would vote to uphold Roe v. Wade if he is confirmed as chief justice of the United States.
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Sounding Less Conservative but Still Noncommittal
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Under detailed public questioning for the first time since President Bush tapped him for a seat on the Supreme Court, John G. Roberts Jr. appeared to sound a less conservative note on abortion-related issues than he had in the memos and briefs he wrote as a lawyer in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.
He offered a surprisingly emphatic endorsement of a constitutional right to privacy -- the basis of the Roe v. Wade decision recognizing a right to abortion, which he seemed to disparage as a young lawyer in the Reagan administration.
And, as if repeating a carefully formulated phrase, he referred time and again to a 1992 Supreme Court ruling upholding Roe as "a precedent entitled to respect."
Yet, ever the careful lawyer, Roberts committed himself to nothing more tangible than a promise to think hard before voting either to uphold or overturn the abortion precedents about which so much controversy revolves. Each time a senator pressed him for a clear statement, up or down, on abortion rights, Roberts refused, saying that to do so would be to declare his views on an issue that the court may face in the future.
The overall impression was of a talented nominee who used his skills to avoid twin perils: revealing nothing of his views or revealing too much.
Tacitly acknowledging that he would have far more latitude to make changes in the law as chief justice than he has now as an appeals court judge, Roberts offered a list of factors he would weigh in deciding whether to overturn a precedent of the court.
Stare decisis is the legal term for the principle that courts should let existing decisions stand for the sake of stability in the law -- and discussion of stare decisis took up much of the hearing, basically as a proxy for the larger issue of abortion.
Roberts told Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, that established precedents, including both Roe and the court's 1992 affirmance of Roe in Planned Parenthood v. Casey , should be overturned only when they have proved "unworkable," or when they have been "eroded" by intervening decisions of the court.
As examples of cases in which he thought the court was right to overturn precedent, Roberts cited the court's New Deal-era abandonment of its past cases invalidating economic regulations, and Brown v. Board of Education , the school desegregation case that overturned the court's 1896 validation of racial separation in public facilities.
But those reversals by the court, much debated in their day, are no longer controversial. Roberts's criteria, "while superficially specific, are in fact highly elastic and could be used to overturn Roe and Casey , or to uphold them, depending upon his proclivities," said Michael J. Glennon, a professor of constitutional and international law at Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.
No sooner had Specter, a strong supporter of Roe , gaveled the proceedings to order at 9:30 a.m. than he began boring in on Roberts about the abortion precedents, asking whether he agreed with the Supreme Court's view, expressed in Casey , that so many women had come to rely on the abortion right that Roe had to be upheld.
Roberts did not answer directly, but did concede that Casey is a valid precedent "entitled to respect" and that "it is a jolt to the legal system when you overrule a precedent."
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Under detailed public questioning for the first time since President Bush tapped him for a seat on the Supreme Court, John G. Roberts Jr. appeared to sound a less conservative note on abortion-related issues than he had in the memos and briefs he wrote as a lawyer in the Reagan and George H.W. Bush...
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John G. Roberts Dossier
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John G. Roberts Jr., 50, has long been considered one of the Republicans' heavyweights amid the largely Democratic Washington legal establishment. Roberts was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in 2003 by President George W. Bush. (He was also nominated by the first President Bush, but never received a Senate vote.) Previously, he practiced law at Washington's Hogan & Hartson from 1986-1989 and 1993-2003. Between 1989 and 1993, he was the principal deputy solicitor general in the first Bush administration, helping formulate the administration's position in Supreme Court cases. During the Reagan administration, he served as an aide to Attorney General William French Smith from 1981 to 1982 and as an aide to White House counsel Fred Fielding from 1982 to 1986.
With impeccable credentials -- Roberts attended Harvard College and Harvard Law School, clerked for Justice William H. Rehnquist on the Supreme Court and has argued frequently before the court -- the question marks about Roberts have always been ideological. While his Republican Party loyalties are undoubted, earning him the opposition of liberal advocacy groups, he is not a "movement conservative," and some on the party's right-wing doubt his commitment to their cause. His paper record is thin: As deputy solicitor general in 1990, he argued in favor of a government regulation that banned abortion-related counseling by federally funded family-planning programs. A line in his brief noted the Bush administration's belief that Roe v. Wade should be overruled.
As a judge on the D.C. Circuit, Roberts voted with two colleagues to uphold the arrest and detention of a 12-year-old girl for eating french fries on the Metro train, though his opinion noted that "[n]o one is very happy about the events that led to this litigation." In another case, Roberts wrote a dissenting opinion that suggested Congress might lack the power under the Constitution's Commerce Clause to regulate the treatment of a certain species of wildlife.
Written responses by John G. Roberts Jr. to questions from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee:
Documents released Aug. 29 by the National Archives written by Roberts while working in the Reagan administration:
Documents from the Reagan Library relating to Roberts' time as Associate Counsel to the President during the Reagan administration:
Roberts response to a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire in preparation for this September confirmation hearings:
Memos written by Roberts during his tenure as an assistant White House counsel and a special assistant to then-Attorney General William French Smith during the Reagan administration:
Documents related to a 1990 request by the Federal Communications Commission to defend a policy aimed at encouraging more minority ownership of broadcast stations.
Oral arguments Roberts made before the Supreme Court when representing private clients:
Other filings and Web sites:
National Archives Records Pertaining to Roberts
Transcript of Senate Judiciary Committee Confirmation Hearing, Jan. 29, 2003 (PDF)
Transcript of Senate Judiciary Confirmation Hearing, April 30, 2003 (PDF)
Roberts Financial Disclosure Report, Fiscal Year 2003
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On September 5, President Bush nominated John G. Roberts Jr. to be chief justice of the Supreme Court. Bush previously nominated Roberts to be associate justice.
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For Success in Iraq, Change Course
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The Bush administration's mishandling of Iraq has brought us to the brink of a national security debacle. To salvage the situation, the administration must fundamentally change course inside Iraq, in the region and at the international level.
Stabilizing Iraq is a political as well as a military challenge. The administration is taking a huge gamble by going forward with a referendum for a constitution that is more likely to divide Iraq than to unite it.
A majority of Sunni Arabs are likely to vote against the constitution, but not the two-thirds needed to defeat it. That will further embitter them.
The consequences for U.S. interests could be devastating. Sectarian violence might escalate into a full-blown civil war, drawing in Syria, Iran and Turkey and turning Iraq into a new Lebanon. Even worse, Iraqi Sunnis could forge stronger alliances with foreign jihadists, turning a swath of Iraq into a pre-Sept. 11 Afghanistan for a new generation of terrorists.
Stranded in the middle of this mayhem would be brave American soldiers, their lives on the line for a failing policy set by others.
The Bush administration's hope seems to be that Sunnis and Iraqi women will "get over it." But hope and stubbornness do not constitute a strategy. As our ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, has said, the constitution should "be a national compact that brings Iraqis together and undermines the insurgency."
Sunni Arabs have themselves to blame for sitting out January's elections and supporting the insurgency. But unless they are offered a reasonable stake in the new order, they will continue to resist it. It would be a mistake to force-feed them a constitution they cannot stomach. There is a better way.
First, if negotiators don't reach reasonable compromises that bring moderate Sunnis on board, the Bush administration should support postponing the constitutional referendum until after elections for a new National Assembly are held in December, which would allow a new committee with elected Sunni members to reconsider the draft.
This would encourage the growing desire among Sunnis to participate in the political process. It would empower legitimate Sunni leaders who can sell the constitution to their community. And it could split the Sunni population from the insurgents and foreign jihadists. Moderate Kurds and Shiites, many of whom privately admit that some of their leaders overreached, will welcome the balance legitimate Sunni representation would bring to the process.
For this policy to work, the administration must do what it has failed to do thus far: involve the major international powers and Iraq's neighbors in a stabilization strategy. The administration should create a contact group with countries such as France, Japan, Britain and Russia, along with organizations such as the European Union, NATO and the United Nations. As constitutional negotiations resumed, the Iraqis would see a united international front and be more likely to make difficult compromises.
The administration must also develop a regional strategy that either forces or induces Iraq's neighbors to act responsibly. In some instances, that would require the administration to engage regimes that the United States would rather not work with. But that's exactly what we did in the Balkans to get to the Dayton peace agreement and with Afghanistan's neighbors in the "six plus two" group and the Bonn conference. Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt could help temper the demands of the communities with which they have influence. Tehran and Damascus would be more likely to end their dangerous meddling if they saw the rest of the international community lining up with us. The president should immediately name a senior envoy to the region and organize a regional conference.
The president can build international support for this new policy at the United Nations this month. He should challenge those countries that have as much to lose as we do from chaos in Iraq to join this effort.
At home, President Bush must close the credibility chasm that is threatening the most important weapon our overstretched troops have: the support of the American people. He must convince Americans that he is leveling with them about the situation in Iraq and that he has a coherent strategy for securing our fundamental national interests and bringing our troops home.
To that end, the administration should develop concrete goals for training Iraqi security forces so that they can operate independently, building a political system that enjoys legitimacy and rebuilding basic services -- and establish a reasonable timetable for meeting these goals.
It is no longer acceptable to say that our troops will stay in Iraq "as long as necessary -- and not one day longer." The American people need -- and our troops deserve -- a much clearer picture of the way forward.
Congress must step up to its responsibilities by holding monthly oversight hearings with senior administration witnesses to assess Iraq's progress.
Some will argue that this policy would prolong our presence in Iraq. The opposite is true. Proceeding with an ill-advised referendum, and without a strategy to involve the region and the major powers, could lead to chaos that would take even more time, treasure and casualties to tame -- if it does not prove irreversible and leave Iraq what it was not before the war: a permanent base for radical fundamentalist terrorism.
Successfully involving moderate Sunnis, sharing the burden with the key international players, getting support from the region, setting concrete goals with timelines and insisting on regular accountability from the administration would bring our troops home sooner and safer. It's also the best way to leave Iraq with our most fundamental security interests intact.
The writer is a senator from Delaware and the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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The Bush administration's mishandling of Iraq has brought us to the brink of a national security debacle. Part of the solution is to hold monthly Congressional oversight hearings.
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A Clear Risk to the City
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THE BUSH administration, pertinent congressional committees and the D.C. government are all aware of a study showing that an attack on a single railroad tank car of chlorine traveling through a crowded nation's capital could:
· Kill or seriously harm 100,000 people within an hour.
· Set off a toxic plume that could extend over 40 miles.
· Leave deadly a core area of about 4 miles by 14 1/2 miles.
It is also true that while the D.C. government has enacted a law to deal with the issue, the federal government has taken no serious steps to prevent chemicals that are toxic if inhaled from being shipped through the District. What's more, the Justice Department and CSX Transportation Inc., rather than supporting D.C. legislation that sought to regulate the transport of ultra-hazardous materials through the city, instead obtained a court order to stop the District from enforcing its law.
As a result of federal opposition to local efforts, an undisputed risk to life and safety in the Washington region is unabated. Credit D.C. Council member Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3) with bringing this danger to the public's attention and for marshaling legislative support on the council for a solution -- "to reduce the risk of an attack by removing the target from our midst," as she told the Department of Homeland Security in a letter yesterday. Again, Mrs. Patterson was putting her finger on the problem.
Mrs. Patterson was responding to a proposed Department of Homeland Security rail security plan that aims to protect city residents by installing surveillance cameras along seven miles of CSX Transportation tracks. She noted that the cameras "would, surely, provide historical documentation of what vehicle or what individuals gained sufficient proximity to the CSX tracks to blow up a 90-ton tanker full of chlorine -- after the fact of thousands of deaths." She rightly notes that the Homeland Security plan would not prevent a suicide bomber from accessing the tracks. It would only record the bomber doing the dastardly deed. Hooray.
Residents, visitors, members of Congress and the Supreme Court deserve better. They need a federal plan that prevents, rather than simply detects, an attack on the city. On that score, nothing less than rerouting ultra-hazardous materials -- dangerous, toxic-by-inhalation cargo -- around densely populated communities at high risk of attack, such as the nation's capital, will do. Alternative routes for such chemicals are needed here in the District and for other high-risk communities around the nation. The difficulty of the challenge is no reason for the federal government to avert its gaze from this potential nightmare. It must either step up to the problem now or try to explain away the poor federal planning for a catastrophe in yet another national disaster's after-action report.
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Proposed Homeland Security cameras would record a terrorist attack that could kill or harm 100,000 in the Washington area. What's needed is a federal plan that prevents, rather than detects, an attack on the city.
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Insurgents Kill 160 in Baghdad
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BAGHDAD, Sept. 15 -- Insurgents struck the Iraqi capital Wednesday with at least a dozen attacks that targeted Shiite Muslim civilians, Iraqi security forces and American troops, killing more than 160 people in the deadliest day of violence in Baghdad since the U.S. invasion more than two years ago.
U.S. military officials said the day-long wave of suicide bombings, rocket attacks and shootings across the city bore the hallmarks of al Qaeda in Iraq, the radical Sunni Muslim insurgent organization led by Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian.
The group did not immediately assert direct responsibility for the attacks, but an Internet statement issued in its name welcomed the start of "revenge battles throughout the land of Mesopotamia."
The statement linked the attacks to a U.S. and Iraqi offensive underway against insurgents in the northwestern city of Tall Afar. A subsequent audio recording attributed to Zarqawi, which was posted on the Internet, accused the Shiite-led Iraqi government of having declared war on Sunnis in that city. As a result, al Qaeda in Iraq "has decided to launch a comprehensive war on the Shiites all over Iraq, wherever and whenever they are found. This is revenge. . . . Take care, because we are not going to have mercy on you," the recording said, according to a translation by the Washington-based SITE Institute, a group that monitors radical Web sites.
The attacks appeared calculated to undermine public faith in the ability of the fledgling government to protect its people, by showing that insurgents could strike in Baghdad despite the U.S. and Iraqi military efforts to stop them. Some of Wednesday's attacks were carried out in ways that maximized death tolls.
In northwest Baghdad, a driver in the heavily Shiite neighborhood of Kadhimiyah pulled up alongside a gathering point for day laborers and offered the men jobs, witnesses said. He waited until a crowd of workers had clustered around his four-door car, then detonated explosives packed inside, said Salim Hussein, 20, who witnessed the attack.
The blast killed at least 112 people and wounded hundreds of others.
As burned, blackened victims filled the district hospital, a Shiite cleric patrolled the scene of the bombing in an ambulance, calling over the vehicle's loudspeaker for donations of blood. Men looking for loved ones ran fingers down pages and pages of names of bombing victims posted outside the hospital.
"Why haven't they killed Saddam?" wailed a Shiite woman in black abaya as she walked away from the hospital. "Cut his head off."
Within an hour of that attack, a driver smashed his car into two other vehicles at an intersection, then blew up the vehicle when a crowd gathered, police said. At least 15 people died, police Lt. Mustafa Majid said.
"I saw people's bodies flying in the air and thrown for yards," minibus-taxi driver Amer Salman said.
More attacks were mounted throughout the day, signaled by rattling booms, black smoke and U.S. military helicopters shuttling across the sky. Traffic on main roads shut down as police closed key routes. Rumors spread that more car bombers were roaming the city and that men wearing suicide belts were infiltrating hospitals.
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Insurgents kill at least 141 people Wednesday in at least 10 separate bombings and rocket attacks that made for one of Baghdad's deadliest days.
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In Tall Afar, A Brawl to Blow Off Some Steam
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TALL AFAR, Iraq, Sept. 13 -- After months of preparing for a battle with insurgents that never fully materialized and 12 days of running around this city from dawn to dusk, the soldiers of Eagle Troop did what soldiers often do with unspent aggression.
Squaring off Tuesday evening in the front yard of a home they had commandeered to be their command post for the final stage of the assault on Tall Afar, they grappled one-on-one on the grass for hours. Good-natured taunts flew. T-shirts and uniform pants were torn. And as the sun began to fall behind the stone buildings of this restive city, an audience of hecklers grew.
At the end of a particularly one-sided bout between soldiers mismatched by at least 100 pounds, Pfc. Hector Rodriguez, 21, an accomplished trash-talker from Buffalo, pointed at the preening victor and said to the vanquished: "What's he got in his hand? That's your manhood, son."
During the incursion into Tall Afar, a city of more than 200,000 located about 40 miles from the Syrian border in northwestern Iraq, more than 550 suspected insurgents have been killed or captured this month, commanders said. Much of the fighting was carried out with airstrikes or by the Iraqi army, which led the assault.
Though the operation is to continue through the end of the month, "the 24-hour curfew on the people moving in the street is lifted today, and the ban on driving cars in the street ends in the coming days," Najim Abdullah Jabouri, the newly appointed mayor, said at a news conference Tuesday.
Jabouri, a former general in ousted president Saddam Hussein's army who was installed as the city's police chief four months ago by U.S. and Iraqi forces, said thousands of people who fled the city in recent months would soon be encouraged to return.
With the current phase of the operation over, the soldiers of Eagle Troop, part of the U.S. Army's 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, planned to spend at least the next few nights at their base outside the city.
"We planned for this for months, and whenever you plan for an operation for that long, you always hope you have a bit more contact with the enemy than we did. But you also look back and say we didn't get anybody hurt, and that is definitely a good thing," said Capt. Noah Hanners, 26, of Chillicothe, Ohio, the leader of the troop's Blue Platoon.
He had told his charged-up troops from the start of the attack to show restraint, to avoid destroying property in the dozens of homes they raided across the city. But as the wrestling matches escalated Tuesday, each ending with a handshake and applause, Hanners took a seat on the grass and cheered with the others.
"Blue Four versus Blue One," came a shout from a rooftop, using radio call signs to request a match between Hanners and Sgt. 1st Class Herbert Gadsden, the platoon's two senior soldiers.
"No, man, that's like watching your parents fight," said another soldier to peals of laughter that signaled the showdown was canceled before it started.
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TALL AFAR, Iraq, Sept. 13 -- After months of preparing for a battle with insurgents that never fully materialized and 12 days of running around this city from dawn to dusk, the soldiers of Eagle Troop did what soldiers often do with unspent aggression.
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Bush Takes Responsibility For Failures Of Response
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President Bush yesterday said he takes personal responsibility for the federal government's stumbling response to Hurricane Katrina, as his White House worked on several fronts to move beyond the improvisation of the first days of the crisis and set a long-term course on a problem that aides now believe will shadow the balance of Bush's second term.
"Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government," Bush said at a White House news conference with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. "And to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility. I want to know what went right and what went wrong."
The first major public event in the White House effort to take control of the post-Katrina political and policy agenda will occur tomorrow night in a prime-time speech to the nation. The president will deliver it from the flood region on his fourth trip there since the hurricane struck.
Bush already has dispatched his top strategist, Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, and other aides to assemble ideas from agencies, conservative think tanks, GOP lawmakers and state officials to guide the rebuilding of New Orleans and relocation of flood victims. The idea, aides said, is twofold: provide a quick federal response that comports with Bush's governing philosophy, and prevent Katrina from swamping his second-term ambitions on Social Security, taxes and Middle East democracy-building.
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), a Bush ally, said the recovery effort provides conservatives with an unusual opportunity to test ideas that have been hard to sell on a national scope, including vouchers to cover education for dislocated students and tax incentives for business investment. "There are a whole host of ideas being looked at," Kyl said.
In what may become the next major post-Katrina policy, the White House was working yesterday to suspend wage supports for service workers in the hurricane zone as it did for construction workers on federal contracts last week, administration and congressional officials said. This possible move, described by administration officials as being under debate, already provoked preemptive Democratic protests.
At tomorrow's speech, the president is to outline his vision more comprehensively than he has to date. A top aide said he will stress that New Orleans officials will dictate how the city will be rebuilt, but will also make plain the reconstruction should reflect his vision of government -- including reducing regulatory obstacles and emphasizing entrepreneurship over big government, the aide said. He will discuss plans to provide health care, education, jobs and housing assistance to flood victims, another aide said.
With some Republicans frustrated that the federal government essentially cut a $62 billion blank check for phase one of the recovery effort, the Bush administration and congressional GOP leaders are working on proposals to encourage business investment in the devastated areas and to test conservative ideas such as portable benefits for evacuees who want to reestablish in new locales, low-tax business zones and waived environmental regulations.
GOP officials involved in the effort said more than $200 billion could be spent on Katrina-related projects, most of it over the next two years. They project that hurricane-related spending will trail off in the final two years of the Bush presidency, allowing him to say he met his stated goal of cutting the deficit in half by 2009. "You're a fiscal conservative until you get hit with a natural disaster," said Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.).
Behind the scenes, the president's inner circle is working with more than a dozen new task forces, run through the domestic policy counsel, to solicit ideas from federal agencies and outside groups such as the Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute. Several aides said agency officials are under pressure to provide estimates of what money their agencies need, as well as ideas for solving the myriad problems the relief effort presents. Advisers have studied housing issues, for instance, trying to determine the best way to build temporary accommodations for relief workers and construction workers and avoid unintentionally encouraging people to never return.
Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua B. Bolten is overseeing the largest-ever federal expenditure on a natural disaster, but officials said he is relying on a beefed-up inspector general's office at the Department of Homeland Security to monitor how the money is spent. At a private House Republican leadership meeting yesterday, several lawmakers expressed concern about a repeat of the waste and fraud that many believe took place with the budget for rebuilding Iraq, according to a participant.
Republicans are lining up behind plans to use vouchers to help displaced students find new schools, including private ones, and a mix of vouchers and tax breaks to help flood victims pay for health care expenses, from insurance to immunization. A draft Senate GOP plan for post-Katrina policy includes both ideas, according to Republicans who have read the document.
Grover Norquist, a Rove ally who runs Americans for Tax Reform, is among those lobbying the White House to suspend wage supports for service workers in the hurricane zone.
Last week, Bush issued an executive order lifting the Davis-Bacon rules mandating that construction workers on federal contracts be paid the average wage in a region. The White House argued the regulations were slowing reconstruction and raising federal costs.
Now Labor Department and White House officials are examining a similar move for service workers covered by the McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act, which extended prevailing wage rules to service workers. Administration officials are concerned that workers on demolition and debris-removal jobs could protest that even with construction wage supports lifted, they should be paid prevailing wages because their work is more service-related than construction-related.
Any move to lift service wage supports would elicit protests by labor unions and their Democratic allies. The Depression-era Davis-Bacon Act includes a provision allowing its suspension for natural disasters. The Service Contract Act does not, and its suspension may be unprecedented, labor experts say.
Staff writer Shailagh Murray contributed to this report.
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President Bush says he takes personal responsibility for the federal government's stumbling response to Hurricane Katrina, as his White House worked on several fronts to move beyond the first days of the crisis and set a long-term course.
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Indictments Added in GOP Fundraising Case
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A Texas grand jury added new indictments yesterday to criminal charges against U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's top political fundraiser and the executive director of a Texas political action committee that DeLay organized to orchestrate a Republican takeover of the Texas House in 2002.
The grand jury alleged that James W. Ellis, who has raised money for DeLay's Americans for a Republican Majority political action committee (ARMPAC) as well as for an offshoot known as Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC), illegally contributed $190,000 in corporate funds to the Republican National Committee within 60 days of the 2002 state election.
It also alleged that Ellis and John Colyandro, TRMPAC's director at the time, conspired to deliver the funds to Terry Nelson, the Republican National Committee's deputy chief of staff, and that they supplied Nelson with the names of Texas Republican House candidates who eventually received the funds.
Ellis and Colyandro were indicted in 2004 on state money-laundering charges related to the same transaction, which had the effect of pumping corporate money into races that were barred from receiving them by state law. Both men have denied any wrongdoing.
Last week, the same grand jury indicted the Texas committee for having funneled the $190,000 and additional corporate money into Republican campaign coffers, a violation of Texas election law that bars corporate contributions to state campaigns.
Ronald Earle, the Travis County district attorney overseeing the investigation, is laboring under an end-of-the-month deadline to bring forward most indictments related to fundraising for the election due to the three-year statute of limitations governing such crimes.
His probe has led to charges against three individuals, eight corporations, TRMPAC and the Texas Association of Business.
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A Texas grand jury added new indictments yesterday to criminal charges against U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's top political fundraiser and the executive director of a Texas political action committee that DeLay organized to orchestrate a Republican takeover of the Texas House in 2002.
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Minorities Often Pay More for Mortgages
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Blacks and Hispanics are getting a disproportionate share of high-cost mortgages compared with whites, according to new federal figures released yesterday.
The analysis of 2004 home-lending data shows that even after adjusting for factors such as income level, loan size and property location that could raise the interest rate offered on a mortgage, blacks are still nearly twice as likely as whites to be given a high-cost loan.
Researchers at the Federal Reserve, who analyzed data that lenders nationwide were required to submit to regulators, said that despite the disparities, the availability of high-cost, risk-based mortgage loans broadens the availability of home financing.
The authors of the Fed report said such lending has "greatly expanded the availability of home loans to borrowers who, because of weaknesses in their credit profiles, had previously been unable to qualify."
This is the first year that lenders have been required to report data on high-priced loans to regulators under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Consumer groups and regulators have become more concerned about high-cost, or subprime, loans because of their explosion in recent years. Subprime loans made up about 19 percent of all home-loan originations in 2004, up from less than 5 percent in 1994, according to estimates cited in the analysis.
The Fed report, a dense, 50-page statistical review of loans made last year by some 8,800 lenders, said the numbers do not necessarily indicate widespread discrimination.
"Our analysis strongly indicates that the raw data alone can lead to inaccurate conclusions, which in turn may be unfair to particular institutions and may lead to unnecessary restrictions on the availability of loans to less-creditworthy applicants," the Fed report said.
Yesterday's raw data show many minorities are more than two or three times as likely overall than whites to get what are deemed high-priced loans. About 32 percent of blacks and 20 percent of Hispanics took out high-cost conventional loans in 2004 to buy a home, compared with 9 percent of non-Hispanic whites, according to the Fed.
About 35 percent of blacks and 19 percent of Hispanics got high-cost refinance loans, compared with just under 13 percent of non-Hispanic whites, the analysis says.
The gaps narrow when the data are adjusted to reflect income, loan size and property location for loans to minority borrowers. The differences decline more when the data are adjusted to reflect that minority borrowers often turn to higher-priced lenders. With both those statistical adjustments, about 16 percent of blacks and 12 percent of Hispanics received high-priced home purchase loans, compared with 9 percent in the white control group.
Before and after the adjustments, Asians are less likely than whites to get high-priced loans.
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, a government umbrella group for several agencies that oversee lenders, said the data will give the government a "useful screening tool" to identify institutions to examine more closely.
Consumer activist groups have long attacked lending patterns as discriminatory, while lenders have defended themselves. While both sides said they continued to review the analysis -- written in "Fed-speak," according to John Taylor, president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition -- both also claimed evidence to support their arguments.
Taylor focused on language in the report that says that adjusting for variables is "insufficient to account fully for racial or ethnic differences in the incidence of higher-priced lending; significant differences remain unexplained."
He said, "I think the fairest statement you can make is that if you're a minority, you're twice as likely as a white to get a higher-cost loan."
The Mortgage Bankers Association, which plans to do its own analysis of the HMDA data, focused on the finding that more loans have become available to borrowers though higher-priced products and on the Fed's warning not to use the data to make "unwarranted accusations of illegal bias."
Said Doug Duncan, the association's chief economist: "The strongest thing in the summary was that only 2 percent of the 8,853 lenders covered by HMDA exhibited a statistically significant difference in the incidence of higher-priced loans" between black and Hispanic borrowers and non-Hispanic white borrowers, after adjusting for borrower income and other factors.
Wright Andrews, a lobbyist for the subprime industry, said the report "says essentially what the lenders had hoped it would say. It indicates there are disparities . . . but that is nothing new. It basically arises from the economic disparities in our society. Unfortunately a disproportionate number of blacks and Hispanics are economically disadvantaged, and that leads to differences in their credit and risk profiles."
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Blacks and Hispanics are getting a disproportionate share of high-cost mortgages compared with whites, according to new federal figures released yesterday.
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Teen Pleads Guilty to Hacking Paris Hilton's Phone
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A Massachusetts teenager has pleaded guilty to hacking into the cell-phone account of hotel heiress and Hollywood celebrity Paris Hilton, a high-profile stunt by the youngest member of the same hacking group federal investigators say was responsible for a series of electronic break-ins at data giant LexisNexis.
The 17-year-old boy was sentenced to 11 months' detention at a juvenile facility for a string of crimes that include the online posting of revealing photos and celebrity contact numbers from Hilton's phone. As an adult, he will then undergo two years of supervised release in which he will be barred from possessing or using any computer, cell phone or other electronic equipment capable of accessing the Internet.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts and the state district court declined to identify the teen, noting that federal juvenile proceedings and the identity of juvenile defendants are under seal. But a law enforcement official close to the case confirmed that the crimes admitted to by the teen included the hacking of Hilton's account.
The teen also pleaded guilty to making bomb threats at two high schools and for breaking into a telephone company's computer system to set up free wireless-phone accounts for friends. He also participated in an attack on data-collection firm LexisNexis Group that exposed personal records of more than 300,000 consumers. Prosecutors said victims of the teen's actions have suffered about $1 million in damages.
In a series of telephone and online communications between March and June with a washingtonpost.com reporter, the teen acknowledged responsibility for all of the crimes for which he was sentenced.
Washingtonpost.com is not revealing his name because he communicated with the reporter on the condition that he not be identified either directly or through his online alias.
Investigators began focusing on the teen in March 2004 when he sent an expletive-laced e-mail to a high school in Florida threatening to blow it up, according to a statement from prosecutors. The school was closed for two days while a bomb squad, a canine team, the fire department and other emergency officials examined the building.
In August 2004, the teen broke into the internal computer systems of "a major internet service provider" by tricking an employee into opening a virus-infected file he sent as an e-mail attachment. The virus -- known as a "Trojan horse" program -- allowed the juvenile to use the employee's computer remotely to access other computers on the ISP's internal network and gain access to portions of the company's operational information, prosecutors said.
The teen told washingtonpost.com earlier this year that around that time he broke into the network of Dulles, Va.-based America Online. AOL did not return calls seeking comment.
In January, the teen hacked into the telephone records system of T-Mobile International. He used a security flaw in the company's Web site that allowed him to reset the password of anyone using a Sidekick, a pricey phone-organizer-camera device that stores videos, photos and other data on T-Mobile's central computer servers. A month later, the teen would use that flaw to gain access to Hilton's Sidekick files, according to corroborating information and screen shots he shared with washingtonpost.com.
Later that month, according to prosecutors, an associate of the teen "set up accounts for the juvenile at a company which stores identity information concerning millions of individuals."
Again, prosecutors declined to name the company targeted in that attack. But according to screen shots provided by the teen -- supported by other information from the teen that was verified by a senior federal law enforcement official investigating the case who spoke on condition on anonymity -- the company was LexisNexis, which reported in March that hackers had gained access to the personal records of more than 310,000 Americans.
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A Massachusetts teenager has pleaded guilty to hacking into the cell-phone account of hotel heiress and Hollywood celebrity Paris Hilton, a high-profile stunt by the youngest member of the same hacking group federal investigators say was responsible for a series of electronic break-ins at data giant LexisNexis.
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Family Man
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John A. Gotti never took the stand in his five-week trial in Federal District Court on charges of kidnapping, extortion and other types of highly antisocial behavior, but he did get an unexpected chance to shout a few words in his defense. It happened Aug. 12, as a mob defector named Frank Fappiano coolly recounted life in the brutish and trigger-happy Gambino crime family, an organization that Gotti led through much of the '90s.
As Fappiano regaled the jury -- bang! -- a noise like the blast of a shotgun caromed off the walls. For a moment, everyone in Courtroom 26A assumed the worst -- that Fappiano had been whacked in plain sight and would sink to the ground, covered in blood. People momentarily bounced out of their seats, others gasped in fear.
"I didn't do it!" Gotti yelled.
The sound had been a burst of feedback through the audio system. It took a while for the chuckles to die down.
Gotti's trial, which went to the jury Friday, had everything you might want from a mob drama, including senseless violence and silly nicknames. (One particular mook was referred to by various informants only as "Gas Pipe," for reasons that can only be guessed.) On hand to watch the show -- arguably the best theater in New York this summer, and no charge for a seat -- was a crowd of lawyers, media people, Gotti relatives and Gambino sympathizers. It looked like the guests for a wedding in which the groom hailed from the Upper West Side and the bride hailed from the New Skyway Diner in Kearny, N.J. Gotti's sister, Victoria, showed up for opening day, dressed in upscale moll-wear. The two sides rarely mixed.
You might think Gotti's shouted punch line simply rephrases his not-guilty plea. But the 41-year-old, who became acting boss when his father, John "the Dapper Don" Gotti, was sent to prison in 1992, isn't arguing that he's an innocent waste management executive, or that the Mafia is a figment of the DA's imagination. Instead, his defense boils down to this: Oh, I was in the mob all right, but I am so over it now. I quit.
"I am not saying he was never a gangster, because he was," Gotti's lawyer, Jeffrey Lichtman, told the jury on the trial's opening day. "I am simply saying he had enough and he wanted out."
Give Gotti points for nerve. Traditionally, there have been just two exit strategies from Cosa Nostra: through the door marked "Witness Protection Program," which requires you to rat out colleagues, or on a slab, which requires you to die.
Junior, as he's known to friends, doesn't want to sing and clearly wants to live. He yearns, the jury heard, to drive a minivan, raise his kids and lead a quiet, legitimate life. So in 1999, according to his lawyer, Gotti resigned from the Mafia.
That year Gotti pleaded guilty to a host of felonies and started a six-year prison stint.
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NEW YORK John A. Gotti never took the stand in his five-week trial in Federal District Court on charges of kidnapping, extortion and other types of highly antisocial behavior, but he did get an unexpected chance to shout a few words in his defense. It happened Aug. 12, as a mob defector named.........
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Paul McCartney, Man of Many Parts
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Of all the McCartneyesque types who've blipped and beep-beep ed on the pop-music radar over the years (think Gilbert O'Sullivan, Neil Finn of Crowded House, Badfinger's Pete Ham, etc.), few, if any, have managed to ape Paul McCartney's artistry quite like Pete Mitchell.
A singer and songwriter of indeterminate cuteness, Mitchell manages to capture the "Macca" sound to near perfection on his album "Chaos and Creation in the Back Yard," from industrial-strength pop melodies and pristine production to simple if occasionally trite lyrics and a voice that's pure Paul.
But Mitchell doesn't do silly love songs -- and he isn't nearly as optimistic as McCartney. He's what the eternally sunny McCartney might sound like while working under some serious cloud cover or with a pebble in his sensible shoes.
But here's the thing: Pete Mitchell is Paul McCartney -- never mind the name on the advance copy of "Chaos and Creation," sent to us by the press-and-paranoia department at Capitol Records.
Fearful of piracy, Internet leaks and -- just maybe -- music critics who, as a breed, tend to have violent reactions to new Paul McCartney records, Capitol went into cloak-and-dagger mode for Sir Paul's 20th studio album since that popular little band of his broke up. (And we don't mean Wings.)
Reviewer copies can't be played on computers, and they were "watermarked," whatever that means. For good measure, "Pete Mitchell" was slapped across the CDs, lest a Beatles fan wander by a critic's desk and decide that there's no better time than now to hear the new Paul McCartney.
On the retail edition of "Chaos and Creation," though, McCartney gets his name back. Which may or may not be a good thing.
The problem with Paul McCartney is that he's Paul McCartney. Anything he does is measured against his best work, of which there is plenty. The pretty but bittersweet "Chaos and Creation," then, is hardly the new "Revolver." It's not even "Band on the Run" redux.
Produced by Nigel Godrich, whose studio credits include Radiohead, Beck and Pavement, "Chaos and Creation" is something of a long-overdue sequel to 1970's "McCartney" and 1980's "McCartney II" in that it's an almost all-Paul affair. At Godrich's urging, McCartney played almost everything himself, from Hammond B-3 and harmonium to flugelhorn and melodica.
The breezy, Brian Wilson-ish lead single, "Fine Line," for instance, is McCartney multi-track mania, as he's on drums, shakers, tambourine, spinet, grand piano and three kinds of guitars; the only instrumental interloper is the Millennia Ensemble, which provides the strings in the song that Lexus is using in a national ad campaign. Elsewhere, it's McCartney playing eight, nine, even 10 instruments on a single song.
The result, however, hardly sounds of chaos. Though producer Godrich has been known to push musicians to the artistic edge (as on Radiohead's "OK Computer"), McCartney comes out sounding like a quasi-orchestral version of himself.
Which is to say, the true king of melodic pop.
The album's arrangements -- layered and yet somehow spare-sounding -- frame lyrics that are some of McCartney's most intimate and emotionally complex in years, particularly on the exquisitely uplifting "Too Much Rain" and the George Harrison-inspired "Friends to Go." On "Riding to Vanity Fair" he sings of a failed friendship, "I think I've heard enough of your familiar song." And on "At the Mercy," he sighs: "I guess you'd rather see me grow into a better man than the one you know."
Alas, "Chaos and Creation" is not dud-free. There is, for one, a Dickensian number about sitting down for a cup of English tea, an idea that, he sings, is "very twee, very me," but an execution that, we should note, is very lame.
Still, for a new McCartney record, it's not half bad. And for Pete Mitchell, well, a fantastic debut!
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Of all the McCartneyesque types who've blipped and beep-beep ed on the pop-music radar over the years (think Gilbert O'Sullivan, Neil Finn of Crowded House, Badfinger's Pete Ham, etc.), few, if any, have managed to ape Paul McCartney's artistry quite like Pete Mitchell.
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Ask Tom
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In a city loaded with diverse restaurants, from New American chic and upscale Italian to sandwich shops and burritos on the run, finding the best places to eat can be a real puzzle. Where's the best restaurant for a first date or an anniversary? Father's Day? What's the best burger joint? Who has the best service?
Ask Tom. Tom Sietsema , The Washington Post's food critic, is on hand Wednesdays at 11 a.m. ET to answer your questions, listen to your suggestions and even entertain your complaints about Washington dining. Sietsema, a veteran food writer, has sampled the wares and worked as a critic in Washington, Seattle, San Francisco and Milwaukee, and can talk restaurants with the best of 'em. You can access his Postcards from Tom to read his recommendations for other cities or read transcripts of previous "Ask Tom" chats . Tom's Sunday magazine reviews, as well as his "Ask Tom" column, are available early on the Web.
I want to respond to a comment in last week's chat, from the diner who was upset that a bottle of wine was brought to the table, instead of glasses of wine. I spoke at length with our server about this incident.
At Taberna del Alabardero, our policy is not to bring a pre-poured glass of wine, but to bring the bottle of wine to the table, so that our guests may view, taste and approve their selection. This particular group, who dined with us on Saturday evening, ordered their Chardonnay by the glass. The server opened the bottle and poured the wine. He asked the guests if they would like to keep the bottle, which they decided to do so. (It is usually less expensive to order by the bottle than by the glass, depending on the size of the group.)
Our guests also asked the server to recommend a good bottle of red wine with dinner. The definition and price of a "good bottle of wine," can vary greatly, especially in a fine dinning establishment. The server initially recommended a $95 bottle of wine, but after the guest indicated he wanted a less expensive bottle, they agreed on a $68 bottle. Since we don't have a $235 bottle of Rioja, it seems to me that perhaps there was a misunderstanding between our server and the guests?
At Taberna, our intentions are to always please our guests, so we appreciate the opportunity to respond to this comment.
Thank you for your attention.
When would say is the best season to enjoy the chefs talents at 1789 for vegetarians? Does she prefer ingredients one season has available over another season? Thanks
Tom Sietsema: I think almost any chef will tell you that late spring and late summer are probably the best times to showcase vegetables. Knowing chef Ris Lacoste of 1789, however, I bet she can whip up something memorable with root vegetables, too.
Greenbelt, Md.: I was reading an online chat here earlier this week, and it makes me wonder: apparently there are food critics who strive to get special treatment from restaurants. Does this ever mean accepting free food as well? Doesn't this make a creditability problem when writing about the restaurant? Do you ever do this?
Tom Sietsema: I do not willingly or knowingly accept "free" food. Ever.
That said, in those cases where chefs have sent out a plate or a glass of something they really want me to try -- and I'm NOT encouraging this, but it happens now and then -- I insist that it be put on my bill or I leave extra cash behind to cover the estimated cost.
Silver Spring, Md.: Etiquette question here: I dine alone frequently at lunch and dinner and what is the proper way to pay when you don't need change back? If you are paying cash, and you leave the total and tip in cash inside the bill caddy, can you just leave? OR should u stay just to make sure the server gets the bill caddy even if you aren't waiting for any change back?
Tom Sietsema: I think it's best to stay with your cash and bill until a server sees that the latter has been paid, then say "The rest is for you" or some such.
Crystal City, Va.: Just a quick note to to give props to Chef Paul Luna of the Oval Room and plug their "extreme cooking" classes. My boyfriend signed up for my birthday last Friday and we had a blast!
He and the rest of the staff were so gracious and quick witted. The service was lovely and gracious. My BF made moules frites, lobster ravioli, and strawberry shortcake...not easy things! But they let us bring our drinks back and made the whole evening enjoyable for us. The chef was patient and walked by BF through the whole thing without making him feel like a novice.
Max Kudos to the oval room for their hospitality, we will def. be returning! savitha
Tom Sietsema: I've been hearing nothing but good things about the program. Thanks for the feedback.
The Weekly Dish on classes at the Oval Room
Arlington, Va.: As I was scraping little bits of lamb fat off of my cast-iron grill pan, a thought occurred to me: is there any standard in a restaurant for a tool or utensil remaining "vegetarian"? I know they have very intensive commercial dishwashers (as well as the human variety), but I would imagine that some items can't get 100% "meat-free." What about commercial griddles? Is there a designation that this side is for veggies only, and this side is for meat?
Tom Sietsema: Interesting question, for which I have no answer. Chatters?
You mentioned that on the rare occasions that you are not dining out about town that you sometimes are invited to your friends houses for dinner. Being an amateur cook myself I couldn't begin to try and imagine how nervous I would be trying to cook for your critical palate. Do you ever see nervous beads of sweat on the brow of your friends as you take your first bite? Do you give honest critique if asked or are you more diplomatic? Thanks.
Tom Sietsema: I count some pretty good cooks among my friends. Inevitably, however, someone will ask, "So, are you reviewing this meal?" to which I inevitably say "Nope, tonight's my night off."
Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C.: Good morning, Tom! Thanks for taking my question.
What are you looking forward to for fall? Seasonal ingredients? Specialty dishes? New drink menus? New restaurants?
Tom Sietsema: Restaurant-wise, there's lots to look forward to, including the recently opened Willow (w/chef Tracy O'Grady, late of Kinkead's) in Arlington; Acadiana (from the folks at DC Coast/Ten Penh and Ceiba) downtown; and Dahlia, previewed in today's Weekly Dish column. And I look forward to finding out when -- if? -- chef Peter Smith, late of Vidalia, finds a new roost. U St. NW is also alive with new places to eat. I just might have some changes of my own in store, too ....In all, it's going to be a busy autumn.
The Weekly Dish on Dahlia
Falls Church, Va.: 'Morning Tom,
I could use your help as I am having a terrible time finding a restaurant to accommodate 35 people for a Saturday noon luncheon reception following my daughter's baptism in October. Because so many guests are from out of town, I want to minimize driving from the Falls Church church where the ceremony will take place. I also would like to find a place with fairly easy parking. And finally, I would like to keep the luncheon to $30 per person. Type of cuisine is not that important to me.
I am at my wit's end and October is creeping up on us. Please help!
Tom Sietsema: My first thought: the welcoming Huong Que (Four Sisters) in the Eden Center. The Vietnamese cooking is of high quality, and the staff couldn't be friendlier. Plus, it's big enough to accommodate your party. You might also consider Argia's as a back-up, though I'm less thrilled by the Italian food there.
Arlington, Va.: I just want to know if I'm behind the times.
I usually tip servers 18-20% of the pre-tax total in restaurants and, where there is valet parking, about $1 or $2 to the valet, regardless what the charge may be for the parking (generally ranging from zero to about $10).
Are these the "proper" current amounts or did I miss a memo somewhere?
Tom Sietsema: Those sound like appropriate amounts to me. I might tip $3 for a valet who has to run a great distance to retrieve a set of wheels, however.
Greenbelt, Md.: Hi. I am supposed to meet a friend for a casual, late dinner tonight in Silver Spring. However, it seems like even with the revitalization of downtown Silver Spring there still aren't many options in the area. Any suggestions? Thanks!
Tom Sietsema: Have you dropped by Jackie's yet? Or the new Ceviche?
My husband and I used to enjoy going out to nice dinners and trying new restaurants in D.C., but since my daughter was born last year we haven't had the chance to dine out very often. My birthday is coming up in two weeks and we'd like to go out to dinner somewhere special in downtown D.C. to celebrate. We enjoy all types of food, and are willing to spend the money for a great meal, although something like Citronelle is a little out of our price range. Delicious food is the most important criteria, but good atmosphere is a plus. Before the baby we had been to and enjoyed places like Corduroy, Ceiba and Zaytinya.
Can you recommend something for a couple who now knows more about restaurants on Sesame Street than in D.C.?
Tom Sietsema: Komi has great food and wine and service to match, but it's lacking in the design department and the place can get incredibly loud. What about dinner at the serene Makoto, the venerable 1789, Cashion's Eat Place in Adams Morgan or the soulful Palena in Cleveland Park?
Perhaps you or one of the all knowing chatters out there can help me out. When eating surf & turf (lobster & steak). Do I order red wine or white wine?
Tom Sietsema: I say, drink what you like best.
Clients, clients, clients: Running dry on suggestions for lunch and happy hour around GW. Anything new and exciting?
Tom Sietsema: Circle Bistro, Notti Bianche and the bar at Marcel's all come to mind.
Re: Veggie equipment: My experience is that "vegetarian" tends to be just the ingredients, unless the restaurant makes a BIG deal out of the fact that they have separate stuff. An exception is Japanese restaurants, where the nicer ones tend to have different knives and surfaces for different products for cleanliness and flavor reasons. I've gotten pickier the more places I eat... You wouldn't believe how many places throw a veggie burger down on the grill after scraping up a few cheeseburgers!
By the way, I have decided that Amma's in Georgetown is my favorite Veggie restaurant ever!
Tom Sietsema: Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Alexandria, Va.: Great forum TS!
How does the pretentiousness of this city effect the service in our restaurants?
Don't you think that we feel too entitled as customers? In cities that I have traveled, on this continent and others, there seems to be a sense of pride in supporting the local eatery. DC, and I think by its transient nature, does not have the same capability.
Tom Sietsema: Boy, there's a comment that deserves more than a sentence or two of discussion. I have to say, though, there are lots of loyal diners among "real" Washingtonians -- just ask any restaurateur.
Silver Spring, Md.: How far in advance should you call for reservations at the more swanky establishments in town?
Tom Sietsema: Most big deal places take reservations a month or so out. So, the sooner the better, especially if you're looking for an 8 p.m. seating on a weekend night.
Surf & turf: I've found that a nice Shiraz can often work well with surf & turf.
Tom Sietsema: That would work.
Arlington, Va.: On August 11, I sent an email to Kimpton Hotel on their Web site with a copy to the Hotel Monaco general manager and restaurant manager of Poste Brasserie regarding my unpleasant experience at their restaurant. To summarize:
I had taken an out of town guest to Poste Restaurant in the Hotel Monaco in Washington, DC for drinks and appetizers prior to the Neil Diamond concert. We were able to get two seats at the bar and order drinks/appetizers directly from the bartenders. It was when we decided to order a few more appetizers that the bartender told us that the kitchen would not let them place any additional orders. He stated the kitchen was backed up and they had not anticipated the crowd! It was at this time, that a majority of the patrons became very unsatisfied and left.
When I asked to speak with the manager, we were unable to because he was on the food line! My bill for the evening was over $100 and I am embarrassed by the fact that my guest could not order additional food prior to the concert!
In my August 11th email, I explained that I have enjoyed my stays at the Hotel Monaco's in DC and San Fran and other Kimpton owned hotels and that I was extremely disappointed and surprised(?) with the mayhem involving last visit.
On August 12, 205 , I received a very apologetic response from Frank Kawecki, Assistant General Manager stating "I express my sincere apologies for your obviously less than pleasant experience at our restaurant. I take your comments in the spirit made, and appreciate the opportunity for us to fine tune issues at Poste."
"I would like nothing better than the opportunity to make it up to you and your guests. Please accept my offer for you to come into Poste for the dining time of your choice, on us. And, if you forward me your credit card information and amount, I will credit your card. We want to show you that the service, or lack thereof, that you received on Wednesday is not what we strive for on a daily basis. Given that you have patronized many other Kimpton properties, you are obviously very important to us, and I would really appreciate the chance to mend fences."
"Please let me know if you are willing to allow a second chance at a first impression. Thank you again for your feedback."
On August 20, 2005, a friend and I decided to take them up on their offer and we went to have dinner at Poste Brasserie.
I found the service to be wonderful. The food was terrific and they really rectified the situation and made a great impression on me. Based on their good food, superior customer service, attention to detail and desire to uphold fantastic customer satisfaction, I would like to recommend to all your readers that they visit Poste Brasserie - 555 8th Street NW, Washington , DC.
Tom Sietsema: Restaurants are run by humans. People make mistakes. "Things" happen. Kudos to the powers that be at the hotel for addressing an unfortunate incident so diplomatically and generously. I'm pleased to share your exchange with a few hundred thousand eye balls.
Re: Griddles for Vegs: Many years ago I worked in a restaurant (started as a dishwasher and thankfully soon was offered a job as a waiter) that had a griddle. While we did not have a separate griddle or section for vegs. I can tell you that the griddle is scrubbed very well at the end of the day, and at the heat those things operate, any fat is burned off very quickly. Most restaurants are careful to make sure that true veg. meals are not cooked with any animal products. Besides, if it is cooked on a grill as opposed to a griddle, the heat (often about 800 degrees) will burn off any animal fat that may remain from previous items.
Tom Sietsema: That's great, but I bet the previous poster still won't be happy to know that meat and vegetables are cooked on the same surface.
Petworth, Washington, D.C.: Ai-yi-yi. Another suburbanite talking about the "transient" nature of DC and how it undermines our city.
Dude, there are many of us for whom this is home. And we eat out. And we support the local restaurants. I repeat, this is our home.
Perhaps you're not seeing that in the downtown expense account places, but come on uptown and look in on the local places. You'll see a whole different scene.
In a meeting, Washington, D.C.: How's Kinkead's these days?
Tom Sietsema: I'm always eager to eat at the bar, less enthusiastic about the dining room. The kitchen seems to be cooking in place.
Beignet & Coffee Fundraiser: On behalf of the Evening Star Cafe, we wanted to thank everyone who came out to support the Taste of the French Quarter fundraiser last Saturday!
The event was such a success, we're planning on another one this Saturday at Tallula from 9 to noon. For a $5 donation, you get an order of housemade beignets and a steaming cup of coffee. All sales go to benefit Katrina victims.
Tom Sietsema: The line starts here!
I've just moved back to the area and am desperate to find some great desserts. Which restaurants/pastry chefs are making the best ones right now?
Tom Sietsema: Lately, I've had some really nice endings to meals at Colvin Run Tavern, DC Coast, Buck's Fishing & Camping and the Inn at Easton.
What do you think of Al Tiramisu? Do we need reservations for tonight at 7:30 or should we wing it? An unexpected guest called and I sorta picked it out of a hat and would love some reassurance.
Tom Sietsema: You better start dialing! Al Tiramisu is a popular place.
Eastern Market, Washington, D.C.: Tom--"Possible changes of your own"? Do tell! Personal changes (Botox injections? Liposuction?)? Professional changes (Taking Todd Kliman's job at City Paper?)? Or changes within your current job? It's not fair to drop a tantalizing hint like that!
Tom Sietsema: Hey, a guy is entitled to keep a FEW secrets -- for awhile -- right?
Petworth, Washington, D.C.: Just a comment...if I try on a pair of jeans in my size at a store and they don't fit, the service staff could help me choose the right pair, but I don't expect to get them for free.
Why do we always expect restaurants to give us something for free if it "isn't what I expected" or "I don't like it"?
If I order it and there is something wrong it should be replaced but not comped. However, if I order it and I just don't care for it...well, I ordered it, now didn't I?
Tom Sietsema: Indeed you did.
Another tricky question. But I bet plenty of restaurants would rather replace a dish that a customer didn't care for than wait for a "I had a meal and didn't like it at X restaurant" to appear online or elsewhere.
I really need your urgent assistance. I work in an International Organization and my boss asked me to reserve a place for 10 in a nice downtown Washington DC restaurant. It can be either Italian or French. It has to be in Downtown Washington. Last time, they enjoyed Citronelle and Galileo. Can you please an elegant place for high level foreign delegates? Please answer my question. I am depending on you. Thank you.
Tom Sietsema: (The pressure! The pressure!)
Consider Tosca for Italian and Marcel's for French.
Rosslyn, Va.: Tom, I'm a big fan. However, I just don't understand your praise of Buck's. My boyfriend and I tried it based on your recommendation, and we thought the menu definitely lacked variety. What we ordered was OK, but neither of us thought it worth the price. The 'whimsical' atmosphere of the restaurant is interesting, but definitely not for everyone. I hate those people who write in to criticize your reviews, to each his own, but I keep seeing the recommendation from you so I'm wondering - did I miss something or should I try again?? Our visit was months ago...
Tom Sietsema: Try again. I, too, wish the menu was longer, but Carole Greenwood is a mighty fine cook. No one does better steak or mussels, in my opinion. They are two ubiquitous dishes, but in her hands, dishes raised to glory. I'm also partial to the arty setting.
Arlington, Va.: I appreciate the "Postcard from Tom" columns in the Travel section and have used the reviews as guidance several times. What's next for your travels beyond D.C.? Thank you.
Tom Sietsema: I plan to visit Miami and Oaxaca in coming months.
Good morning. I hope you can shed some light on my question. Quite often when we go out to dinner, we buy wine by the glass, usually red wine. The amount of wine poured varies from, hey, that's pretty generous, to, the pour seems to be a bit on the skimpy side. Can you clear up on how much wine one should expect to receive when ordering by the glass. Since wine glasses vary in size and shape, could you respond by providing your answer in ounces.
Tom Sietsema: Five- to six-ounces is pretty much the industry standard for a "glass." Keep in mind, six ounces in a big, beautiful goblet can look like a splash!
Clients near GW: Thanks for that, any info on Notti Bianche? Never heard of it.
Tom Sietsema: Review of Notti Bianche
Washington, D.C.: I was in a restaurant recently and had just finished my meal when a group arrived and were seated at the table next to me. One of the ladies at the table had an overpowering perfume that enveloped the whole area with the sweet cloying scent. I left soon afterwards, but wondered what the restaurant (or I) could do in a situation such as this. Your advice would be appreciated.
Tom Sietsema: THAT'S a tricky situation. One person's cologne is another person's aggravation. I guess you could have asked to be moved, had it happened earlier in the meal.
Any restaurateurs care to weigh in on possible solutions to the problem?
Washington, D.C.: Tom, my boyfriend dumped me and I'm an emotional wreck. Barely sleeping, barely eating. Where would you go for comfort food, something that you'd eat even without much of an appetite?
Tom Sietsema: Sorry to hear that.
Maybe sushi -- and a little show -- at the bar at Sushi-Ko will help you get over the blues. Or a plate of pasta and a friendly greeting at Al Tiramisu.
Re: International Org. dinner: Another place to try would be Le Paradou.
Tom Sietsema: Yeah, but my last meal there was pretty underwhelming.
Arlington, Va.: Really appreciate the chats. A few months back on a rainy night around 9pm, my partner and I had the most amazing meal at Chef Geoff's...shrimp and grits. We went back this week to find out they only serve the dish at brunch! Any where else you can recommend for a memorable shrimp and grit entree?
Tom Sietsema: Two of the best purveyors of that southern delight: Vidalia and Colorado Kitchen.
Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom,
Just wanted to share our lunch experience today (Tuesday) at Notti Bianche. In a nutshell, delicious food, but the SLOWEST service I have ever experienced. I will not go back for that reason. We had a 1 pm reservation. Our appetizers arrived at 1:35, our entrees at 2 pm, desserts at 2:30 and the bill at 2:45. This was a business lunch--2 hours? Seriously? It took an HOUR to get our entrees. We were not slow eaters. We were talking, but not so intently that the servers could not interrupt us.
Also, I thought it rather strange that when no one ordered any beverages (I don't think they're printed on the menu) the server didn't bring it up at all. The water was kept plentiful, but I was surprised that there was no "would you care for iced tea?" or whatever.
Anyway, just my 2 cents.
Tom Sietsema: I noted slow service in my review. Sorry to hear the problem has yet to be fixed.
After hitting a preview party tonight at Hotel Monaco on 8th St., we'd like to go out for a real dinner afterwards. Something medium priced would be great. Any suggestions? Thanks.
Tom Sietsema: You can certainly find a "real" meal right on the property, at Poste, but if you want to move on, I'd suggest Andale for Mexican, Jaleo for tapas or Matchbox for pizza.
Silver Spring, Md.: Hey Tom, I am supposed to meet some friends in Clarendon for drinks later this week. I could use some advice on where to go since its been years since I have been out in Virginia.
Tom Sietsema: Try the chic and nightclubby Eleventh St. Lounge, which pours some good cocktails and serves a snacky menu.
Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C.: Tom,
Any new and exciting tasting menus being offered in DC (or Baltimore)
I've been to the most obvious on anyone's list (Citronelle,Minibar,Galileo) and now find myself looking around for something new
Tom Sietsema: You're in luck. One of the most interesting tasting menus I've come across in the past year is being featured in this Sunday's Magazine. Stay tuned.
Fairfax, Va.: What are the best seafood restaurants in the area?
Tom Sietsema: A few of my favorites include Johnny's Half Shell, Jerry's Seafood, Hank's Oyster Bar, Pesce and the bar -- but not the dining room proper -- at Kinkead's. O'Learys in Annapolis also has been good in the past, but it recently lost its chef and I haven't been in to see if it's still a worthy destination.
Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom...I wait tables part time and find it extremely annoying when customers come in and only want to order dessert. Do you find that appropriate in a busy restaurant? Shouldn't they just go to a place that serves dessert primarily?
Tom Sietsema: Diners should not expect to be able to order "just dessert" in a busy restaurant, but if there's room, the bar of said restaurant might be a good place to seek out.
Washington, D.C.: I very much appreciate a vegetarians place in this world but if an 800 degree griddle doesn't satisfy someone - please don't go out. I continue to use silverware at restaurants though Lord knows what that's touched before it's been washed. But it has been washed, burned off, etc.
Overpowering perfume?: Perhaps a sign at the door that says "No shirt, no shoes, no jacket, no overpowering perfume, noisy children, sick people, cell phones...."
Isn't that a bit ridiculous? What the restaurant can and should do? NOTHING!!! I realize that eating out is and should be a lovely experience. But get real...
Tom Sietsema: Sure, but I wouldn't want to eat my meal in a cloud of offensive odors, either, and as a diner, I think I have the right to ask for another seat.
Washington, D.C.: Tom, I am on jury duty at Superior Court (3rd and Constitution). Where can I get a good (and fairly quick) lunch in that area?
Tom Sietsema: When I was summoned, I took the opportunity to revisit Andale and Cafe Atlantico, both of which fed me well -- and got me back to the court house in under an hour.
Silver Spring, Md.: Hi Tom. Thanks for making Wednesdays a little more special with these chats.
I was just watching "The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover" again this weekend - one of my all time favorites - and wondered: With your worldwide travels and the inevitable plethora of cuisine you've had, have you ever eaten human flesh?
Tom Sietsema: Not that I know of!
(Years ago, critic Gael Greene of New York magazine famously mused about what a baby might taste like. Oh, the letters she got in response!)
Washington, D.C.: Hi Tom! I've submitted this before with no response, so maybe that means you don't have any advice... but I'm looking for restaurant suggestions in Madison, Wisc. I'd like to buy a gift cert. as a wedding present for some friends who live there. So ideally a nice restaurant that will be a memorable experience for them, but also where they can get most of a meal for 2 with wine for around $100. Hope you (or anyone else on the chat) can help! Thanks.
Alexandria, Va.: Do some restaurants refuse food critics to come and review their restaurants? Do restaurants have to have a "business" relationship (e.g. advertising) with the Post to be considered for review? I have heard the above from a restaurant owner in Alexandria. Thanks.
Tom Sietsema: Thanks for giving me the opportunity to clear up some misperceptions.
Restaurants do not have to advertise to be reviewed. Indeed, plenty of businesses that DO buy ads have never been given any ink (by me) in the Magazine. I'm in the fortunate position of choosing the subjects of my column and have never encountered interference from the business side of this newspaper -- or from editors, for that matter.
In the five years I've been food critic, only one place has been uncooperative about having a representative from the Post write about the restaurant, and that was because the owner disagreed with the Post's handling of a foreign political matter and not because of anything I did. I was able to write the column -- I visited the restaurant anonymously three times -- but getting background information and a photograph proved challenging.
I don't think restaurants can "refuse" to be reviewed. They might not allow a camera in, they might not give us their hours and other information, but there are ways around those obstacles.
There's a little Chinese place where I used to live that I adored. The food wasn't inventive or extraordinary, but I loved it for what it was and I really miss their sesame chicken. Do you have any guilty restaurant pleasures? Any places that you go that, while lacking in service, ambience, or culinary fascinations, you go anyway?
Tom Sietsema: If I've had a really tough day, or someone has dropped out of a dinner scheduled elsewhere, I've been known to head to Stoney's on L St. NW for a grilled cheese sandwich made "super" with bacon. (I keep hoping someone might save it from the wrecking ball; in my book, the dive is a treasure.)
Tyson's Corner, Va. Cube Dweller: Hey Tom, great chats! One comment and a question.
As a single girl, a tidbit to all those DC men debating over 10, 15, and 20 percent tips: one of the best indicators of the future of a relationship can be found by sneaking a peak at the tip line of a restaurant receipt. A cheap man to his servers, I've found, is cheap with everything. Gals notice, and skimping a few bucks CAN affect the probability of date #2.
Also, Tom, if you're reviewing a restaurant for a Postcard, do you ever talk to/read reviews from your fellow food critics if they've visited the place before? In other words, do you visit restaurants with preconceived notions what the experience is going to be like?
Tom Sietsema: Great date advice there! Hear that, men?
I do a considerable amount of homework before I set off for a city for my Postcard column, part of which involves reading reviews of restaurants that have been suggested to me. Since my time in most of these destinations is short and I aim to bring back three solid recommendations, I can't afford too many bum tips.
As I do with local restaurants, I try to keep an open mind when visiting new (or unfamiliar) establishments.
Washington, D.C.: Just wanted to let you know -
Merkado for sure needs help - the food was terrific; the drinks were terrific. The service was awful. The following happened when we a big group of us went there this past Saturday night:
My boyfriend ordered a glass of chianti and was corrected by the waiter that it was pronounced "CHI-anti" and then he proceeded to grab the wine list out of his hand.
I ordered a drink which arrived after the appetizers.
2 appetizers came out and the 3rd did not. After 10 minutes, we asked about the 3rd one, the waiter then walked away and plunked the appetizer down - it obviously had been sitting in the kitchen.
When the meal came, we were confused over the pork "big plate" as it came out in a big bowl and was covered in watercress. When we asked if this was the dish ordered, the waiter took a fork, turned over the dish, and said "yes, here is the pork".
A friend asked where her side dish of plantains were - the waiter took the dish from another person (already half eaten) and gave it to her. When we asked for a new side dish the waiter was very mad and started arguing with us.
We brought a birthday cake and they said we could serve it at the end of the meal. Well, the plates for the cake were placed down before the cake even came out, so the surprise was ruined.
All in all, none of the 9 of our party would ever return. Not worth it.
Tom Sietsema: One waiter did and said all this? (And was the side dish moved from and to people sharing the same table?) Sounds like someone needs to re-read a training manual.
Chevy Chase, Washington, D.C.: Tom - went to Esca in NYC Saturday night for our anniversary based on your recommendation from the chat two weeks ago. We really enjoyed it! Great food, attentive server, near the theater. Thanks!
Tom Sietsema: Ah, I'm happy for the feedback. Thanks.
Bethesda, Md.: Good morning Tom,
I'm curious to have your opinion on my recent experience at Morton's Steakhouse in Bethesda. We called and were told 'there might be a short wait, but we can seat you'. We arrived and parked in their garage (posted sign said 3 hours $9). Once inside the restaurant the hostess (not the one who spoke to us on the phone) claimed there was no way to seat us for 3 hours. We chose to find another place for dinner. My issue is with the $9 in parking fees. We were required to pay these because 'that's what the garage charges us'. Paying $9 for less than 10 minutes of parking seems wrong, especially when we would never have parked if the person answering the phone had given us an honest answer. I think the hostess should have found a way to reduce or waive the parking fee. The hostess seemed shocked that I would even suggest such a thing. I know $9 isn't a lot of money, but it feels like I'm being ripped off. What do you think?
Tom Sietsema: Did you talk to a manager? If the exchange you relate is a full account -- if whoever answered the phone told you there would be but a "short wait" -- I think Morton's should have reimbursed you the parking fee.
P.S. I've found that it pays to record the time of calls and jot down employees' names, just to protect yourself in situations such as this one.
My 24th birthday is this coming weekend (the 18th) and I'm trying to plan a dinner out this weekend (Sat or Sun evening) for myself and anywhere from 8-15 friends, all aged between 23 and 25. I'm looking primarily for somewhere young, fun, metro-accessible (only in the district) good food and wine. I realize the size of the group limits our possibilities, but I was hoping you could provide some insight.
I mostly want to go somewhere that can accommodate a large group and make it an enjoyable experience, while still maintaining a high quality of food (while not a picky eater, I've been known to be critical when eating out). I don't eat out very frequently these days, but certainly have been to my share of restaurants in DC over my 2+ years living here.
I'm just not sure where would be best-suited for this type of occasion, and a group this size. I seem to pass dozens of restaurants in the Dupont area (which is quite close to my apartment) all the time, and I'm just not sure if any of these places are worth going to or not.
Basically, I'm looking for some guidance and would appreciate any and all suggestions.
Tom Sietsema: What about the communal tables at Sonoma, Zaytinya or Buck's Fishing & Camping, the wine room atop Bistro Lepic in Georgetown, or the glass-enclosed rooftop at the new Tabaq on U St. NW? And congratulations, by the way.
Washington, D.C.: Are there any restaurants in the area with good beef wellington?
Tom Sietsema: Funny, how this question pops up every month or so. I wish I could name a restaurant that offers the pastry-swaddled hunk of meat, but nothing comes to mind. Chatters?
Washington, D.C.: More about complaints from the restaurant side. What should a restaurant do when they know a customer is not being truthful about a complaint? This recently happened and it was pretty appalling. I did not handle it as I normally would handle a customer complaint because I was so shocked by the dishonesty of the person (they thought I was a different manager than the one they originally spoke with and fabricated a completely different situation). They said the first manager they spoke with handled things rudely, yada yada. Well the first manager was me and that was not the case. I won't get into the details, but I did not out myself yet and in fact took their complaint info. I think I was a bit snarky in my final response to the guest, though adequately apologetic for the "situation." I haven't caught someone in a lie like this before and was just so surprised. How do you think things like this, and other customer's word against a restaurant's should be handled?
Tom Sietsema: Ouch. Can you share more details, so we can discuss this next week? Time is running out for today.
See you back here next Wednesday, folks.
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NEW YORK, Sept. 13 -- After nearly two weeks consumed by Hurricane Katrina, President Bush turned his attention back to the rest of the world Tuesday and confronted again the vexing challenges of an intractable war in Iraq, disputes with Iran and North Korea, and fitful relations with the United Nations.
Bush played host to Iraq's first democratically selected president at the White House in the morning and persuaded him to abandon talk of imminent U.S. troop pullouts. Bush then flew to New York in the afternoon to attend a division-plagued U.N. summit and to solicit Chinese help in pressuring Pyongyang and Tehran to abandon nuclear weapons ambitions.
The full day of diplomacy marked the first time that Bush has resumed a normal schedule since clearing his calendar after the devastation wrought by Katrina along the Gulf Coast. Among other events, Bush canceled a pomp-filled visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao last week to concentrate on getting relief to storm-ravaged areas. But Bush began to make it up to Hu by meeting with him here Tuesday evening, one of the first sit-down sessions with another world leader since the crisis.
The rest of the week is jammed with other foreign policy events, including meetings Wednesday with the prime ministers of Britain and Israel, a U.N. gathering of 170 world leaders and a White House summit Friday with Russian President Vladimir Putin. But aides insisted Bush would keep his attention on the afflicted region, scheduling a fourth trip there for Thursday capped by a prime-time national address.
In perhaps the most sensitive meeting of the day, Bush spent an hour with Hu. Bush gave him a list of human rights cases that the United States is concerned about, a list that a senior U.S. official said is topped by the longtime imprisonment of a researcher for the New York Times on accusations of disclosing state secrets.
During a public appearance, Hu promised "to step up" efforts on North Korea "so that we can facilitate fresh progress" in multilateral talks scheduled to resume in Beijing. During their private session, the U.S. side said Hu was supportive of efforts to curtail Iran's nuclear ambitions as well, but offered no support for Bush's bid to refer Tehran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.
Bush's meeting with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani came a day after he departed from White House talking points and broached the prospect of large-scale withdrawal of U.S. forces from his country. In an interview with The Washington Post on Monday, Talabani said "at least from 40,000 to 50,000 American troops can be [withdrawn] by the end of this year."
After meeting with Bush on Tuesday morning, Talabani joined the president in the East Room to deliver a different message. "We will set no timetable for withdrawal, Mr. President," Talabani said at a joint media availability. "A timetable will help the terrorists, will encourage them [to think] that they could defeat a superpower of the world and the Iraqi people."
Still, Talabani added that he hoped enough Iraqi security forces would be trained by the end of 2006 to take " responsibility from many American troops with complete agreement with Americans."
A longtime Kurdish leader who resisted Saddam Hussein's rule, Talabani effusively thanked Bush for liberating Iraqis from the "worst kind of dictatorship" and praised him as "a visionary, great statesman." Smiling broadly, Talabani said, "We will never forget what you have done for our people."
Bush, in turn, praised the new constitution drafted by Iraqi negotiators as "an historic milestone" that protects fundamental rights and makes all Iraqis equal before the law. In private, though, aides said Bush used the opportunity to urge Talabani to be flexible in considering changes to the constitution, which was written by Shiite and Kurdish leaders but rejected by leaders of the Sunni minority.
The president also delivered a sharp warning to Syria for not doing more to stop foreign fighters from crossing its border with Iraq to fight U.S. forces. "The Syrian leader must understand we take his lack of action seriously," Bush said, adding that he plans to speak with allies about pressuring Damascus.
Bush similarly said he would bring up Iran with Hu and Putin in hopes of forging a consensus approach to blocking any nuclear weapons development by the theocratic state. Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who will be in New York for his first U.S. visit since winning election, has insisted that his country wants to develop only civilian nuclear power.
"Some of us are wondering why they need civilian nuclear power, anyway," Bush said. "They're awash with hydrocarbons. Nevertheless, it's a right of a government to want to have a civilian nuclear program."
That comment caused a stir because the U.S. government has adamantly rejected North Korea's aspirations for civilian nuclear power. Aides later insisted Bush was not trying to signal a policy change toward Pyongyang. "I can guarantee you that's not what he intended to indicate," said National Security Council spokesman Frederick L. Jones II.
Arriving in New York later in the day, Bush met with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan in preparation for Wednesday's summit. Negotiators agreed on a plan to restructure the United Nations and follow up pledges to combat world poverty.
During his subsequent joint appearance with Hu, the Chinese leader acknowledged "some frictions" as trade grows and promised that Beijing will "take effective measures" to address trade imbalances and "step up its efforts to protect intellectual properties." Hu urged the United States to oppose "so-called Taiwan independence."
Bush, who will visit China in November, emphasized the strength of the relationship. "I will bring up human rights," the president said. "But most importantly, I view this visit as an opportunity to continue a dialogue in dealing with a very important relationship for the United States and the world."
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After nearly two weeks consumed by Hurricane Katrina, President Bush turns his attention back to the rest of the world and confronts again the vexing challenges of Iraq, Iran, North Korea, and fitful relations with the United Nations.
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Ex-Marshal Gets 15 Years for Rockville Killing
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A former deputy U.S. marshal who killed a young Navy seaman in a road rage incident last year at a Rockville shopping plaza was sentenced yesterday to 15 years in prison.
Arthur L. Lloyd, 54, who was convicted in June of voluntary manslaughter in the Oct. 29 shooting of Ryan T. Stowers, probably will serve about 11 years before he is eligible for parole, prosecutors said.
Calling the shooting "an enormous tragedy" for both families, Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Ann S. Harrington tailored a sentence that satisfied neither side completely. She went beyond state guidelines calling for a five- to 10-year sentence, but she declined to impose the maximum 35-year term requested by prosecutors.
Holding a collection of family photographs, Tricia Stowers told the court she believes Lloyd should serve the same amount of time she had been allowed with her son before his life was cut short.
"Your honor, this whole time I've had to listen to the defense's version of what happened, I never hear, 'I'm sorry.' I never hear, 'I was wrong,' " Stowers said. "That's not going to bring Ryan back, and putting Mr. Lloyd in jail will never bring Ryan back. But he needs to realize that he was wrong. He needs to sit there and think about it every day, every day for at least 20 years. Twenty years -- that's what I had with my son."
When it was his turn to speak, Lloyd asked the family to forgive him. Then, in remarks that drifted over several subjects, he placed some blame for the deadly encounter on Stowers's intoxication. He said that all law enforcement officers have been on edge in the post-Sept. 11 world and that he became fearful for himself and his family when Stowers followed him into the shopping plaza.
He claimed that he had no choice but to take action against a driver who made "racially profane" remarks and menaced him and his family. Lloyd is black; Stowers was white.
"Just between me and God, and to the family, especially the mother, and all the brothers and sisters, I have to ask forgiveness. And I have to ask forgiveness because a young man lost his life," Lloyd told the court.
The shooting occurred at the Mid-Pike Plaza in front of dozens of horrified witnesses, many of whom were shopping with children for Halloween costumes. That was why Lloyd, off duty and accompanied by his wife and five young children, headed to the shopping plaza in his black SUV. Then he encountered Stowers. A state toxicology report determined later that Stowers had a blood alcohol concentration nearly three times Maryland's legal driving limit.
Their traffic dispute became a fistfight. Dozens of shoppers dialed 911 on cell phones. Witnesses testified that, as Lloyd's wife tried to hold him back, Lloyd went to his vehicle for his .40-caliber Glock service weapon, vowing: "I'm going to show him."
Lloyd shot Stowers in the leg, saying he feared for his life and wanted only to disable a crazed adversary. Lloyd said he felt that his life was in danger when Stowers attempted to drive away in his red Camaro. Lloyd fired three shots into Stowers's car, one of which clipped Stowers's aorta.
Witnesses -- some of whom returned to court yesterday to address the judge -- said Lloyd looked more like an enraged motorist waving a gun around than a trained law enforcement officer. They said they, too, had been afraid.
Eugenia Hull, a Silver Spring woman who was buying Halloween costumes with her two boys, recalled holding her arms out to shield them, later realizing how absurd the gesture was.
"I had no way to protect my children from this man with a gun," said Hull, 44.
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Get Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia news. Includes news headlines from The Washington Post. Get info/values for Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia homes. Features schools, crime, government, traffic, lottery, religion, obituaries.
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PBS Wide Angle: 1-800-INDIA
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Over the past decade, India has emerged as the leader in the rapidly growing global market for white-collar "outsourcing" jobs - a notable component of India's rapid economic growth. It has been widely reported that up to half a million American jobs may have been "lost" to India in recent years through outsourcing, and some analysts project that the number will soon reach a million, as the Indian and Chinese back-office sectors expand by 30 percent a year. In 1-800-INDIA, Thirteen/WNET's Wide Angle reveals the transformation taking place inside India. Traveling to Gurgaon, a suburb of New Delhi and home to India's first call center, 1-800-INDIA follows four women who work for GECIS, the nation's largest BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) company, with over 13,000 employees. Profiling these young women working at well-paid, demanding jobs that require long hours, late-night shifts, and Westernized work habits, 1-800-INDIA reveals the personal and cultural impact of this sweeping global trend.
Producer Anna Cater was online Wednesday, Sept. 14, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the PBS Wide Angle film "1-800-INDIA."
Anna Cater has worked in documentaries for the past 15 years. Her most recent documentary, Frank Hurley - the Man Who Made History, an historical biography of an Australian photographer, was produced for the ABC, BBC, AVRO in the Netherlands, NDR in Germany and History Television in Canada. Anna began her career in journalism with The Canberra Times and has written for newspapers around the world. She has worked for the aid agencies Oxfam UK and Oxfam Community Aid Abroad, the Australian Council of Social Services, and ABC Radio National's Background Briefing and ABC TV's Four Corners programs. Her investigative film Bush Bugarup about corruption in the PNG timber industry won a gold medal at the New York Festival.
"1-800-INDIA" airs Tuesday, Sept. 13 on PBS ( Check local listings ).
Kensington, Md.: It has been said that outsourcing cannot be stopped because otherwise American corporations would be left behind in terms of cost cutting and larger profits.
Would you agree that this just not a fad that will pass away in a few years?
Anna Cater: Outsourcing is not just a fad. We could be witnessing the tip of the iceberg. There are many more office jobs that can be outsourced offshore.
Chicago, Ill.: As a Bangalorean that lives and works in Chicago and has seen some of the outsourcing things happening, do you feel the trade off that Indian workers are getting from outsourcing are worth it to them? Namely, the long hours, stress and increase in prices vs. internationalization/globalization, financial independence and buying power. Thanks.
Anna Cater: I believe the trade-off for the BPO workers in our film is reduced because they are all young. In your mid-20's, you probably don't feel the stress so much from the long hours and the night shifts. At $10,000 a year, these women are earning incomes in the top 5% of the Indian population.
Gaithersburg, Md.: I saw the trickle down effect that the program noted. But did you notice another effect that many pro-globalization economists note in their defense? This effect is mainly where high income individuals end up also buying American products and services and therefore helping the U.S. economy. I saw this effect in passing in the program. Did you notice any such thing?
Anna Cater: The location of our film is a suburb on the outskirts of Delhi called Gurgaon (pronouned Gurgow). Residents of Delhi visit Gurgaon for a day trip to shop at its malls. These malls are full of American brands. The CEO of Gecis, Pramod Bhasin, says in his interview that because these people are young (mostly in their mid 20's), they tend to spend a lot of their income.
Krishna of Bel Air, Md.: What in your view is a solution to this job migration to India (and I hear some African countries are getting their foot in the market)? My opinion is that this phenomenon is no doubt raising the standard of living (and the cost of living!) in India, but a solution vis-a-vis the U.S., will have to include a lowering of the same here. Which is very unpalatable. What do you think?
Anna Cater: I am a film-maker from Australia and not an expert on America's economic future. However commentators think the end result is that Americans will have to consume less and save more.
Arlington, Va.: Had you been to India before making this documentary? What were you impression than and how different is your impression now? Or this was your first impression?
Anna Cater: I have been to India many times. The first time was for 12 months in 1984. Last year I visited for 3 months, and this year I have been there four times. When I first went to India 20 years ago there were no foreign products, and now the major difference is that the economy has opened up.
Meridian, Idaho: Thank you so much for your detailed and informative documentary. I believe that this film is important to share with my employees who are interacting with BPO employees in India. How can I purchase a copy?
Anna Cater: If you go to the Wide Angle Web site you will be able to purchase a copy of the film there.
Miami, Fla.: I thought India's call center and tech hub was not the city that you chose to document. Is not the main one in Southern India in Bangalore?
Does this mean that these tech hubs and call center BPO ops are popping up everywhere in India?
Anna Cater: There are BPO offices all over India. Bangalore is referred to as the Silicon Valley of India. Gurgaon, where our film is located, is another hub further north. As the BPO industry develops, companies (both Indian and foreign), are going further afield in India to tap new populations.
Oklahoma City, Okla.: Does India fear a "reverse brain drain" in which these increasingly Westernized women choose to migrate and stay in the U.S.?
What could happen is that the owners and managers of these lucrative businesses may reside---and spend their money--in the U.S., but the relatively cheap labor stays in India?
Anna Cater: I am not aware of the migration statistics for India's IT workers. However many non-resident Indians are returning from the US to India, to take part in India's booming IT industry.
Washington, D.C.: It's easy for Americans to get caught up in parochial politics ("our" jobs getting sent overseas), but I found it very interesting to see how those same jobs changed the lives of Indian workers. I was particularly fascinated by the stories of young women, hitherto regarded as burdens, becoming the primary breadwinners in their families.
All in all, it was a very encouraging show. Companies get criticized for sending this jobs to places like India, but no one seems to notice how the marginal benefits to the workers over there are far greater than they would be here.
Or so it seems to me. Your thoughts?
Anna Cater: Your's is an interesting question. I am not aware of any research that's been done on the benefits (both personal and community) of a job in the BPO industry in India compared to the same job in the US. Certainly many of the young BPO workers in India are supporting their families, either directly or buying them a car or a house, which is not what their equivalent in the US would be doing.
Meridian, Idaho: I have been to the PBS Web site and they do not show it for sale. I have called PBS and WNET this morning and both say it is not published for sale. Does Wide Angle have its own Web site separate from PBS? Sorry to be so detailed, but I truly have been trying all morning to find and purchase a copy and have hit all dead ends.
Anna Cater: I am trying to think how I can assist you. I am based in Sydney, Australia, and this is the first time I have made a film for Wide Angle, and also the first time I have been in a guest in this chat room, so I am not sure how I can record your email address (so I can get back to you).
Silver Spring, Md.: You focused a lot on the lives of women and how they have been changed. I thought that a great perspective.
However how is this whole BPO thing impacted the males?
Anna Cater: I believe women's lives in the BPO industry are changing more dramatically than males. It was the BPO industry that lobbied the Indian Government in 2001 to change India's labor laws to allow women to work after 8pm. This was only four years ago. And in the call centers, 70% of the workforce are women. Men working in the call centers really like the environment as they are free to mix with women, which is not typical in Indian workplaces.
Chantilly, Va.: The program briefly talked about how these young folks (especially the women) are embracing the Western lifestyle.
Can expound upon this beyond the program. What does this exactly mean? Is this new age of Indian BPO workers completely leaving behind their own culture?
Anna Cater: I wouldn't say these young Indian people are leaving behind their Indian culture. Yes, they have mobile phones and TVs. Yes, a few of them are choosing to smoke and drink. But many are still living at home, and many appear to be still observing Indian customs. Their incomes are making them more "Western" rather than the type of work they are doing.
Meridian, Idaho: Well, we are in the same boat! This is the first time I have attempted to purchase a documentary and the first time I have participated in a chat session of this type.
If you can, please contact me.
Anna Cater: Thanks for sending me your email address. I will follow this up tomorrow.
Washington, D.C.: The program said (and I paraphrase), "The next thing in outsourcing is medical and legal type tasks."
This is a bit astounding. Has this already started and do you think India has the capability to do these harder tasks?
Anna Cater: Indians (and people in other developing countries) are already doing medical and legal work, very capably. X-rays are being sent to India and analyzed by workers there, doctors in Australia are using people in India to do their transcriptions, and the same goes for legal briefs.
Washington, D.C.: I have heard that several of America's prestigious MBA candidates are heading straight past Wall Street and onto India for their internships. Can you comment on this trend and what it might mean for the future distribution of some America's most talented academic pools?
Anna Cater: Yes, I have also heard this. Commentators still believe that Americans lead the world in business administration (and therefore the MBA education field), but in the education of IT engineers, developing countries are ahead. Also IT courses in the States are attended by people from developing countries. An Indian IT engineer is often more highly sought after than his/her American equivalent.
New York, N.Y.: I like the energy and excitement in India, and I think it is a very good thing that so many young people who are not from the elite institutions (IITs and IIMs) are getting the opportunities. My concern is that BPO work is creating a reward system where one gets better paid for a call center job than for practicing medicine, or teaching, or working as an architect. Will this have any effect on how India deals with its widespread poverty, and the already dismal state of education and health care?
Anna Cater: We also wondered about this. I don't think any research has been done on the brain drain into India's BPO industry. However the industry employs only 300,000 people in a nation of one billion, so while it may be having a wider social and economic impact, in numbers it is still relatively nascent. It's the big topic in India at the moment - how much will its economic boom trickle down to the rural poor.
Detroit, Mich.: After the program, Bill Moyers had an expert that pretty much said that the secondary education system in India is much better compared to its Western counterparts.
Did you notice this? And what qualifications does one need for these competitive jobs? Is it just speaking English?
Anna Cater: Many of the people working in call centers in India are highly educated. They either have an MBA or their employers are subsiding their further education and they are studying for a second degree at the same time. During the 1990's India spent a lot of money developing university education for MBAs and IT engineers.
New York, N.Y.: Is India better suited for this outsourcing wave because of the many Indians that can speak English so well compared to other Asian countries like China?
I was honestly surprised how well so many of them could converse in English outside of the job.
Anna Cater: Among developing countries involved in offshore outsourcing, India is well known for its large pool of English speakers. China is better known for its manufacturing of electronic goods (computers, mobile phones etc) and IT engineers.
Alexandria, Va.: I came to know about this program only today through washingtonpost.com. Do you know if PBS will have a re-run of this program anytime? I am interested in watching it. Thanks much.
Anna Cater: If you look at Wide Angle's Web site, it will show you when the program will be repeated.
I saw the documentary and it was great. It was nice to see a human face on that person so many miles away during a tech support call, help assistants etc.
But can you tell us how these bright young people perceive Americans? Do they know about how Americans worry about losing jobs and therefore about some of the hostility that is seen?
Anna Cater: The women in our film are well read and well traveled. Many of them have family living in the States, so they would be aware of the debate. They did not comment on the broader debate and whether they felt responsible for taking the job of an American. However Minal in the film comments about how BPO workers in India feel that it is unfair when they receive racist comments as they are only doing their job, to the best of their abilities.
Reston, Va.: I saw the Wide Angle program last night and it was outstanding.
One thing I noticed was the evident changing gender roles in India due to the outsourcing jobs in the form of decent salaries.
In developing nations it seems like this is a great way to advance the rights of women that have historically been treated like second class citizens.
Can you comment on how you saw that up close?
Anna Cater: In development terms, economic prosperity and education go hand in hand. These women are economically independent which gives them a certain amount of social freedom. Their education has enabled them to work in the BPO industry, and because they are young (mid 20's), many of them are questioning the status quo. They are at the vanguard of changing gender roles in Indian society.
Paris, France: Hello Same as Meridian, Idaho: have been trying to buy the DVD online but could not locate it on the PBS Web site. Would really appreciate it if you could get back to me with how to buy your film which sounds very interesting (couldn't catch it in France!). Thanks !
Anna Cater: Sure, I will try and find out about purchasing a DVD and get back to you tomorrow.
Bethesda, Md.: I was really impressed by Minal. She is supporting her funny mother that wants her to be married ASAP and has not slept for 2 years. It was good see that mothers are similar across the world.
By delaying marriage she reminded me of how similar it is in our country. Did you see the same parallel and is there any update on her?
Anna Cater: I could see parallels with young working women in the West, who are delaying getting married in exchange for a career. I suppose the difference is that not many young women in the West would be prepared to make the family sacrifices that Minal is making - looking after her mother and choosing not to marry a man from a different religious background.
Towson, Md.: Some in your program said that they would like to go up the ladder.
What is the upside potential in these BPO companies? Are there better jobs within the companies other than just tech support over the phone?
Anna Cater: As you can see with our women, you typically start out answering phones and if you are good at your job, within 3 years you will be promoted to an assistant manager, where you supervise others. You could then work your way up the managerial tree, I suppose.
washingtonpost.com: Thank you all for participating 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.
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Producer Anna Cater discusses her PBS Wide Angle film. "1-800-INDIA," about offshore outsourcing and its effect on the lives of four Indian women.
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Parsing the Abortion Debate
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"Roberts: Precedent Settles Abortion Ruling," read a headline on an Associated Press story this afternoon.
Such news would seem to alarm abortion opponents and bring delight to supporters of a woman's right to chose. Yet, earlier comments made by John Roberts about the right to privacy and what it means about his views on a woman's right to abortion seem likely to be the main point of contention today. That presumed right is the basis for the Supreme Court's 1973 landmark decision in Roe v. Wade that legalized the right to abortion.
Today, under questioning by Sen. Arlen Specter, a moderate Republican who supports abortion rights, Roberts said: "It's settled as a precedent of the court, entitled to respect under principles of stare decisis." Stare decisis is Latin for "to stand by a decision," and in layman's terms, it refers to the belief that long-standing court rulings set a precedence that should be given extra weight.
Roberts also asserted that the 1992 Supreme Court case Planned Parenthood v. Casey "reaffirmed the central holding in Roe v. Wade." Yet, early analysis in some media outlets indicated Roberts may have tipped his hand as a moderate when it comes to the question of abortion rights.
This might turn out to be one of those rare issues where the right and left roughly agree in their interpretation of what Roberts was saying today. Groups on both sides of the issue insisted Roberts neither endorsed Roe v. Wade nor the more general right to privacy that was the basis of the majority opinion in the case. In fact, interest groups on the left insisted Roberts said just the opposite.
"He essentially did not answer the Roe v. Wade question," said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority, in an interview. "He carefully did not answer it. While he said he respected stare decisis, he pointed out that it could be reversed based on three standards, erosion, workability and expectations.
"And he said, you must first start with Casey, and he said Casey reduced the standard [by adding the "undue burden" standard] and abandoning the trimester system."
Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women, said Roberts very smartly used careful legalistic terms to tip his hand that he considered Casey the real precedent, and one that already set a standard for erosion of Roe, meaning essentially that the stage was already set for further erosion of Roe.
"I'm shocked that there are some people who don't look more deeply at the words," Gandy said in an interview. "I'm a lawyer and these words mean something. They have meaning. Yes, he said there was a right to privacy ... but he was picking what privacies he supported and Roe wasn't one of them.
"He's a very smart lawyer and he's giving legalistic answers that are probably accurate. He doesn't want to lie. But he's giving answers that under some legal analysis do tip his hand, and it's very bad news for women."
Nancy Keenan, president of NARAL Pro-choice America, said Roberts ducked the specific question about whether the right of privacy applied to abortion and said it was of pressing importance that he answer that question, given the court's calendar for the upcoming session.
"In his first round of questioning, John Roberts failed to state whether he believes the right to privacy includes a woman's right to choose as recognized in Roe v. Wade," she said. "He still must answer this vital question directly; the American people expect him to do so as the hearings go forward.
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"Roberts: Precedent Settles Abortion Ruling," read a headline on an Associated Press story this afternoon. The ideologues on opposite sides of the partisan divide have been going at it for weeks, firing off e-mails to lists of reporters, attempting to influence the debate and public perception......
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A Poverty of Thought
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It took exactly one month -- until the president's prime-time news conference of Oct. 11, 2001 -- to refute the notion that Sept. 11 "changed everything." When a reporter said, "You haven't called for any sacrifices from the American people," he replied, "Well, you know, I think the American people are sacrificing now. I think they're waiting in airport lines longer than they've ever had before." And that was before the sacrificing became really hellacious with the requirement that passengers remove their shoes at security checkpoints.
The idea that Hurricane Katrina would change the only thing that matters -- thinking -- perished even more quickly, at about the time Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu, a suitable symbol of congressional narcissism, dramatized the severity of the tragedy by taking a television interviewer on a helicopter flight over her destroyed beach house. "Washington rolled the dice and Louisiana lost," she said in a speech on the Senate floor that moved some senators to tears. You can no more embarrass a senator than you can a sofa, so the tears were not accompanied by blushing about having just passed a transportation bill whose 6,371 pork projects cost $24 billion, about 10 times more than the price of the levee New Orleans needed. Louisiana's congressional delegation larded the bill with $540,580,200 worth of earmarks, one-fifth the price of a capable levee.
America's always fast-flowing river of race-obsessing has overflowed its banks, and last Sunday on ABC's "This Week," Sen. Barack Obama, Illinois's freshman Democrat, applied to the expression of old banalities a fluency that would be beguiling were it without content. Unfortunately, it included the requisite lament about the president's inadequate "empathy" and an amazing criticism of the government's "historic indifference" and its "passive indifference" that "is as bad as active malice." The senator, 44, is just 30 months older than the "war on poverty" that President Johnson declared in January 1964. Since then the indifference that is as bad as active malice has been expressed in more than $6.6 trillion of anti-poverty spending, strictly defined.
The senator is called a "new kind of Democrat," which often means one with new ways of ignoring evidence discordant with old liberal orthodoxies about using cash -- much of it spent through liberalism's "caring professions" -- to cope with cultural collapse. He might, however, care to note three not-at-all recondite rules for avoiding poverty: Graduate from high school, don't have a baby until you are married, don't marry while you are a teenager. Among people who obey those rules, poverty is minimal.
In 1960 John Kennedy of Choate, Harvard and Palm Beach campaigned in West Virginia's primary and American liberalism experienced one of its regularly recurring rediscoveries of poor people, an epiphany abetted three years later by Michael Harrington's book "The Other America" receiving a 50-page review where liberals would notice it, amid the New Yorker magazine's advertisements for luxury goods. Between such rediscoveries, the poor are work for liberalism's constituencies among the "caregiving" professions.
Liberalism's post-Katrina fearlessness in discovering the obvious -- if an inner city is inundated, the victims will be disproportionately minorities -- stopped short of indelicately noting how many of the victims were women with children but not husbands. Because it was released during the post-Katrina debacle, scant attention was paid to the National Center for Health Statistics' report that in 2003, 34.6 percent of all American births were to unmarried women. The percentage among African American women was 68.2.
Given that most African Americans are middle class and almost half live outside central cities, and that 76 percent of all births to Louisiana African Americans were to unmarried women, it is a safe surmise that more than 80 percent of African American births in inner-city New Orleans -- as in some other inner cities -- were to women without husbands. That translates into a large and constantly renewed cohort of lightly parented adolescent males, and that translates into chaos in neighborhoods and schools, come rain or come shine.
This will become of intense interest to the "czar" or "czarina" -- this republic has a fascinating reflex for cloaking improvised offices with the dignity, such as it was, of defunct Russian royalty -- who is charged with "overseeing" the "rebuilding" of New Orleans. He or she can exchange notes with our "nation-builders" in Iraq, now learning conservatism's core truths about the limits of government's abilities to know and control things. Or he or she can glance at Ground Zero in Manhattan where, four years later, the "rebuilding" of a few square blocks is not going well.
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Katrina has led liberals to rediscover poverty, as Iraq is teaching would be "nation builders" the conservative truth that there are limits to government's abilities to know and control things.
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California's Solons Lead
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THE CALIFORNIA General Assembly last week became the first state legislature to allow same-sex marriages. In a close vote, it sent a historic bill to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) that would go a step beyond the state's broad domestic partnership rights. Mr. Schwarzenegger promptly declared that he would veto the bill, so it won't become law. But the legislature's action is an important milestone. While the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court permitted same-sex marriage in that state and legislatures have created civil unions elsewhere, the vote is the first time that a state legislature has acted on its own to create marriage equality.
The importance of the California vote in the politics of same-sex marriage is hard to overstate. After the Massachusetts court ruling, opponents of same-sex marriage decried the court's willingness to make policy on contested social issues. Such questions, they argued, were the rightful province of legislatures, not courts. President Bush even pegged his disgraceful endorsement of a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to the likelihood of "activist judges" depriving the people of democratic choice on the matter. The California legislature's decision gives the lie to the notion that only imperial judges would foist such a social policy on a state.
Only five years ago, voters in California overwhelmingly passed a ballot initiative to refuse recognition to same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. The recent legislative action reflects genuinely changed public sentiment; polls on the matter show voters evenly split.
In an ironic twist, Mr. Schwarzenegger is trying to punt the matter back to the courts, where challenges to current California law are pending. In announcing his decision to veto the bill, he suggested that the new law conflicts with the old initiative -- which would be unconstitutional -- and that "the matter should be determined not by legislative action . . . but by court decision or another vote of the people of our state."
The governor could not be more wrong. Legislation is actually the best way to move forward in this area. And further ballot initiatives that will attempt to write an exclusively heterosexual definition of marriage into the California constitution and, along the way, wipe out the state's progressive domestic partnership laws, are already in the works in any event. A lot of work remains to be done before marriage equality in California becomes a reality.
But the legislative action last week remains an important symbol -- at once a rebuke to those states that have reacted to the Massachusetts decision by writing discrimination into their fundamental laws and a gentle reminder to those who see hope for progress only in the courts that legislatures can still be engines for positive change.
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The importance of the California vote in the politics of same-sex marriage is hard to overstate. Legislation is the best way to move forward.
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Arctic Folly
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Congress is about to make one of those big decisions that marks an era. Unless wiser heads prevail, it may do it badly -- making the wrong decision in the wrong way and about the wrong place. At stake is America's greatest wildlife sanctuary, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. To dissuade Congress from this environmental tragedy, Americans must rally, and quickly.
Congress had its Pyrrhic energy victory this summer, with a new energy policy that ignores much-needed conservation measures and gives the oil industry large new tax breaks regardless of where it drills and pumps. Surely Congress has done more than enough to increase the profits of the oil industry.
Yet now, in a separate decision, the White House and Big Oil are pressuring Congress to allow drilling rigs to rip into the ecological heart of America's preeminent wildlife sanctuary. We must not confuse this with Prudhoe Bay, which lies west of the Arctic refuge and is already an industrial landscape resembling Houston more than Yellowstone.
With increasing gasoline prices bringing economic hardship and concern to many Americans, we must not be misled by oil lobbyists who are trying to convince us that our energy security is singularly dependent on sacrificing the Arctic refuge. They promote the false premise that development will touch just a few thousand acres when, in fact, it would introduce roads and pipelines spider-webbing across hundreds of thousands of acres on the fragile coastal plain.
We cannot drill our way to energy security or lower gasoline prices as long as our nation sits on just 3 percent of world oil reserves yet accounts for 25 percent of all oil consumption. An obvious answer is to increase the fuel efficiency of motor vehicles, at least to the level we set more than a quarter-century ago.
Instead, the administration recently proposed a tiny increase in gas mileage for SUVs, minivans and pickups. Not effective until the 2011 models, this would save about one month's current consumption of fuel over the next 20 years -- far less than will be saved in just one state by a new California law. The new ruling offers automobile makers an opportunity to avoid the reductions by modifying the size of various models as they persist in manufacturing gas guzzlers. It is not a coincidence that Moody's has just downgraded the debt of General Motors and Ford to junk status, while makers of efficient vehicles prosper.
I have been to the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to study the wilderness wildlife. Far from being the frozen "desert" some suggest, this is a rich, Serengeti-like haven of life: nursery for caribou, polar bears, walruses and millions of shorebirds and waterfowl that migrate annually to the Lower 48. To sit, as Rosalynn and I did, watching a herd of musk oxen circle-up to defend their young and then to find yourself literally in the midst of thousands of caribou streaming by is to touch in a fundamental way God's glorious ark of teeming wildlife.
We Americans use a lot of energy, and millions of us want to do so in a more efficient way that also allows us to cherish our disappearing wilderness heritage. In the Arctic refuge we cannot have it both ways. In the next few months Americans could lose this special and amazing place through a backdoor legislative maneuver.
Each fall Congress endeavors to combine budgetary directives covering the nation's $2.5 trillion dollar annual budget in a single "reconciliation" decision. In a tricky ploy to avoid full debate, drilling advocates have buried their despoil-the-Arctic goal in this mammoth measure. So, conservation-minded Americans must ask our elected representatives to vote down any final budget reconciliation bill that would allow the sacrifice of our Arctic sanctuary.
Now is the time to speak up for the ecological integrity of this unsurpassed 18-million-acre wilderness. Many Americans will be in Washington on Sept. 20 for the Arctic Refuge Action Day rally on the Mall and to contact congressional representatives personally.
If we are not wise enough to protect the Arctic refuge, future generations will condemn us for needlessly sacrificing the wilderness of their world to feed our profligate, short-term and shortsighted energy habit. The pathway to a better, more sustainable energy future does not wind through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
Former President Carter is the founder of the Carter Center in Atlanta.
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We cannot drill our way to energy security. The pathway to a better, more sustainable energy future does not wind through the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
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Wal-Mart Accused of Denying Workers' Rights
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An American labor rights group filed a class-action lawsuit yesterday against Wal-Mart Stores Inc., alleging that suppliers in five countries violated workers' rights, including denying a minimum wage, requiring overtime and punishing union activity.
The suit, filed in California Superior Court in Los Angeles, accuses Wal-Mart of failing to enforce its standards for suppliers and, in some cases, observe local labor laws in China, Bangladesh, Swaziland, Nicaragua and Indonesia.
The International Labor Rights Fund, a District-based advocacy group, filed the suit on behalf of 15 foreign workers who claimed they were subjected to illegal working conditions, and four California grocery employees who claimed that Wal-Mart's cost-cutting measures resulted in lower wages and benefits.
The suit, which must be certified by a judge before achieving class-action status, is the latest legal salvo against the discount retailer, which faces class-action suits claiming that it discriminated against black truck drivers and female store employees. If certified, the suit could represent 200,000 to 400,000 people, said lawyer Terry Collingsworth of the International Labor Rights Fund.
Beth Keck, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart's international division, called the case "complex" and said "it's too early for us to talk about this in detail."
Collingsworth said the suit would test whether corporate codes of conduct, which retailers such as Wal-Mart require their foreign suppliers to sign, "are simply public relations devices or whether they mean what they say."
The suit could take years to move through the courts, but in the meantime, the case is expected to add to the growing debate about Wal-Mart's business model, which has shifted the manufacturing of products including clothing and toys to foreign countries to cut labor costs. Wal-Mart is based in Bentonville, Ark.
According to one assertion in the suit, a woman at a Wal-Mart clothing manufacturer in Bangladesh worked seven days a week, from 7:45 a.m. to 10 p.m., making chalk marks on pants and did not have a day off for six months.
The four California plaintiffs are employees of unionized grocery chains, such as Ralphs and Safeway Inc., that have cut wages and benefits to better compete with Wal-Mart. All four are members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, which is trying to organize Wal-Mart's 1.2 million U.S. employees.
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Washington, DC, Virginia, Maryland business news headlines with stock portfolio and market news, economy, government/tech policy, mutual funds, personal finance. Dow Jones, S&P 500, NASDAQ quotes. Features top DC, VA, MD businesses, company research tools
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New Martha Comes In Like a Lamb . . .
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Martha Stewart made her triumphant return to television yesterday morning, debuting her new syndicated series "Martha," from reality series impresario Mark Burnett.
But unlike her previous syndicated talk/home-ec show, this one stars a warmer Lamb-y Martha -- fresh and frisky after five months in jail and six months of home confinement for having lied to authorities about a stock sale.
A very different Martha from the old, pre-prison version, who inspired that perfect homemaker from Hell, Bree Van De Kamp (played by Marcia Cross), on ABC's hit series "Desperate Housewives."
Different from the Evil Martha, who, live on CBS's morning infotainment show, once destroyed an innocent head of cabbage with a large, lethal knife while hissing, "I want to focus on my salad!" -- just because that nice Jane Clayson had tried to ask her a couple of simple questions about her legal headache.
Evil Martha, for instance, would've had something to say about the clown suit jacket that executive producer Burnett wore yesterday in the opening bit of her new show, which airs locally at 10 a.m. on WJLA-Channel 7.
Come to think of it, Evil Martha wouldn't have let Burnett share the camera with her, no matter how well dressed, because there was room for only one swelled head on the old "Martha Stewart Living" show.
On the new "Martha," Burnett not only appeared in the opening bit, but Lamb-y Martha didn't even flinch at the jacket, graciously pretending not to notice. Instead, she told him Cross was going to be her very first guest on this very first show -- as if he didn't know already -- then he teased with a "Desperate Housewives" clip in which Bree opens her fur coat to reveal she's wearing nothing but a lacy red bra and thong, saying that was how he, Burnett, remembered Martha. Lamb-y Martha said something cute and looked coyly at the camera.
Cut to the show's slick title rollout featuring snaps of Martha Through the Ages.
Lamb-y Martha returns, only this time, she's Martyr Martha:
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"I 'm unfettered. " I am free! "No ankle bracelets!"
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Uncharted Territory
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A few days after the terrorist attacks of 2001, mental health experts descended on New York, poised to help residents cope with a wave of psychiatric problems that never materialized. But experts in disaster psychiatry predict that the repercussions from Hurricane Katrina, a catastrophe without parallel in modern American history, are likely to be far greater and to last for years.
"This is unprecedented," said New York psychiatrist Spencer Eth, who was involved in treating survivors of the World Trade Center attack, which unlike the hurricane, killed many victims at the scene and destroyed several office towers, not entire communities. "People are not going to bounce back and resume their lives and recover" at the pace seen after other disasters, Eth predicted.
The previous disasters on which experts rely for lessons about how to handle the victims of mass tragedy -- plane crashes, earthquakes and hurricanes including Andrew, which struck Florida in 1992; the bombing of the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995; the attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001 -- are all dwarfed by the devastation wrought by Katrina.
Even some veteran disaster mental health specialists say they are staggered when they contemplate the enormity of what is unfolding. More than
1 million people have been displaced by Katrina, and more than 400,000 jobs have been lost.
"We've got parents and children separated from each other, and as a mother I just cannot fathom what it would be like not knowing where my child is," said Oklahoma City psychologist Robin Gurwitch, who is working with evacuated children as a member of the American Psychological Association's disaster response unit. "Young children are asked, 'What's your mother's name?' and they say 'Mommy.' "
A spokeswoman for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Alexandria, the federally-designated clearinghouse for Katrina-related missing persons, reported that as of yesterday the group had reports of 1,753 children under 18, the youngest a three-week old-infant, who don't know where their relatives are.
Researchers say that the majority of survivors of mass disasters eventually rebuild their lives and most do not develop a diagnosable psychiatric disorder such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The disorder, which is also seen among rape victims and soldiers in combat, can occur any time after a trauma; its symptoms include crippling panic attacks and terrifyingly vivid flashbacks and can last for years.
Acute stress reactions -- nightmares, pervasive anxiety and intrusive thoughts -- typically occur in the month following a traumatic event. Acute stress is more common than PTSD, which affects between 10 and 30 percent of survivors, and its symptoms usually fade in less than three months. Acute stress reactions rarely require formal treatment beyond the supportive care now known as psychological first aid.
An intervention based on scientific studies of previous disasters, psychological first aid is designed to blunt the initial fear, anger, anxiety, sleeplessness and guilt that follow a catastrophe by ensuring survivors' physical safety and fostering a sense of calm, reassurance and hope. Its chief tenets include imparting accurate information to victims and offering practical help about coping with the aftermath of a mass disaster.
Effects to Last 'For Years'
To psychiatrist Robert J. Ursano, who directs the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine, the military medical school in Bethesda, the obliteration of Gulf Coast communities most closely resembles the Asian tsunami, which also destroyed the local infrastructure and overwhelmed resources.
"We are going to be dealing with this for years," he predicted.
While little is yet known about the psychological fallout from the tsunami, one unusual characteristic of Katrina worries disaster psychiatrists: its duration. In most cases, once the rain stops, the tremors subside, the tidal wave recedes or the buildings collapse, the event is over. It doesn't go on for days.
Studies have found that the longer and more intense the threat to a person's life, the greater the likelihood of developing PTSD. The disorder is more common among people who are socially isolated, those with a history of psychological or physical trauma and people with preexisting mental health problems, including depression or anxiety.
The glaring racial and economic disparities exposed by the hurricane may complicate recovery efforts, experts predict. So will the influx of impoverished victims into a public health system that was already dangerously frayed and strapped for cash.
"Oh, hell no," replied Chicago psychiatrist Carl Bell when asked whether the mental health system is prepared for the predicted onslaught of people who need help. "This is very different than anything we've ever seen. I think the country is ignorant of how many poor people there are," the problems they face, and how to help in a sensitive way.
While many African-Americans traditionally turn to churches for help, observed Bell, a trauma expert, "I'm not sure the faith-based people have the mental health technology necessary" to deal with psychiatric problems such as PTSD, although they will undoubtedly provide solace and valuable support.
Traumatized children and teenagers may exhibit symptoms that differ from those seen in adults. Gurwitch, who is working with pediatric hurricane evacuees in Oklahoma City, said that some may become unusually aggressive or clingy, while others may withdraw. Children "who got out earlier might fare better than those who watched dead bodies float by, who saw their parents fall apart, or who witnessed violence," she said.
"It's going to be very hard for children to make sense of this," Gurwitch added. "Young children simply don't comprehend that everything is gone." And parents who are worried about things like getting a job and finding a place to live may have trouble responding to a child who says she wants to go home right now or who is pining for a beloved stuffed animal or a missing pet.
Studies of 550 school-age children who lived through Hurricane Andrew, which flattened the poorest part of Dade County, Fla., killing 15 and uprooting 353,000, found that one year later 30 percent demonstrated moderate to severe levels of PTSD. Children who experienced the greatest threats to their physical safety, who lost their homes or possessions, and who were forced to move, were most at risk, researchers found. Children who had been anxious before Andrew also had higher rates of PTSD.
Some studies have found that disaster victims who focus on practical things, even mundane ones, tend to have fewer long-term psychological problems than those who were preoccupied with who was to blame for their predicament.
A handout developed by the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress at the Uniformed Services University, which is being circulated to mental health workers around the country, cautions them not to engage in certain behaviors, such as telling Katrina survivors how they should feel, making blanket reassurances that "everything will be okay" and criticizing services or relief efforts in front of victims because "this undermines an environment of hope and calm."
One popular intervention that should be avoided, Ursano and other experts agree, is the use of stress debriefing, in which people are encouraged -- or required -- to spend hours recounting in graphic detail what they went through. Four years ago dozens of debriefing specialists flocked to New York to offer these sessions in the days after Sept. 11 to firefighters and police officers in the hope of preventing PTSD.
Most experts oppose these sessions as ineffective and potentially damaging. A report published by the Cochrane Collaboration, a group that evaluates scientific studies, found that stress debriefing is ineffective and can increase the risk of PTSD and depression.
Psychiatrist Carol North, a trauma expert at Washington University in St. Louis who recently returned from Baton Rouge, La., said she was concerned by signs prominently posted around the command center and medical treatment areas offering debriefings.
Harold Ginzburg, a New Orleans psychiatrist who fled hours before the hurricane destroyed his house, said that the basic task now is "encouraging resilience" among survivors and helping them find jobs and housing.
"We need to keep people focused on what they can do, and make the resources available for them," said Ginzburg, who is helping direct psychiatric services in southern Louisiana out of Baton Rouge.
Psychological recovery, notes Gurwitch, the Oklahoma child psychologist, is a long process that sometimes takes the form of simple reassurance.
"I saw a 5-year-old yesterday at the airport, and he asked me whether hurricanes come to Oklahoma," she recalled. "I could answer him with 100 percent certainty that no, we never have hurricanes in Oklahoma, and he relaxed. There was no need to tell him about tornadoes." ·
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A few days after the terrorist attacks of 2001, mental health experts descended on New York, poised to help residents cope with a wave of psychiatric problems that never materialized. But experts in disaster psychiatry predict that the repercussions from Hurricane Katrina, a catastrophe...
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'Whoops,' and L.A. Has a Two-Hour Blackout
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LOS ANGELES, Sept. 12 -- A blackout caused when maintenance workers inadvertently cut a power line rolled through large parts of Los Angeles on Monday, stranding people in elevators, tangling traffic, and prompting the evacuation of some high-rises and other structures.
Officials said about half of this far-flung city, served by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the largest public utility in the nation, lost power starting at 1 p.m. Power was restored two hours later. Los Angeles International Airport lost its lights, but its generator kicked in, and a spokesman said no flights were delayed.
A spokeswoman for the utility said workers at a receiving station mistakenly cut one line and then hooked up the wrong wires, causing a power surge into a line that was not expecting that much electricity.
"Something was cut," said Gale Harris, a spokeswoman for the Department of Water and Power, which also lost power during the blackout. "Somebody said, 'Whoops.' "
Stranded on the street, some people expressed fears that the blackout was part of a terrorist attack. Monday's power loss came a day after ABC News, on the fourth anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, aired a videotape of a purported al Qaeda member threatening attacks against Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia. The Los Angeles Police Department went on "full tactical alert," and officers were not allowed to leave work after their shifts ended. A police spokesman said terrorism was not suspected. The Los Angeles office of the Internal Revenue Service closed after a computer glitch occurred when power was restored.
The Los Angeles Fire Department reported no serious injuries.
"Our most significant calls related to this power outage have just been stuck elevators," said spokesman Ron Myers. "We're just urging people to stay put."
Long lunch breaks turned into a short workday, as thousands of workers headed home early, jamming roads already snarled with traffic.
At Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, one of the city's landmarks, the power went out for about seven minutes, interrupting a comedy called "The Man."
"Imagine if the power had cut out when we were showing 'The War of the Worlds,' " quipped usher Lauren Fisher.
The Department of Water and Power, which serves 1.5 million customers, was one of the few utilities to emerge unscathed from California's electricity crisis in the summer of 2000. The department fought off attempts to open Los Angeles to competition from other power companies. When Enron Corp. and other companies gamed the system and prompted widespread power shortages, the department found itself in the enviable position of selling power to utilities across the state, according to James Bushnell, the research director at the Energy Institute at the University of California at Berkeley. It repaid billions of dollars of debt, and talk of further restructuring of the California energy market has been shelved.
Staff writer Sonya Geis contributed to this report.
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LOS ANGELES, Sept. 12 -- A blackout caused when maintenance workers inadvertently cut a power line rolled through large parts of Los Angeles on Monday, stranding people in elevators, tangling traffic, and prompting the evacuation of some high-rises and other structures.
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Satellite Detects Massive Explosion
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Astronomers using NASA's Swift satellite said yesterday that they have detected the most distant explosion ever discovered in the universe, the collapse into a black hole of a massive star about 12.6 billion light-years from Earth.
The event occurred about 1.1 billion years after the big bang, the explosion that created the universe an estimated 13.7 billion years ago, the scientists calculated. The only more distant objects ever detected are a quasar and a single galaxy, both about 12.7 billion light-years away.
"This is what we've all been hoping and waiting for," said University of Chicago astrophysicist Donald Lamb. "This breaks the record for most distant explosion by a huge amount [500 million light-years], and I don't think we'll have to wait long to break it again."
The massive blast, known as a gamma ray burst, lasted 200 seconds and was detected Sept. 4 by the Earth-orbiting Swift, which relayed the sighting to astronomers who used ground-based telescopes to observe the burst and its afterglow. Because the explosion was so distant, light from it is only now reaching Earth.
Gamma ray bursts, lasting from a fraction of a second to several minutes, occur frequently and are the brightest and most powerful events in the universe since the big bang itself. Swift has detected 71 bursts since its November 2004 launch.
Gamma ray bursts are brighter than galaxies or even quasars, distant, bright objects that scientists theorize are massive black holes that project energy by devouring stars. And with Swift, the bursts are much easier to detect than anything at comparable distances.
For this reason they may offer the best tool yet for studying the dawn of the universe, when stars were first created and then collapsed, sending bursts of matter on long journeys to form all the objects in the heavens.
University of North Carolina astronomer Daniel Reichart, who led the team that tracked the explosion, said Swift relayed news of the burst about 10 p.m. Eastern time Sept. 4. Working with undergraduate Josh Haislip, Reichart called on the Southern Observatory for Astrophysical Research in Cerro Pachon, Chile, to examine the event.
"Swift detects and localizes and sends the information instantaneously to everybody," Reichart said in a telephone news conference. "Every time a burst goes off, we check the resources we have available."
Scientists say gamma ray bursts most likely occur when a star runs out of hydrogen fuel and starts to burn heavier elements produced by nuclear fusion. Eventually the star is left with only iron, which will not burn. The star collapses and, if it is big enough, creates a black hole with gravity so intense that nothing can escape from it. The event is accompanied by a spectacular gamma ray explosion.
Reichart's team, working with observatories and astronomers around the world, quickly established that the burst could not be seen in visible light but only in the infrared -- an indication of great distance. Within three days, astronomers had fixed the explosion as the most distant ever recorded.
Swift lead scientist Neil Gehrels, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center said the satellite has revolutionized the science of spotting bursts. It is more sensitive than Earth-based instruments, and its software enables it to announce discoveries almost instantly. He predicted that Swift will see bursts "much further back than this."
If so, Lamb said, astronomers will approach "the moment when the stars formed 600 million years after the big bang." Those early stars eventually blew up, beginning a cycle of destruction and creation. "Over time the stars built up again and formed everything," he added. "The bursts can tell us the complete history from when there were no heavy elements to the present time when life can form."
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Astronomers using NASA's Swift satellite said yesterday that they have detected the most distant explosion ever discovered in the universe, the collapse into a black hole of a massive star about 12.6 billion light-years from Earth.
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The Costly Price of Facing a Grand Jury
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Sympathy can be hard to come by for White House officials who are summoned to appear before a grand jury.
Those whose identities remain a secret suffer in silence, discouraged from reaching out to their closest friends for help. Those whose names leak into the public domain become lightning rods for rumor, suspicion and innuendo, as politicians, commentators and journalists try to divine a meaning behind each summons.
The latest White House staffer to face the grand jury is Susan B. Ralston, assistant to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove, who gave testimony to the committee investigating the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame.
But while the politics of every appearance is picked over in minute detail, there is also a human story to each summons that often goes unexplored.
Witnesses face stress, uncertainty and -- worst of all -- crippling lawyer's fees that can take years to pay off. And as prosecutors cast their net ever wider, inexperienced staffers with few financial assets are increasingly facing the emotional and financial burden of grand jury testimony.
Ralston appeared at the end of July on the same day as former Rove aide Israel "Izzy" Hernandez, according to ABC News. The reason Ralston, 37, was asked to testify remains unclear, but it has heightened suspicions that the locus of the investigation still centers on Rove.
Ralston declined to discuss her interview with the grand jury for this article, or the burden that it has caused. Friends said she had not spoken with them about it.
Americans for Tax Reform President Grover G. Norquist, who described himself as a friend and a work contact, said he was not aware that she had even testified. "It hasn't come up, and I haven't noticed anything, in work or other contact. I think she's right as rain. On the other hand, I haven't had a conversation about it with her," he said.
But veterans of past grand jury appearances -- including the investigation into President Bill Clinton's affair with Monica S. Lewinsky -- said that keeping silent compounded an already difficult process.
"It was an incredibly callous and demoralizing experience, one in which they gave no thought to the personal or financial ramifications," said Neel Lattimore, former press secretary to first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was subpoenaed about 10 times during his tenure on the job. "Nothing prepares you for what it's like."
Another former Clinton administration official who is now in the private sector and did not want to be identified agreed. "It paralyzes you from doing your job. It turns your life upside down. I sat outside one grand jury room where I could hear the prosecutors screaming -- I'm not kidding -- screaming at a colleague of mine who was a witness."
The two former Clinton aides said that the financial burden was crippling. Like many others, these White House officials had to pay their own legal bills, and these can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some may qualify for a partial reimbursement from the Justice Department, but this usually covers a fraction of the outlay and can take as long as seven years to be paid out. White House aides are even barred from receiving free legal assistance.
"We spent our time on Capitol Hill, and none of us had any assets. It's a scary thing. Lots of people rented apartments, had no assets to their name," said the former Clinton staffer. "If you have a career in public service, you're being paid well under $100,000 a year, and you have student loans; you become paralyzed financially."
Lattimore said that he had to turn to his parents, who loaned him money to cover his legal fees. Lattimore's lawyer, Adam S. Hoffinger, said that the bill for representing someone in a grand jury investigation is usually large. "A white-collar grand jury investigation in D.C. or New York could cost a witness between $10,000 and $100,000, assuming no trial and no criminal exposure," he wrote in an e-mail.
According to a White House report to Congress, Ralston's salary last year was $67,600. In an interview last September with Asian Week, she said that she took a "significant pay cut" in 2001 from her job working with a prominent lobbyist.
Both former Clinton staffers who were asked to appear in the grand jury investigation said there was one silver lining to their experience. They both discovered that there was an informal support network of former White House employees who had been through the grand jury process that transcended party politics.
"There were people from the Reagan administration who reached out to me in the Clinton administration to say it was going to be okay and to say we've been through this," said the former Clinton staffer.
Lattimore cited Margaret Tutwiler, a longtime aide of James A. Baker III, who was caught up during the 1992 campaign in an investigation into Clinton's overseas trips as a student. He said she "expressed real sympathy and said hang in there. There was very much a sense of fraternity among White House employees, no matter what side of the aisle."
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Sympathy can be hard to come by for White House officials who are summoned to appear before a grand jury.
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'Judges Are Not Politicians,' Roberts Says
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John G. Roberts Jr. opened the first Supreme Court confirmation hearing in 11 years yesterday by portraying himself as a humble, non-political judge who would interpret the law "without fear or favor" if he became the 17th chief justice of the United States.
After listening to three hours of senators' opening statements, in which Democrats expressed fears that he would move the court to the right on abortion, civil rights and other issues, Roberts sought to dispel such speculation. Though he offered no specifics on his views, Roberts said justices must have "the humility to recognize that they operate within a system of precedent."
"I have no platform," he told the Senate Judiciary Committee in a brief speech without notes in the ornate Russell Caucus Room. "Judges are not politicians who can promise to do certain things in exchange for votes." Rather, he said, "judges are like umpires. Umpires don't make the rules; they apply them."
Although the stewardship of the Supreme Court is at stake for potentially decades to come, yesterday's hearing seemed almost anticlimactic, with public attention riveted on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Democrats still pressing for 15-year-old documents that might give them better ammunition against Roberts. With few doubting that Roberts, 50, will ultimately win confirmation, senators of both parties used yesterday's forum to highlight their contrasting legal philosophies and views of the court's role in society.
Many Republicans used their allotted 10 minutes apiece to urge the nominee not to answer questions about legal issues that might come before the court. But Democrats said he must satisfy them that he will safeguard the rights of women, disabled people and minorities in the voting booth and workplace. Some also pressed him to recognize a constitutional right to privacy, which underpins the Supreme Court's legalization of abortion nationwide.
"This is a confirmation proceeding," said Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.), "not a coronation. It is the Senate Judiciary Committee's job to ask tough questions."
President Bush's choice to succeed the late William H. Rehnquist will face hours of questions, starting today, from the panel's 10 Republicans and eight Democrats.
With some Republicans congratulating Roberts as though his confirmation is assured in the GOP-controlled Senate, Democrats warned that, if nothing else, he will have to earn their votes by fully explaining his criticisms of a variety of policies aimed at eliminating discrimination, including affirmative action and some aspects of the Voting Rights Act. Those criticisms were found in reams of memos that Roberts wrote as a young lawyer in the Reagan administration.
"I believe the federal government should stamp out discrimination wherever -- wherever -- it occurs," Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) told him. "If I look only at what you've said and written . . . I would have to vote no. You dismissed the constitutional protection of privacy as, quote, 'a so-called right.' . . . You dismissed gender discrimination as . . . 'merely a perceived problem.' "
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the only woman on the committee, said, "It would be very difficult for me to vote to confirm someone to the Supreme Court whom I knew would overturn Roe v. Wade ." In the 1980s, Roberts wrote that the landmark abortion ruling was wrongly decided and should be overturned, but he since has suggested that the ruling is "settled law" that need not be revisited.
Despite the Democrats' warnings, Roberts's televised performance clearly pleased Republican senators and White House aides. His seven-minute speech "almost moved me to tears," Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) told reporters. White House adviser Ed Gillespie, who sat just behind Roberts, assured reporters "there were no notes or anything he spoke from."
Lawmakers' preoccupation with the hurricane catastrophe pervaded the hearing on filling the first chief justice vacancy in nearly two decades. At least two Democrats tried to weave the storm's devastation into their arguments, saying the disproportionate impact on poor people and ethnic minorities underscores the need for a judiciary sympathetic to the nation's most vulnerable.
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John G. Roberts Jr. begins his portion of the confirmation hearings by portraying himself as a humble, non-political judge who would interpret the law "without fear or favor."
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5-Week-Old Born in N.Va. To Comatose Mother Dies
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Susan Anne Catherine Torres, whose mother was declared brain-dead and kept on life-support for three months so she could be born, died early yesterday. She was 5 weeks and 5 days old.
The baby contracted a disease that can afflict premature infants, which led to an infection and a perforated intestine that finally overwhelmed her tiny body, according to hospital officials and the baby's uncle, Justin Torres, whose only public words yesterday were the ones he wrote.
"After the efforts of this summer to bring her into the world, this is obviously a devastating loss," he said in a statement.
"It was our fondest wish that we could have been able to share Susan's homecoming with the world," he wrote.
The long and sad medical odyssey that captivated thousands of strangers began in May, when the child's mother and namesake, Susan Rollin Torres of Arlington, was stricken with a cancerous brain tumor. She was 15 weeks pregnant at the time, and although doctors at Virginia Hospital Center in Arlington gave her no chance of survival, her husband, Jason, and her parents agreed to try to keep her body alive with ventilators and machines so her baby might survive.
Despite the longest of odds, the baby was born by Caesarean section Aug. 2, about two months premature. Her mother, a 26-year-old researcher at the National Institutes of Health, was taken off the machines and died the next day.
At the time, doctors said that the infant's prognosis was good and that at 1 pound 13 ounces she appeared "vigorous," even as she faced the obstacles of a premature birth.
A preliminary examination found that the melanoma that took her mother's life had not reached the placenta, and as the weeks passed, the child continued to grow.
This weekend, however, her condition deteriorated suddenly and rapidly, and she was transferred Saturday from the hospital in Arlington, where she had remained since her birth, to Children's Hospital in the District. She had developed necrotizing enterocolitis, essentially tissue death in the digestive tract. Doctors tried to stabilize her medically and performed two emergency surgeries, but it was all too much for the infant.
"Unfortunately, she was too sick and fragile to recover," the hospital said in a statement, "and we were unable to save her."
She died at 12:01 a.m. yesterday, and sadness was heaped upon sadness.
Jason Torres, who with his wife also has a 2-year-old son, Peter, decided to go to reporters with his wife's ordeal in May, in the hope that he might get some help with staggering medical bills. Over the summer, the story of Susan Torres was broadcast across television and in newspapers, over the Internet and in chains of e-mails that stretched around the globe.
Because they had been through something similar, because they admired Jason Torres's faith or just felt for him -- for reasons they couldn't always pinpoint -- droves of people sent letters, prayers, advice, pictures of their premature sons and daughters, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Torres family. Yesterday, it seemed, all of their hearts broke, including Daniel Moreau's. He was in his office when he learned of the infant's death on CNN.
"Oh," he said, sitting there all alone.
Over the summer, he tried to put his finger on why the family's ordeal had gotten to him. He doesn't have children and at first thought it might just be the human wish for life to go on forever. He decided, though, that "was TV movie stuff" and looked more deeply.
Then he remembered how he had come into the world, a story his family had told him many times growing up, like a sort of parable.
He had pneumonia when he was 2 months old, and doctors in his little home town had given up. But his father, who died when he was 4, did not, and his father and a friend jumped into an ambulance and raced to Buffalo, where doctors finally were able to revive him.
"I realized that in my own life, someone had fought for me," Moreau said, his voice splintering. "I realized, 'My God, that's why.' "
The dense center of support the past few months was St. Rita's Catholic Church in Alexandria, where the Torreses are members and where the Rev. Denis M. Donahue told parishioners of the death at 7 a.m. Mass yesterday.
"I just let everyone know that someone for whom we've been praying for the last months for survival had died," he said, "and that the consolation is that she is with the Lord and free of suffering."
Looking out onto the pews, Donahue said he could see the faces change. A man made the sign of the cross.
Later in the day, Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde issued a statement.
"At this painful moment of redoubled loss, we commend Jason and the entire Torres family to the Lord in prayer," it said.
"May the Lord draw close to the Torres family at this time and provide them with comfort and peace where words fail."
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Susan Anne Catherine Torres, whose mother was declared brain-dead and kept on life-support for three months so she could be born, died early yesterday. She was 5 weeks and 5 days old.
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Inhuman: Yes or No?
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During a meeting at The Post late last month I asked Attorney General Alberto Gonzales a pretty simple question: Is it the policy of the Bush administration not to subject the foreign prisoners it is holding to "cruel, inhuman and degrading" treatment? The phrase I quoted refers to abuse falling just short of torture. It is banned by an international treaty negotiated by the Reagan administration and ratified a decade ago by the Senate.
Gonzales started to reply, then hesitated. Then he said he wasn't sure, and would have to get back to me with an answer.
Last week I called his office to see if the answer was ready. It wasn't. Instead, a spokesman told me that "the staff" response was to refer me to the testimony delivered in Gonzales's name to the Senate Judiciary Committee after his confirmation hearing earlier this year. It was that maddeningly unclear language that prompted me to ask him the question in the first place.
A couple of things about this exchange struck me as remarkable. First, how could the attorney general of the United States not be able to state U.S. policy on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners -- especially since his department has repeatedly reviewed the matter in the past several years? Gonzales, mind you, didn't appear to be evading the question. He simply didn't know the answer.
The other issue flows from the first: Why is it that the Bush administration, at enormous cost to U.S. prestige around the world, insists on being ambiguous about this straightforward question? If Gonzales has a defense, it may be that the lawyers in his department who have addressed the issue have done so in a way that could easily confuse someone like their boss -- not to mention the captains and sergeants and civilian contractors actually charged with interrogating prisoners in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo.
Here's the answer that was submitted on Gonzales's behalf, though apparently without his comprehension, last January: Despite the treaty, the administration contends that "there is no legal prohibition" on the use of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by U.S. personnel as long as it is inflicted on "aliens overseas." That means the CIA, for example, could legally abuse the al Qaeda suspects it is holding in secret foreign detention facilities, provided it stops short of outright torture. But, Gonzales's ghostwriters added, the administration "wants to be" in compliance with the treaty standard. That suggests that "CID," as the lawyers call it, is prohibited in practice.
Or does it? The Senate has legally defined "cruel, inhuman and degrading" as any treatment that would violate the Fifth, Eighth or 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Gonzales said all approved interrogation techniques had been checked against that standard. But the attorney general was also asked about various specific practices American interrogators are known to have used, including simulated drowning, mock execution, sleep deprivation, forced nudity and the use of dogs to inspire fear. He answered: "Some might . . . be permissible in certain circumstances." That must mean one of two things: Either the Bush administration considers mock execution and simulated drowning allowable under the Constitution -- and thus available for use by the FBI on Americans -- or it does not, in fact, have a policy of prohibiting CID for all prisoners.
Gonzales isn't the only one who doesn't get it. The administration's artfully muddled position has triggered an extraordinary standoff between the White House and a group of Senate Republicans, led by torture victim John McCain. McCain now has eight GOP co-sponsors for an amendment to this year's defense authorization bill that would prohibit the use of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment for all "persons in the detention of the U.S. government." His staff is confident he has the votes to pass the measure when the bill comes up on the floor, probably later this month.
The administration protests that McCain's proposed rule is already being followed. A CIA briefer recently assured congressional staffers that CID was out of bounds for al Qaeda detainees. So why did Vice President Cheney vehemently object to the proposed amendment in a meeting with McCain and Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner this summer? And why did the administration pull the defense authorization bill from the Senate floor in late July rather than allow the amendment to come to a vote?
Maybe there's a good reason. But don't ask Alberto Gonzales.
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The administration says it isn't treating foreign detainees in a cruel, inhuman or degrading manner. So, why won't Attorney General Alberto Gonzales say that's our policy?
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Cleanup Cash Goes to Familiar Faces
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The Coast Guard order came by cell phone -- no bids, no contract, no discussion of price, paperwork to follow. There was a single focus: Get fuel tanks and generators to New Orleans.
That call alone could mean perhaps a million dollars in business for Herndon-based Core Engineered Solutions Inc., a substantial amount for a 15-person firm that was expecting less than $10 million in revenue for the year.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, tens of billions of dollars will flow from the federal government to rebuild New Orleans and other parts of the Gulf Coast. And while much will be spent in that region, focused on bread-and-butter services like general contracting and construction, Washington area firms with expertise in management, planning and computer networking are likely to find themselves deeply involved in the effort.
McLean-based BearingPoint Inc. has created an eight-person unit and 40-person task force to coordinate its efforts to win Katrina-related contracts. The consulting firm in the past has done work supervising networking and engineering projects for the Homeland Security Department, which oversees the Federal Emergency Management Agency, so it's familiar with the agency's personnel and processes.
Companies like Hydrogeologic Inc. of Herndon and Chantilly-based GTSI Corp., meanwhile, expect they will be in high demand for specialized projects such as toxic waste cleanup and rebuilding computer networks.
Washington's strong economic growth in recent years has been linked to federal contracting, particularly the homeland security and defense spending that was touched off by the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and drew directly on the region's expertise in information technology.
Hurricane reconstruction, however, is not likely to have the same impact on this region. The larger construction and engineering firms that often work with FEMA are scattered around the country, and officials from those firms say the bulk of their reconstruction workforce is likely to come from the Gulf area itself.
Fluor Corp. of Southern California, for example, is planning to launch a training program in the affected area to give prospective employees construction skills, chief executive Alan L. Boeckmann said.
"We see it as a clear responsibility to help people get back on their feet," Boeckmann added.
Still, the massive scale and urgency of the project is going to be broadly felt as agencies and their main contractors hunt for supplies, equipment, talent -- and ideas. No one knows yet how much it will cost to put the region back together, but most agree that the $62.3 billion allotted by the federal government so far is just a down payment.
"What FEMA is going to be faced with is an enormous amount of small, medium and large projects to tackle different issues related to the relief," said Darryl B. Moody, BearingPoint's senior vice president of homeland security and intelligence. "FEMA is going to be contracting with companies like ours and others for that support."
The firm has solicited ideas from employees about ways the company might participate in the reconstruction.
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The Coast Guard order came by cell phone -- no bids, no contract, no discussion of price, paperwork to follow. There was a single focus: Get fuel tanks and generators to New Orleans.
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