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http://blogs.washingtonpost.com/worldopinionroundup/2005/09/unhappy_anniver.html
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World Opinion Roundup: Dueling Opinions and Controversial Commentary on News Around the World
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Four years ago this morning, the French newspaper Le Monde memorably proclaimed in a banner headline: "Nous sommes tous Américains -- We are all Americans." Today the Paris daily offers an utterly forgettable Sept. 11 piece (in French) by U.S. Ambassador Craig Roberts Stapleton, about "our French friends" blah blah blah. The contrast between genuine emotion and routine boilerplate shows how much global opinion has diverged since 2001. The spontaneous memorials to the American victims that sprang up in world capitals have long since vanished. The largest foreign ceremony yesterday was a peace march in Assisi, Italy, where demonstrators called for "an end to poverty and hunger" --a theme that I suspect went unmentioned in the Pentagon-sponsored memorial march in Washington.
The reason for the flat world reaction is, in a word, Iraq. The Guardian of London calls the U.S.-led war “a recruiting sergeant for the very forces it sought to destroy.” The Gulf News in the United Arab Emirates sees only "opportunities lost" since Sept. 11. And the Sydney Morning Herald has a piece by conservative intellectual Francis Fukayama saying President Bush has squandered victory.
Those who don’t care for the views of leftists, Arabs and eggheads, will want to read today’s edition of the Australian, the new flagship site of Rupert Murdoch’s conservative media empire. Harlan Ullman, the former Pentagon planner who coined the term “shock and awe” -- you can’t call him an un-American wimp -- writes that the Iraq war is "full of errors" and “needs a rethink.” About the only upbeat pundit is Israeli columnist Sever Plocker, who argues Islamic extremism has suffered many defeats since Sept.11. In Iraq, he says, “civil institutions are being established.”
By Jefferson Morley | September 12, 2005; 07:55 AM ET | Category: Global Main Index | Next: Launching
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Grand Misuse of Foreign Aid? As reported by columnist Carlos Guerra in Sunday's San Antonio Express-News, edited somewhat by me for brevity. I see parallels: we're bungling foreign Hurricane Katrina disaster relief as we have bungled the war and any semblance of diplomacy in Iraq. Is it any wonder that the foreign press has no kind words for us regarding our Iraq endeavor, as Jeff shares with us today? ***
Last Thursday, 47 Mexican military vehicles — mostly heavy trucks and 18-wheelers modified for rough terrain — rolled into KellyUSA, putting 195 Mexican soldiers, both men and women, on U.S. soil.
What Mexico sent us, however, is more than a symbolic token. They brought valuable expertise in dealing with the consequences of hurricanes, as well as the capacity to provide two basic necessities that often vanish after disasters: hot food and drinking water.
They brought two huge field kitchens, three mess tents (with tables and chairs), water treatment plants and ingredients for serving three hot meals to 7,000 people daily for 20 days. Minutes after they arrived, soldiers ran in formation, some to set up the kitchens and others to pitch the mess tents. The 500 meals requested at Kelly, Ortiz said, would be ready in two hours.
Brig. Gen. F.J. Prasek, who escorted them, pointed out that the Mexicans are under FEMA's, not the U.S. Army's direction. FEMA asked U.S. forces only to escort them from the border to San Antonio, where he said they will stay.
But San Antonio has some of the nation's cleanest water, I told FEMA press officer Christopher White, and all the evacuees who came here have been served hot meals since they arrived. Why wasn't Mexico's specialized help sent to the hurricane-battered area, where entire towns have been flattened and where 73 drinking water systems in Alabama, 555 in Mississippi and 469 in Louisiana are compromised or nonfunctional?
"Good question," he said, and promised to check. He called back to say that the State Department is handling all foreign relief help.
State Department press officer Jeanne Moore, however, hadn't heard of the Mexican convoy, and after checking into it, called back.
But she could only refer me to a press briefing by State Department spokesman Shawn McCormack.
Asked by a reporter Thursday what help the Mexican convoy would provide, McCormack replied: "As far as I know, they're part of a transportation convoy. As for how the aid gets distributed on the ground, I think the folks at (Department of Human Services) and FEMA or (Department of Defense) would be in a better position to answer that."
Left Hand, let me introduce you to Right Hand. You should talk before you embarrass us even more.
Posted by: Linda Loomis | Sep 12, 2005 10:54:01 AM
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The latest opinion and commentary on news around the world: A comprehensive blog about what international newspapers, blogs and Web sites are saying about America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, England, Germany, Canada and other countries.
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China's Rising Tide of Protest Sweeping Up Party Officials
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XIACHAOSHUI, China -- The first thing villagers noticed was the mud. Silt gradually thickened the waters of the Chaoshui River, they recalled, and before long fouled the rice paddies that provide them a meager but dependable living here in the rugged hills of central China.
By the beginning of this year, the fish had disappeared and the once-pristine water turned black. Women could no longer do the family laundry along the banks. Then, as the weather warmed this spring, the villagers said, children started coming down with skin rashes after taking a dip.
The reason their river was going bad, the villagers were told, was that scores of mines containing an industrial metal known as molybdenum had started operating in the hills upstream, sending waste down the river. Repeatedly, the villagers complained to county authorities, demanding that the mines be shut down or brought under control. But with mineral prices shooting up, the lure of profits was too much to resist. Thousands of small-scale miners -- some with permits, others sneaking in to work at night -- kept raking the mountainsides for ore and flushing what they did not need into the Chaoshui.
In May, the enraged villagers gave up on the government and decided to organize a raid on the mines. Over several frenzied hours, the wiry villagers used farm tools and their bare hands to destroy more than 200 mining sites, defying a local policeman who tried to rein in their fury.
What was remarkable about the raid was that the village Communist Party secretary and elected village chief declined to intervene, revealing a crack in the iron discipline traditionally enforced by government security organs and the party apparatus.
In the nearby village of Guideng, just three weeks earlier, another mob tore down mining facilities, in this case a pollution-spewing refinery for another metal, vanadium. They also reported passive complicity on the part of the Communist Party secretary and elected leader. And now a group of irate village leaders in this remote region have gone a step further, moving from passive complicity to active support of the peasant cause.
In a rare act of open defiance, the village leaders have joined forces against the central government in an unauthorized organization. They have threatened to resign en masse if authorities fail to take swift action. Unless something is done soon, the leaders said in a protest letter to Premier Wen Jiabao, more peasant violence will follow.
"If the central government cannot solve the problem, we will wait for a little while, and if they still have not solved the problem, we will destroy more of the factories," declared Hua Ruiqi, 55, elected leader of Aimen village.
The two eruptions of peasant violence in the hills near here offer a glimpse of a much larger wave of popular unrest. Thousands of protests break out every year in China's cities and villages, even though such demonstrations are prohibited. The protests have become a major concern for President Hu Jintao's government, which is anxious to prevent them from spreading and undermining stability and, ultimately, the Communist Party's hold on power.
The village party chiefs and elected leaders here have not played their assigned role of enforcing government authority because of a shared outrage that the county and provincial officials charged with protecting the environment have not protected the rivers, peasants said. After one trashing spree, officials from a nearby town even bought lunch for the hungry peasants.
The party chiefs "don't dare" oppose the peasants, said Su Changshen, a 60-year-old farmer who helped tear down a vanadium refining operation that spewed poisonous dust over his village. "This is a farmer's rebellion."
These dramatic hills, gashed by deep gorges through which rivers rush down toward the mighty Yangtze, seem like an unlikely site for conflict. About 750 miles southwest of Shanghai, the jagged slopes here have long attracted Chinese rafters and other tourists drawn by natural beauty.
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XIACHAOSHUI, China -- The first thing villagers noticed was the mud. Silt gradually thickened the waters of the Chaoshui River, they recalled, and before long fouled the rice paddies that provide them a meager but dependable living here in the rugged hills of central China.
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Clothed For the Duration
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The sight of designer Kenneth Cole taking his runway bows dressed in a Red Cross T-shirt went a long way to take some of the sting out of the start of the spring 2006 fashion show season. Fashion is a billion-dollar business that helps fuel the economy, but its biannual ritual of splashy presentations, cocktail parties, celebrity-ogling and straight-faced conversations about the importance of bubble skirts and belts troubles the soul when so many residents of the Gulf Coast are suffering.
It is a daunting challenge to reconcile sharp-jawed models in suits that will sell for $2,000 with thousands of displaced souls who've lost everything except the flimsy shirts on their backs. Perhaps it is egregious even to try.
Still, it was fortunate that Cole's show officially marked the start of spring 2006, as he can always be relied upon to put fashion into perspective. Over the years, Cole has made a tradition out of opening his shows with a wry video vignette poking fun at fashion victims, the editors filled with hot air and the colorful hangers-on.
Friday morning, with the aid of comedian Whoopi Goldberg playing the role of a belligerent style offender arrested by the fashion police, Cole made the industry laugh at its own inflated self-importance. His video also pointed out the pervasiveness of hunger, not only in the aftermath of Katrina, but on a daily basis around the world. It noted that the participants in the show had donated a percentage of their fees to hurricane relief, a sum that Kenneth Cole Productions would match. It was not so much a moment of corporate bragging as a sign of leadership: Cole's immediate response to the damage wreaked by Katrina was laudable. And in some respects, he had gotten the fashion industry off the hook.
This is the second time designers have had to consider how their shows could and should go on at a time when the country -- that is, their customers -- are in no mood to consider hemlines and "it" bags. On the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the industry struggled to find the right note of sobriety while carrying on with the business of marketing and selling clothes. For the first two years after the attacks, few designers were even willing to mount a show on 9/11. Now, whenever the runway shows fall on that somber anniversary, an American flag hangs in Bryant Park, says Fern Mallis, executive director of 7th on Sixth, the organization that produces Fashion Week in New York. This season, she says, the flag is bigger than ever.
In the weeks after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the fashion industry created "Fashion for America" T-shirts, with sales benefiting the Twin Towers Fund. Now another T-shirt is in the works -- "Fashion Bridges the Gulf" -- to benefit victims of Katrina.
On the runway, however, it is difficult to blend fashion with grief, and few other designers have acknowledged the news of disaster. At the Project Alabama runway presentation Saturday, for example, no reference was made to the catastrophe even though the company bases its aesthetic and marketing strategy on its connection to the traditions of Alabama's rural home seamstresses.
Stephen Burrows was the rare designer who on Saturday slipped fliers into goody bags encouraging his guests to make donations to a hurricane relief fund in Jackson, Miss. And on Sunday, Tracy Reese noted that her collection, inspired by southern sultriness, had become an inadvertent tribute to New Orleans. And Diane von Furstenberg matched the cost of her show with a donation to Habitat for Humanity.
The menswear designer Tomer Gendler did not make a specific reference to the hurricane in his show Friday, but he noted that his palette for spring -- mostly black and gray -- was "primarily influenced by the morose climate of the world today." That would seem to encompass all the bad news from the Gulf Coast to Iraq to Darfur.
Gendler is one of several new names gaining a measure of notoriety here. He is one of 10 designers selected to show their work in Bryant Park in a space sponsored by UPS. Gendler displays an almost obsessive fascination with trousers, experimenting with length, piping, odd tabs and curious buttons. Sometimes his fussing pays off with intriguing details such as contrasting belt loops. But unfortunately he also likes to hem his trousers high on the leg -- about mid-calf -- so that a gentleman can reveal his dress socks. The aesthetic does little for a man's appeal to either sex, as it leaves him looking as though he should be sitting on a midday park bench, nodding off as he flings breadcrumbs at the pigeons.
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NEW YORK, Sept. 11 The sight of designer Kenneth Cole taking his runway bows dressed in a Red Cross T-shirt went a long way to take some of the sting out of the start of the spring 2006 fashion show season. Fashion is a billion-dollar business that helps fuel the economy, but its biannual ritual of...
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Storm Victims -- and a FEMA Representative -- Plug In at Kinko's
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HOUSTON -- The parking lot outside a FedEx Kinko's on the southern outskirts of this sprawling city was dotted with Louisiana license plates. In the days following the storm that displaced hundreds of thousands of people, this place of computers, printers, fax machines, copiers and Internet connectivity became a de facto office for some of the wandering workers and professionals of New Orleans.
A woman with a crying baby on her hip took a seat at a computer and began typing her résumé. A man walked in the door, plugged his cell phone into an open electrical outlet, and sat down to wait for his phone to power up.
People were finding their way to the Kinko's because it is in a small strip center a few doors down from a branch of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, where long lines of Hurricane Katrina victims waited for special food stamp assistance.
Some walked down to Kinko's to use the clean restrooms or check e-mail or file for individual assistance on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Web site.
One woman walked right up to the counter. "I'm from New Orleans," she said. "Can I use the computer for free?"
The cashier told her she would have to pay -- 20 to 30 cents per minute.
"I was here the other day, and they let me use it for free," she said.
"Well, we're not supposed to do that," the cashier replied.
The man next in line said, "I'm from New Orleans, too, and I don't mind paying."
He was Jerome J. Pellerin, who said he lost his law practice in the flooded city. It had taken him decades to build up a client list of some 70 small-business owners, franchisees, doctors and other professionals.
"I think I'm going to make a go of it here in Houston," he said. "I'm struggling because most of my clients are out of business. It will be months before they are back in business in New Orleans."
Pellerin is looking for a corporate gig. Last week he called a few Houston head hunters, who told him to send along his work history. But it had been many years since the lawyer had to circulate his curriculum vitae, a bound document of half a dozen pages.
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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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In From the Cold and Able to Take the Heat
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Last month, Henry "Hank" Crumpton, a revered master of CIA covert operations, formally came in from the cold.
Crumpton gained almost mythical fame after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- always anonymously. He is the mysterious "Henry" in the Sept. 11 commission report, which notes he persistently pressed the CIA to do more in Afghanistan before Osama bin Laden's terrorist spectaculars. Two key proposals to track al Qaeda were turned down.
Tapped to head the CIA's Afghan campaign after the attacks, Crumpton is "Hank" in Gary C. Schroen's "First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan" and Bob Woodward's "Bush at War." Both books recount how Crumpton crafted a strategy partnering elite intelligence and military officers in teams that worked with the Afghan opposition to oust the Taliban. The novel and initially controversial approach worked at limited cost in human life and materiel -- and avoided the kind of protracted U.S. ground war that the Soviet Union lost.
It also changed the way the United States fights terrorism.
"Hank was a tough, focused, brave operator and an excellent organizer. His work was invaluable," said Gen. Tommy Franks, now retired, who was in charge of Central Command during the Afghan war and the initial Iraq invasion.
Added John E. McLaughlin, former acting CIA director now at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, "He's a genuine American hero."
Now, after almost a quarter-century as a spy or station chief on at least four continents, Crumpton has emerged from undercover to take the job as State Department Coordinator for Counterterrorism -- with the very public rank of ambassador.
The move surprised colleagues. Crumpton says he had wanted to be a spy since childhood, when he first wrote to the CIA. "And they responded -- on letterhead. In a small rural community in Georgia, to get a letter from the CIA, that was pretty cool," he reflected in his first interview since taking the job.
After joining the agency in 1981, Crumpton cut his teeth in Liberia during its disintegration into tribal clashes. "That was a good place to start, dealing with chaos and trying to understand the different political and tribal tensions," he said, noting he learned more from African insurgents than he did in his initial training at home. "They were people working with nothing," he said.
Most of his work since then is still secret, although Crumpton was deeply involved in probing the 1998 al Qaeda bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania as well as the 2000 boat bombing of the USS Cole off Yemen, colleagues say.
He has specialized in hot spots -- and looked for operatives with similar aptitudes. When he took over the Afghan operation, Crumpton posted a sign on his office door, the wording borrowed from ill-fated Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton: "Officers wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages. Bitter cold. Long months of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful."
Georgia-born and soft-spoken, Crumpton can be deceiving in his demeanor, say his friends and peers. "There's a twinkle in his eyes, and he's an aw-shucks guy, but he's one tough intelligence officer," said James Pavitt, former deputy director of operations, the CIA's covert wing. "He was not afraid to look people in the eyes and say they were wrong. That was his great strength. And that's the kind of thing that started making things happen" after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Colleagues recall how Crumpton would crouch down like a squad leader between President Bush and Vice President Cheney with maps to explain what the CIA was doing in Afghanistan. "He wasn't intimidated," McLaughlin said.
After Afghanistan, Crumpton increasingly focused on how to redefine and streamline the way U.S. agencies work with one another, and how the United States integrates its security with the rest of the world. Colleagues say Crumpton is relentless -- and sometimes unyielding -- when he has an idea.
Jennifer E. Sims's new book was launched after a meeting with Crumpton -- at the International House of Pancakes. "He's incredibly direct," Sims said. "I got a call from him saying he'd like to meet at IHOP at 7 a.m. in Arlington. . . . I thought it was weird, but there I was in north Arlington. He was probably 10 minutes ahead of me. I slid into the booth and we had nice chitchat, and I said, 'So what's up?' "
"He said, 'We've got huge changes we need in intelligence, and what we need is a new partnership with the American people.' . . . He said, 'I need a vehicle,' then he stared at me. I thought, 'I'm getting recruited here,' " recalled Sims, who had been Crumpton's professor at Johns Hopkins when he took a break to get a master's degree. She had given him an A. Crumpton, she added, was the only student who had ever intimidated her.
That initial meeting launched more sessions, at assorted IHOPs, when Crumpton was still undercover, as the two drew up a list of people to contribute to a book. The result, released this month, is "Transforming U.S. Intelligence," edited by Sims and former CIA operations officer Burton Gerber. Crumpton wrote two chapters: one on intelligence and homeland security, the other offering tantalizing historic details on the Afghan operation.
Crumpton stresses how the winning strategy in Afghanistan included economic and social components because Afghans fought for tribal honor as well as geopolitical gain. The tribal leader who sided with the United States was rewarded with prizes that fell from the sky within 72 hours of the request -- in the form of airdrops of tents, medicine, clothes, Korans, food and toys.
"U.S. power is usually measured in terms of kinetic strength, but the power of empathy, honor, prestige, hope and material self-interest can complement raw strength and produce a more effective, more enduring victory," he wrote.
Crumpton also has urged relying on local forces, noting the advice of T.E. Lawrence -- Lawrence of Arabia -- to his British bosses: "Do not try to do too much with your own hands. Better the Arabs do it tolerably than that you do it perfectly. . . . Actually also, under the very odd conditions of Arabia, your practical work will not be as good as, perhaps, you think it is."
Crumpton, who has won four of the CIA's highest awards, was originally listed in the book as Henry Smith. Only after he took the State Department job did he allow the use of his real name -- leading the publisher to quickly insert little slips of paper with his real identity in the book proofs.
Colleagues joke that IHOP is a good cover for Crumpton, who is big on healthful eating and exercise -- and prefers tea to coffee. The biggest influences in his thinking, he said, are Sun Tzu, the Chinese military strategist born in 500 B.C. who wrote "The Art of War," and the Greek historian Thucydides, who chronicled the 5th-century B.C. war between Athens and Sparta.
Crumpton's approach to using intelligence as a tool in counterterrorism is premised on Sun Tzu's advice: "The expert in using the military subdues the enemy's forces without going to battle," he wrote.
For all the success of his plan in Afghanistan, the United States did not capture bin Laden during Crumpton's watch. It does not disturb Crumpton. "Alexander the Great never got King Darius of Persia. His own men gave him up. Pershing never got Pancho Villa," he reflected. "We will succeed. We have no doubt about that."
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Last month, Henry "Hank" Crumpton, a revered master of CIA covert operations, formally came in from the cold.
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Surfer Dudes Catch Some Gospel Along With Waves
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OCEAN GROVE, N.J. -- It's early morning, and the sun seems to hover atop a gentle roll of waves. A dozen or so long-haired, pierced-navel, broad-shouldered dudes with killer tans prepare to introduce some surfing newbies to a level of higher consciousness.
"Surfing is a spiritual pursuit," Steve Brooks said to the initiates. "Being in the water, you feel something bigger."
He's talking God, not sharks. These are the Christian Surfers, Jersey Shore chapter, as you might guess from the surfboard with the hand-painted words "Saved by Grace Through Faith" and the 10-foot-high wooden cross planted in the sand.
"Not to sound like a tree-hugging hippie, we're just lifting them up," said Keith Gallo, considered the most hard-core surfer of the group. "We want them to see Christians that are gnarly and hard-core."
The Christian Surfers are the major attraction -- after Christian singer Michael W. Smith, anyway -- at the Summer Surf Festival, a Christian-sponsored weekend blowout in Ocean Grove, a one-acre gated beach town founded more than 100 years ago as a summer destination for New York Methodists.
Under a white tent, wives, sisters and mothers dole out sunscreen and Bible scripture. There are pamphlets on the sign-up table with an exuberant surfer suspended over a wave. And there's a lot of talk of hanging ten and the Gospel of John.
In the past decade, religious life on the surf circuit has exploded into a full-blown Christian evangelical movement. The Christian Surfers network originated in Australia and washed ashore in California about 20 years ago. The group has published the Surfer's Bible and codified its beliefs in a credo titled "Surfer's Challenge," using culturally appropriate language.
"Mankind blew it big time a long time ago when we tried to play 'God' and made our own choices of right and wrong. Bad move for us as we weren't designed to play God."
Christian Surfers USA, a Florida-based group, has added 10 chapters in the past year and says it has reached 58,000 people in the past three years. New Jersey has two surfer ministries on a mission to take the Gospel to the dudes and babes on the beach.
Surfer culture, once defined by its counterculture edge and reputation for debauchery, has mellowed somewhat. But surfers young and old attest to the spiritualism inherent in the confrontation with wave and wind.
Chris Mauro, editor of Surfer Magazine, estimates that the number of U.S. surfers has quadrupled in the past decade from the 2 million adherents counted in the last unofficial surfer census.
"There's all kinds of surfers with causes," said Mauro, who voices skepticism about the impact Christian surfers have on the sport's overall culture. "They aren't permeating surf fashion; these kids are sponsored by the same companies that will run women in G-strings in their ads."
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OCEAN GROVE, N.J. -- It's early morning, and the sun seems to hover atop a gentle roll of waves. A dozen or so long-haired, pierced-navel, broad-shouldered dudes with killer tans prepare to introduce some surfing newbies to a level of higher consciousness.
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In D.C. Race, It's 'Future' Vs. Familiar
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With the election more than a year away, the race is on for D.C. mayor, and two candidates -- council Chairman Linda W. Cropp and Ward 4 council member Adrian M. Fenty -- are slugging it out for front-runner status.
Since Cropp (D) entered the race Wednesday, she and Fenty have traded thinly veiled barbs. Cropp characterized the campaign as a contest between "experienced leadership" and an untested, divisive novice. Fenty (D) cast himself as the candidate of the future and said other "people who are running" represent the "fiscal chaos" and "mismanagement" of the past.
Over the weekend, as both candidates hit the campaign trail, Fenty said the race offers a "clear choice" between moving "boldly into the future" and staying "chained to the past." Cropp supporters, meanwhile, queued up the first broadcast ad of the 2006 season, a withering attack scheduled to air today on drive-time radio that dismisses Fenty as "just not ready for the big leagues."
Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) seemed an afterthought amid the flurry of activity. Williams, who left Thursday for a weeklong trip to Greece and Germany, has told people he is not inclined to seek a third term.
Other contenders in the all-important Democratic primary -- Ward 5 council member Vincent B. Orange Sr., former telecommunications executive Marie C. Johns and lobbyist Michael A. Brown, who plans to announce his candidacy Wednesday -- are not well known to District voters, political analysts said, which leaves them far behind.
Cropp and Fenty "have well-defined images and bases, while the other candidates are essentially starting from scratch," said pollster Ron Lester, who surveyed voters this year for council candidate A. Scott Bolden. "If you had to handicap it now, you'd have to say that Adrian and Linda have a clear advantage over the rest of the field."
During the next 12 months, the debate between Cropp, 57, a polished veteran who had been considering retirement, and Fenty, 34, a brash newcomer known for his unvarnished political ambition, will present voters with a stark choice for the city's future. Cropp, a strong ally of Williams, promises stability and a continuation of policies that revived downtown and sparked an economic renaissance. Fenty, one of Williams's harshest critics, promises youthful energy and renewed focus on residents who have been untouched by the city's rising fortunes.
The contrast is evident on the campaign trail. At her announcement on historic U Street NW, Cropp hearkened back to the "struggling African Americans" who helped found Washington's vibrant black community. Stalwarts of the political establishment were at her side, including recently defeated council members Kevin P. Chavous and Harold Brazil, Democratic National Committeewoman Marilyn Tyler Brown and Elijah B. Rogers, a prominent businessman and city administrator under former mayor Marion Barry.
Cropp is "the most experienced candidate. She's got a demonstrated track record of working with a diverse community," Rogers said. "When Mrs. Cropp is elected mayor, you will see a tremendous change in the management of the city."
Fenty, who announced his candidacy in June, held a kickoff rally Saturday at his U Street headquarters, then set out to visit all eight city wards. Addressing a racially diverse crowd of neighborhood activists, college students and newcomers to local politics, Fenty referred to the "future" 20 times in his 10-minute speech.
"The District has to move on at some point," Fenty said in an interview. "We can't keep revisiting and rehashing the same people and the same ideas."
Cropp and Fenty point to last year's stadium debate as a good example of their contrasting styles. Cropp said Fenty's flat opposition to a publicly financed baseball stadium was imperious and inflexible. "Nobody is elected king," she said. "Negotiation is one of the hallmarks of good government and leadership."
Fenty said Cropp's efforts to modify the deal even as she criticized it demonstrated a lack of leadership. "Every decision you make cannot please everybody," he said. "Leadership is all about making a decision and sticking with it."
Political analysts said that Fenty's early start has allowed him to assemble an impressive citywide organization but that Cropp has loyalties stretching back 25 years and is likely to catch up fast.
Cropp already has snatcheda number of supporters from Fenty's camp, including Marie Drissel, one of the architects of Williams's 1998 victory. Drissel hosted a fundraiser for Fenty in February, long before Cropp decided to run.
Drissel said she picked sides"too soon." Cropp has the potential to be "the first mayor other than Barry, when he first came to office, who knows how this city works and who's going to make it better," Drissel said.
Fenty played down the defections, saying he defeated former Ward 4 council member Charlene Drew Jarvis in 2000 with even less support from the mainline establishment. He compared himself to Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley (D) and San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom (D), dynamic young leaders who also represented "a break from the past."
Cropp and Fenty are striving to keep the debate civil, but the calm tones are unlikely to last. As Brown embraced his "underdog" status and Johns acknowledged Cropp's "impact" on the race, Orange went on the attack last week.
In an interview, Orange mocked Cropp, a former school board president, for promising to improve city schools. "She's had 25 years to do that. And the schools aren't fixed," he said.
And Orange criticized Fenty, a lawyer, for bungling the case of an elderly probate client five years ago. "If he couldn't handle a $20,000 estate, what makes you think he's going to be able to handle an $8 billion city budget?" Orange asked.
"Stay tuned," Orange added. "To say this is a two-person race is ridiculous."
Whatever the number of candidates, it's not enough for Anwar Saleem, a hair salon owner on H Street NE. In interviews, Saleem and a number of other voters said they're still hoping for a fresh face.
"I don't think there's a good pool of candidates," Saleem said. Fenty needs "more experience," and people wonder why Cropp hasn't "stepped up and done more."
Cropp is "probably the best thing out there," Saleem said. But "people want a change."
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With the election more than a year away, the race is on for D.C. mayor, and two candidates -- council Chairman Linda W. Cropp and Ward 4 council member Adrian M. Fenty -- are slugging it out for front-runner status.
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Hunting for a New Cash Crop
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Israel Hertzler isn't the sort of man who usually bucks tradition. On the rare occasions when the Amish farmer leaves his home on dusty Woodpecker Way, he drives a horse and buggy. He is partial to straw hats with wide brims and homemade trousers held up by worn suspenders. And for lunch most days? Meat and potatoes, of course.
So Hertzler was more than a bit leery when a businessman from Mali asked him three years ago to plant n'goyo , a bitter type of African eggplant with green ridges, in a part of Southern Maryland better known for tobacco barns and oyster-shucking houses.
"I said to him, 'You must be funny,' " said Hertzler, 32, of St. Mary's County. "I don't know the first thing about growing African eggplants."
But he does now. Hertzler and his brother have transformed their patch of Amish country into a United Nations of horticulture. Down the road from the half-acre of n'goyo grows another type of eggplant, known as njilu in the Congo Republic. Nearby is a plot of habanero peppers, highly prized in Latin America.
The patches of international vegetables are the latest example of how immigrants moving into the Washington region are reshaping the economy. As growing enclaves of ethnic groups, from Salvadorans to Ethiopians, hunger for fresh produce from their homelands, increasing numbers of farmers like Hertzler are trying to meet their needs.
The eagerness of some farmers to cast away traditional crops and turn instead to vegetables with names difficult for English speakers to pronounce underscores a growing desperation in the agricultural community, in which longtime growers are struggling to stay afloat.
Faced with falling crop prices and rising operating costs, more and more area farmers are accepting multimillion-dollar offers from developers and getting out of agriculture. Across the region, fields of tobacco and soybeans are giving way to a new crop: sprawling subdivisions.
But on quiet Lomax Road in Charles County, Lana Edelen is determined to keep her farm going. Part of the key to her success? The mix of ethnic fruits and vegetables she sells to Jamaicans, Latinos, Asians and Africans. Down past the rusty tobacco barns and rows of sweet corn, Edelen drives from patch to patch in a gray station wagon caked with mud.
She points at a green leaf known as callalou to Jamaicans. Then the Asian variety of eggplant known as ichiban . But Edelen runs into some trouble when she tries to describe a spherical yellow vegetable speckled with white. She calls it a garden egg.
"I don't know how you say it in their language because I don't speak it," said the 54-year-old former tobacco farmer. "I just know Africans like to eat it."
When she has to write down the vegetable's name, she writes it phonetically: B-O-M-A. Yao Afantchao, a Togolese immigrant who buys her vegetables and distributes them to local specialty stores, tries to correct her.
"He says, 'That's not the way it's supposed to be spelled. It's supposed to start with an H. And I say, 'Well, that's the way I spell it,' " Edelen said, looking exasperated. "What's the point of having an H if it's silent?"
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The patches of international vegetables are the latest example of how immigrants moving into the Washington region are reshaping the economy.
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9/11: Four Years Later
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Matthew Levitt , director of the Terrorism Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, was online Monday, Sept. 12, at 3 p.m. ET to discuss terrorism and the U.S. national security four years after 9/11.
Franklin, Tenn.: This administration has continued a near total embargo of Iran (begun in the Clinton administration) on the claim that Iran supports terrorism. Is Iran in fact a supporter of terrorism anywhere outside the Israeli occupied territories of Palestine?
Matthew Levitt: For several years running Iran has been, and continues to be, the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism. It certainly sponsors terrorism targeting Israel, and not only in the West Bank and Gaza Strip but in Israeli cities where public buses and cafes are regularly targeted by suicide bombers.
But Iran is an equal opportunity sponsor of terror, and it has therefore been involved in terrorism worldwide. Iranian agents frequently pair up with Hezbollah operatives to conduct attacks abroad, as was the case for example in the bombing of the Khobar Towers barracks in Saudi Arabia, 2 truck bombings in Argentina in the early 1990's, and in assassination plots targeting Iranian dissidents in Europe.
For more detail on Iranian sponsorship of terrorism see my congressional testimony: "Iranian State Sponsorship of Terror: Threatening U.S. Security, Global Stability, and Regional Peace," Testimony before the Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation, United States House of Representatives, February 16, 2005
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: From my point of view, the war against terrorism conducted by U.S. has actually generated and presently breeding more terrorists because more people are becoming anti-U.S. in particularly the children and family members of the innocent people killed during the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The children in this countries fighting to grow up in their war-ridden countries and certainly they will somehow create a terrorism background.
STOP THE WAR AGAINST THE WORLD!!
ONE NATION, ONE UNITY SHALL BE MAINTAINED AT ALL TIMES!!
Matthew Levitt: While I disagree with the underlying premise of the question, the truth is that Western powers tend to be better at tactical counterterrorism (breaking up cells and breaking down doors) than strategic counterterrorism (the battle of ideas in the war on terror).
Recent discussions about talking about a war on radical extremism rather than a war on terrorism is a useful start, as is the appointment of someone close to the President to articulate a better message to the world regarding US intentions. Conspiracy theories have more legs in the much of the world today (certainly in the Middle East) than anything US officials say, and that's a problem.
There are macro iterations of this concept, but there are also very micro - even tactical - implications. Consider the need to counter the theological case for "Economic Jihad." For more on this see my article "Countering the Theological Case for 'Economic Jihad' is Vital," RUSI/Jane's Homeland Security and Resilience Monitor, (July 1, 2005)
Ga.: Do you believe it is possible to ever ELIMINATE terrorism?
Matthew Levitt: It is a painful reality that no counterterrorism technique or effort, however extensive, international, or comprehensive, will put an end to political violence or uproot terrorism. There will always be people and groups with entrenched causes, an overwhelming sense of frustration, a self-justifying worldview, and a healthy dose of evil, who will resort to violence as a means of expression.
The goal of counterterrorism, therefore, should be to constrict the environment so that it is increasingly difficult for terrorists to carry out their plots of destruction and death-making it harder for terrorists to operate at every level, such as radicalizing and recruiting new operatives, conducting operations, procuring and transferring false documents, ferrying fugitives from one place to another, and financing, laundering, and transferring funds. This includes cracking down not only on operational cells, but on their logistical and financial support networks as well.
Racine, Wis.: What yardstick will you use to address this question?
As far as I can see, the U.S. has responded mainly by demonizing Arabs, by waging war against a county not directly involved in the 9/11 attack, by waging war on the U.S. Constitution...and by ignoring causes and location of actual terrorists....and all without being able to explain why some acts are terroristic and the same acts committed by other groups are not.
I see two theocratically motivated groups clashing as they both try to spread the 'word' and amass power. The rest of us get caught in the cross fire.
Can you define 'terrorist' AND explain your yardstick?
Matthew Levitt: I think the US - and its allies - have tried hard not to demonize Arabs or Muslims. The problem is that the majority of people, groups, and organizations engaged in international terrorism today are engaged in a radical, militant, Islamist (jihadist) variety. There are still Columbian, Jewish, Irish, secular, Marxist and host of other types of terrorist groups, but none of these present the kind of threat posed by al Qaeda and its affiliated networks. These are the these groups that engage in indiscriminate violence aimed at killing as many people as possible - a real departure from past terrorism trends in which people wanted lots of media attention but not so many dead.
The issue of defining terrorism is a complicated one, but perhaps it should start with the actions people carry out, not the purported causes in whose names they do so.
For more on this, see "No Excuse," and OpEd I recently wrote for the Wall Street Journal Europe.
Kensington, Md.: How much of a recruiting bonanza has Mr. Bush's deceit-based invasion of and now establishment of permanent bases in Iraq provided to Al Qaeda? It seems clear to me that our "decisive" leader has played straight into OBL's hands on that front, while the invasion itself has not made us one bit safer (rather the opposite).
Matthew Levitt: Leaving the politically flavored part of your question aside, the fact remains that while Iraq was a State Sponsor of Terrorism prior to the invasion, it was nowhere near as major a sponsor of terror as Iran, Syria or Sudan. While that was the case then, Iraq today is a central front in the war on terror. This may be the an unintended consequence of the invasion and removal of Saddam's regime, but that does not have to be the final chapter in this saga.
Los Angeles, Calif.: Are the 9/11 families suing Saudi Arabia going to appeal the decision by the court that threw out their case?
I really don't see how the judge in that decision could come to that conclusion. Everybody knows the Saudi government, at least in some levels, was involved in the attacks.
Matthew Levitt: This was a largely technical ruling. There was little doubt that the suit against senior sitting and former government officials would be thrown out. But that does not necessarily have anything to do with the merits of the case.
Seattle, Wash.: As a flight attendant for a major airline, I'm deeply concerned about the TSA'S plan to allow knives, etc. aboard aircraft. I have had one incident directly traced to Bin Laden's training camps in 2001, and also another last year with seven individuals, three of whom were in row 1 in first class and seven of whom had aisle seats from mid cabin to front. One individual in row 1, got out of his seat and came towards me, just as the nose gear lifted from the ground. I had a plan and was able to subvert what he might have been trying to accomplish. I hate to think what would have happened if all seven were able to carry knives, etc.
Matthew Levitt: Unfortunately, we know that al Qaeda operatives remain fixated on transportation targets, including aviation targets. And yours is not the only such story I've heard. My understanding is that the knives allowed on board now are all very small, but your concerns remain legitimate.
Anonymous: My feeling is that the longer Osama Bin Laden remains free, the more of a folk hero he becomes and that increases the recruitment appeal of Al Qaeda. Why hasn't he been captured. Is he being protected by Pakistan?
Matthew Levitt: Capturing Bin Laden would mark a major milestone in the "war on terror," and his freedom is used in jihadist rhetoric for recruitment purposes, but his capture will not put an end to the struggle against radical jihadists.
There are reports that elements of Pakistani intelligence, which was traditionally close to the Taliban in Afghanistan and jihadists tied to al Qaeda in the Kashmir, have not pursued Bin Laden as vociferously as they could have. Some wonder if they have warned Bin Laden and his inner circle of upcoming raids in the lawless Northwest Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan. That said, more al Qaeda operatives have been arrested in Pakistan than anywhere else.
washingtonpost.com: On Iran: Iranian State Sponsorship of Terror: Threatening U.S. Security, Global Stability, and Regional Peace.
Rockville, Md.: Dear Mr. Levitt, It seems that 9/11/01 has -- for the current administration at least -- become the prism through which nearly everything is viewed. It is linked to the Iraq war, Katrina, and anything else it can be stretched to cover. This seems to me to be opportunistic and exploitative. Is this type of response to terrorist events common? Or is it simply political opportunism that shapes this phenomenon?
Matthew Levitt: For the more politically oriented there can always be a aspect of political opportunism to major events, good or bad. But that tends not to be the case among the professionals in counterterrorism, disaster relief and related fields.
I worked the 9/11 (PENTTBOM) case while I was a the FBI, and I understand how people who have been at the front lines of this struggle against global terrorism see remnants of 9/11 - the larger phenomenon, if not the actual event - in the activities of insurgents tied to al Qaeda in Iraq, in the post-blast lessons we need to learn from the devastation inflicted by Katrina, etc.
Having said that, let me add that I supported the war in Iraq from the outset, but for one reason and one reason only. Not because Saddam did lots of bad things to lots of innocent people (he did, ask the Kurds), not because he supported terrorism (which he also did, ask Israeli victims of the Palestinian suicide bombers he supported), but because of what intelligence led us (and the UK and others) to believe as a clear and present danger from weapons of mass destruction. For more on this see my Washington Post book review of Stephen F. Hayes' book "The Connection."
washingtonpost.com: Economic Jihad: Countering the case for "economic Jihad" is vital
Falls Church, Va.: Is is safe to say that based on the response to the New Orleans disaster we're in real trouble if there's another terror event? I live 5 miles from the city.
Matthew Levitt: This need not be the case. Disaster response is a very difficult business, but it is based on two things that were working against us with Katrina. First, the presumption is that first responders will be local police, fire department, etc, and they were overwhelmed (and flooded out like everyone else) and the burden shifted immediately to federal authorities. Second, it appears that insufficient attention was given to certain key issues in advance of the storm. According to reports I've seen the levies were never intended to withstand more than a category 3 storm, but Katrina was a 5 - and then a 4 when it hit - so perhaps we should have been better prepared.
When it comes to terrorism, there are plenty of weak spots remaining, but we're giving these the proper attention. Natural disasters have not received the same attention, but I think it's safe to say they now will - in much the same way that we really only geared up to combat terrorism as a nation after 9/11.
Bethesda, Md.: I am assuming you consider Israel a "terrorist" state, too. Certainly, if any state uses violence for political means, it is Israel. Or is this still considered unmentionable in polite company?
Matthew Levitt: As a sovereign state Israel has the right to defend itself against threats to its people and territory. Israeli actions are taken in response to terrorist threats and actions, and are done in such a way as to minimize civilian casualties. That said, there are times the United States takes issue with specific Israeli reprisals.
The Israeli withdrawal from Gaza (disengagement, as the Israelis prefer to describe it), which was officially concluded today, marks a potential turning point in Israeli-Palestinian relations and a milestone on the Palestinian path toward sovereignty. If terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians can be curtailed the US and other members of the Quartet peace sponsors will be able to press for further progress along the lines of the Quartet's roadmap to peace.
Alexandria, Va.: I constantly hear that the terrorist are jealous of our freedoms and for that reason they want to attack us. Isn't the better reason is that the U.S. sides with the repressive government of the Middle East? A good comment, I heard lately, was that we are liked in Central Europe because we didn't support the repressive governments of the Communists, but we are hated in the middle east because the U.S. supports the repressive governments like Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and at one time Iraq. Central Europe gives the U.S. credit for their freedom and the Middle East blames us for their repression.
Matthew Levitt: Certainly siding with repressive governments was a powerful draw for many extremists, like the Egyptian Islamic Group that partnered up with Bin Laden to form al Qaeda. The US led campaign for democratization in the Middle East - spearheaded by funding tied to progress on democratization - is a good start. Our problem now is that conflicting needs -- like cooperation on counterterrorism issues -- sometimes sideline the critical issue of pushing for greater political, economic and social freedoms in the Middle East. Balancing these simultaneous and equally pressing needs is going to be the next great challenge.
Los Angeles, Calif.: Does anybody think it is strange that Americans are jumping ship and fighting with Qaeda (John Walker Lindh & that other guy who just released a video), but no Qaeda members ever jump ship and fight for America (that I have heard of)?
Not to be a pessimist, but that cannot be good.
Matthew Levitt: We should not hold our breath waiting for radicalized jihadists to jump ship and help the West, though there are cases far from the front pages of the newspapers in which intelligence agencies have successfully recruited jihadists.
Unfortunately, many Westerners - Americans included - have been recruited to Islamist extremist elements. The recent al Qaeda threat videotape appears to have been recorded by a native Californian. That isn't good news, but the fact that al Qaeda has tried and failed to conduct attacks in the US over the past 4 years is good news. It also suggests that there may be avenues available for counterterrorism officials to exploit in penetrating al Qaeda, engaging in psychological operations against the group, and more.
Shock and Awe: Tell me, after reading the Richard Clarke memo on January 25th, 2001 and the CIA's PDB "Bin Laden Determined to Strike Inside the U.S.",
Do you not think the words "criminal negligence" should have been used by the 9/11 commission?
Matthew Levitt: No, I don't. There were many mistakes, as the 9/11 Commission documented, but Clarke's memo was only one small piece. It's possible to say that there were some who did not fully appreciate the nature and scope of the threat, there are many dedicated people who would fall into that category. To be sure, the threat is much clearer in retrospect but at the time deciphering the kernels of truth from the tons of partial (and often intelligible) intelligence reporting was a very tough job.
More should have been done, no question. But my only real criticism of the 9/11 commission is that unlike its detailed prescription for change within the US intelligence bureaucracy, the report's recommendations regarding policy toward the Middle East are broad and undefined. At the core of the problem is a conundrum the report itself highlights but never resolves: many of the near term (or tactical) goals prioritized in the report are hard to reconcile with its long term (or strategic) objectives.
[Full disclosure: I briefly did some consulting for the 9/11 Commission.]
For more on this, see a piece I wrote just over a year ago, "The 9/11 Report and U.S. Middle East Strategy: Little Impact," Bitterlemons-international.org, August 27, 2004
Stevenage, U.K.: Considering the number of innocent people being killed, both by the terrorists and the coalition forces, is it not about time to make a reconciliation effort for peace?
Matthew Levitt: Reconciliation with whom? With moderate Muslims, sure. Should we do all we can to facilitate Israeli-Palestinian (to the extent Israelis and Palestinians will allow us to do so)? Of course. Facilitate reconciliation between Iraqi factions, yes.
Unfortunately the real die-hard radicals committed to terrorism are not interested in dialogue or reconciliation and when it comes to those elements we need to undermine their ability to radicalize and recruit others, to conduct attacks, etc.
Some criminals are reformable, others are not. The same is true here. For the terrorists we're fighting the fight does not end with Middle East peace or with a truly free and independent Iraq -- indeed, for most of the radicals these are things they work every day to undermine.
Looking back over the past 4 years I see a chain of successes in the war on terrorism. Al Qaeda no longer has its safe haven and "open university" in Afghanistan, the top tier of al Qaeda is dead, captured or on the run, and issues like homeland security and combating terror financing are finally getting the attention they deserve.
That said, al Qaeda has truly morphed into a global jihadist movement that is more of an idea that an organization. As the attacks in London more recently made clear, militant Islamist terrorists are still able to execute deadly attacks. A key lesson - one of many, to be sure - is that counterterrorism officials need to constantly assess and reassess what and how terrorists are doing all the things they need to do to conduct attacks. Terrorists are constantly changing how they do business, in large measure in response to our counterterrorism measures.
What makes terrorists so dangerous today is not so much that they are revolutionary, but that they are evolutionary. Combine that with a militant ideology and you gain a fuller appreciation of the threat we face.
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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Matthew Levitt, director of the Terrorism Studies Program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, discusses the terrorism and the U.S. national security four years after 9/11.
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Critiquing the Press
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Howard Kurtz has been The Washington Post's media reporter since 1990. He is also the host of CNN's "Reliable Sources" and the author of "Media Circus," "Hot Air," "Spin Cycle" and "The Fortune Tellers: Inside Wall Street's Game of Money, Media and Manipulation." Kurtz talks about the press and the stories of the day in "Media Backtalk."
Howard Kurtz was online Monday, Sept. 12, at Noon ET to discuss the press and his latest columns.
Read today's Media Notes: John Roberts, Blown Away?
Columbia, Md.: Howard, President Bush flatly declared that he would lead an investigation into the response to Katrina. Do you think the media will hold Bush accountable to do what he said he's going to do or will they accept Scott McClellan's spin dodge?
Howard Kurtz: Given the coverage of the last two weeks, I think it's a fair bet that the media will hold Bush accountable, if indeed this "investigation" materializes.
Arlington, Va: Lots of conservative web traffic concerning the media insisting on photographing and publishing pictures of the dead in N.O., but refusing to publish/show photos of those forced to jump from the towers on 9/11 - what's your take on this argument?
Howard Kurtz: Some organizations published those pictures from 9/11, because I remember seeing them. The controversy, as best I can recall it, is whether television would show these suicides, and I don't believe the networks did.
Alexandria, Va.: The press has reported that 35% of the Louisiana National Guard is in Iraq but the Administration and the military says this had no impact on their response to Katrina. Simple math and the logistical considerations of getting troops deployed from other areas indicate otherwise. Has the press accepted the rationale provided by the government and the military or is this story still being pursued?
Howard Kurtz: I think it's pretty obvious that all aspects of this story are being aggressively pursued. Even if many Louisiana guardsmen are in Iraq, National Guard members from other states could have been rushed to the scene if the feds and the governor had gotten their act together. Their days of squabbling while people were dying remains, to me at least, inexplicable.
Washington D.C.: How long do you think Katrina will dominate the news? Although most papers are covering other stories, it is still squeezing out a lot of other news (like Iraq). I don't think this is necessarily bad as it will hopefully get people to continue responding, but I am wondering who is winning (Roberts?) and losing (Bush?) as a result.
Howard Kurtz: I don't know the answer. I think it will be a major, major story for many months to come -- news organizations are already gearing up to open N.O. bureaus -- but it's hard to imagine that it could continue at this level of intensity (meaning, blotting out most other news) for more than another week or two.
Ames, Iowa: My neighbor, who listens only to RWM (right wing media) says that Tony Snow said Blanco is to blame for help not getting into NO sooner. Has the RWM decided to focus all the blame on her, rather than including the mayor also? (I read that the mayor was actually a Democrat turned Republican and a Bush supporter, which would seem to protect him from blame.)
Howard Kurtz: It's certainly true that many conservatives are training their rhetorical fire on the missteps of state and local officials, and many liberal commentators are essentially arguing that it's all Bush's fault. Seems to me, given the magnitude of the multiple breakdowns here, that there's plenty of blame to go around.
I enjoy your column. My question concerns an article I saw in the Rocky Mountain News which quoted a leaked email written by Mike Brown to his family and friends. While no fan of Mr. Brown, I can't help feeling for him on this. I'm not sure its ethical for the paper to print this--it also makes no mention of how it got the email. What's your take on this? Under current sourcing guidelines, how might The Post handle this?
Howard Kurtz: We and other news organizations publish leaked e-mails and memos all the time. Having something in writing is certainly superior to relying on someone saying that someone else said something in a meeting. The only real questions are whether the e-mail is authentic, whether it has news value and whether the contents are too personal to warrant publication. Michael Brown complaining to friends about the way the press has treated him certainly qualifies as news.
Santa Barbara, Calif.: Howard- Please explain why the media mindlessly picks up on annoying phrases coined by the various D.C. "spinners". The current phrase the Bush team uses is "blame game", (during Lewinsky-gate it was "parsing"). It seems these phrases are designed to obfuscate the real issues, i.e. the ridiculous Scott McClellan using the phrase innumerable times to dodge David Gregory's question about Bush's slow response to Katrina.
Howard Kurtz: "Blame game" doesn't seem that mindless to me. It has the virtue of being short and cogently describing the point of view that we shouldn't worry about who was responsible for past mistakes while the crisis in New Orleans continues. At the same time, the media basically ignored that appeal and did their best to hold accountable those who screwed up at all levels, culminating in those big Sunday tick-tock pieces that I linked to in today's online column.
Knoxville, Tenn.: This morning on Thom Hartmann's radio show on KPOJ-am Portland Oregon....They are reporting that the Northwest's FEMA director has been discovered to have an apparently falsified degree in his resume, no experience in disaster or emergency service, and his major accomplishment is that he was the local Bush/Cheney campaign chairman. Will the media find out how many of the other regional directors are nothing more than "ambassadorships" handed out as prizes for those that raised the most money?
Howard Kurtz: That's a particularly good job for regional news organizations for whom these officials are a very big deal. The stuffing of FEMA with political hacks certainly didn't start with this administration (although it grew more professional in the Clinton years under Jamie Lee Witt), but the flimsy credentials of so many of its top officials (leaving aside the question of resume enhancement) is really sad.
Arlington, Va.: I've been watching way too much coverage on CNN lately and all I can say is WOW. If the media keep this up, Jon Stewart will be out of a job. The only downside is that the wall to wall coverage has knocked Reliable Sources off the air the last few weeks. Any guesses when it'll be back?
Howard Kurtz: I hope next Sunday. Lots of things have gotten blown away by this hurricane, including my show.
Bethesda, Md.: Howie - is the Administration's sudden concern for the "dignity" of the dead from Katrina and their embarrassment over the slow Federal response merely coincidental? In other words, has FEMA ever banned the media from photographing recovery operations from a natural disaster before? Out of sight, out of mind I guess is what they're hoping.
Howard Kurtz: I'm sure federal authorities would love to have no pictures of the New Orleans dead for the same reason that the Pentagon barred pictures of most flag-draped coffins returning from Iraq until FOI requests and a lawsuit overturned that effort. Sure, it makes the federal response look bad. But just to clarify, FEMA has ASKED news outlets not to show the bodies, but has no legal authority to ban such pictures. Officials have tried to limit the pictures by not taking along news crews on recovery boats, but lots of media organizations have their own boats and have continued to take such pictures.
I have an advanced degree in Journalism from a great school. One of my greatest interests is in objectivity.
I'm unhappy that some of the reporting about the relief efforts in Katrina doesn't focus more on failure at all levels, as opposed to simply saying "Washington" (read "Bush") didn't respond quickly. Not to say that the Fed. Govt. effort was perfect, far from it, actually, nor that questions shouldn't be asked. Just seems like reporters' personal biases are masquerading as "tough questions".
Howard Kurtz: I don't see this as a question of bias. Reporters who went to New Orleans and saw how pathetically inadequate the response to the killer storm were got angry, and asked aggressive questions, and that's what journalists should be doing. Now some liberal commentators have practically accused Bush of creating the hurricane, but they're in the opinion business.
Richmond, Va.: In your column today you quoted Spencer Hsu as saying "We don't blow sources, period, especially if we don't have reason to believe the source in this case actually lied deliberately" in regards to the correction that the Post was forced to make only hours after an article was published on Sept. 4 regarding when exactly Gov. Blanco declared a state of emergency- The article claimed she had not declared one the day before the storm when in fact she had done so several days before the storm struck.
My question is how can Hsu stand by that statement given the White House's recent lack of credibility in such matters (read Plamegate) and the fact that information regarding when Blanco made the declaration was easy to research? And if the source was that ill-informed that many days after the disaster isn't that a story unto itself?
Howard Kurtz: Whatever other credibility problems the administration might have, that doesn't change the situation when a reporter tells an official he will accept information on a background basis. If the official is not intentionally lying, the journalist would be betraying his promise by identifying the source after the fact. I think there were two problems here. One, the information obviously should have been double-checked. But even if what the administration official was saying had been accurate, I don't think The Post should have published it on a not-for-attribution basis. Why in the world can't the official be on the record talking about what the governor of Louisiana did or did not request? That kind of free pass should not have been given.
New York City, N.Y.: Why does Spencer Hsu not "believe the source in this case actually lied deliberately"? As Lenny Briscoe could see, he had the means, motive and opportunity.
Revealing the identity sources who lie would put a check on those lies being published. What would be the downside to revealing Hsu's source? Revealing it would bolster The Post's integrity.
Howard Kurtz: For what it's worth, my understanding is that it was based on a follow up conversation between the official and another reporter here.
Washington, D.C.: Hello Howard - I found the story in Saturday morning's Washington Post about trigger-happy American mercenaries in Iraq very disturbing. Has any member of the press ever asked President Bush how he feels about the presence of so many mercs? After all, the reason they're there is because Bush refused to listen to those generals that said more troops were needed right from the start. Seems like a legitimate question to me.
Howard Kurtz: If any reporter has asked the president (or a high-ranking official) about mercenaries, I'm not aware of it.
Let's take the anonymous senior administration official, Post reporter Hsu, and Ombudsman Getler at their word. All three thought that the administration source was speaking truthfully when he or she claimed that Blanco was late in declaring a state of emergency. But isn't it news that a "senior administration official," presumably speaking for the administration, had no idea when Blanco declared a state of emergency? This is a critical error on the part of the Bush administration, yet the administration's ignorance was mentioned by The Post only because the newspaper had to offer an explanation for its own error. Also, Hsu seems to indicate that he would not reveal a source even if it were shown that that source lied. Do you think that's a reasonable policy?
PS--Thanks for the weekly chats.
Howard Kurtz: I've answered the last part, but on the earlier question, yes, it's fairly amazing that a senior administration official would not have known that the governor of Louisiana had declared a state of emergency days earlier, to the point of taking a partisan shot at her, under the protection of background, when a simple Nexis search most likely would have revealed he was wrong.
I was appalled to hear on public radio's Marketplace last Friday that the administration has -already- managed to avoid paying prevailing wages to workers involved in reconstructing the Gulf coast. For a painter, the princely sum of $11 per hour is apparently too burdensome, even as Halliburton & co. suck up billions.
There has been much to be disgusted about these past two weeks, and it just keeps coming.
I'm afraid that outrages like these will just get lost in the shuffle. Your thoughts?
Howard Kurtz: The president's decision to suspend the prevailing wage law because of the emergency in Louisiana has been widely reported and noted. Organized labor is, understandably, outraged. Bush's dad did the same thing after Hurricane Andrew in '92, which I had not remembered.
Bethesda, Md.: According to your column it sounds like The Post is giving the benefit of the doubt to the "administration official" who leaked the disinfo. that the Governor waited with her declaration. Given the tedious string of disinformation that the administration has leaked to the press since the run-up to the Iraq war, isn't that charity just a bit naive?
Howard Kurtz: It was a bad mistake, as The Post's national editor candidly admitted. Yes, it happened at night under deadline pressure, but was still a bad mistake.
Waynesburg, Pa.: In this morning's Pittsburgh Post Gazette, there was a big article on Alberto Gonzalas as the potential nominee for O'Connor's now vacant seat on the Supreme Court. It seems to me that a very similar article ran before John Roberts was nominated. Why would a paper use up so much space for a speculative article like this, especially when they were so off on the predictions for Roberts when they only gave a small nod to the on-going military operation in Iraq at the Syrian border and the released terrorist tape claiming to target LA? They seem all mixed up in what's news and what's speculation to me.
Howard Kurtz: I'm sure you'll be reading more like that in the coming weeks. The next court vacancy is a far bigger deal than this one, the attorney general is obviously a top contender, and it was only a few days ago that Bush joked about the speculation about Gonzales at a Cabinet meeting.
Alexandria, Va.: The media should continue to find out and report as many facts as possible on the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, as it does in this week's Newsweek story by Evan Thomas and others. But isn't there a likelihood at the moment that reporters will back off in response to last week's GOP strategy of dismissing criticism as part of "the blame game"?
Howard Kurtz: Back off? I don't think so. I haven't seen the slightest sign of that in the nearly two weeks of intensive coverage of this hurricane and its aftermath.
Louisville, Ky.: Howard, do you have any sense of what kind of backlash NBC News in general and David Gregory in particular might have for Gregory's rather pointed questioning of McClellan last week? Granted, I tend to watch MSNBC more than the others so I may have seen their "blame game" exchange more than other viewers. But considering Gregory's past aggressive questioning of McClellan, do you feel NBC News is at all undermining its own objectivity, especially in light of RWM's overzealous "liberal bias" branding?
Howard Kurtz: I didn't see those particular questions, though I've certainly seen David Gregory and others go at it with McClellan at a number of briefings. Scott's stick-to-the-guidance style does seem to get some of the correspondents pretty worked up. But I don't know why you say that these aggressive questions are evidence of bias. If you'd watched the hostile and sometimes poisonous relations between White House correspondents and Clinton's spokesmen at briefings, you'd know that this sort of thing goes on in every administration. It's only since Mike McCurry, though, that it's been televised.
Washington, D.C.: I question CNN's decision to not show Reliable Sources yesterday. There are serious topics about coverage of the hurricane that aren't being fully organized and presented, the hurricane news is no longer updating as quickly, and the public has all gotten the initial word of the disaster.
Howard Kurtz: Well, I and others did talk about some of these media questions on Late Edition, but it would have been nice to have the full half-hour.
McLean, Va.: What is with the phony beard growth on these male reporters down there. Come on, if there is electricity to power the camera and satellite uplink they cannot plug in an electric razor?
Howard Kurtz: Of all the many and myriad aspects of the crisis coverage that I have tried to scrutinize, that is an angle that had not occurred to me.
Falls Church, Va.: I have been outraged by the Democrats attempt to pin the whole blame for Hurricane Katrina on Pres Bush and the Republicans. Of course, this is obviously very predictable. The Democrats conveniently overlook the fact that we have a system of FEDERALISM in this country---no, that does not mean the Federal government is completely responsible for handling natural disasters. It means that the initial response is traditionally assigned to state and local governments. They should have made better preparations for dealing with the hurricane (e.g., by busing poor residents outside the city to other parts of of the state). Then, the Federal government kicks in at the request of the lower levels of government. Of course, the Louisiana state and New Orleans local governments are run by Democrats, so the Federalism theory won't fly with them, and they consequently need to blame the Federal government.
Now the future is a different matter. We should probably plan for a larger and more immediate Federal role in the event of another Katrina-type disaster. But that is not the system in place at present. The Congress would have to give the Feds more legal authority than they have at present, especially for calling in the armed forces to help insufficient National Guard deployments after a major disaster.
Howard Kurtz: As I said, there is plenty of blame to go around. Clearly, Blanco and Nagin had their share of screw ups. But keep in mind that a few Republicans have also faulted the administration's response.
Arlington, Va.: I would just like to say I am glad the media finally decided to stop using the offensive word "refugees" to describe the people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The use of that word was racist, even if it was done so subconsciously. I would bet any amount of money that if a hurricane hit Greenwich, Connecticut, the media would NOT have called those people 'refugees.' It's time the media wake up and acknowledge that they, like many people, carry around attitudes and stereotypes based on race and class, and there is absolutely no place for that coming from so-called 'objective' journalists.
And may I say the one good thing coming from this massive hurricane coverage is that cable news FINALLY stopped talking about Natalee Holloway.
Howard Kurtz: Personally, I didn't see any problem with "refugees," and I certainly don't see it as racist. If you're forced by a catastrophe to leave your home, and in many cases your state, and may not be able to return for a long, long time, aren't you a refugee? I just think we're so accustomed to hearing that term associated with people fleeing communist countries or Third World disasters that there's something jarring about applying it to Americans.
Germantown, Md.: Howie-it seems that anonymous sources is a sick cycle no one can break. Sources can lie because they know reporters won't out them for fear they will miss out on the next off the record statement they will make and there for will get scooped. Can you see any way to break the cycle? Thanks!
Howard Kurtz: There's no question that unnamed sources are way overused, especially in Washington, and especially when they're just taking partisan shots as opposed to actually revealing sensitive information. The Plame case, of course, comes to mind.
Rockville, Md.: Back in the Nixon era the media was very skeptical of anything the White House said. This was because of the many lies and evasions that came out of the White House on a regular basis. So when Watergate happened, the media was mentally prepared to verify everything that came out of the White House and probably helped determine the Watergate story that otherwise might have only been a story about a "two bit burglary".
Today I see a White House operating in a similar fashion. The outright lies are astounding. When it was obvious that Scott McClellan has either lied to the press or had been lied to by others when he says he was told Rove had no involvement in the outing of Plame, the press still sits and writes down every word he says and reports it as fact. If the Bush administration ever pulled a Watergate, I really doubt the media would dig it up for the American people to see. Do you see, as I do, the media as inadequate to the job of protecting American democracy by shining light where it needs to be?
Howard Kurtz: Something tells me your view of this is influenced, maybe just a tad, by what you see as the "outright lies" of the Bush administration. And by the way, it was a "third-rate burglary," according to Nixon's spokesman, Ron Ziegler.
Saturday Correction: Can you shed any light on the concurrent running of two pieces in Saturday's Post? One was a correction, noting that the State's Attorney in Texas was not speaking about the Rove residency case specifically but was speaking in general, and then later in the A section was a story about the same woman being fired for speaking to the Post. Did a Post error, or fuzzy statement, lead to this woman being fired?
Howard Kurtz: Both involved a correction, but the news story tried to explain how the woman got fired for talking to The Post, which is not related to the mistake about whether she was specifically describing Rove's situation.
Rockville, Md.: Last night CNN had a segment comparing Katrina to 9/11 as a way of highlighting that this disaster lacked a "Rudy Giuliani". Only in the last seconds did they add as footnote that the NO disaster covered many orders of magnitude more area than 9/11, and several other factors that made it easier for Giuliani to wander around with a bullhorn. They never did bother to add that while there were no survivors to cope with after 9/11, there were an unparalleled number in our history with Katrina. Do you think the media ever tire of this facile and misleading contrast?
Howard Kurtz: No. The press loves Rudy.
Pittsburgh, Pa.: If the administration moved Brownie out of the direct Katrina job "to oversee the big picture" (if you type that into Babelfish it comes out "because of all the complaints"), will he soon "resign for family reasons/to return to the private sector", given that Time Magazine seems to have uncovered some (shall we say) transcription errors in his resumes?
Howard Kurtz: So much for doing "a heckuva job."
Washington, D.C.: So, why again did The Post refuse to sponsor the 9/11 Freedom Walk yesterday? I read the Post's article on the event and saw nothing that could be deemed "political" in the walk -- indeed, the article pointed out that people in the walk were both pro- and anti-war.
Howard Kurtz: The Post concluded -- correctly, in my view -- that it should not be sponsoring an event with the Pentagon, a major institution that the paper covers, whether the walk could be construed as political or not.
Woodbridge, Va.: Has Karen Hughes really been hired to improve public relations with the Arab World or is she there to replace Karl Rove in case he gets indicted?
Howard Kurtz: The official explanation is the former. And that happens to be the reality as well, since Hughes does work for the State Department.
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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Many columnists, editorial writers and bloggers are still grappling with one key question: Why did it take until the Friday after the storm had passed for substantial federal aid to arrive in hurricane devastated New Orleans, in spite of the fact that the president declared a state of emergency for Louisiana the Saturday before?
An editorial in the Post points out that the National Guard forces that arrived on Friday could have been en route much earlier -- as early as the Saturday before the hurricane. Columnist Charles Krauthammer says the fault for that falls entirely at the feet of the Louisiana governor: "It's her job to call up the National Guard and get it to where it has to go. Where the Guard was in the first few days is a mystery."
Al Neuharth, a founder of USA Today, blames the lack of National Guard forces in part for the looting in New Orleans and Biloxi. "Louisiana and Mississippi have 18,860 members of the National Guard, usually used in such emergencies," he writes. "But 5,600 guardsmen and women from those two states are away on duty in Iraq." I don't think there's enough proof out there to suggest that the delay was necessarily caused by deployments to Iraq, but I do wonder how re-enlistment numbers are for the Guard. If they're dropping, we could be in far bigger trouble when the next disaster hits.
Ideally, a stockpile of food and water would have been hauled into the Superdome before the hurricane, late Saturday or early Sunday, with a few armed guards to prevent theft. At the very least, the supplies could have been loaded up on Sunday to be trucked into the affected areas as soon as the hurricane passed, if it turned out to be necessary. The city didn't start flooding dangerously until Tuesday, so there was a window of opportunity late Monday to bring in relief supplies, had they been ready. That probably could have been handled by the local, state or federal government; perhaps if they were all talking to each other they could have made that happen.
Despite the administration's talk about how awful it is to "play the blame game," the Post reports that Bush and has begun trying to shift the blame down to the local and state levels. Undoubtedly the local government could have started earlier and done more to prepare for an evacuation, and the Louisiana reps in Congress shouldn't have wasted so much Army Corps of Engineers funding on porkbarrel projects. But expecting one city, or even one (already poor) state, to be able to deal with the immediate aftermath of such a massive disaster is unreasonable.
It also conflicts with the Homeland Security Department's National Response Plan, the development of which was directed by the president (first line, page i) and released in December of 2004. See the top of page 44 for these "guiding principles" for a "Proactive Federal Response to Catastrophic Events":
*Standard procedures regarding requests for assistance may be expedited or, under extreme circumstances, suspended in the immediate aftermath of an event of catastrophic magnitude.
*Identified Federal response resources will deploy and begin necessary operations as required to commence life-safety activities.
*Notification and full coordination with States will occur, but the coordination process must not delay or impede the rapid deployment and use of critical resources.
That's a very clear and very smart plan, and in fact it is for catastrophic events like the destruction of New Orleans that we have federal emergency management and presidential declarations of emergency and the National Urban Search and Rescue Response System. Journalists could get into the city -- as could students masquerading as journalists in a two-wheel drive Hyundai. If they could get in -- and help rescue victims -- what took the specially-trained forces so long?
Some readers have commented that we'll have "plenty of time" to figure out what went wrong, but we shouldn't be talking about those failures now. Of course, the folks in New Orleans also thought they had "plenty of time" -- the booklets on carpooling in an evacuation so people without cars could also get out of town safely were due out next month.
One of the biggest lessons of New Orleans is that full and comprehensive disaster planning cannot wait. Discussion and analysis doesn't have to be divisive. No one is helped -- not the victims of this tragedy, and certainly not victims of future tragedies -- if we avoid the tough issues now. We can analyze the situation and take action to help the victims, all at the same time.
Lessons learned so far: Cities and states across the country must have workable evacuation plans -- and thorough contingency plans for those who cannot or choose not to leave. (Memo to local governments: Get moving! I'm looking at you, Washington ...)
Cooperation between federal, state and local officials is paramount -- if we can't count on our public officials to rise above political differences and personal squabbles in a time of emergency, how can we count on them at all?
Spreading false rumors about what officials did and did not do is counterproductive. (Here, Media Matters for America debunks the rumor that Bush personally pleaded with Nagin to evacuate the city. We've already talked about the myth that Louisiana never declared a state of emergency.)
Disaster planning must focus on those who are least able to deal with disaster, the poor and infirm.
Sen. Barack Obama looked at it this way: "…whoever was in charge of planning and preparing for the worst case scenario appeared to assume that every American has the capacity to load up their family in an SUV, fill it up with $100 worth of gasoline, stick some bottled water in the trunk, and use a credit card to check in to a hotel on safe ground. I see no evidence of active malice, but I see a continuation of passive indifference on the part of our government towards the least of these."
By Emily Messner | September 9, 2005; 07:00 PM ET | Category: Beltway Perspectives Previous: Katrina Animal Care and Rescue | Main Index
I watched several tv news personalities extolling the RedCross website, encouraging evacuees to post messages to let friends and family know where and how they were. When I watched people being loaded into buses leaving everything behind except a small bag, I don't recall seeing a single laptop. I wonder how many of those evacuees have computers, have friends and family with computers. Or even cable tv to watch the weather channel. Poverty is alien to most of us. It should be alien to all of us.
Posted by: MLM | Sep 9, 2005 8:27:23 PM
Ever since Bush took over the reigns of the country it has been driven straight into the toilet. The man is over reactionary to catastrophic events making hasty decisions about what he imagines the country wants. It appears there is an unbelieveable cadre of Bushites who would follow him into hades if he said go. I surmise that these folk are WW2 holdouts who believed in following their president into hell because the person was the president. It appears that generation didn't really think for themselves and put their faith in even an incompetent man. It seems obvious that Bush is Karl Roves puppet. You can tell by Bushes teeth which are Roves finger nails. His downhome delivery and almost zealot religious view (except for thou shalt not kill) don't make him a spokesman for me. His choices for key cabinet and support positions are inexperienced frat brothers. His whole handling of the matters of the past five years should open the eyes of anyone, even the faithful. His blatent disregard for those who are impoverished made situations worse. There is no plan for the poor and indigent for they are expendable.
Posted by: David Hutchinson | Sep 9, 2005 8:40:02 PM
Ever since Bush took over the reigns of the country it has been driven straight into the toilet. The man is over reactionary to catastrophic events making hasty decisions about what he imagines the country wants. It appears there is an unbelieveable cadre of Bushites who would follow him into hades if he said go. I surmise that these folk are WW2 holdouts who believed in following their president into hell because the person was the president. It appears that generation didn't really think for themselves and put their faith in even an incompetent man. It seems obvious that Bush is Karl Roves puppet. You can tell by Bushes teeth which are Roves finger nails. His downhome delivery and almost zealot religious view (except for thou shalt not kill) don't make him a spokesman for me. His choices for key cabinet and support positions are inexperienced frat brothers. His whole handling of the matters of the past five years should open the eyes of anyone, even the faithful. His blatent disregard for those who are impoverished made situations worse. There is no plan for the poor and indigent for they are expendable.
Posted by: David Hutchinson | Sep 9, 2005 8:40:53 PM
"No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy" (Field Marshall Helmuth Carl Bernard von Moltke) The principle problem with Katrina is that it overwhelmed those who were prepositioned to be the first responders. This left those who were still able to function to come-up with a Plan "B". Fortunately and unfortunately they were outside the disaster area. The NY Times reports that this led to a delayed response because the Governor of Louisiana and the President failed to effectively communicate on who would take the lead in responding.
I believe in preplanning for a disaster, but to assume that there won't be problems when the disaster occurs is a trip into fantasy land.
Posted by: Steve | Sep 9, 2005 8:49:28 PM
I have strongly criticized the WHite House's disaster relief in New Orleans.
But there's no getting around the fact that this disaster occurred because Congress failed to protect one of our most important economic nodes.
Because of that a lot of people have died and probably $300 BILLION is going to have to be spent to fix this mess. A lot of good could have been accomplished with that $300B.
A look at a series of 197 photographs of New Orleans taken over 5 days last week showed that direct damage from the Hurricane was not that bad. A deeply sad picture shows the people of New Orleans joyously walking the streets on a beautiful evening after the Hurricane passed -- one day before the real disaster struck ; i.e., when the 17th Street Canal levee broke and flooded New Orleans. See http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=14ewb3ap.b147fdut&Uy=nyvoby&Ux=1
FEMA Director Michael Brown had maybe one to three days to respond to the Katrina disaster. By contrast, the US Congress has had 10 years to prevent it but was too corrupt to do so.
Members of Congress know that. THat's why Nancy Pelosi reacted so strongly when CNN reporter Kyra Phillips tried to bring this issue up. Pelosi's charge that Phillips was trying to "work for the WHite House" was deeply deceitful --intended to divert viewers attention away from the fact that Democratic Senators John Breaux and Mary Landrieu --along with Republican Congressmen Bob Livingston and Billy Tauzin-- are largely responsible for New Orleans being under 20 feet of water today.
New Orleans receives a huge amount of funding for the Corp of Engineer projects --but the money was diverted to developments that helped corporations. (See the link to "porkbarrel projects" in Emily Messner's article above.)
Every incumbent Member of Congress is also personally responsible for New Orleans -- because they sacrificed New Orleans to logrolling and corrupt pork barrel spending. EVERY incumbent should be thrown out in the next election.
Congressional corruption, irresponsibility, and incompetence has a deadly price. The latest federal budget shows a federal debt in 2008 that is $3.8 TRILLION more than what was projected just 4 years ago.
Millions of Elderly baby boomers are going to die like the people in New Orleans -- in the despair of deep poverty and without medical care -- because the US Congress has stolen $2 Trillion from our Trust Funds for Social Security/Medicare and is in the process of stealing $2 Trillion more.
Posted by: Don Williams | Sep 9, 2005 8:53:40 PM
The Bush Administration and Bush loyalist say Bush did a great job. FEMA was praised by George Bush. Everything is going great. Barbara Bush says those people are living better now then they did before. Laura said her husband isn't racis and he did a great job in the recovery. Karen Hughes is tell Americans and the world we didn't see what we saw. A few Americans agree with Bush. The majority of Americans don't. Five days of the world watching people die on TV and poor whites and blacks and sick people it looked like a Third World Country. Now the spin and blame game begins. No matter how we feel thousands died that could have been saved. What does human life mean to our govenment? We are one America not Bush's divided America and we showed him that. So to all the Bush loyalist get use to us because we are going to stay united we want let you divid us again.
Posted by: Jackie Rawlings | Sep 9, 2005 8:55:13 PM
Millions of Schiavos will die when these so-called sympathetic folks kill them off, as some folks decided to be judge and jury and consider it's fine to make them dehydrate and starve to death.
It's a flat out disgrace to see the very party that defended the sick and old the "right" to blow their brains out, under Katrina conditions or in some nursing home, are now crying about the plight of "floaters" and of the 30+ elders who drowned in New Orleans.
That's utter and bloody hypocrisy.
No one needs to die in this day and age, willingly. And to die so quickly is a disgrace to humanity, for all the years our ancestors struggled to survive, only to have their offspring "off" themselves off because a bedpan is too indecent.
I bet those Katrina victims would've drank fresh water out of a bedpan if that's what it took to survive.
Some people are going to make the Darwin cut -- and apparently not the vain intellectual types.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 9, 2005 9:10:32 PM
Who is Emily Messner and why is her photo featured on the home page of The Washington Post? Is she a columnist? A reporter? An editor?
Posted by: H.Perlo | Sep 9, 2005 9:30:27 PM
Seems they're promoting "The Debate". Just saw Emily got a larger photo, and is now "above the fold" on the opinion page.
Apparently WP is seeing that this format is working, and trying to drive traffic here -- please, please, please!
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 9, 2005 9:47:08 PM
Just noticed that my link above to the photo of New Orleans the evening before the flooding did not go to specific photo but rather goes to the start of the portfolio.
To see the specific photo I'm referring to , click on the link I cited. When the first photo comes up, go to the bottom where 197 thumbnails are laid out in 6 rows.
Go down to the 4th row from the top. Starting at the left border, move right over to the 10th photo from the left border. Click on that photo. It shows that New Orleans was in surprising good shape after the hurricane passed. If the levees had been built up , this would not have been a disaster. If New Orleans had been broken up into compartments, this disaster would not have happened.
What happened in New Orleans is the equivalent to having a huge aircraft carrier sink after someone drills a 1/4inch hole in its side. Its inexcusible.
Posted by: Don Williams | Sep 9, 2005 9:56:31 PM
What lessons we learn from Katrina disaster? Too many to count. I've come up with a very tentative, incomplete list:
1) We need to find radical solutions to environmental degradation. According to a Post article, "The Lure of Coastal Life..." (Sept. 7), scientists and environmentalists have cautioned for years that the nation's coastline is dangerously overbuilt. Coastal development often degrades the barrier beaches and coastal wetlands than can serve as natural buffers against hurricanes. The federal government refused to spend the money to improve the levees in Lake Pontchartrain. Scientists have warned of the dangers to New Orleans for years.
Given the track record of the current administration on environmental issues it is extremely doubtful if this lesson will ever be learnt.
2) Cut down on red tape and bureaucratic delays when meeting emergency situations created by natural disasters. One of the sorry spectacles in the aftermath of Katrina was the bitter wrangling among the City, State and Federal authorities as to who is competent to do what. In the meantime people were dying. In situations of emergency, small but efficient government is better than multiple centers of power without a clear chain of command.
3) Acknowledge that there is a class and racial divide in the country and take effective steps to address urban poverty, unemployment as top national priority.
4) Try to spread freedom from poverty, dependence and poor self-image among the "underprivileged" instead of attempting to spread democracy at gun point or waste precious resources in searching for nonexistent weapons of mass destruction in Iraq or elsewhere.
5) Learn to work with other nations in finding solutions to pressing problems both at home and aborad.
Posted by: Lea | Sep 9, 2005 9:58:40 PM
Re Perlo's question: " why is her [Emily Messer's] photo featured on the home page of The Washington Post? " ------ Have you seen Charles Krauthammer's mug? (shudder )
Posted by: Don Williams | Sep 9, 2005 9:59:35 PM
Excellent subject and introduction, Emily. Interesting comments made by people here as well to get us started. Now... the blame game. Yes, it's a nice rhyme, but I wonder if it is also a huge distraction to proper debate and discussion over why this happenned (not Katrina, but the lame/lethal response to it) and how we can prevent it from happening again. Instead of blame, it is accountability we should be focused on. Nobody wants to simply lay blame (except those seeking political gain), while everybody (except those responsible for the tragedy) do want accountability. It is a false dichotomy to say we cannot seek accountability and deal with the relief effort at the same time. I can walk and chew gum at the same time; We all can. The main reason it's been put out there that we can't do both simultaneously is because those who know they will be held accountable desire to delay accountability until a time when such accountability will be less fierce. I think it is becoming obvious now that that tactic isn't going to work; Emotions run high over this national tragedy, and they are not going to dissipate in time, especially when you factor in that the repercussions of all this are only just beginning... the economic impact WILL set in, and there will be hell to pay for all of us when it does. Sadly, this watershed moment in American history is only beginning, though we should be happy that the human toll is pretty much complete (albeit not yet assessed in it's actual scope). As for how accountability will be doled out, it is apparent what is already developing: Michael Brown is being moved to the sidelines, and will go down in history as a an incompetent crony who cost innocent people their lives. Michael Chertoff will have his day as well, though who is to say how at this point; Most likely something along the lines of what 'Brownie' got. The other person within the executive branch who is already feeling the sting of accountability is of course George W Bush; Try as he might, he cannot duck the buck, as it stops where he presides. People were arguing before Katrina that he was a lame duck; Now he might as well be a dead duck. His presidency has been a shaky one at best, and now that particular house of cards is slowly falling apart... the rest of his term in office is going to be a rough one, as, no matter what a bipartisan investigation discovers come February, the court of public opinion has already set in. As for the rest of the federal government, I would imagine that, though they won't be considered accountable, the Republican members of Congress will pay a high price as part of the accountability held against their party's leader, President Bush. Through Bush, they have positioned themselves as the party of national security, and we are less secure as a nation due to this Katrina crisis. Their accountability will obviously come in 2006. As for the state governments and the politicians that run them, I cannot offer a specific opinion, as I am not from that region, and it is obvious that those officials will be held accountable by those states' constituents; I imagine that it will be tough to be an incumbent in the Gulf states come election time. Locally, I think Mayor Nagin may be able to weather the political storm, although it's kind of a moot point right now, as the very city he runs has a questionable and uncertain future at this point. He may be able to defend his performance prior to and during the hurricane, or he might be placed into the past and forgotten about when the 'new' New Orleans resurfaces. On a final note, the American people are slowly taking a look at themselves and beginning to assess their own culpability in the matter. The government that failed so badly in the face of Katrina was put there by all of us who vote, and we will rightfully begin to wonder how we can prevent such a government from remaining so grossly incompetent. The politicians may not have the personal character to assume self-accountability, but the people most definitely do.
Posted by: ErrinF | Sep 9, 2005 10:21:55 PM
I wrote these words in 2001 and they still ring true.
Weathered and withered, yet fighting to stay strong She preaches to the word, what’s right and what’s wrong!
Far from the days of kings, queens and thrones She searches for her future through old buried bones!
Having fought for freedom and recovered from her woes She now makes allies of enemies and friendly foes!
Freedom is seldom rewarded without a fight She stood strong and fought with all of her might!
Battled and beleaguered, but never thrown She blink, but manages to hold her own!
Raising her arms and waving her flag She never quite understand why spirits sag!
While both sides in a conflict can celebrate a victory She remains unsure what will be recorded in history!
The war may be over, but the battle may never die She has to worry about those born to defy!
A call for war is a call to bear arms She seized property, uproots homes and burns family farms!
Battled and beleaguered, but never thrown She blinks, but manages to hold her own!
Struggling to forget the symbols of the past She makes light of the shadows she has cast!
Paying homage to old statues, relics and alike She celebrates them with a vengeful might!
Talking loud and emitting a foul-smelling spew She ignores the masses and cast her lot with a venomous few.
Once enslaving a race of people She seeks forgiveness through the church and steeple.
Battled and beleaguered, but never thrown She blinks, but manages to hold her own!
Vowing never to bestow her enslaved people with civil right She finally agrees to stop the protests and end the fights!
Boasting of her greatest achievement, a democracy She struts her stuff with Oh! Such hypocrisy!
Consumed with power ad the praises of the Almighty She sometimes seems shallow and oh so flighty!
The worlds of Ali, Jehovah, and Buddha are powerful and plenty She chooses the words of a few and ignored the teachings of many.
Battled and beleaguered, but never thrown She blinks, but manages to hold her own!
Scholars and writers are dutiful in keeping her memory alive She is hell-bent on making them bountiful in mine eyes!
Long ago, boasting of the land of milk and honey, She remains subservient to only those with money!
Bursting at the seams are the infirmed and meek She casts her lot with the rich and remains oblivious to the weak.
Able-bodied men no longer a part of the team She purges those once held in high esteem!
Battled and beleaguered, but never thrown She blinks, but manages to hold her own!
Once dependent upon the goodness of strangers She flirts with evil and makes light of the dangers.
Once embracing the tired, hungry and poor, She now forcibly shows them the door!
Unobtrusively seeking to close her borders, She readies herself with painstaking orders!
Battled and beleaguered, but never thrown She blinks, but manages to hold her own!
Proudly keeping out families and kin She is demanding only to barter that which is made from within!
Albeit the masses fight to stay afloat She turns away hundred in a very small boat!
She finds herself beseeched with self-righteous piety Unaware that right belongs only to God Almighty!
Hoping all along that history will remember kindly She makes promises to the rich and famous blindly.
Casting her most precious commodity on the street, The homeless fights to stay warm, if not only to eat.
Amusing herself by flexing her muscles She protest too much of those with the hustles!
Parading her fire powers in the Gulf and lands afar She reek havoc while leaving an indelible scar!
Babies are killing babies And babies are raising babies.
The young are relentless in the struggle to fight for an identity The old, cast aside often void of any companionship and dignity.
She calls it pride! I call it genocide, the killing of a people.
Posted by: Nadine Chatman | Sep 9, 2005 10:28:43 PM
The whole thing is a total disgrace and shows the American people what a pitiful bunch of convicts we have who are supposedly "running the country. They're running it alright....straight down the path to total ruin. They all, ought to be tarred and feathered and then sent to the moon ( on the back side )forever!
Posted by: Dan | Sep 9, 2005 10:31:39 PM
Why do Fox News have such characters with mugs that look weird? If it's not Greta with a Rocky Balboa's mouth, it's that guy on their financial program (Jonathan whoever) that literally looks like a chimp -- more so than Bush would ever look like)?
Krauthammer's article IS apologistic, and I'm not surprised since he's paid by Fox News (they just need George Will, Novak and Walter Williams and they would have every conservative pundit in their fold). He's also dead wrong about hurricanes, as there's not enough data to conclude "global warming" is or isn't causing larger and more hurricanes -- PERIOD. To claim it's settled (knowing climatic data is so fluid) makes his opinion naive to be nice, utterly stupid in his understanding of the difference between a theory and fact (which I'm sure he has no problem distinguishing over Evolution and Creationism). That type of cherry picking is what makes me so freaking upset about partisanship and CYA loyality. They'd fudge and distort anything.
Politics is the world's dirtiest and ugliest profession.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 9, 2005 10:36:36 PM
Here's some lessons that needs to be learned:
1. Don't claim about the "dignity" of the dead, when they've been laying out to rot for over a week.
2. Don't claim about the loss of "dignity" by keeping photographers from the bodies. Has zero to do about loss of their dignity, considering how many photos are released of crime victims alone.
What is clear is: the above is for damage control. Bush prevents any photos of the dead from being displayed. Like keeping the ugliness of policies hidden, it'll make things better. Nope. Death is ugly, but it's no national security secret.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 9, 2005 11:01:50 PM
Well said ErrinF. 9/11 didn't do it, Iraq didn't do it, maybe Katrina will cause the American people to see the true colors of the emperor's clothes.
While the intellectuals and Bush supporters seem to believe that this debate is Democrats vs. Republicans and liberals vs. conservatives, rest assured that middle-class front-porch America could care less what the labels are. They focus simply on what they believe to be right. They saw the pictures of the victims, they heard GWB's praise for Brownie, they listened to the continuous empty mantra of "we're here to help", and more than one TV network focused on a smiling Bush during his first visit to the Gulf Coast inviting attendees to join him for pictures. Bush was smiling for the cameras while New Orleans drowned.
Yes, we as American citizens and voters must do everything in our power to insure we do not propegate this inept form of Government. My voter registration card clearly states that I have specified no party preference. I will vote for whoever, Democrat or Republican -- liberal or conservative, presents plans for preservng the future of America. No more cowboy politics, no more worldwide expeditions to overthrow foreign governments (justified by lies to the world and the American people), no more having a President and Commander-in-Chief that can not prevent a foreign attack on American soil (I still can't beleive that we could not prevent a direct assault on the Pentagon!), and no more Presidents who are so arrogant that they refuse to accept responsibility for any failure and refuse to admit that they could ever make a mistake.
Maybe I ask for too much. I lived in the DC area for almost 40 years and am well aware that Washington thrives on politics, not Government accountability. But, I still have hope. That is more than the 1890-some dead American soldiers in Iraq and the 1000's of poor souls in New Orleans have.
Posted by: GerryP | Sep 9, 2005 11:03:59 PM
What needs to be learned, but sadly won't...
You can bet your bottom dollar that the same land will be rebuilt -- as the rally cry will be "stronger, better", as the politicians endorse it (how better to be elected/re-elected)?
How many hundreds to thousands more deaths will it take before those folks will learn: Mother Nature takes care of her own, and she'll also will reclaim her own? Man will never control her. Mother Nature will always take what is hers.
It should be ordered that no development be made 1 mile from the shoreline. If folks can't walk a mile to view the beach, America is truly a Tele-Tubby and Lard butt society.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 9, 2005 11:18:47 PM
Lets face it, Bush and his administration and the local administrations will all be around for a while. Even Brownie at FEMA it seems. So the cleanup and rebuilding of the Gulf Coast will happen, slowly, and we'll all slowly forget about it as we buy Xmas gifts, celebrate New Years and slog through a winter with high heating bills (oh yea, nat. gas it supposed to be 75% higher this winter), celebrate spring, and next summer most will be forgotten. But the Congressional election advertising will be in high gear then. Who wants to bet the republicans will be taking credit for whatever good happens in the Gulf Coast over the next year? Rove and Hughes will make sure what we're all seeing now will be recast as a failure of those bad ol' democrats. And if you don't want your city under water, you better vote republican. Oh yea, and remember gay marriage might end up causing your child to become gay. Oh yea. And while we all shake in our boots and vote republican, Rove will spin in his chair and keep fiddling as America continues to rot.
If you want change, you must vote, and vote intelligently. You don't like Tom Delay, or Bush, but you like you local republican representative or senator? Well, supporting your local republican is supporting Bush, Hastert and Delay. It gives them leadership positions. You want to kick out the republicans, you need to vote them all out. And don't worry about gay marriage for crying-out-loud! Grow up! Think for yourselfs and question authority for goodness gratious.
Posted by: Sully | Sep 9, 2005 11:40:16 PM
WHOA!! Hey, folks read this.....the REAL game is afoot!!
=========================================== "As a focal point of public rage, Brown remains useful to Bush as a fall guy. But can we really believe that ultimate blame for the rescue debacle resides in a man who ended his memo to Chertoff asking for assistance with a simpering plaudit: "Thank you for your consideration in helping us to meet our responsibilities." Someone who had to write that memo wasn't powerful enough in the first place to have caused the system to fail at the federal, state, and local levels." ===========================================
I give Slate an A+ for snooping.
Has anyone picked up on the above. Who's the "Big Cheese" then that Brown had to almost beg for assistance? Does this sound like a pattern???????????????
How many were begging for action after Katrina? Nagin/Blanco -- and now even Brown?
Something isn't right in this whole picture. They all were begging, and then so much into gladhanding each other after Bush showed up.
Coincidence? Or something else is going on, like a staged event?
Any sleuths around to dig up some bones?
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 9, 2005 11:58:08 PM
The hubris has approached and it is the American people that have surely paid for the follies of our misguided foreign policy.
I sincerely hope that the American people have learned a valuable lesson in the wake of the latest natural disaster.
The balance of forces are their to remind us that when we perpetuate evil and destruction, it comes back to us in various forms...
Remove the emporer, the boy king, his follies have resulted in wanton destruction and death.
Impeachment is vital for our democracy!! Without it we wil surely fail..
Posted by: Sterling Hollow Horn | Sep 10, 2005 12:12:10 AM
A rule I have learned to follow in life and it has proven itself over and over again is the following:
Do not confuse conspiracy with incompetence .
Your last post (and Slates article) seem to imply that a conspiracy is happening to protect someone higher up who kept Brownie from doing his job. Maybe, but in all likelyhood there was no time for a conspiracy. These guys need time to formulate them, like the swift boat ads (not from the WH!). No, its very likely there was a complete and utter screwup: -Bush was winding down his vacation. -Brownie was doing his best, but he was in over his head. -Chertoff was worried about terrorists, not hurricanes. -Brownie looked to his people and they were mostly over their heads as well.
Now if you are looking for a conspiracy, look to Walmart, which prepared ... PREPARED ... for the hurricane and had trucks ready ... READY to roll ... with food, ice and water. Why? Are they christians? Do they love their fellow man? Did FEMA outsource its job to Walmart? Did Walmart executives think it would be a good PR campaign to save the customers of 40+ Walmart stores...BINGO!
Posted by: Sully | Sep 10, 2005 12:22:50 AM
From Europe we express our solidarity to all US people, especially those poorer who have much suffered the tragedy and are eager to send all the help needed and face the information and images with sadness and surprise. It is difficult to understand how a 'developed' country like the US that exports its model of expertise to many other countries has failed so tremendously in a case of emergency like that of Katrina. The role of the State, the coordination links between different levels of administration are at issue. But more important, there are thousands and thousands of people with real need; the need to survive. The Katrina has showed to all of us how much and what they are. And they are where they were before the Katrina, just a little worse, with no TV images to blame others for their situation and despair.
Posted by: Diego Z | Sep 10, 2005 1:31:39 AM
Take your kook analysis and stuff it. I'm not talking about an conspiracy.
Something is AMISS in this whole situation.
It's appearing Brown didn't have the clout. If he didn't have the clout, he couldn't have done anything -- like order the trucks to roll. He had to WAIT until someone up the chain of command gave the okay.
1. If Brown didn't have the clout, who did? 2. If Brown didn't have the clout, why? 3. Who has that clout (i.e., who's the real power broker, and the guy REALLY responsible for the delay)? 4. Why is there a pattern of BEGGING for aid? If it was just one official it's nothing, but it's the mayor, governor, and by the looks of it, even Brown. 5. Has this begging pattern been repeated in the Bush Administration?
Is Bush keeping the powerbase to just a few? While the rest have to confer with the "chief" before anything is done? Reread that Slate quote again. How in the hell is the FEMA director kowtowing, when he has to have direct power to do his job? It's appearing Brown's a puppet, a director in name only, and someone else up the chain is pulling the strings. Someone perhaps vacationing that Labor Day weekend and unavailable to give direct supervision/approval (Cheney?).
Brown's not qualified for his position so he has to go, but perhaps that Slate author has picked up a trail, and one that may lead to Bush's Achilles' heel.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 10, 2005 1:48:30 AM
I thought the Post did the country a service with its front page story revealing the Rove-Bartlett political damage control campaign. From it, we know that, as it became clear to Bush and his disorganized White House that their failure to do their jobs would have significant political fall-out, Rove and Bartlett put together the three-fold scheme we are seeing in action now. First, Bush is 'above it all,' leading the cavalry to the rescue. Second, don't 'politicize' the disaster (now childishly referred to as not playing the 'blame game'). Third, blame the nearest Democrats to the scene.
As the facts come out, we are learning how mendacious the charges are against the state and local officials. The Washington Post itself had to retract a bogus story from a 'senior White House' source that asserted Governor Blanco had not yet declared an emergency, a flat out lie that has unfortunately now made its way around the usual circuits of Bush apologists in the media and the blogosphere.
But that is not really the point anyway. Even to defend the state and local officials is to engage the exact debate Rove and Bartlett want. Instead of a laser focus on Bush's failure to lead the federal government as the nation faced a crisis, we are drawn into a discussion of how to share the blame.
No amount of incompetence by others excuses the dereliction of duty Bush displayed. The timeline of the brewing disaster shows him continuing on vacation, attending a fund raiser and a birthday party, and slipping in a round of golf as the hurricane approached and even after the New Orleans levee broke. In the face of this lackadaisacal performance, the question the nation should be discussing is not how to share the blame. It should be whether Bush should keep his job.
It is doubtful that this Congress will impeach Bush. However, enough popular outcry could force Bush to resign and take his team with him.
In other countries, when leaders fail this badly, they resign. They do not try to blame others or scapegoat their own underlings. Bush should resign.
Posted by: Johnuw93 | Sep 10, 2005 1:58:47 AM
SandyK: The answer is obvious. The only one with the clout to mobilize the federal government on the scale needed to cope with this disaster is George Bush. Where was he? Instead of continuing with his light schedule of activities, including a last day at the faux ranch in Crawford, he should have been on the job, rallying the team, and doing all he could to ensure that every bottleneck was broken and every resource made available. Brown could not overcome the indifference of the man at the top of the pyramid. The scope of Bush's failure and negligence cannot be conveyed in a short message.
Of course, instead of take responsibility, Bush relies on Rove and Bartlett to spin the criticism away and scapegoat others who had nowhere near his institutional capacity to influence events. Such failure must have consequences.
Given that Congress will not impeach, the only remedy I can see is a popular demand for resignation that results in Bush stepping down.
Posted by: johnuw93 | Sep 10, 2005 2:06:12 AM
One lesson that I learned from this, Karl Rove isn't a brilliant political strategist.
Considering the forewarning this administration had concerning the potential devistation of a hurricane such as Katrina, why did the administration respond without any urgency? Please see the following timeline:
I don't understand how late Monday evening, 10 hours after the breaching of the 17th Street Canal Levee, Rumsfeld takes in a San Diego Padres baseball game.
On Tuesday, Bush speaks on Iraq at Naval Base Coronado (discussing the similarities between Iraq and WWII, evidencing that this administration lives in a fantasy world), after which he plays guitar with country music singer Mark Willis. Finally he returns to Crawford for some more vacation time.
On Wednesday, Rice takes in a Broadway show.
On Thursday, Rice plays tennis with Monica Seles and then goes shopping for Ferragamo shoes on 5th Ave.
During the entire time, people are on their roofs dying. Didn't Rove get word out to the administration that they should feign concern for the victims of Hurricane Katrina? Certainly, its hard to put a positive spin on the administration's blasé reaction.
Posted by: Aaron | Sep 10, 2005 2:50:54 AM
First off, Nadine's poem was awesome; Thanks for sharing. Second, thanks for the compliment, Gerry, and I appreciated your post's insight as well. Third, I totally agree with johnuw93's praise of the article that ratted out Karl Rove's strategy developed last weekend (I first read it in the NYTimes, not the Post). It's eerie seeing how quickly Rove's strategy gets put into play by our top-down society, what with the entire Republican party at his disposal. The man basically wages war on the electorate on behalf of the political class; The 'blame game' is part of his 'Plame game', personally inserting himself to quell any opposition to the administration with no regard whatsoever for the legitimacy of such opposition. While Rove is supposedly skilled to mythic proportions (a myth he most likely created by manning the phones to his cadre of reporters), he is actually very easy to figure out and counter, that is, if you aren't some lameass Democrat strategist/politician. Fourth, I couldn't disagree more with Sully's assessment that Bush and Rove's usual tricks are going to get them out of this one. They've been treading on thin ice for quite some time; Katrina washed away many of their lies, and they no longer have the good will of the American people to take advantage of. While I agree that Bush will stay in office for the rest of his term (unless he fails to prevent yet another terrorist attack on our soil, and one can only imagine how Al Qeada is scrambling to strike as soon as possible to make the most of our current tragedy), I don't think that term is going to be an easy one for him... the last president to be this low in approval ratings during their 2nd term was Nixon... apropos, being that Bush and Nixon will most likely be in competition for who gets the title of worst American president ever. As far as winning that title goes, you're doing a heckuva job, Bushie.
Posted by: ErrinF | Sep 10, 2005 3:49:41 AM
How about this for an ominous prediction:
In 2007, a major earthquake will hit Southern California. The epicenter will be in the Los Angeles area.
How I arrived at my prediction (not scientific in the least)...
I lived in Brooklyn on 9/11/2001, about 4 miles from the World Trade Center (30 minute commute)...
I live in St. James Parish, Louisiana, about 30 miles from New Orleans (45 minute commute)...
I am planning to move to Los Angeles in January, 2006....
The Federal Emergency Management Agency listed a hurricane strike on New Orleans as one of the most dire threats to the nation, up there with a large earthquake in California or a terrorist attack on New York City.
I figure an alarming disaster occurs every odd year in this administration... In 2003, Bush started a war of agression that will only have losers...
Finally, Bush and his administration will have one final opportunity to prove to the American people (and the world for that matter) just how inept a leader he really is...
I hope that I am wrong...
Posted by: New Orleans Blues | Sep 10, 2005 6:02:51 AM
In response to ErrinF's commentI would have thought that Nixon, for all his evil did manage to negotiate a realistic relationship with China, something that was essential for world stability. Bush? He's just a puppet. Your problem is with the puppeteers. As for future fantasies, Aaron's sounds so grim that it may well come true. Even so, and speaking from the outside (10,000 miles away), isn't it about time that you "the people" started all acting as full citizens vote in all elections, and learn to take responsibility for your government (at all levels). The US was the first modern democracy and because of this created clumsy and confusing structures (eg the electoral college) to refine the power. Why not start a push for reform that includes constitutional reform to more properly reflect the needs of the country in the 21st century? I know that's a tall order, but this is a time for reflecting not only on the state of the nation, but contemplating on ways to heal deepening rifts. In Australia, a collection of former convict colonies that managed to vote itself into a federal democracy without a war, we have compulsory voting (if you don't vote there's supposed to be a fine but no-one ever gets fined). The conservatives hate this because it empowers ordinary people. Elections are held on Saturday so more people can vote. We have pre-polling and postal voting for people who can't be around. OK we make mistakes. Our current prime minister is doing his best to turn Australia into a vassal state of the US. But there is no doubt that the government is legitimate. India likewise manages a real democracy with a large and diverse population (they could teach the US a thing or two about efficient and honest voting procedures). The first step is to stop asking for leadership from those who are clearly incapable of it, and begin to do what you can to create a climate where potential leaders are nurtured. It's a long term project.
Posted by: Jo | Sep 10, 2005 7:41:27 AM
The tragedy of Katrina unfolds on the evening news day after day. Thousands may be dead. Billions to rebuild. Lives and homes destroyed. Not just a city, but a whole region needs to be re-built from the ground up. Amidst the tragedy, a travesty lurks and beckons all Americans everywhere to take notice and do something about. The travesty is that four years after 9/11, Homeland Security a failure. America is not ready for any kind of major disaster whether caused by terrorists or nature. The travesty is that although Bush has defined his presidency as a "war time" presidency sparked by 9/11, he has done precious little to prepare the nation for the next attack. Bush: "It's very important for us to understand the relationship between the federal government, the state government and the local government when it comes to a major catastrophe. And the reason it's important is, is that we still live in an unsettled world. We want to make sure that we can respond properly if there's a WMD attack or another major storm. And so I'm going to find out over time what went right and what went wrong." This is a remarkable admission of failure. So after four years, NOW Bush needs to understand the relationship between the levels of government during a response to an emergency? Wasn't that part of Homeland Security's charter-- to coordinate all levels of government to achieve a seamless response? What has the department of Homeland Security been doing all these years?
Bush also said, "...to find out over time..." Just what is Bush waiting for to get this right? HE defended the attack on Iraq by the so-called urgent nature of the WMD dangers. HE defined our priorities by saying the nation is at war with terrorists, so when is our "war time" president going to get around to fighting the "war"? Apparently, Bush thinks this is a war that can be fought at his leisure while our men and women die on the battlefields of Iraq. What a travesty that our military would defend the homeland in a foreign land, then return home to an UNSAFE homeland. No, "what went wrong" is that we have a clueless president who appoints clueless people to handle the security of the nation. The stupifying irony is that the "red" states re-elected Bush because they wanted to "stay the course" during wartime, but George went on vacation taking his administration with him. Note that terrorists will not be so forthcoming: * Katrina provided five days of warning, a terrorist attack will provide no warning. * Katrina provided the nature of the attack so that we had the opportunity to know how to respond in advance. Terrorists will not provide advanced information about their attack. Get this. Katrina has done more damage than just about any conceivable WMD attack. So why are we in Iraq? While we squander billions and kill our young men and women, OTHER dangers have stepped up to bite us. We have placed the nation's resources in entirely the wrong place. While a WMD attack is a remote possibility, the danger of hurricanes has been predicted for decades. The $64,000 question is: If we know that there is a danger out there that can cause at least as much danger as a terrorist WMD attack and that danger IS MORE likely to occur, then why aren't we devoting more resources to responding to that danger? The nation is fixated on terrorist WMD when Katrina caused more damage than an attack of Bin Laden's wildest dreams. The Bush administration continues to scare the public with CODE ORANGE, CODE RED, in a blatant attempt to cause the public to be fixated on dangers that THEY want us to focus on when those dangers are only the pet projects of neo conservative idiots in the administration. By focusing the fear of the nation on THEIR issues, the nation is duped into fighting THEIR battles when more pressing dangers abound: tens of thousands deaths each year on the roads, hundreds of thousands dead each year to heart disease and cancer. Now, thousands dead due to a very predictable threat-- hurricanes. By every measure, Bush has failed to protect America: * Bush failed to seal our borders. * Bush failed to protect air travel. * Bush failed to capture Bin Laden, Mullah Omar, Al Zarqawi, and cronies. * Bush failed to appoint leaders that had the proper credentials for critical emergency-response positions. * Bush failed to prepare the nation to respond to an attack once it occurred. * Bush failed, period. Bush apologists have been saying that another terrorist attack cannot be prevented. They're trying to cover themselves so that they could say afterward, "See, we TOLD you this would happen." Katrina showed that the Bush administration cannot respond to an attack and these apologists are confirming that the Bush administration cannot prevent an attack either. Can't prevent. Can't respond. The incompetence and negligence of the Bush administration is, or should be, the scandal of the century. Some are saying no one benefits from this line of argument; that the "blame game" is counterproductive. First, no one is saying Bush could prevent a hurricane. Second, there are real people issues that are difficult to solve at any level of government such as the refusal to evacuate. Third, there are really GOOD people at Homeland Security and FEMA who were heroic in their efforts to stem the damage caused by Katrina. Fourth, these comments do not deny that we should take whatever "productive" steps needed to address the immediate needs of the Gulf Coast and then, to rebuild it. Lastly however broken, we definitely cannot stop improving our security posture because to do so would be to invite more catastrophe. But here's the thing. The failure of Katrina is a failure of leadership, not controlling the weather. We should take steps now to redirect the leadership of our country and we have a right and responsibility to do that. Bush's failures as president are spectacular; wasting billions and costing lives in a war started over lies, and now disaster mismanagement. His incompetence is literally killing us so stop whining about "blame game." Anyway, you may call it "blame", but I call it fixing what ails America the most by getting rid of officials who, in the end, do us more harm than our enemies. That's PRODUCTIVE! For a self-proclaimed "war time" president, what has Bush achieved besides a record amount of presidential vacation time? Time for Bush to take a permanent vacation. IMPEACH BUSH NOW.
Posted by: Jack | Sep 10, 2005 8:01:55 AM
This note is from a girl who I work with named Robin. She's in Louisiana and amid all the turmoil there. When I read her story I got the chills, this is horrible. I'm sending this to all of you to spread the word, PRAY. Here's her note:
** We have had a battery operated TV so we've been getting local channels focusing on the situation there and here. I'm just getting the "national perspective" and its *(&*&(*ing me off!
First, this is not a racial thing. I'm sorry if all the reporters are seeing are black faces but if they would take their cameras to places like Slidell, Mandeville, Metairie and CHALMETTE! they would see a several thousand white faces being affected by this. Most of the tip of the boot that is Louisiana south and east of Baton Rouge is under water. Those people are stuck too waiting for help, dying, but all the news people can focus on is the Superdome.
Another misconception. The violence going on there is not the reaction of desperate people. Its typical New Orleans on any given Tuesday!!! Its a dangerous, dirty, drug infested place where the city police and city government is corrupt and useless. Volunteers are getting shot at and their cars vandalized. Helicopters are being shot at. Just another day in the city.
Another misconception. These poor people couldn't get out because they don't have cars. If the cameras show the city once the waters recede, you'll notice all the flooded out cars littering the streets. They couldn't all have been broken down before the storm hit . Yes, there are always people who do not have transportation. Part of making the call for a MANDATORY evacuation is that the city has to provide for transportation and/or shelter in the city. People stayed for the same reasons they always stay. They think the storm will turn and go in another direction. They think they can "ride it out." Or, they're just too (*&( lazy to pack up and leave.
Another misconception. The federal government was slow to respond. The president issued a state of emergency BEFORE the storm ever hit, unprecedented. This means that the full access of the federal government, be it military or civil, were at our governors' disposal. The levee broke early Monday afternoon. She did not call evacuation until Tuesday morning. You cannot call up National Guard units in 20 minutes. It takes time. The governor and mayor are in high CYA mode at the moment.
The situation is bad here. Crime is becoming a problem in Gonzales and Baton Rouge where the evacuees are being housed. We live between the two cities and there is pistol on my desk shelf as I type (yes, I know how to use it). Helicopters flying overhead all day, gas is running out, store shelves becoming empty. Its like a war zone. Our kids are both here and are staying here until the crime situation gets in control and I fear it will get worse before it gets better. Pray for us. **
Posted by: The truth about New Orleans | Sep 10, 2005 8:09:38 AM
Posted by: Jo | Sep 10, 2005 8:30:53 AM
The "truth about New Orleans" will remain forever hidden unless a mechanism is in place that will bring out the "whole truth, nothing but the truth."
What we need is an INDEPENDENT Commission with its own INDEPENDENT investigators and subpoena authority - It must be modeled after the 9/11 Commission.
Otherwise we'll end up with the finding that some "bad apples" (obviously at the lowest rung of the chain of command) failed in their duty but the system itself is "doing a heck of a job." Remember the whitewash that was Abu Ghribe?
Posted by: Lea | Sep 10, 2005 8:38:29 AM
"Lessons learned so far: Cities and states across the country must have workable evacuation plans -- and thorough contingency plans for those who cannot or choose not to leave. (Memo to local governments: Get moving! I'm looking at you, Washington ...)"
I think that there is a corollary to this observation, namely, the importance of competence and commitment of public officials whose job is oversight. Michael Brown points out the major contradiction of the present Republican party as a "governing party." Namely, raising the personal private interest over the public interest. Since, government (from this perspective) is never to be trusted, it is only something to be cashed in on(by policitical and business cronies).
Given the mission of FEMA as rescuers (a major responsibility of compassionate government) the irony of the head of FEMA acting out the role of an inattentive bystander-- along with the whole passle of inattentive bystanders from the vacationing President to the whole disengaged crowd of laissez-faire government types shows that the governing philosophy of conservatism just does not make any sense as a "governing philosophy."
A society in need of as much healing and rescuing as the poor folks stranded in the stadium in New Orleans cannot afford to support this cast of political spearholders in the political theater of Washington that has moved from tragedy to farce. Much as "The Aristocrats" is the inside joke for comedians, "Competence" has become the inside joke for those of us who believe that government has a positive role to play in serving the public interest.
The article by Robert D. Putnam and associate in today's editorial page that shows the spike up in youth interest after 9/11 in voting, community work, and citizen involvement provides the antidote to the cynical top-down "what's in it for me" view of government. Namely, a bottom-up commitment to rescue of one's fellow citizens who are drowning in poverty (as surely, if more slowly) as in floods.
While the government was training fire fighters for PR rather than rescue work (that these volunteers were anxious, but prevented from doing one of Bush's cronies was active drumming up business for Halliburton and other cronied jewels of the present Republican group of "Aristocrats" (in Thomas Jefferson's definition of a false aristocracy). Apparently, the only thing that engages these folks besides shoe shopping, ball games, dirt bike riding, is the opportunity to make a quick buck. Those who think folks can be competent without a commitment to the common good don't understand how values get translated into effective implementation of policy. It's time to clean off the sullied name of public service and connect back to a compassionate vision of the common good.
Posted by: Jeff | Sep 10, 2005 8:48:24 AM
Bush resigning won't happen, because the polls show a very divided partisanship with the Democrats. They're quite fractured, with too many issues and no one theme to rally around (effectively showing there's no leadership in that organization -- because leadership would focus on one theme and stick to it. There is no New Deal or New Frontier agenda. It's a bunch of special interests mucking up the message. A rudderless ship).
Also, Katrina won't have the political impact folks want it too. That's because it only affects the coast of 3 states. Folks in NYC aren't directly affected, nor those in Hollywood. Bush could weather the political storm, and in a month or so, he can resume business-as-usual. The population that's affect also are unlikely to vote (plus they're satisfied with the $2000 check -- how easy it is to calm the masses with a loaf of bread, let alone some pocket change).
My take is the powerbase revolves not around Rove, or even Bush, it's around Cheney (who's been working behind the scenes). Bush is a empty suit, a figurehead. Others run the government, others who's loyality is stronger than to Bush the man (something else is keeping them loyal -- like they're a member of some frat. In politics there's little loyality [it's a dog eat dog profession], so there's some other undercurrent, and another higher master than just Jesus Christ. It's why they can just weather the storm during SNAFUs, they know it'll right itself out again -- as they're playing the regional it's-not-in-my-backyard-so-who-care's-attitude and the waiting game).
Fractured Democrat base. Even holier and united Republican base = conservative agenda will remain for many years to come. It will, because until the Democrat base fights off the special interests that drags their unity down, and a vacant leadership on top (thank Kennedy and his 1978 Senate -- he trashed the Carter Administration so bad, that it's a scarlet letter to be a liberal even 20 years later) -- with kids with computers who love Scream Dean but don't vote running the show, we're going to be governed by one party.
That's okay to the masses, because the disaster doesn't affect them, as they got their hots, cots and so-called reality TV to keep them occupied.
That's a political lesson learned long before hurricane Katrina.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 10, 2005 8:56:52 AM
To The truth about New Orleans,
This post stinks of lies and untruths from start to finish... It shows that whoever wrote it knows little about the area... The "girl who I work with named Robin." This is nothing more than a made up letter to promote the Repulican spin...
"First, this is not a racial thing."
Wrong. Slidell, Mandeville, Metairie and Chalmette are not under water. The people who could afford to move to higher ground usually moved to higer ground. Thus, Jefferson Parish, which supported David Duke (former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan in his bid to become Governor of Louisiana), is predominantly white. It is just outside of New Orleans. Many jobs, entertainment (such as movie theaters and book stores) and other luxuries of a middle and upper class population moved out of New Orleans with them. The Garden District in Orleans Parish was also predominantly white and affluent, where Tulane and Loyola University are located. None of these areas are flooded.
Next, when you consider that the low lying and decrepit parts of New Olreans were intentionally left to the poor and minorities, is it any wonder why the levess were left underfunded during Bush's tenure. Bush allowed the levees to deteriorate while he was in office, despite repeated warnings of the high risk that the citizens of New Orleans faced if a hurricane should come their way. However, Bush had no trouble spending money on his cronies pet projects... Please review the highway and energy bills recently passed and signed into legislation... Bush is a spend and don't tax Republican... Just look at our national deficit... He didn't fund the levees because of its constituents... They don't vote for him.
"The violence going on there is not the reaction of desperate people. Its typical New Orleans on any given Tuesday!!!" Where do you begin with this racist propaganda... As if people who need food and water, breaking into stores to obtain food and water for survival are not desperate. If they are always this way... Isn't it sad that we have a population that has no food or clean drinking water and has to break into stores to obtain such...
"The federal government was slow to respond." Yeah, after Bush got down playing guitar and spending vacation time, Condi got down with the U.S. Open and shoppping on 5th Ave. and Michael Brown finally figured out people were in the convention center five days later... Yeah, then the efforts began... But his is not a slow response, I like to see how you would feel if you were in their situation...
"She did not call evacuation until Tuesday morning." Lies... She declared a state of emergency on Saturday... Sunday, 9:30 a.m. 9:30 AM — Mayor Nagin issues first ever mandatory evacuation of New Orleans.
"Crime is becoming a problem in Gonzales and Baton Rouge where the evacuees are being housed. " I go to Baton Rouge and Gonzales everyday... Crime is not out of control... Just a bunch of sketched out white people who are not used to having so many newcomers around... Especially, poor black ones... Is there any wonder that they rushed to the gun stores... Later, the rumors of crimes proved to be false.
If you gain anything from that e-mail, it should be how insidious racism truly is, especially considering that some political operative would send around such untruths to create ignorance to save this inept government's proverbial ass...
Posted by: New Orleans Blues | Sep 10, 2005 9:00:22 AM
There is a clear, consistent pattern in how this President reacts to failure and incompetence in his administration. The standing order is: Find some convenient scapegoat, send out talking points to all friendly talk radio, media outlets, blogs and television pundits, and drive home through constant repetition the point that this President is blameless while all of the blame lies on this convenient scapegoat.
George W. Bush lives and operates in this daily, delusionary bubble where the willing sycophants I listed above shamelessly play into his delusions. In this bubble, Bush is allowed to believe that he is among the most beloved Presidents in history, that God wants him to be President, that Iraq is a stunning, transformational success story, that he has singlehandedly made the world safer from terrorism, that the economy is producing unprecedented wealth which is creating a rising tide that lifts all boats, that his Social Security plan is wildly popular, and that it is once again morning in America.
The pity is that it took so long for the American people to wake up to the fact that their President--like the man he appointed to head up FEMA--came into office on the basis of a puffed up, fabricated resume'.
Posted by: G. Jackson | Sep 10, 2005 9:19:42 AM
One other comment to drive home the earlier point I made. Michael Brown will not be relieved of his post. Why? Because that would break the bubble I talked about earlier. Bush would have to face the unpleasant truth that there was incompetence and failure here. He will never do that. It would competely destroy this delusionary image of infallibility he has built up about himself.
Posted by: G. Jackson | Sep 10, 2005 9:25:49 AM
As we near the anniversary of 9/11 I am struck by what the media wants to debate on lessons learned which should be used in Louisana.
First, 9/11 was the distruction of commercial real-estate which makes the comparison somewhat ridiculous at best. Those who were fortunate to survive had homes to go back to, albeit by walking but nonetheless had a home to go to.
To critize the New Orleans mayor or to compare him in a negative way to the then mayor of New York City, is ridiculous as the situations were both disasters but quite different.
They can blow up my office and I will get over it (hoping though that I am not in it when it happens!). I can go to my home and wonder what is the next step and contemplate my future. However, I am assuming that my corporation will attempt to relocate me or place me on paid leave until they can reorganize a plan for my office. AGAIN, I am not dismissing 9/11 as less than the disaster than it was. God knows that it left us all in shock and horror. I am simply using it as an example.
The people of New Orleans are adrift with no home, no jobs, no safe harbor. So let's stop comparing the two mayor's, let's give a break to the New Orleans mayor who's hands were tied by the state & federal bureaurcy and let's applaud him for stepping out of the "politically correct" news conference and stating facts. New Orleans needed help and the State and Federal folks were failing him and his people, therefore he committed political suicide by telling it like it is.
I am sooooo sick of seeing Bush and Cheney's photo ops. I know a snow job when I see it. God bless the mayor of New Orleans.....run for President and you have my vote!!!
Posted by: Marcia | Sep 10, 2005 9:26:47 AM
=========================================== "I think that there is a corollary to this observation, namely, the importance of competence and commitment of public officials whose job is oversight. Michael Brown points out the major contradiction of the present Republican party as a "governing party." Namely, raising the personal private interest over the public interest. Since, government (from this perspective) is never to be trusted, it is only something to be cashed in on(by policitical and business cronies)." ===========================================
Bush fills his positions with loyalists, who in turn suggest others to come into the fold that they know. This close shop is new to Washington (and the press -- since normally in politics folks try to jockey up the ladder on the backs of others, that that's not the case now, they're out of the loop on the inner workings of the Administration). Washington and the press are locked out. Locked out, yet so dependent on the White House, they take their doggie biscuits and sit in the corner.
What Katrina is exposing is, that this country is being governed on special interest money, red tape and procedure -- it's floating on it, as it cushions folks of reality, and keeps politicians without backbones in office. The solution to the Katrina disaster by these strange bedfellows is throwing money at the problem (instant show they "care", and curb a revolution from the angry masses); form another worthless commission (ever since the Kennedy Assassination hearings, these committees are just camera shots, the conclusions rarely answer anything -- they in fact can even ignite conspiracies); and no one really in charge has to face the consequences (and Bush isn't the main evildoer here, FEMA's failure comes from inactive leadership from some "chief" that's the real powerbase in the Administration). If more than money, grandstanding and finding the REAL culprit for the Katrina EMS afterthought, the next Katrina won't cause the mess we have today.
But don't count on Washington to care about the Katrina aftermath in a month (they'll start cutting back services and money then -- like they did with Hurricane Andrew -- since there's only so many dollars to shift around and give out), nor really recommend any changes. They're all on the "take" (like special interests in the building industry that dependents on $$$$$$$$$S development along the coasts), and they're more interested in politics in their own backyards (politics is local) to spend time on a disaster hundreds to thousands miles away.
BTW, here's a further example of the inept of the media that is a lesson for them to fix. On CNN they reported that FEMA has closed the debit card lines, because there's not enough staff (anyone surprised??). The reporters took it as a good sign (probably since the lines were sooooo long), going on that direct deposit is better solution. So dummies at CNN -- if New Orleans is flooded, folks escaped with their lives, and local banks and credit unions inoperable, how will direct deposit help them?
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 10, 2005 9:31:04 AM
In response to THE TRUTH ABOUT NEW ORLEANS: Isn't it a bit late for prayer? I am quite certain that people were earnestly in prayer all over New Orleans before the storm hit but it made little difference.
George W. Bush has cynically called for a day of national prayer next Friday. He's good at that sort of puffy, safe, no-response to the real problems down there. I suspect that the prayers he is most interested in are the prayers of his evangelelical supoorters to save his incompetent behind.
Save your prayers. You would fare much better voting for reasonable, intelligent men who recognize that public monies judiciously expended to build stronger levees and to restore the natural barrier islands was what was needed here to prevent such a catastrophe.
Of course, such an enlightened approach always seems to escape Bush and the right wing ideologues who have been telling us for over two decades that government is the problem and not the solution. Nothing could more graphically point up the utter fallacy of that canard than the horror Katrina visited on the people of New Orleans.
Posted by: G. Jackson | Sep 10, 2005 10:03:05 AM
And the Left wing idealogues didn't help to stop this disaster as well. You partisans are all in the same USS New Orleans dingy together.
So how about pointing the fingers at each other, while the rest of the country moves your boat out to sea? You're not helping, and you just add more water to an already drowned countryside.
What's needed are solutions, not dead-brain partisan talking points and action alert copy and paste rhetoric. But that won't come from the bases that are mindless partisan sheep -- and it's not going to come from Washington, either. It'll be individual citizens fending for themselves, as their distrust for their government, their leaders and supposely advocates like the media grows.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 10, 2005 10:22:39 AM
Sandy K's intuition is right and Sully is wrong. There is a conspiracy to make FEMA director Brown the scapegoat in order to protect someone higher up.
Before I explain , I would like to suggest that people in this forum should do a little bit of investigation and contribute some real information instead of just shooting off their mouths. That will provide a lot more value. The truth is out there and if we all work together we can find it. That is not a criticism --it's a compliment.
The person who really screwed the pooch -- and who's being protected by tossing Brown off the sled to the wolves -- is Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The reason is that the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist this week freed up a slot on the Supreme Court and Gonzales is a candidate to fill it.
Not because Gonzales is a leading legal mind --he actually seems mediocre but he is very submissive -- willing to argue for the "divine right of kings " on Bush's behalf. Anyone recall Gonzales' prime bit of sophistry arguing that the WHite House can torture US citizens --provided vital organs aren't damaged?
But the real reason Gonzales is a leading candidate is that Hispanics are swing votes in California, Texas, and Florida -- the biggest prizes in the Presidental Electoral college. THAT is highly important because the superrich of this country know that (a) Federal debt is projected to reach $9.9 TRILLION by 2008 (it's somewhere around 7 Trillion now) (b) Social Security and Medicare are underfunded by $7 Trillion and $40 Trillion respectively (c) Social Security/Medicare coffers are empty because past Republican Congresses have stolen over $2 Trillion from the Trust Funds (to give the rich a tax cut) and are currently stealing $2 Trillion more (d) elderly baby boomers will be retiring starting in 2008 and the only way to keep them from starving is to either put heavy taxes on the superrich or to put very high taxes on middle class life savings trapped in IRAS/401Ks (assets which are in "before tax" dollars and can be taxed at 90 percent if need be)
Hence the superrich who run this country desperately NEED a Republican president in 2008-2016 who can veto any attempt to raise their taxes as all those promises the federal government has made to baby boomers for 40 years come home to roost.
Think I'm kidding? 911 caused over $1 Trillion in damages and killed several thousand American -- yet thousands can still stroll across our Mexican border every month because Bush and the Republicans want the Hispanic vote. I've already noted how three terrorists could have blown up truck bombs on the 3 bridges leading out of New Orleans -- at no risk to themselves -- and stranded several hundred thousand people out in the open as Katrina rolled in.
In my next post, I will explain how Gonzales caused the massive problems in disaster relief for New Orleans.
Posted by: Don Williams | Sep 10, 2005 10:25:45 AM
Wow, the Bush haters really go off the deep end when confronted with the truth from people who are actually there. The Truth About New Orleans sounds pretty on the mark to me. But not to Aaron, who predictably and dismissed the entire report as "made up" and the observations as "racist." (do you believe Aaron or your lying eyes...TV reports showing looting of clothes, shoes and TVs -- not food and water. And I guess the press was lying too when it reported shots being fired at rescue helicopters -- they just made it up!) Aaron sees the world through some strange alternate reality where all whites are evil (especially Republican ones who voted for Bush) and the poor black folks as just doing what they have to do to get by. Then they drag out the tired old "it's OK to loot, rape and murder because they are oppressed" argument. Which, of course, is ridiculous on its face. Until the poor are forced to work for their welfare benefits instead of being told they are entitled to free money for life -- often because they chose to drop out school, do drugs and never get a job -- there's never going to be much hope for the kind of people Aaron claims to be so concerned about. They will always be poor and always waiting for the government to take care of them. Time to ween them off the crack of no-strings-attached government entitlements. Time to teach them a little determination and self reliance goes a long way.
Posted by: just an observation | Sep 10, 2005 10:26:11 AM
Just one caveat to SandyK's remarks. I actually think that the 9-11 Commission on the whole did a good job. (Although later facts that undercovered--the surveillance of 9/11 terrorists with known ties to Al Quaeda a year before which outraged Republican members as well, points to the need for Panel investigative powers with more teeth in it). I hope that as Dan Schorr said in this mornings Weekend Edition commentary with Scott Simon that after all the jockeying over an investigative panel that this model will eventually be followed).
Also, it points out the fact that the mere presence of Republicans on an investigative panel does not necessarily destroy the panel. Apparently, the Republicans who served drew on something else than laissez-faire (perhaps patriotism and commitmentment to the higher good) to perform credibly in this situation.
My criticism in my earlier post was not aimed at all Republicans just those who adhere to this crazy glue laissez-faire philosophy holding a variety of mixed nuts and political and economic pirates together. Certainly responsible Republicans like Chuck Hagel and John McCain point to the fact that conservatism does not necessarily need to be conflated with nutty.
While many folks deride the Democrats for a lack of public philosophy (I would argue instead that Democrats need to modernize and update their progressive populist tradition, not start from scratch). A less voiced opinion (or maybe unvoiced to now opinion) is the need for Republicans to recreate their public philosophy from scratch. Between sand (Iraq), water (New Orleans) and incompetence there is no firm place for them stand on land or water. (Unless they learn to walk on water as some of its crazier adherents like Pat Robertson apparently think they can).
Any sensible Republican like McCain or Hagel will be left in a quagmire if they by chance are elected president unless they illustrate that Republicans truly have a governing philosophy worthy of the name. Absent that, I would argue that there can never be any thought as a truly "governing" Republican party only a group of Republican bystanders (at best) and piracy (at worst). There is no ability to be competent in the public interest, when you don't have any public philosophy worthy of the name to provide guidance as to what competence means.
Posted by: Jeff | Sep 10, 2005 10:27:29 AM
The truth about New Orleans wrote: "These poor people couldn't get out because they don't have cars. If the cameras show the city once the waters recede, you'll notice all the flooded out cars littering the streets. They couldn't all have been broken down before the storm hit . Yes, there are always people who do not have transportation. Part of making the call for a MANDATORY evacuation is that the city has to provide for transportation and/or shelter in the city. People stayed for the same reasons they always stay. They think the storm will turn and go in another direction. They think they can "ride it out." Or, they're just too (*&( lazy to pack up and leave."
OK, so there may have been some people who were "too (*&( lazy to pack up and leave" and it may have been that a lot of people who did have transportation chose not to evacuate, but consider this: - What about the fact that gas prices are so high you need to mortgage your house to fill your tank? So some poor people may have had cars - OK, that's a start. But what if they couldn't afford to fill their tank, especially if evacuating would take them a hundred miles away? It's like giving someone a tennis racket, expecting them to play tennis, and bitching about it when they don't because you didn't give them a ball (or in this case, they couldn't afford the ball). - What about the numerous instances where families stayed behind because although they had the means to evacuate themselves, they could not evacuate because they would have to leave behind sick or crippled relatives, whom they did not have the means to take with them. - Ditto above for pets. Some (though granted not many) probably stayed behind because evacuating would have meant leaving their pets behind. And for those of you who have pets, you will no doubt agree that leaving behind a pet is for many of us as heart-wrenching and impossible as leaving behind a child.
Don't get me wrong - I agree that some may have misjudged the storm's ferocity and decided to wait it out, and others may have been too lazy to evacuate. But I think that theory is over-simplistic. Just because people had the means to evacuate, it doesn't mean they could, either practically or in good conscience.
And that doesn't even touch upon thos who did not have ANY means at all to evacuate...
Posted by: Derek | Sep 10, 2005 10:42:45 AM
In every instance of gross incompetence on the part of this President, his die hard supporters--now down to 38% according to a Newsweek poll released this morning--urgently cast themselves about in search of scapegoats.
Look. I have long been telling people on every opinion forum I could get into that George W. Bush was simply a man in over his head. Michael Brown was the perfect selection in Bush's mind to head up FEMA. Why? Bush saw in Brown a bird with the same feathers and coloring of his own. A hyped resume', the political sensibilities of an outhouse rat, an unserviceable anti-government belief system that infected his every action and a zealous, evangelical faith that he was infallible because the God he prayed to wanted him to be exactly where he was.
We are stuck with this flawed incompetent man (Bush) for two years. But, we ought to be able to rid ourselves of Brown.
Posted by: jaxas | Sep 10, 2005 11:00:23 AM
1. Gonzales isn't earmarked for the Chief Justice seat -- FACT. That is a partisan cry because they're scared of him becoming a replacement for O'Connor. They can't attack him on race (he's not White), and to attack him on his religious background wouldn't help, so all they have is to focus like a laser beam on his use of torture acceptance (which this country actually condones in emergencies). Because of that, if Bush wants Gonzales on the bench, Gonzales can get on it.
In truth, Bush can put a radical extremist on the bench now, and the public will go along. As long as the apple cart (their TV, their money/property, and their kids are safe, the country gives anyone powers to do as they please). That individual rights can so quickly be snatched away over 1 incident (9/11), shows the public is more the complacent, they're entrenched in their surburban enclaves with their marketed gadgets and careless.
There is no revolution if the masses can be comforted with a $2000 check. A $600 tax break showed how quickly the country shined to Bush's tax cuts anyway (even flaming liberals didn't send it back in protest, or idealogy).
2. If commissions do a good job, then why the commotion if they didn't conduct one as they claim they would? Commissions are full of seat warmers. They're there to ask questions, but don't want to enforce solutions (too many would lose money, influence, and be uncomfortable -- like trying to reclaim the wetlands along the hurricane punished coast). Don't expect any backbone to accept the RECOMMENDATIONS, they're as good as suggestions to politicos ("We'll get to them when we finish stuffing pork in our pockets this year").
BTW, partisanship points aren't going to solve squat. Blaming Republicans because they don't like gay sex, or balk at Janet Jackson's breast, doesn't do a thing about SOLVING problems that has plagued mankind since prehistoric times. Indecision, complacency, incompetence, ineptNESS has been our plight. It takes the reverse to undo them, and it takes brave and non selfish non-partisan humans to fix this foundering ship we call society.
Because there's a few of the latter (they have better sense to be in politics, and be corrupted by the process), the corrupted continue on and even the public/partisans go along (for example: if anyone believes DeLay didn't know what his political pals in Texas did to funnel money into partisan coffers illegally, must live in political La La Land, or took a course in "How to feel good while being fleeced, in 24hrs").
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 10, 2005 11:09:25 AM
"They will always be poor and always waiting for the government to take care of them. Time to ween them off the crack of no-strings-attached government entitlements. Time to teach them a little determination and self reliance goes a long way." just an observation
I'm tired of fighting a battle that I can't win... I certainly no that I need help... Thus, I ask for help from my higher power... And at this time that I look in the mirror, and I see that I look a lot like my relatives who lost so much in New Orleans, some even lost their lives....
Well, I ask you God... Please take them in... For when the Saints go Marching In, I want to be in that number.... Please dear God, please see that I am more concerned with helping others than myself... Please dear God, please see that I am forgiving... That I am not selfish... That I love the least of my brethren as the most blue blooded... That I judge a man by the content of his character, not by the color of his skin... That you determine who deserves your love... Let me remember, that he who hath not sinned shall throw the first stone... That I should treat others as I wish to be treated... That I would say something never so heartless as just an observation...
WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN, OH LORD I WANT TO BE IN THAT NUMBER WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN...
Posted by: | Sep 10, 2005 11:27:31 AM
Okay the good news: it's showing that the Dems are more Traditional conservatives than they care to admit. They have more in common with Pat Buchannan than they care to want to know. Take out the race/class/religion issues, and they can read Pat's "American Conservative" mag with glee. One concept of Traditionals: your own only cares about you. You can funnel zillions of dollars in another country; prop them up with every social good; and the population will still hate you -- as you're not one of them. So, your best use of your country's dollars is to use them IN YOUR COUNTRY (to make it the Mecca the world envies -- serves them good, as they hate us anyway). That also includes making sure your citizens have JOBS AT HOME.
The bad news: The focus on the money and jobs is on rebuilding what will be destroyed again. Does society want to keep repeating the wrongs of Rome, again, again, again??
This isn't the lesson the USA needs -- to build and then to watch hopelessly it being destroyed by Mother Nature again. The lesson that is about progress and plain common sense is, is to bug out of those areas and build a newer, shinier, better designed cities/towns.....at least 1 mile away from the coast!!
Wake up folks. We can't keep trying to take from Mother Nature and hope the IOUs don't have to be paid many years later. Lives and money wasted to just claim a region to be "stronger and better", is a fool's errand. More so when the same problems -- seeking another political appointee that isn't versed in disaster aftermaths (think being a mayor alone gives them what it takes to fix things??), is just repeating the same Brown fiasco.
The US Army Corps of Engineers, the civil and structrual engineers, and environmental monitors (like from USGS) are about the only folks who know anything about rebuilding what THEY built up. The only thing politicos can do is cut red tape, gladhand and bean count.
So don't go from the frying pan into the fire and appoint folks because they meet some criteria other than what's needed TO rebuild (and the above article shows race is a major factor, like it will resolve the deaths and socio-economic problems with another token appointment -- Rice or Powell is enough). Now isn't the time to make right by taking opportunities to stock positions with the same bozos that are being flung off the rafters now.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 10, 2005 11:53:44 AM
The biggest lesson to learn from New Orleans is how incompetent the local and state officials were. The mayor should have had water and supplies waiting at the Superdome. Mayor Nagin had several day's notice of the hurricane before it hit and he spent that time doing zilch. The mayor is a Democrat by the way. (I know - some people have found out that Wikipedia allows anyone to edit its encyclopedia entries. Nagin's entry is probably the most heavily edited entry on Wikipedia now as embarrased Dems do their best to change him into a Rebublican, but face the fact: Nagin is a Democrat. And for those who care about accuracy, remember to take wikipedia entries with some skepticism.) Failures at the local level need to be corrected at the state level and usually are, but Louisiana had Gov. Blanco in office. She was not up to the job and dithered the days away after the hurricane hit despite pressure from all sides to get the National Guard called out. The governor is a Democrat by the way.
Posted by: Vern | Sep 10, 2005 11:55:25 AM
The feds have no right to blame the local government for the disaster because the locals had to worry about saving their own families and homes. How can they go out and serve when they had to stay home and take care of their own.
Posted by: sina | Sep 10, 2005 11:55:26 AM
"2. If commissions do a good job, then why the commotion if they didn't conduct one as they claim they would? Commissions are full of seat warmers."
My remarks are related to a Commission's chief duty that of fact finder and maker of recommendations. I actually agree with you that there is a disconnect between findings and implementation (particularly when the party in power has no public philosophy worthy of the name. Also, I think your characterization of members of the 9-11 Commission as seatwarmers is inaccurate. A number of them did quite a credible job--ex-NJ governor Tom Keane (R)and ex-senator Bob Kerrey (D) spring most readily to mind. And even the panel's most partisan member ex-Navy Secretary Lewis Lehrmann (R) complained about the suppresse Al Quaeda information that emerged recently. Favoring a re-opening of this chapter for review.
This is why I think that arguments such as David Ignatius in a recent article that politics its all about competence (absent or despite a governing public philosophy) is wrong on two counts:
First, without a conception of the "public good" (just a dressed up one of private interest), there never can be any substantive criteria for competence. For example, whistleblowers can be highly competent (something that the Pentagon whistleblower who uncovered Halliburton irregularies in Iraq clearly illustrates). She apparently violated something higher than loyalty to the troops and country-- the higher loyalty to party line--a big mistake for a civilian employee.
2. Ignatius admits to a soft spot in his heart for Newt Gingrich (does he need a lesson in anatomy of where the head is), because he can think outside of the box. Even though Newt has the same problematic governing philosophy that never rises beyond a glorified self-interest. (BTW, So can a toddler outside of his sandbox, but I wouldn't confuse him with a wiseman).
This still goes back to even a good idea (granting that Newt on occassion may have one) implemented by folks who are hostile to the very idea of government leads to the same disconnect that stymied the 9-11 investigative panel in implementing theirs.
Posted by: Jeff | Sep 10, 2005 12:12:18 PM
1) As noted in Emily's article above, Homeland Security's National Response Plan calls for the federal governments to take charge and UNILATERALLY deliver massive amounts of in the event of a Castrophe --identified among other things as a natural or manmade disaster occurring near a high population area. There is NO question that the WHite House --NOT the Mayor of New Orleans or the state of Louisiana --was on the hook to deal with Katrina as soon as it became a Cat 4/5 hurricane bearing down on New Orleans (which was announced by the National Weather Service three days before it hit).
2) In a New York Times article yesterday "Political Issues Snarled Plans for Troop Aid", the Times performed its customary form of journalism -- faithfully writing down and uncritically publishing whatever line of misleading bullshit its White House "sources" hand it.
3) Basically, the story was that massive amounts of aid couldn't be delivered because the aid personnel --including active duty military -- would have been threatened by the lawlessness in New Orleans.
The alleged problem was that the National Response Plan never anticipated the collapse of local law enforcement (New Orleans police department) and state law enforcement (Louisiana governor Blanco's summoning of the National Guard both within Louisiana and from other states.)
4) This is utter bullshit. For one thing, both National Guard under White House Command and active duty military forces could have carried their weapons without being given law enforcement powers. Even civilians in this country have the right to carry firearms and to kill if need be to protect their lives and the lives of others.
5) Rules of engagement could have stated that military personnel providing relief could act in self defense without violating the Posse Comitatus act (which prohibits use of military troops for US law enforcement --US Code 18 USC 1385 )
6) For another thing , the National Response Plan DOES address the problem of delivering federal aid when local/state law enforcement collapses. The plan is available at http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interapp/editorial/editorial_0566.xml . If you look at Annex ESF #13 (Emergency Support Function #13 --Public Safety and Security ), it states that: "ESF #13 generally is activated in situations requiring extensive assistance to provide public safety and security and where State and local government resources are overwhelmed or are inadequate, or in pre-incident or post-incident situations that require protective solutions or capabilities unique to the Federal Government."
7) ESF#13 notes that local/state law enforcement normally have primary law enforcement responsibility. When they are overwhelmed, it states that the NEXT step should be transfer of National Guard troops under mutual aid agreement with neighboring states. Obviously, Mississippi was in no position to lend National Guard troops to Louisiana. WHat about Texas?
8) Question: Did Louisiana have mutual aid agreements with the other states? WHich ones? Did Louisiana governor have to get permission from the federal government to pull in National Guard troops from those other states? Was that permission rapidly given by the White House/Pentagon National GUard Bureau?
9) The reason I ask is that Washington Post reporter Sharon Theimer had an interesting article on Sept 3 "National Guard Delay Likely to Be Examined" in which she states that "New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson offered Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco help from his state's National Guard on Sunday, the day before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. Blanco accepted, but paperwork needed to get the troops en route didn't come from Washington until late Thursday"
10) Her article also states "Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner, R-Va., plans to make oversight of the Defense Department, the National Guard and their assistance his top priority when he returns to Washington next week from an overseas trips, spokesman John Ullyot said Friday "
11) ESF#13 goes on to note that: "In the event that State and local police forces (including the National Guard operating under State control) are unable to adequately respond to a civil disturbance or other serious law enforcement emergency, the State legislature (or the Governor if the legislature cannot be convened) may request, through the Attorney General, Federal military assistance under 10 U.S.C. Chapter 15. The President may also use the military in a state to enforce Federal law or to protect constitutional rights. Pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 331-334, the President will ultimately determine whether to use the Armed Forces to respond to a law enforcement emergency. Under Title 10 authority, the President may federalize and deploy all or part of any State's National Guard. Procedures for coordinating Department of Defense (DOD) and Department of Justice (DOJ) responses to law enforcement emergencies arising under 10 U.S.C. 331-334 are set forth in the DOD Civil Disturbance Plan, February 15, 1991. "
12) In other words, the President override Posse Comitatus and send in federal troops (both National Guard called into federal service and active military) to enforce the law if (a) requested by the governor or (b) unilaterally if he thinks it necessary to enforce federal law. The New York Times article I cited above indicates that the Louisiana governor didn't want to do (a) and the WHite House did not have the political courage to do (b)
13) This Constitutional goatscrew obviously occurred because Attorney General Gonzales did not do a good job of reviewing the National Response Plan and ESF#13 before it was approved last December.
At the very least, he should have laid out the details of the legal process, made it clear to the state governors ,and had them sign off on it by signing the National Response Plan (NONE of the State governors signed the Plan).
Posted by: Don Williams | Sep 10, 2005 12:32:04 PM
1) Something more sinister may actually be happening -- that the WHite House and Gonzales were trying to coerce governor Blanco into giving the White House control under 10 USC Chapter 15 -- to establish a precedent for the future -- by dragging its feet in giving support under terms where the Governor retained command.
2) I hope Senator Warner looks into this. Because 10 USC 333 is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS under any conditions other than a nuclear war -- because it lays the grounds for a dictatorship.
3) The US COnstitution says the President can take such power only after Congress consents but the US Congress gave that power away when it passed the National Guard act about 50 years ago --in the early days of the Cold War. Now that the threat of nuclear war has receded, Congress should take back its control and restore the constitutional checks and balances that the Founders set down .
4) Congress may assume that it can always rein in the President if necessary. But if the airliner had not crashed into Pennsylvania on Sept 11, Congress would have been destroyed and the President would have had unchecked power.
5) Its too bad that the news media does not perceive the high stakes and profound issues involved -- especially if the WHite House is trying to shape the public's perception in a false way in order to justify an unnecessary seizure of even more power.
Posted by: Don Williams | Sep 10, 2005 12:38:27 PM
Local government screws up and the fed picks up the tab...
Either the fed should be responsible for the whole show or the local government should be - otherwise the two sides are prone to play politics (particularly when they are from opposite parties) - with the people caught in the middle.
deTocqueville argued that the success of the American Federal government was in part due to the direct relationship between the people and the federal government without the local governments in the middle.
Feds should think about this problem if they don't want to be undermined by every two bit nut job mayor who happens to be elected to office.
As Winston Churchill said - "Don't take responsibility for something you don't have control over". If the feds aren't given control over the evacuation of the people then they should not accept responsibility for the outcome.
Or, take the problem to the extreme: what if the local government decided that NONE of the residents would evacuate - should the federal government take responsibility for safety of 500,000 people in their attics in 20 feet of water??
Posted by: Mike S. | Sep 10, 2005 12:40:56 PM
And the outcome, the brass tacks, of that commission is what? Can you see the results in New Orleans now?
What was the so-called solution just after 9/11?
Let Guillani rule (follow this WP editorialists who think appointing a mayor is the best thing since sliced bread to resolve problems)? What did Guillani bring to the victim families? What did he do to rebuild the WTC? He brought in junk, and his legacy is building a new WTC that's uglier than the original ones (and by slipping in an architect, who's a buddy -- another political appointee -- who should've worked in Hollywood on Sci-Fi sets instead).
Or let's see: our military gutted and our own regional security hampered from this new form of backdoor draft of federalizing the National Guard (oh, you Dems really fell into that bear trap. You're giving everything to the radical right, including making that milita movement stronger!! You don't think of consequences, you think of what camera shots it'll make to be right there with a victim, showing you "care")?
And even worse, have a commission with the guy who helped make it impossible for the intelligence agencies to communicate among each other?
How many more commissions are needed to whitewash what's really wrong? These politicians who aren't in it for the "public good", as much as what they can give back to voters (pork), to get elected again, so to get experience and clout to retire as a consultant/lobbist later.
Do you actually believe those partisan blockheads are doing the country some good with these commissions (who's findings are papered over to 1000+ pages of fluff -- then they wonder why they need to rush in politico red tape cutters to cut their own political/policy red straitjackets off now)?
No, it's a government by the government for the government. They're in it for themselves. Those idealogues who come in fresh thinking of doing the "public good", soon learn to get anything done they have to deal with the Tom DeLays and Ted Kennedys that corrupt our political process. And once these "do gooders" bite from that apple, lord help us of the consequences of yet another generation of the hopeless.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 10, 2005 12:41:36 PM
Jack: Thanks for an outstanding post. My only point of disagreement is that I do not think impeachment is the answer. This Congress will not impeach. And the process is too messy and long to allow for decisive action. What is needed instead is massive popular demand that Bush resign. We can and should bypass Congress.
SandyK's message is one of cynicism and hopelessness. I sure know where that is coming from. But the case SandyK made as to why Bush cannot be dislodged could just as readily been made in regard to Nixon. Not only that, Nixon is head and shoulders above Bush as a president, despite his flaws, and deserved ejection from office. Why such a disengaged, bumbling, venal president as Bush should be more insulated from public outrage than Nixon, who was fully engaged in governing and policy his entire life, is unclear. Nixon was not impeached. Nixon resigned. Bush should do so as well.
As for Vern's effort to fob off responsibility to elected officials in Louisiana, it's just the Rove-Bartlett spin again. The failures of other responsible people do not in any way diminish the monumental failure of George W. Bush to do his job. To the contrary, the possibility that some officials would fall down on the job should have been anticipated and required all the more that Bush be doing his. He failed. He must be accountable for his own failures. Others can be held accountable for theirs by the appropriate constituency.
Moreover, let's remember that Bush's indolence and inattention occurred before we had any idea which communities would be hard hit. That is inexcusable and cannot be spun away with a 'shared blame' campaign. No one has the clout and authority to mobilize the resources of the nation in the face of catastrophe except the President. Yet, his team was scattered about, flyfishing, shopping, and attending ball games as disaster loomed. Why anyone would retain so much devotion to this one man that they can continue to overlook his manifest failures here is beyond me.
Bush must resign. We must demand it.
Posted by: johnuw93 | Sep 10, 2005 12:54:46 PM
Intelligent comment about federalism. The federal government is the responder which has to assume and correct all the failures of the previous responders. That is what happened in New Orleans. The local failure became a state responsibility, and then the state failure became a federal responsibility. I'm sure there have been failures at the federal level as well but the feds response has been head and shoulders above the local and state responses. You hear the media trying to blame the federal government but journalists are actually a pretty ignorant lot and are usually the last people to figure out what's happening. If people's lives had depended on Big Media getting things right, there would be millions dead from Katrina.
Posted by: Vern | Sep 10, 2005 1:10:35 PM
=========================================== 2) In a New York Times article yesterday "Political Issues Snarled Plans for Troop Aid", the Times performed its customary form of journalism -- faithfully writing down and uncritically publishing whatever line of misleading bullshit its White House "sources" hand it." ===========================================
Playing to the partisan base does little good, when it doesn't translate to any action (and the Dems winning national elections will be slim, because the base is fractured and leaderless. The blame/impeach/resign Bush tactic won't work, as the moral values the conservatives tried to push. It makes the moderate middle uncomfortable, and they're not going to oblige with the pleas).
1. No media souce is always right or wrong.
2. No media source is unbiased.
3. To claim a media source prints "the truth", when it's used as a partisan wag/rag, makes it's content quite biased.
What's factual is, your source is "the truth" based on your own biases -- and as long as bias rears it's ugly head, we'll get incompetence, indecision, ineptness as the outcome.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 10, 2005 1:12:56 PM
Unless you're claiming the Articles of Confederation were a success (which would be a flat out falsehood), and a model to live by, the federal government has a responsibility to oversee the states. As in Mike S's commentary about being responsible for 500,000 lives in flooded homes to their roofs -- if the State doesn't do their job in safekeeping the citizens, by admission to this Union, the government has a duty to safeguard them.
A confederate response would be, "each to their own". It was bad for interstate commerce, worse for safekeeping human lives -- as there's no safeguard of protecting it's citizens from harm from within.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 10, 2005 1:18:51 PM
Like the Claude Rains character in “Casablanca” who was “shocked (!)” to discover gambling occurring in the casino (while quietly pocketing his winnings), some Media talking heads now display outrage at the disastrous response by Bush, et al to Katrina’s aftermath. These are no doubt the same “watchdogs” who dutifully chuckled when Bush praised the “Haves, and the Have Mores” as his loyal base; who were amused by the skit showing the president searching for missing WMDs in the Oval Office; who “went along, to get along” and preserve their jobs and precious access to the Administration’s spin experts – then dutifully reported the spin as news. We are now to believe they have grown some “backbone” and will henceforth courageously discharge their responsibility to accurately inform the public. Really? But…there may be a ray of hope. After all, at the end of the movie, Claude Rains chucks a bottle of Vichy Water in the trash bin, having done his bit to save the heroine. Perhaps the Media may yet do its part to dispatch this sorry lot of political hacks, masquerading as the face of America, to their rightful place.
Posted by: VicL | Sep 10, 2005 1:21:12 PM
Newsweek has just sent out a press release on its latest poll of presidential approval. Bear in mind, we are in a crisis, and the typical public response to a crisis is to rally around the leader. This is not happening. Bush's manifest failures are too obvious, and as the full story is told, we can expect his public support to fall further. This is not politics as usual. This is about a government in serious crisis. It has lost confidence across the board. The inept response to Katrina is but the last straw. This is going beyond partisanship to a real crisis of legitimacy.
SandyK can scoff at my suggestion that popular pressure be mobilized to force Bush's resignation. It may be that Bush's resignation will become the only way to restore public support for this government. Moreover, the condition of the Democratic Party is barely relevant. I have not suggested turning to Ted Kennedy to begin a Senate debate. I have said we, the people, who adopted our Constitution in order to form a more perfect Union and who retain the right to change it when it no longer serves our ends, should force Bush out.
Newsweek flash: Bush approval 38%, 57% have lost confidence in U.S. to deal with disaster RAW STORY
From a press release just issued to RAW STORY.
FIFTY-SEVEN PERCENT OF AMERICANS HAVE LOST CONFIDENCE IN GOVERNMENT TO DEAL WITH ANOTHER NATURAL DISASTER; 52% DO NOT TRUST PRESIDENT TO MAKE RIGHT DECISIONS IN A CRISIS
Posted by: johnuw93 | Sep 10, 2005 1:21:47 PM
Dismal numbers even for Dems. As it shows the country is still as fractured of their opinions on "talking points", as to claim who's at fault.
Now if the numbers showed more than 60/40 rating, it's no longer a divided ideal, it's an united front.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 10, 2005 1:29:51 PM
The national government did its job in Katrina. It took over after the local and state governments failed. This is the way federalism is supposed to work. This is the way it did work. The reference to the Articles of Confederation is a non sequitur here. We need to deal with reality, and the reality is the system of government we actually have is federalism.
Posted by: Vern | Sep 10, 2005 1:43:18 PM
Sentiment seems pretty clearly that the Federal Government should be responsible (at least ultimately) for citizens in a disaster situation.
I am simply trying to point out that in these natural disasters there seems to be a pretty clear moral hazard between the feds and local government - impact of failure of the local government (i.e. failure to evacuate citizens prior to storm/flooding) falls on the federal government (in the form of difficulty of evacuating each citizen by helicopter indivudually (after fishing them out of the water) after the storm has passed.
In addition, in the US, typically Federal roles are separated from local roles (activity between states is regulated by the feds, activity within state is regulated by the state) - and both the feds and state communicate directly with citizens (i.e. when you import stuff into the US you talk directly with the feds - and there is no communication or role for the state government) - a role that was lauded by deTocqueville and (indirectly) by Churchill...
Simply suggesting that a similar arrangement that has worked for many other institutions in the US would create a stronger organization for responding to disasters.
Posted by: Mike S. | Sep 10, 2005 2:04:58 PM
George Bush is a hollow-man, thanks to his mother's ethics. (George H.W. Bush seems to be ethical.). Gush lies, kills, denies quality of life (through denied money for stem cell research), does not care apparently about hungry, thirty, dying taxpaying, citizens in New Orleans.
This empty man espouses life, over death, but kills countless American soldiers and old men, women, and child Iraqis. He is cynical enough to send every American he can, to the Gulf to rebuild and to fight so that these hapless tools (fools) have replaced the USA as a terrorist target. It's no wonder we haven't been attacked after 9/11. Our cynical Bush Administration has relocated the target to Iraq.
I have to think that everything Barbara stands for, she has transferred to her hollow son. God save us all. I think this Administration will suspend the US Constitution, Bush will declare himself King, and stay in office until he dies. Cheney will be his prime minister. Tom Delay will be his enforcer ("hamme"r), Karl Rove will continue in his noxious position. God help us all.
Posted by: utahgramma@earthlink.net | Sep 10, 2005 2:06:17 PM
I'm not writing it again. it just disappeared, and also, I cannot copy your damned column because it will not print.
Posted by: joann roberts | Sep 10, 2005 2:10:47 PM
"The national government did its job in Katrina. It took over after the local and state governments failed."
is just plain nonsense. It is not true that the way it works is for the federal government to clean up after the states and locals fail. ALL levels and arms of government are supposed to do their jobs in a timely manner. Your model of chronological succession of resopnsiblity is not the way the law reads. Instead, when the relevant authorities determine that the impending (not past) crisis is of such magnitude that it will overwhelm state and local capabilities, then the federal government steps in to ADD to the resources available. Blanco made this determination before the hurricane made landfall, and the federal government agreed.
Posted by: johnuw93 | Sep 10, 2005 2:24:36 PM
It didn't do it's job. The federal government's role is to oversee the administration of all states in this union. It doesn't interferre with their daily business, but it has a duty to safeguard all 50 states and territories, from enemies both foreign AND DOMESTIC.
It's clearly shown that, in this case, the enemy was our own (bickering politicos). With thousands gathering at shelters with no way out and no vittles or water, the federal government had to intercede, as the loss of life would be horrid.
That is the role of the federal government, no less and no more. It's what we EXPECT from it for accepting it's rule.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 10, 2005 3:11:48 PM
Quote from the actual law that you're citing. Or are you really just relying on phrases from one of the bureaucratic texts that E. Messner posted to start the debate? Sorry, those phrases are no closer to actual law than shoe polish is to peanut butter.
I agree that the federal government has an unavoidable responsibility. The difference I suppose is that I think the feds pretty much met their responsibility. No, they weren't perfect but they were a lot better than anyone else on the playing field. It wasn't the mayor and the governor who cooked up those MRE's that fed the people at the SuperDome and Convention Center. That was the feds who did that. If you can believe the press (always a dodgy proposition), the local authorities in fact kept the Red Cross from bringing in supplies to the people huddled at those places because they thought it would just encourage the people to stay there! How incompetent can you get.
Posted by: Vern | Sep 10, 2005 3:43:55 PM
I notice a common theme in all of these postings in every category. They all seem to blast the President (doesn't matter who might be in office, Clinton had his fair share). The real organizations who need to be talked about are the Congress, state and Local Government bodies. Let's talk budget for a minute. For those of you who read your way through this it will be worth it. Most won't, they'll not bother to look around their blinders at any facts that might contradict their prejudices. Congress first. The President proposes a budget. Once it goes to Congress, they begin to earmark pork into the budget. Nearly one third of the defense budget the President recently asked for was earmarked pork added in by Congress for things like help for the cruise ship industry. There were over 300 earmarks in the budget. Many for the Corp of Engineers. Here is what is funny about earmarks. That money can only be used for the purpose it was earmarked for, go back 10 or 20 years and see how much Congress set aside for flood control in NO. I agree with those who say Bush should have acted faster. Disregard the US Constitution and the state Charter of Louisiana. He should have invoked the Insurrection Act for the first time in US history and wrested control away from the State. That would have prevented the Louisiana DHS from denying access by the Red Cross to the Superdome for 3 days. Instead of the little old lady who was disarmed by the NO police when she waved a pistol in their face the Marines would have simply shot her and dragged her corpse out of the house. Let's face the real truth here people, The Gov. and Mayor were the responsible bodies and the only way the federal government could have come any quicker would have been to wrest power away from the state officials. Marshal Law was never declared, and thankfully, the Insurrection Act was never invoked. Thankfully today, it is the National Guard and not the US Marines providing law enforcement in NO. Make no mistake, I highly respect and support our US military, I just don't ever want them in control of my city. Early Congress saw the wisdom of this after the Revolutionary War and passed the Posse Commitatus Act to prevent armed federal forces acting in a law enforcement role on US soil. I am saddened that so much and so many have been lost in the two hardest hit states. Like many, no reaction could have been fast enough to suit me, however, I think that until the crisis is over and the rebuilding begins, no one is in a position to truly start looking at all the things that went wrong or all the things that went right. There will be enough blame to go around later.
Posted by: WhyoWhy | Sep 10, 2005 3:45:03 PM
To those of you requesting impeachment or resignation of Resident Bush (it's hard to think of him as president, since he is clearly not up to the task), you do realize that, if it were to happen, Cheney would become president? And if that happens, we might as well all go f*ck ourselves. Unless, of course, you work for or have an investment in Halliburton. Speaking of Halliburton, can you guess who's being awarded contracts to clean up Katrina? Surprise, surprise.
Posted by: ErrinF | Sep 10, 2005 3:54:51 PM
I haven't had the energy to think today... I guess I have finally broken down, allowed myself to cry... Have a moment of silence... Maybe I am done debating this issue... I don't know...
Yet, have you noticed how many gaffes (public relations blunders) Bush's administration and the Republican Congress (i.e., Hastert) have made throughout this disaster? I mean, even Bush's mother is doing her best to appear thoughtless... I guess empathy is something that can't be feigned... It is innate...
Posted by: New Orleans Blues | Sep 10, 2005 4:00:46 PM
Excellent article! History galore, and some questions to be answered....
Yes, New Orleans [b]could[/b] be rebuilt. But the main questions is: why build on ground that's below sea level? Furthermore, why build when it's known that the levees/canals and development are eroding the very barrier that protects New Orleans from worse disasters?
I wish it could be rebuilt, but to think sometime in my lifetime it'll be submerged again -- and to see grandma confronted with a shotgun on a forced evacuation, it's too much.
Who knows from the death of New Orleans a new city elsewhere could be built. One with the old world charm, on higher ground, with no need of canals and levees to keep it alive.
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 10, 2005 4:02:51 PM
Do you want sympathy or do you want to bleed dry publicly?
Posted by: SandyK | Sep 10, 2005 4:07:42 PM
I am only stating my feelings... I realize that my feelings are not important in this debate, and maybe I am begging for sympathy... I don't know...
Posted by: New Orleans Blues | Sep 10, 2005 4:15:34 PM
I have seen the text of the Governor's request for assistance as well as other documents. Direct quotes. The Governor, before the hurricane made landfall, informed the President that the impending disaster would be so great as to overwhelm state and local resources. Do you think such language is pulled out of her rear end? Every word is drawn from law, so as to mobilize the needed resources. Peanut butter indeed.
But look at it this way. Imagine that way before Katrina, state, local, and federal authorities are gathered together deciding how they should respond to a yet-to-occur emergency. They decide, well, the state will sit on its hands until they are sure the locals are failing. Then, after the feds are sure the states and locals are failing, they will join in. Now, does that sound like a plan that any responsible person would adopt? Of course not. People would die and the disaster would become larger and more difficult to manage with such a horrible plan. It's the plan you have told us is the way it works, though.
It is not. The federal gov't was responsible to implement its part of the response plan. Probably, most of the federal agencies did what they were supposed to do, with due regard for the inevitable mistakes and misjudgments that attend any such overwhelming catastrophe.
The man who did not do his job was George Bush. He must resign.
As to the Red Cross delay, this has been cited as proof of the failures of the state gov't. In fact, the Red Cross did not try to get in there on Day One, as Hannity (and probably the rest of the echo chamber) has claimed. That's not the way the Red Cross works. They requested to come in days later, and the officer in charge of Louisiana Homeland Security requested a 24-hr delay. A day later, most people had been evacuated from the Superdome. Besides, even if the governor made a mistake, at least she was there.
Bush could barely bring himself to cut short his vacation. He should resign.
Posted by: johnuw93 | Sep 10, 2005 4:23:38 PM
Sticking to the topic, I have found where to lay blame: class. For a supposedly free, capitalist country, class dominates our country in a way it shouldn't. Class means that if you are rich and white, there's a government position waiting for you in Washington DC. Class means that if you are poor and black, you may find yourself dead and drowned in New Orleans. Case in point: John Roberts. Born to affluence, prepped in upper class schools, accepted to Harvard, then to DC to lucrative positions within Republican administrations. Now he's most likely going to be our next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, nominated by his fellow upper classman George Bush. The problem is not that people such as John Roberts are rich and powerful and have many, many things handed to them in life. The problem is disconnect: The vast majority of Americans are not born into privilege, yet the people running the country are; This goes for Democrats as well as Republicans, as both Gore and Kerry were from upper class families as well. With disconnect comes ignorance; They simply don't understand the real day issues the rest of us have to face. Bush's slow response to Hurricane Katrina is indicative of such ignorance; He just did not understand the scope of the matter, as HE would never find himself stranded without food and water in any situation, and HE could afford gas and transportation in any situation. Obviously, had he had any inkling of such, he would not be in the dire political situation he now finds himself in (and to those who think he's getting blamed too much, his desk is where the buck stops. Period. End of sentence). Until we stop thinking of political office as one of the many privileges that the upper class is entitled to in this country, we are doomed to continue on this path of decline. We need those born of the salt of the earth to deal with the problems that face us, not those born with a silver spoon in mouth. For instance, the 'war' on terror. Osama Bin Laden started as a rich guy too, but he went to Afghanistan to fight the Russians, and he ultimately denounced the royal family he was born into. He lives in a cave now, not a mansion. The reason I bring this all up is because he is the enemy, and we're expecting a bunch of rich, out-of-touch faux-aristocrats to defeat him? There is no doubt in my mind that if you were to throw Bush and Bin Laden into a jungle and see which survives, Bin Laden would exit the jungle with Bush's head in hand. Tomorrow is the 4th anniversary of 9/11, and Bin Laden has yet to be found, which only proves my point all the more: class is the root of many of our problems, and until we have a truly egalitarian country where the best and brightest get to the top rather than the rich and whitest, we have many more years of blame and shame to come.
Posted by: ErrinF | Sep 10, 2005 4:31:31 PM
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'Commentary and analysis on each week's most controversial issue from washingtonpost.com. Visit www.washingtonpost.com/opinions.
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The Steady Buildup to a City's Chaos
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Walter Maestri had dreaded this call for a decade, ever since he took over emergency management for Jefferson Parish, a marshy collection of suburbs around New Orleans. It was Friday night, Aug. 26, and his friend Max Mayfield was on the line. Mayfield is the head of the National Hurricane Center, and he wasn't calling to chat.
"Walter," Mayfield said, "get ready."
"What do you mean?" Maestri asked, though he already knew the answer.
Hurricane Katrina had barreled into the Gulf of Mexico, and Mayfield's latest forecast had it smashing into New Orleans as a Category 4 or 5 storm Monday morning. Maestri already had 10,000 body bags in his parish, in case he ever got a call like this.
"This could be the one," Mayfield told him.
Maestri heard himself gasp: "Oh, my God."
In July 2004, Maestri had participated in an exercise called Hurricane Pam, a simulation of a Category 3 storm drowning New Orleans. Emergency planners had concluded that a real Pam would create a flood of unimaginable proportions, killing tens of thousands of people, wiping out hundreds of thousands of homes, shutting down southeast Louisiana for months.
The practice run for a New Orleans apocalypse had been commissioned by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the federal government's designated disaster shop. But the funding ran out and the doomsday scenario became just another prescient -- but buried -- government report. Now, practice was over.
And Pam's lessons had not been learned.
As the floodwaters recede and the dead are counted, what went wrong during a terrible week that would render a modern American metropolis of nearly half a million people uninhabitable and set off the largest exodus of people since the Civil War, is starting to become clear. Federal, state and local officials failed to heed forecasts of disaster from hurricane experts. Evacuation plans, never practical, were scrapped entirely for New Orleans's poorest and least able. And once floodwaters rose, as had been long predicted, the rescue teams, medical personnel and emergency power necessary to fight back were nowhere to be found.
Compounding the natural catastrophe was a man-made one: the inability of the federal, state and local governments to work together in the face of a disaster long foretold.
In many cases, resources that were available were not used, whether Amtrak trains that could have taken evacuees to safety before the storm or the U.S. military's 82nd Airborne division, which spent days on standby waiting for orders that never came. Communications were so impossible the Army Corps of Engineers was unable to inform the rest of the government for crucial hours that levees in New Orleans had been breached.
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Walter Maestri had dreaded this call for a decade, ever since he took over emergency management for Jefferson Parish, a marshy collection of suburbs around New Orleans. It was Friday night, Aug. 26, and his friend Max Mayfield was on the line. Mayfield is the head of the National... At 7 a.m., Bush...
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The Writing Life
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You've probably noticed it, too. How often a reviewer will allude to a novel as such and such an author's first post Sept. 11 work. Or mention Sept. 11 as an influence on the novel. Or assess the novel in the context of a post Sept. 11 world.
And not just reviewers. As a reader, I am reading in a different way. Just as I am traveling on mass transit and going through airports with a higher level of tension. A picture in my head of what can happen that won't go away.
As a writer, too, I have been struggling with what my writing has to offer in a world where terrors are now color-coded, where the dust from our tumbled-down towers is still floating in the air, where most recently a hurricane has created our very own refugee situation. "It's just not something we're used to," a baffled local official in New Orleans being interviewed on NPR noted. "I mean if we were in a third world country, we'd be used to this." I heard much the same remark about terrorism on our own shores after Sept. 11.
At different points in the writing of my new novel, which has been the hardest for me to write so far, I kept telling a friend who hears about all my writing woes that I didn't think I could finish it. Now, I'm no stranger to the Furies of self-doubt, which have always been after me, and the race is always on as to whether they or I will make it through the next paragraph and the next. But since Sept. 11 these Furies seemed to have multiplied in number. What was my fear exactly? That I couldn't put my arms around the whole thing. That I would yield to the temptation to leave things out, to tidy things up. That I would lower the blinds and write the very same novel I would have written before Sept. 11.
It's not that I felt compelled to write about Sept. 11 or attendant issues. Fiction does not register these shock waves so directly. I'm talking about something harder to measure or pinpoint. A new tone and tension. "Everything has changed, though nothing has," Jay Parini writes in his haunting villanelle "After the Terror."
Perhaps this is a good thing. And potentially dangerous for a novelist. The dangers are obvious. A deadening earnestness and political self-awareness that do not meet the delight component that is a story's bottom line. Too much ideological hand-wringing. We've all sat through readings by authors whose politics we admire but whose prose cannot hold us. We are reminded of the definition of "camp" by Susan Sontag: "a seriousness that fails."
But it is a danger that must be risked -- this attunement to a larger world than the local gated habitation we might be living in. Nobel laureate Czeslaw Milosz once commented that "poetry below a certain awareness is not good poetry . . . that we move, that mankind moves in time together and there is a certain awareness of a particular moment below which we shouldn't go because then that poetry is no good." The same can be said of fiction.
The need for this level of awareness in our fiction has always been there, of course. And for years there have been writers reminding us that this was so. But now it is the air we are all breathing, regardless of our politics or prose. A sea change has happened, which might explain the current predilection for nonfiction. In an essay last month in the New York Times, "Truth is Stronger Than Fiction," the reporter Rachel Donadio alludes to V.S. Naipaul's belief that fiction is no longer adequate to make sense of the world. Donadio agrees. "No novels have yet engaged with the post-Sept. 11 era in any meaningful way," she writes. But, she adds, "it's still early. Nonfiction can keep up with the instant messenger culture; fiction takes its own sweet time."
Writers from other parts of the world would say that too many United States of American writers (and our British cohorts across the pond) have been taking our own sweet time far too long. We can all think of a dozen exceptions. But I confess that I myself am now much more aware of having to create in an environment that writers of other more politically or socially compromised nations know only too well. Writers in dictatorships. Writers in what the anthropologist-physician Paul Farmer calls the triage nations of the world. Desperate places where desperate things happen right in your face, not just in some "bad neighborhood" or barrio that only ethnic writers, accredited by hard-luck backgrounds, are allowed to write about. I would bet that many of my fellow U.S. writers these days feel the tension raised within the radar level of their own fiction. Raised by none other than their own hands. Even the Harry Potter books are getting darker.
In our defense, it makes sense that a visceral understanding of the world so many people live in did not come to us until Sept. 11. "It is new to Americans," writes Ronald Steel, author of many books about American and world politics, "because nothing is truly real until it happens to us." As we say in Spanish, nadie aprende en cabeza ajena . No one learns in somebody else's head. Or maybe we can, in novels and stories, if those insights are in there, if the fictional world has met Milosz's criteria and does not sink below a certain level of awareness. And yet, and yet. Journalist Salil Tripathi notes in a recent essay in the Wall Street Journal that several novelists have been writing about the turbulence within Britain's Muslim community for many years. (One thinks of Hanif Kureishi or Zadie Smith or Monica Ali.) "But while they have been honored, their warnings have gone unheeded." And then the bombs went off in the London underground . . .
Ian McEwan's Saturday has been touted as one of the few novels to successfully depict a post Sept. 11 world. It opens with an eerily reminiscent scene: Perowne, a surgeon, wakes up early one morning in London and witnesses, or so he believes, a horrid scene, not unlike that of "suicide planes" crashing into the Twin Towers. The surgeon is no fiction reader, "The times are strange enough. Why make things up?" It is a question which I think most writers are asking themselves at least subliminally these days. In a world of such horrors, what does a novel have to offer?
It is a rhetorical question, perhaps, which does not in any way negate its importance. We tell stories and listen to them because that is how we make meaning of reality -- how we while away the time if the fiction is escapist, or redeem it if the fiction in some way leads us through "the horror, the horror" to the other side. Seamus Heaney reminds us that although "history says, don't hope/ On this side of the grave," we must continue to work, to write, to read with the hope that even if only once in a lifetime
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.
In the midst of my ongoing attacks of writerly self-doubt, an elderly patient of my physician husband sent home a present for me. Periodically, these gifts come my way. A crocheted potholder. Pretty earrings that my husband might have complimented. Jams and jellies and pickled beets, newly canned, at summer's end. (This is Vermont, after all.) They are gifts in character, so to speak, of an older generation living in a quiet, rural Eden-like state. But this latest trinket unsettled me: a glass ball inside which the Twin Towers stand. Instead of shaking the ball and watching snow swirl inside it, one turns on a tiny switch, and the Towers are awash in garish colors. Talk about camp. Why would anyone send me this? My husband shrugged. "She's a fan," he tried. Perhaps he had mentioned my assortment of paperweights, pebbles, magical talismans strewn around my study to protect me from the aforementioned Furies. It struck me that even the least politically motivated person wanted her local bard to remember that the world has changed.
Not that I am likely to forget. Everything has changed, though nothing has. As a writer, I struggle with how to address this different world in my fiction. Perhaps that is all any of us can do with whatever work we do. As Charlie Parker might say, "If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." We are living it, and how it will play out in our work, we have yet to learn. ·
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Siblings Read the Roll at Ground Zero
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NEW YORK, Sept. 11 -- America mourned the victims of Sept. 11 on Sunday as the siblings of the deceased read their loved ones' names to a weeping crowd at the site of the World Trade Center.
One by one, the names of the dead echoed across the place where the Twin Towers collapsed four years ago in a nightmarish cloud of dust and debris. The ceremony drew to a close after four hours, when all 2,749 names had been read.
Relatives in the crowd bowed their heads and sobbed as speakers uttered brief messages to the brothers and sisters they lost, many of their voices breaking in sorrow.
"Mom and Dad ache for you every minute," Linda Giammona-Julian said to her brother, Vincent Giammona, one of 343 firefighters killed. "We love you and we miss you -- till we meet again."
"My big sister, my better half, life will never be the same without you," Rolando Moreno said to Yvette Moreno, who worked for a brokerage in the North Tower.
As the names were read, mourners filed down a ramp to a memorial reflecting pool at the floor of the site, which remains virtually empty four years after a terrorist attack tore a hole in the New York skyline. Families filled the water with red, orange and yellow roses, some shaking as they inscribed dedications on the wooden edge of the pool.
The ceremony came as Hurricane Katrina left Americans once again struggling with a catastrophe that caught the nation unprepared and left citizens dead and grieving.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg opened with words of condolence for those devastated by Katrina and the July terrorist bombings in London. "To Americans suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, our deepest sympathies go out to you this day," Bloomberg said.
In New Orleans, New York firefighters helping with the relief effort gathered around a makeshift memorial for their fallen comrades.
The Ground Zero ceremony included moments of silence at 8:46 a.m., the time at which a hijacked jetliner crashed into the North Tower; at 9:03 a.m., the time when the second plane struck the South Tower; at 9:59 a.m., when the South Tower fell; and at 10:29 a.m., to mark the collapse of the second tower.
Many of the siblings looked to the clear, bright morning sky as they spoke to brothers and sisters they lost. Several held up photos of their loved ones.
"You're taking care of us from heaven, but someday we'll be together," Iliani Flores said, choking up and raising her face to the sky in memory of her younger brother, a fire department paramedic.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice read a poem by Christina Rossetti after the second moment of silence. Gov. George E. Pataki, former mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and acting New Jersey Gov. Richard J. Codey also addressed the crowd.
"We all stand together to help each other and to help those who need our help in the future," Giuliani said. "We remember forever all the brothers and sisters that we lost on that day."
In Washington, President Bush marked the anniversary with his wife on the South Lawn, and throngs of people marched in remembrance of the attacks and in tribute to troops fighting overseas.
And in southwestern Pennsylvania, about 1,000 people attended a memorial service in the field where Flight 93 crashed after it was hijacked by terrorists.
Other memorials planned Sunday included a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey service for the 84 employees it lost on Sept. 11. Firefighters planned to roll out their trucks and other equipment in front of their firehouses.
Parents and grandparents read the victims' names at Ground Zero last year, while children's voices were heard in 2003. A selection of politicians, relatives and others read the names on the first anniversary.
Two light beams shot skyward Sunday night to evoke the silhouettes of the towers.
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NEW YORK, Sept. 11 -- America mourned the victims of Sept. 11 on Sunday as the siblings of the deceased read their loved ones' names to a weeping crowd at the site of the World Trade Center.
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Pentagon Revises Nuclear Strike Plan
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The Pentagon has drafted a revised doctrine for the use of nuclear weapons that envisions commanders requesting presidential approval to use them to preempt an attack by a nation or a terrorist group using weapons of mass destruction. The draft also includes the option of using nuclear arms to destroy known enemy stockpiles of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.
The document, written by the Pentagon's Joint Chiefs staff but not yet finally approved by Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, would update rules and procedures governing use of nuclear weapons to reflect a preemption strategy first announced by the Bush White House in December 2002. The strategy was outlined in more detail at the time in classified national security directives.
At a White House briefing that year, a spokesman said the United States would "respond with overwhelming force" to the use of weapons of mass destruction against the United States, its forces or allies, and said "all options" would be available to the president.
The draft, dated March 15, would provide authoritative guidance for commanders to request presidential approval for using nuclear weapons, and represents the Pentagon's first attempt to revise procedures to reflect the Bush preemption doctrine. A previous version, completed in 1995 during the Clinton administration, contains no mention of using nuclear weapons preemptively or specifically against threats from weapons of mass destruction.
Titled "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations" and written under the direction of Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the draft document is unclassified and available on a Pentagon Web site. It is expected to be signed within a few weeks by Air Force Lt. Gen. Norton A. Schwartz, director of the Joint Staff, according to Navy Cmdr. Dawn Cutler, a public affairs officer in Myers's office. Meanwhile, the draft is going through final coordination with the military services, the combatant commanders, Pentagon legal authorities and Rumsfeld's office, Cutler said in a written statement.
A "summary of changes" included in the draft identifies differences from the 1995 doctrine, and says the new document "revises the discussion of nuclear weapons use across the range of military operations."
The first example for potential nuclear weapon use listed in the draft is against an enemy that is using "or intending to use WMD" against U.S. or allied, multinational military forces or civilian populations.
Another scenario for a possible nuclear preemptive strike is in case of an "imminent attack from adversary biological weapons that only effects from nuclear weapons can safely destroy."
That and other provisions in the document appear to refer to nuclear initiatives proposed by the administration that Congress has thus far declined to fully support.
Last year, for example, Congress refused to fund research toward development of nuclear weapons that could destroy biological or chemical weapons materials without dispersing them into the atmosphere.
The draft document also envisions the use of atomic weapons for "attacks on adversary installations including WMD, deep, hardened bunkers containing chemical or biological weapons."
But Congress last year halted funding of a study to determine the viability of the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator warhead (RNEP) -- commonly called the bunker buster -- that the Pentagon has said is needed to attack hardened, deeply buried weapons sites.
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Go to Sleep
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See that lady on the bus, back there. The lady with the long black-brown braids, with red wine lipstick and feet so swollen they seem to melt into puddles, spilling over her black shoes.
See her backpack, her home on her lap. She is wearing a jacket, despite a heat index of 106.
Don't stare. But notice that after the bus made its last stop, the lady is still riding, curled up in that blue plastic seat, her head tucked beneath her arms, like the folded wings of a sleeping bird.
And if you rode all night, you would notice that when the bus gets to the end of the line and turns around for its next run, she does not get off, but keeps riding.
On that bus going down Georgia Avenue, you notice another woman sitting with dignity, and then you look at her feet, and notice although they are covered by red fishnet stockings, they, too, are melting into puddles.
There is a man up front with a lump on his head. He is afraid to go back to the alley where teenagers kicked him and stole his last dollar. His feet have become puddles, too.
They are riding this bus, a nocturnal bed, a shelter of suspension, where they sit in different states of nyctitropism, in one position by day and in another by night. Traveling to whatever distant land sleep brings; but also going nowhere, as this bus rocks and swings, cutting the night as it cuts across the city.
And here is Mr. Wonderful, the bus driver. They call him that because he allows them the peace of this sleep, does not shout at them. He just lets them ride all night, undisturbed until he ends his shift at 3 a.m.
When Mr. Wonderful gets to his final stop, the final motion of the bus gently wakes the woman with her head folded beneath her broken wings, and she steps off on her swollen feet, sinking into the dark. She shuffles to the brightest-lighted bench at the Metro station, where she passes the woman with the gray wig who is sleeping standing up. On her regularbench, she will sit for an hour, wide awake for fear that if she closed her eyes, predators who lurk here would come out of the darkness and get her.
So she sits from 3 to 4, the frightening hour, when no city bus runs. And when 4:13 a.m. arrives, she climbs aboard another bus and it rocks her back to sleep.
In this city with little affordable housing and not enough space in shelters, advocates for the homeless say there are people out here waiting at dark corners and well-lighted places, waiting for the next bus. Waiting to climb aboard, pay the fare, curl up and go under in sleep.
But one wonders how they sleep such trusting sleeps, when strangers sit around them fighting their own sleepless demons.
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See that lady on the bus, back there. The lady with the long black-brown braids, with red wine lipstick and feet so swollen they seem to melt into puddles, spilling over her black shoes. Angela Warrick, who has been homeless more than two years, boards the bus at 10:13 on a midsummer... Warrick...
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Have They Got a Scammy Deal for You
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Check your e-mail often enough and you might get the feeling there's a scammer born every minute. That's what Brian Stewart concluded after recently posting an online classified at Cars.com to sell his sister-in-law's 1992 Toyota Camry.
The sharks started circling his ad immediately. "For every legitimate e-mail I receive about the car, I get 10 scam e-mails," says Stewart, a FedEx courier who lives in Charles Town, W.Va.
Most of the suspect e-mails are similar, he says. "Many said they were agents for buyers in Europe. And, they all obviously did not speak English as a first language."
Someone calling himself "Guney Azerbaycan" sent a "Dear Seller" e-mail saying he wanted to buy the car for the asking price, would ship it himself, and urged Stewart to provide his name and address "for immediate payment."
Another came from a "Chuck Brooks," who claimed he works for UNICEF and is stationed in London, where his shipping agent would deliver the car. And a "James Edward" contacted Stewart, supplying a phony Virginia phone number and a Seattle Zip code. He claimed to represent "a client" who wanted to buy the car for his son: "The check that will be sent to you will include the money for the sales of your item and the shipper's fees for the pick up of the car. . . ."
Stewart smelled something fishy and didn't reply to the e-mails. But he wonders how the scam works.
Known as the "car-selling scam," the "overpayment scam" and the "criminal cash-back scam," this tricky bit of fraud seems more credible than some. Partly that's because it usually involves a few thousand dollars tops -- unlike the infamous Nigerian Letter Scam, those "business proposals" that appear daily in e-mail in-boxes and promise a fat slice of millions of dollars the sender asks help in transferring to the United States.
Also, this scam doesn't sound too good to be true -- except that someone is offering the asking price for that used jalopy you've been trying to unload.
Typically, here's what happens: You advertise a car for sale online. A fraudster posing as a buyer responds via e-mail agreeing to purchase the car for the asking price.
But it's never that simple. Maybe he says he's buying the car for a friend abroad. "Sometimes they say they are working on behalf of a client because it helps add a little bit of legitimacy and obscures what's really going on," says Chris Long, a director at the Chicago-based Cars.com, explaining that the scam commonly targets such sites as Cars.com, AutoTrader.com, eBay and Craigslist, wherever individuals sell cars.
Next, the scammer persuades the buyer to accept a cashier's check or personal check for significantly more than the agreed-upon price. The excess is allegedly to cover the cost of shipping the car abroad. Or the check's too big, he claims, because it had already been cut for a car deal that fell through. Or the buyer simply apologizes for the mistake.
The key to the scam is duping the seller to deposit the check and, once it clears in the seller's account, return the excess money via an irreversible wire transfer, such as Western Union. Days later, the seller finds out the buyer's check was counterfeit or it bounced. Not only is the victim out the entire amount of the buyer's bad check, he has also lost the money wired to the scammer.
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Check your e-mail often enough and you might get the feeling there's a scammer born every minute. That's what Brian Stewart concluded after recently posting an online classified at Cars.com to sell his sister-in-law's 1992 Toyota Camry. The Maryland Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division...
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Google Gets a Jump on the Desktop Market
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For many people, Google first showed up on their computers as a lone item on a long list of Web bookmarks. Since then, it has grown to be much more -- an e-mail account, a browser toolbar, a photo album and a map of the world. Now the Mountain View, Calif., company is offering a program that can replace much of the Windows start menu, and maybe even the Windows desktop itself.
Its Google Desktop 2.0 software (a free beta-test download for Windows 2000 and XP is available at http://desktop.google.com/ ) aims to be your first stop for information on and off of your computer.
It does this with an optional sidebar that hugs the right edge of the screen and provides quick access to various applications and data sources, such as computer files, Web searches, to RSS feeds and recent e-mail messages.
The sidebar automatically pushes other programs to the left to avoid overlapping their windows (a widescreen monitor will definitely help). It's designed for quick scanning, but if you want more detail -- such as a chart of a stock's recent activity, the first few paragraphs of a news report or the forecast for the next few days -- just click on one of the headlines and a pane will flip out to the left with the additional information.
As a result, Google Desktop looks and acts much like a portal site such as the My Yahoo home page -- except that it actually works well.
Unlike the portals, Google Desktop doesn't make you customize it. Because its search tools have already indexed the files on your computer, it has the information to guess which forecasts, stock quotes and RSS feeds you might want.
This screenshot shows Google's Sidebar,at right, which is included with the new Desktop Search software.The 2-inch-wide stack of "panels," are tools for access to your e-mail, news articles, stock quotes, weather and other information. (AP Photo/HO/GOOGLE)( - GOOGLE)This is a beta release, so its guesses could be wrong. During my tests, Google Desktop picked the right weather forecast on two of three computers. On the third, it thought I wanted to see the temperature in Honolulu. Its stock-quote picks missed what I thought would be an obvious choice for me: The Washington Post's WPO ticker symbol.
At the end of the setup process, a screen -- headlined "Please read this carefully. It's not the usual yada yada" -- asks you to enable or disable what Google Desktop vaguely calls "Advanced Features." It explains that choosing this option will send anonymous records of your Web use to Google to allow Google Desktop to personalize the stories displayed in the sidebar's news panel.
With neither the "enable" nor the "disable" buttons selected as a default choice, it's your call. I opted out of this on all but one test computer -- mainly because the sidebar's Web clips panel does a much better job of pulling in relevant news.
Unlike other RSS readers, the software built into Google Desktop automatically subscribes to feeds whenever you visit sites that offer them. That solves two big problems with RSS: People don't know what it is and don't know how to subscribe when they do find one.
Using that component can yield some spooky "how did you know I'd need to know that?" moments. But the software's practice of grabbing every feed in sight quickly leads to overload. Instead of a clipping service, it can seem more like a lint filter for the Web. It's best to let it collect feeds over a few days, then prune the ones you don't want and turn off the auto-subscribe option.
The other sidebar panels vary in their utility. Beyond news, RSS feeds, weather, and stock quotes, Google Desktop includes modules that preview e-mail messages, display digital photos, hold text notes, link to recently used files and list popular Web pages.
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The firm is offering a program that can replace much of the Windows start menu, and maybe even the Windows desktop itself.
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Rebuilding the Gulf and Goodwill
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"George Bush doesn't care about black people."
-- Kanye West, rapper and producer
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has gamely tried to defend her boss against charges that the haphazard federal response to Hurricane Katrina's victims was due to the fact that most of them were black and poor. Rice is out of her depth on this one. She can say all she wants that it is not within George W. Bush to "have left people unattended on the basis of race," but her words won't rescue him from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's abysmal performance. Neither will photo ops with administration heavy hitters and storm victims.
The relief efforts speak for themselves. Most of the bodies in those floodwaters and most evacuees scattered around the country didn't hail from the upscale side of their communities. They were let down by government at all levels.
Mayors and governors will have to account for their failures. But there's also no way to get around the federal government's ineptitude. The two Michaels -- Chertoff and Brown -- are stark facts of life. So are the marooned, the dead and the squalor.
But there is a tomorrow, and with it comes a chance for the government to get it right. It can be done in the Gulf Coast. It sure as hell is being tried in Iraq. In the past two years, the Bush administration has directed billions of dollars to Iraq for reconstruction. Last year Congress appropriated enough money to provide Iraqis with 800,000 jobs, all directed toward rebuilding that nation.
Billions of U.S. tax dollars have been sent to Baghdad -- with few questions asked by Congress -- to build Iraqi schools, police stations, courts, electric power plants and water treatment facilities. As of March, Iraqi reconstruction employment had already exceeded 160,000 jobs, and more than 2,000 Iraqi reconstruction projects were underway, all courtesy of the American taxpayer.
And there's no mistaking what's going on. Army Maj. Gen. Daniel Long, director of the Project and Contracting Office in Iraq, stated it plainly in an April news release: "It has been our objective with the U.S. taxpayer monies to improve the infrastructure of Iraq, boost the Iraqi employment and leave behind a skilled and knowledgeable workforce, workers and managers, who will sustain the infrastructure for the new democratic nation of Iraq."
If Long had the good sense to figure out that "each dollar or Iraqi dinar spent in Iraq translates into new jobs for other Iraqis," as he said in the news release, surely the White House should be able to apply some of that same wisdom to Americans in the Gulf Coast. Can there be a better mission for the U.S. government in storm-ravaged Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama? People are there to do it. Where there is a skilled workforce, use it. Where people are unskilled, train them. Take them to the jobs that need filling.
Unfortunately, the Bush crew that is in place is wrong for the massive job that needs doing. They may be up to the task of handing out relief checks. Maybe. But they are no match for the reconstruction effort that lies ahead. Chertoff is a white-collar, headquarters type. FEMA's leadership is loaded with political hacks. Chertoff is not even good at bobbing and weaving with the Washington press and managing his talking points. New Orleans, Biloxi and the other disaster areas need more than that.
Bush should put someone on the ground who can marshal and oversee the deployment of all available federal resources, including the new relief money. That someone must also have the president's full backing, the authority to say yes or no, and the courage to send foot-dragging bureaucrats packing, as well as the guts to stand up to the hustlers already packed up and headed to the scene.
Moreover, the federal government's reconstruction and resettlement czar must not be afraid to be in the company of frustrated and angry black people. Let me repeat: must not be afraid to be in the company of frustrated and angry black people. That requirement alone eliminates most of Bush's political appointees.
If Bush is serious about changing the hurricane disaster zone into a place of hope and opportunity with materials to build and sustain a new infrastructure, he should look beyond his administration's weak bench and select someone with the management and political skills -- and the cultural sensitivity -- to work with the Gulf Coast's economic and social strata.
What better person than Marc Morial, the former two-term mayor of New Orleans and current president and chief executive officer of the National Urban League? My saying this may be the kiss of death, but I shall plow on.
Morial was one of New Orleans's best and most popular mayors. He helped build much of the city and left a cleaned-up police department in his wake. He knows state legislatures, having served in the Louisiana state senate for two terms. He practiced law in one of the region's top firms. He also knows Washington, having earned a law degree from Georgetown University.
On top of everything else, Morial runs America's oldest and largest community-based movement aimed at getting African Americans ready to enter the mainstream. Economic self-sufficiency through jobs, training, homeownership and entrepreneurship is what Morial and the Urban League are all about. Morial is the kind of leader who can work with a Republican governor, Haley Barbour of Mississippi, and a Democratic governor, Kathleen Babineaux Blanco of Louisiana. He also knows how to work both sides of the aisle on Capitol Hill and he has good lines into America's corporate and nonprofit sectors.
A smart White House would ask the league's board to give Morial a leave of absence for a few years. It would equip him with a sharp Office of Management and Budget deputy who knows federal programs and a Joint Chiefs of Staff senior officer who knows which buttons to push at the Pentagon. It would back him up with an executive order and turn him loose on the job. That's what a smart White House that "cares about" closing the chasms, wiping away the angry tears, and rebuilding the Gulf Coast would do.
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The federal government's reconstruction czar must not be afraid to be in the company of frustrated and angry black people. Bush should consider former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial.
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'Toxic Soup'
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RIGHTLY, human beings are the priority of the first responders working in New Orleans. But over the next few days and weeks, authorities must not lose sight of Hurricane Katrina's long-term impact, not only on human beings but also on the land, water, marshes, fish and animals near the city. At the moment -- with the Environmental Protection Agency's permission -- the floodwaters that have covered the city for two weeks are being pumped into Lake Pontchartrain and the Mississippi River, where they will make their way into the rest of the Mississippi Delta and the Gulf of Mexico. At a minimum, that water contains pesticides, herbicides, household chemicals, gasoline from cars and at least two large oil spills, asbestos from building materials, heavy metals from batteries, whatever has leaked out of local toxic waste dumps and Superfund sites, bacteria from corpses and animal carcasses, and dirt containing unusually high levels of lead, long present in New Orleans's soil. No one knows what chemical reactions might take place in that water, which has been warm and stagnant for nearly two weeks. There are no precedents to help assess what its impact on the environment will be. As Darryl Malek-Wiley of the Delta Chapter of the Sierra Club put it, there is "no way scientists could ever recreate this mixture in a laboratory."
Local and federal authorities are right, at this stage, not to engage in scaremongering. Ecosystems do recover from disasters, both natural and man-made. A recent report on the Chernobyl disaster showed that the impact on people and the environment had proved much less than expected. But because this kind of water pollution is unprecedented, and because it could cause permanent damage to drinking water, agriculture and the fishing industry in the region -- and could damage the region's viability and even its habitability -- it is extraordinarily important that the EPA continue its daily monitoring of the floodwaters, while they remain in the city and after they have been pumped out.
At the moment, the EPA has about 100 people in New Orleans, doing exactly that. The danger, over the long term, is that with so many other projects requiring government resources, the EPA will not be given the staff and resources it needs to continue to track whatever damage the floodwaters are slowly wreaking on the region's water and soil. The agency is, in the words of one spokesman, "doing what we can with the resources we've got," including deploying employees from other parts of the country to join those already in the region. As Congress, the administration and others work on the recovery in coming months, they must not allow those numbers to drop further. The EPA mission is critical.
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RIGHTLY, human beings are the priority of the first responders working in New Orleans. But over the next few days and weeks, authorities must not lose sight of Hurricane Katrina's long-term impact, not only on human beings but also on the land, water, marshes, fish and animals near the city. At the...
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Sept. 11 as Civics Lesson
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The cloud of Sept. 11 still hangs over us four years later, but there is something of a silver lining. For out of that horrible event has come a renewed commitment to civic engagement among a crucial segment of the population: young people who were near college age on Sept. 11, 2001. New evidence from multiple sources confirms that those Americans who were caught by the flash of Sept. 11 in their impressionable adolescent years are now significantly more involved in public affairs and community life than their older brothers and sisters.
After a quarter-century decline of interest and participation in national politics among young Americans, a host of measures turned upward after 2001. Voting rates among 18- to 24-year-olds increased by 23 percent -- 2 to 12 times faster than those of other age cohorts in the national elections in 2002 and 2004. Since Sept. 11, young adults have expressed heightened interest both in "government and current events" and "social issues," according to surveys of high school seniors. And other long-term national surveys show that college freshmen are increasingly discussing politics -- once again a reversal that dates precisely to the fall of 2001. This politicization is especially pronounced among people ages 18 to 21 on Sept. 11, 2001, with a slightly lesser effect on Americans who were between 22 and 25. There seems to be little or no enduring Sept. 11 effect among older generations.
The jury is still out on younger high school students; it will take years to see if their political interest and behavior parallel those of the 18- to 25-year-olds, but early signs are promising. Young adults had begun to increase their volunteer activities about five years before Sept. 11, 2001. Eighty-two percent of high school seniors volunteered in 2004, a 14 percent jump from 1986, and the average frequency of volunteering increased a full 50 percent.
Undoubtedly some of this "volunteering" was that in name only, since a third of students attended schools requiring volunteer activities to graduate. Others volunteered to burnish their record for college applications. Nonetheless, the long-term impact is substantial, since volunteering habits begin in youth.
Why would the 2001 terrorist attacks affect this generation so? It was what educators call a "teachable moment." The attacks and their aftermath demonstrated that our fates are highly interdependent. We learned that we need to -- and can -- depend on the kindness of strangers who happen to be near us in a plane, office building or subway. Moreover, regardless of one's political leanings, it was easy to see that we needed effective governmental action: to coordinate volunteers, police national borders, design emergency response preparedness, engage in diplomacy, and train police and firefighters. Government and politics mattered. If young people used to wonder why they should bother to vote, Sept. 11 and now, Hurricane Katrina, gave them an answer.
All of us need to celebrate this new generation of better citizens. Moreover, we ought to emulate any wise camper: blow on this spark and coax it into something bigger. National and local policies are the key to fanning this flame. First, increase funding for service learning programs and encourage mandatory community service programs in high school, since research shows that civic dropouts benefit most from such programs. Second, beef up and revive civics education; make it less about memorizing the number of U.S. senators and more about experiential learning (petitioning government to build a local park or playground).
Finally, we could put wind in these sails through a cross-generational call for sacrifice. For example, all Americans need to sacrifice by conserving energy to reduce our reliance on the volatile Middle East rather than asking youth to sacrifice their lives fighting in Iraq. Even tax policy is relevant. Cutting taxes on rich folks as we declared war was not only historically unprecedented, it was also a terrible civics lesson. It implied that we were not all in this together, and that we did not need to make shared sacrifice, even as young Americans were becoming convinced for the first time in 30 years that our nation was (or could be) a "we," not just a collection of self-interested "I's." Increasing taxes on the well-off, the historical norm in wartime, could show 18- to 25-year-olds that we truly are in this together; the current policy sacrifices their financial future for our present.
We'll have to wait some years to see if this budding civic engagement blossoms, but it could prove to be the largest civic shift in the past half-century.
Thomas H. Sander is executive director of the Saguaro Seminar: Civic Engagement in America, at Harvard University. Robert D. Putnam is the director of the seminar and author of "Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community."
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The cloud of Sept. 11 still hangs over us four years later, but there is something of a silver lining. For out of that horrible event has come a renewed commitment to civic engagement among a crucial segment of the population: young people who were near college age on Sept. 11, 2001. New evidence...
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Red Cross Paying Hotel Bills for Thousands
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LAFAYETTE, La., Sept. 9 -- In a massive, costly and little-noticed effort to calm a housing catastrophe that reaches from Florida to Texas, the American Red Cross has quietly created a program that it says is now picking up hotel bills for at least 57,000 people who fled Hurricane Katrina. Room charges are being paid out of the $503 million that the Red Cross has collected so far for hurricane relief.
The program began early this week, when several thousand hotels and motels in and around the Gulf Coast area were notified by the Red Cross that registered guests who can show that they lived in 256 storm-affected Zip codes in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama would be eligible to have their unpaid room charges covered by the Red Cross.
The program does not require guests to prove financial need, although it does ask hotel managers to "please be judicious as you participate with us in this program."
Though the free lodging is available to anyone who had fled Katrina, including the more than 180,000 people who the federal government says are in shelters, most of those who have taken advantage of the program are "those who had the resources and transportation to evacuate themselves," said Stacey Grissom, a spokeswoman in Washington for the Red Cross.
The fax that went to the hotels said 14 days would be covered, but the Red Cross said Friday that the two-week limit will probably not be enforced because tens of thousands of people in hotels and motels are unlikely to have other housing options for weeks or perhaps months.
"It is not going to be 14 days, and they are not going to be kicked out of the hotels," said Grissom. "Our priority is to make sure these people have a shelter over their heads."
She said the "analytical details" about how long it will last and how much it will cost will be worked out in the coming weeks as the Red Cross gets a better handle on managing the largest single disaster in the organization's 125-year history.
The hotel program appears to guarantee that Gulf Coast hotels, which are jammed with evacuees from Pensacola, Fla., to Jackson, Miss., to Lake Charles, La., will remain full for the indefinite future.
"For our area, it is very good hotel business," said James Thackston, general manager of the Hilton Lafayette, the largest hotel in this city. With a pre-hurricane population of 110,000, Lafayette has absorbed about 40,000 evacuees. Most of them are in relatives' homes or in hotels.
Harold Mitchell is hard pressed to think of anything good that has happened since Hurricane Katrina chased him out of New Orleans -- except that the Red Cross is picking up the $100-a-night tab for his hotel here and he did not have to do a lick of paperwork.
"It's about the best thing I can think of," said Mitchell, 65, a teacher's aide in New Orleans who is sharing a double room at the Lafayette Holiday Inn with three members of his family.
Covering hotel costs is something the Red Cross routinely does after house fires, Grissom said. But the scale of Hurricane Katrina, which Gulf states' officials have said may have displaced as many as 1.3 million people, has expanded the size and cost of the hotel program to an unprecedented level, she said.
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LAFAYETTE, La., Sept. 9 -- In a massive, costly and little-noticed effort to calm a housing catastrophe that reaches from Florida to Texas, the American Red Cross has quietly created a program that it says is now picking up hotel bills for at least 57,000 people who fled Hurricane Katrina. Room...
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Security Contractors in Iraq Under Scrutiny After Shootings
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IRBIL, Iraq -- The pop of a single rifle shot broke the relative calm of Ali Ismael's morning commute here in one of Iraq's safest cities.
Ismael, his older brother Bayez and their driver had just pulled into traffic behind a convoy of four Chevrolet Suburbans, which police believe belonged to an American security contractor stationed nearby. The back door of the last vehicle swung open, the brothers said in interviews, and a man wearing sunglasses and a tan flak jacket leaned out and leveled his rifle.
"I thought he was just trying to scare us, like they usually do, to keep us back. But then he fired," said Ismael, 20. His scalp was still marked by a bald patch and four-inch purple scar from a bullet that grazed his head and left him bleeding in the back seat of his Toyota Land Cruiser.
"Everything is cloudy after that," he said.
A U.S. investigation of the July 14 incident concluded that no American contractors were responsible, a finding disputed by the Ismaels, other witnesses, local politicians and the city's top security official, who termed it a coverup. No one has yet been held responsible.
Recent shootings of Iraqi civilians, allegedly involving the legion of U.S., British and other foreign security contractors operating in the country, are drawing increasing concern from Iraqi officials and U.S. commanders who say they undermine relations between foreign military forces and Iraqi civilians.
Private security companies pervade Iraq's dusty highways, their distinctive sport-utility vehicles packed with men waving rifles to clear traffic in their path. Theirs are among the most dangerous jobs in the country: escorting convoys, guarding dignitaries and protecting infrastructure from insurgent attacks. But their activities have drawn scrutiny both here and in Washington after allegations of indiscriminate shootings and other recklessness have given rise to charges of inadequate oversight.
"These guys run loose in this country and do stupid stuff. There's no authority over them, so you can't come down on them hard when they escalate force," said Brig. Gen. Karl R. Horst, deputy commander of the 3rd Infantry Division, which is responsible for security in and around Baghdad. "They shoot people, and someone else has to deal with the aftermath. It happens all over the place."
No tally of such incidents has been made public, and Aegis, a British security company that helps manage contractors in Baghdad and maintains an operations center in the capital's fortified Green Zone, declined to answer questions. In the rare instances when police reports are filed, the U.S. military is often blamed for the actions of private companies, according to Adnan Asadi, the deputy interior minister responsible for overseeing security companies.
"People always say the Army did it, and even our police don't always know the difference," he said.
The shootings became so frequent in Baghdad this summer that Horst started keeping his own count in a white spiral notebook he uses to record daily events. Between May and July, he said, he tracked at least a dozen shootings of civilians by contractors, in which six Iraqis were killed and three wounded. The bloodiest case came on May 12 in the neighborhood of New Baghdad. A contractor opened fire on an approaching car, which then veered into a crowd. Two days after the incident, American soldiers patrolling the same block were attacked with a roadside bomb.
On May 14, in another part of the city, private security guards working for the U.S. Embassy shot and killed at least one Iraqi civilian while transporting diplomats from the Green Zone, according to an embassy official who spoke on condition he not be named. Two security contractors were dismissed from their jobs over the incident.
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Recent shootings of Iraqi civilians, allegedly involving the legion of U.S., British and other foreign security contractors operating in the country, are drawing increasing concern from Iraqi officials and U.S. commanders who say they undermine relations between foreign military forces and Iraqi civilians.
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For Slave's Biographer, Truth Contains A Bit of Fiction
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It's a literary mystery. A mystery, that is, involving a man of letters, one who made a very big splash back in '89 -- that would be 1789. British readers were riveted by his first-person account of being kidnapped and enslaved at age 11 and dragged from Nigeria to the New World in a horror-filled slave ship.
Olaudah Equiano's tale has long been viewed as the definitive account of the infamous Middle Passage, one of the very first slave narratives, an accounting that gave the fledgling abolitionist movement a ringing moral authority.
Except it might not be true.
Therein lies the mystery: Because if the man who penned "The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself" was not African-born, but rather an African American born in South Carolina -- as Vincent Carretta, a University of Maryland scholar, suggests -- then who was he? Where did he learn to speak fluent Igbo? And how did he get such excruciating details about life aboard an 18th-century slave ship?
The air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers. This wretched situation was again aggravated by the galling of the chains. . . . The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable.
Therein, too, lies the controversy: Carretta's findings, detailed in his biography of Equiano in bookstores next month, have sparked a firestorm in academic circles, particularly among those who have long considered Equiano, on the weight of his autobiography, the "black Ben Franklin." (Actually, since Equiano's was published first, Carretta argues that Franklin should be dubbed the "White Equiano.")
No one disputes that Equiano was the ultimate self-made man, erudite, intellectual, a slave who bought his own freedom, became a seaman, ran a plantation in Central America where he bought and sold slaves, had a change of heart and became an abolitionist, and later, while living in England, made a mint off his self-published memoirs, passing on a fortune to his biracial British daughter.
There is, however, considerable dispute about the significance of two British documents Carretta has discovered: a 1759 baptismal record and a 1773 ship's muster, which both list Equiano's birthplace as South Carolina.
"I don't question [Carretta's] research," says Paul E. Lovejoy, Canada Research Chair in African Diaspora History at Toronto's York University, who is writing an article about Equiano.
"What I question is the conclusion he's reached. I just think there's an alternate interpretation," one that does not preclude an African birth, Lovejoy says. Mistakes are often made with records, the professor notes: During Equiano's lifetime, after enemies questioned his authenticity, one of the witnesses who vouched for his African birth was his godmother -- the same person who is listed on his baptismal record as vouching for his South Carolina origins.
Counters Carretta: "This is all Joe Friday 'Dragnet,' just the facts, ma'am" research.
Things began around 15 years ago, when Carretta, a professor of English at Maryland who had long been enamored of Equiano, ever since he started teaching his autobiography to undergrads, hopped a plane to England and started hunting. At Westminster Abbey, he stumbled on the documents that recast Equiano's beginnings in a completely unexpected light.
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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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The H1Bees Want You: To Rock and Roll
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The computer programmers arrived in the United States unknown to each other but united in their quest to rock.
On the surface, they were not unlike many others who have left India over the past decade on the H-1B visa, a guest worker program for highly skilled professionals. They wore glasses and mustaches and collared shirts. They could exterminate Y2K bugs and code Java and link Unix.
But as they toiled in cubicles, they dreamed of banging on keyboards of a different sort, of a world where C-sharp is just a musical note, not computer code.
And then their worlds became one.
"H1Bees," an album recorded in a Gaithersburg basement-turned-studio, will be released today, its music a mix of Indian and Western beats with lyrics exploring the high-tech immigrant's experience in the United States. The troupe remains unnamed, giving composer Srikanth Devarajan top billing and referring to the remaining artists as "playback singers," which is customary on many Indian albums.
Yet the computer programmers say their self-produced album would have been impossible in India, where the music industry there is exclusive.
"I was nothing in India," Devarajan said. "Thanks to the H-1, even a small man like me can say I have a studio."
"That's a big deal," nodded Kartik Venkataramanan, a database manager at Verizon who studied Indian classical music as a child and developed an affinity for Jethro Tull somewhere along the way.
Until last year, Devarajan could be described as a most persistent one-man band, using his computing and composing skills to synthesize original scores, dubbing the sound "curry rock."
The overlapping social circles of Indians in the Washington region came to his rescue last year. Out of the blue, he received a random call from friend-of-a-friend Venkataramanan. Venkataramanan's early days on U.S. shores, first Atlanta, then Washington, were spent browsing longingly at Guitar Center until he had saved enough to buy a blue Fender with a Made in the U.S.A. label he fingered as much as its strings.
At last, another computer programmer who wanted to be a rock star. Could there be more out there?
In their first conversation, Venkataramanan invited Devarajan to his housewarming party in Manassas where he promised a gathering of musically inclined folks. There, Devarajan also met Devesh Satyavolu, a multilingual poet, and Srivatsa Srinivasan, who claimed little musical talent of his own but said he always wanted to produce an album and possibly form a production company.
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The computer programmers arrived in the United States unknown to each other but united in their quest to rock.
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Schools Beset by Computer Errors
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D.C schools continue to experience problems with a new computer system, with some principals saying yesterday that their schools have been unable to record attendance, print student schedules or even access the Internet since Wednesday.
In the past week, a number of students found mistakes in their class schedules because of glitches in the computer system, which is called D.C. STARS and is designed to handle attendance, grading and the calculation of graduation and dropout rates, among other functions. School officials said at the time that the problem affected about 5 percent of secondary students.
The principals interviewed yesterday said the problems this week were more serious.
"We've been down for three days," said one secondary school principal, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of concern that his comments could get him into trouble. "I've sent my attendance counselor down to the central office to see if she could input today's attendance. She said they couldn't do anything."
In an internal memo dated yesterday, D.C. schools Chief Information Officer Gregory Barlow criticized the way the computer system was set up.
"In my experience, the combination of an Oracle database, Windows operating system, Unix hardware and an Apache webserver is a bad combination," Barlow wrote in the memo to Thomas M. Brady, the school system's chief business operations officer.
"In fact, through our research the last few days, we have found an advisory on the Apache website that states, 'Please note that at this time, Windows support is entirely experimental and is recommended only for experienced users.' The Apache Group does not guarantee that the software will work as documented or even at all."
Brady and Barlow said yesterday that employees at some schools were experiencing slowness with the system. But they denied that any school had been unable to use the system for a prolonged period.
"D.C. STARS is not a broken system," Brady said. Still, he added, "We're going to come up with a game plan to improve the system for school administrators in D.C."
Barlow said officials plan to replace Windows with a different operating system.
Meria J. Carstarphen, the chief accountability officer, said that D.C. STARS has great potential and that some of the glitches are attributable to long-standing problems with the city's technology infrastructure.
Stephen Tarason, principal of Wilson Senior High School in Northwest, said staff members there were unable to file weekly attendance figures Thursday as required. He said that computer technicians showed the staff a way to bypass the problem and that the figures were filed yesterday.
"The system has been slow the last couple of days; it's been off and on," Tarason said.
Some activists expressed concern that the computer problems might hinder the school system's ability to determine enrollment, which could affect school funding and even facilities planning. Each school is funded under a formula that is based on enrollment.
Mark Roy, a community representative on the local school restructuring team at Eastern Senior High School on East Capitol Street, said inaccurate enrollment data could skew a plan that Superintendent Clifford B. Janey will put together in the next few months to close or consolidate underused schools.
"Instead of the technology helping, it could be a hindrance," Roy said.
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D.C schools continue to experience problems with a new computer system, with some principals saying yesterday that their schools have been unable to record attendance, print student schedules or even access the Internet since Wednesday.
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Court Vacates an FBI Gag Order
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For the second time since the USA Patriot Act broadened the FBI's power to demand private records in secret, a federal judge ruled yesterday that it is unconstitutional for the government to impose an automatic and permanent ban on public disclosure of any case in which it uses that power.
U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall found that the statutory gag order, invoked every time the FBI uses a "national security letter" to demand information in terrorism or espionage cases, violated the First Amendment rights of a Connecticut library consortium that is refusing to cooperate with the FBI. The consortium, known in court papers thus far as "John Doe," wants to identify itself and make public its opposition to use of such letters against library patrons.
Hall freed the consortium and its officers to identify only themselves, not the target or targets of the FBI investigation. She stayed her order until Sept. 20 to enable the Bush administration to appeal. The appellate court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, is already considering a New York district judge's decision last year to strike down the entire statutory basis for national security letters on First and Fourth Amendment grounds.
Hall's decision came just 30 days after the librarians, represented and joined as plaintiffs by the American Civil Liberties Union, filed their case. She said she intended to permit the librarians to join concretely in a largely speculative public debate about the use of the Patriot Act's more controversial powers, which are exercised in secret.
Congress is nearing completion of a bill to revise and make permanent key portions of the law. As recently as Thursday, Assistant Attorney General William E. Moschella declined a request from Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) to declassify the "aggregate number" of national security letters used in the past three years to obtain telephone, Internet, financial and consumer credit records.
"The potential for abuse is written into the statute: the very people who might have information regarding investigative abuses and overreaching are preemptively prevented from sharing that information with the public," Hall wrote.
Hall was stark in her dismissal of the government's factual basis for claiming that damage would result from disclosure of the librarians' names. At an Aug. 31 hearing, she described herself as just "a little district court judge sitting here in Bridgeport," not "sophisticated about international terrorism," and she acknowledged that a gag order might be vital for national security under some circumstances.
But after reviewing classified materials delivered to her chambers during Monday's Labor Day holiday, she wrote yesterday that the government had given her "nothing specific" to justify this gag.
The sparseness of the government's case, she said, was "particularly noteworthy given the fact that advocates of the legislation have consistently relied on the public's faith in the government to apply the statute narrowly."
Jameel Jaffer, one of the ACLU's four lawyers on the case, said Hall had recognized that "this gag is preventing our client from participating in the debate about the Patriot Act."
Justice Department spokeswoman Gina Talamona read a one-sentence statement and declined to elaborate. "We are reviewing the opinion and actively considering all of our options, including appeal," she said.
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For the second time since the USA Patriot Act broadened the FBI's power to demand private records in secret, a federal judge ruled yesterday that it is unconstitutional for the government to impose an automatic and permanent ban on public disclosure of any case in which it uses that power.
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9/11 Walk, Reunion Point to Big Tie-Up
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To the southwest, as many as 15,000 people will leave the Pentagon tomorrow morning and begin the Sept. 11 anniversary Freedom Walk to the Mall. To the east, some 90,000 more bodies will converge on FedEx Field to watch the Washington Redskins kick off their regular season. In the middle of it all, the annual Black Family Reunion is expected to draw hundreds of thousands to the Mall, and Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium will host more than 25,000 fans for an important Washington Nationals game.
Gridlock, thy name is Sunday.
The migration of thousands by car, train and foot poses a significant challenge for the region's transportation network. Metro could experience the bulk of the congestion because the Blue Line connects to all of the events. It is the first time Redskins and Nationals home games have fallen at the same time on the same day and the first real test of whether football fans will take Metro in large numbers.
"There are quite a number of events, but I think they're pretty discrete and therefore, hopefully, manageable," said Bill Rice, spokesman for the D.C. Department of Transportation.
Metro will run nearly as many cars as they do on weekdays, allowing trains to pass every five or six minutes through downtown between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. Extra trains will run at the end of both games.
During the America Supports You Freedom Walk, sponsored by the Department of Defense, motorists can expect delays between Northern Virginia and the Mall. The strictly secured march begins at the Pentagon's south parking lot at 10 a.m., travels on Route 27, over the Arlington Memorial Bridge and onto Independence Avenue SW, culminating on the Mall with a concert by country singer Clint Black.
Only people who preregistered by yesterday afternoon will be allowed to walk. Four-foot-high snow fencing and the full force of the U.S. Park Police will keep others off the route.
A number of roads along the path will be closed to traffic from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., including the northbound ramp from George Washington Memorial Parkway to Memorial Circle, eastbound Independence Avenue from 23rd Street SW to the west-east turnaround and westbound Independence Avenue from the west-east turnaround at 17th Street NW to Rock Creek Parkway.
On the Mall between Seventh and 14th streets, the Black Family Reunion will celebrate its 20th anniversary today and tomorrow with pavilions featuring arts and crafts, ethnic foods, health screenings and financial counseling. Chaka Khan, the Lissen Band, Mary Mary, Kirk Franklin and the Greater Mount Calvary Sanctuary Choir will perform. The event is open from noon to 8 p.m. both days.
Football fans can travel by Metro to the Morgan Boulevard Station that opened in the Landover area at the end of last season. About 4,000 fans used it to attend the final Redskins game. But that was before fans were familiar with the service, and the game had smaller attendance.
"We really don't know what ridership will be Sunday for the Redskins," said Metro spokesman Steven Taubenkibel, who noted that about 12,000 to 15,000 people take Metro to Nationals' games.
Redskins officials hailed Metro as a convenient option: Fans can take the Orange Line to the Landover Station and catch a $5 shuttle to the game or take the Blue Line to Morgan Boulevard and walk a mile.
Beyond the new station, Redskins spokesman Karl Swanson said fans should expect little difference in their transportation routine around FedEx Field. To some, who have paid $25 to park in Redskins cash lots only to wait in bottleneck traffic on a shuttle bus before arriving at the field, this might not be welcome news.
"Last year, it was a pain. Not even so much getting in as getting out," said Sean Sanford, 32, a season-ticket holder and moderator of the fan Web forum Hailredskins.com.
For the fan in search of free parking, the options are dwindling this season. Last year, some parked free in the Morgan Boulevard station's 500-space lot, but this season, Metro will charge $25 to park there.
Another erstwhile haven for the thrifty was Landover Mall, where fans used to park free and walk on Redskins Road to games. That route was temporarily thwarted by a Prince George's County policy blocking pedestrians from Redskins Road. After fans won a lawsuit challenging the policy, foot traffic was allowed last November. But the owners of Landover Mall quickly began to charge $15 to park there. This season, the price at the 2,000-space lot will rise to $20, said Jay Weitzman, president of Park America, which runs the lot.
And the Jericho City of Praise church will continue its policy of requiring a Redskins parking permit to use its lots near the stadium, said Bobby Henry, a minister.
"Nothing is free, even in our business -- the church business -- it's not free," he said. "Salvation is not free."
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To the southwest, as many as 15,000 people will leave the Pentagon tomorrow morning and begin the Sept. 11 anniversary Freedom Walk to the Mall. To the east, some 90,000 more bodies will converge on FedEx Field to watch the Washington Redskins kick off their regular season. In the middle of it all,...
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New Orleans Mayor Faces Tough Questions
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NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 9 -- Mayor C. Ray Nagin created many new friends and probably as many enemies for his decision to pointedly chastise both Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D) and the Bush administration for talking too much and working too little. Now, however, difficult questions are being directed at the mayor.
Until Nagin spoke out, Yancy Brown, a native of the Big Easy, had little respect for the mayor, whom he considered too corporate and too disconnected from the black community. "He wasn't acting like a brother," said Brown, 60, a former member of the Black Panther organization. But after Nagin defiantly told the feds -- and indirectly President Bush -- to get off their "asses" and do some work, Brown became a fan.
"That's what he's supposed to do," said Brown, who is still doing maintenance work at the Best Western at Poydras and St. Charles, where journalists covering the event have set up residence. "This place was in trouble, Lord have mercy."
Around the world, particularly in places where Bush is unpopular, Nagin is now recognized for refusing to back down against Bush. But with federal forces providing security in a largely vacant city and attention turning toward what it will take to rebuild, it is Nagin who is getting the tough questions.
Should there have been a better plan to evacuate those without cars? Was his police force up to the task? Why weren't there supplies for the legions of people directed to the Superdome? Why were all those city buses left in low-lying areas? Why did so many of his officers leave their posts as the city descended into a chaos that left many residents afraid that either thugs or the elements would kill them?
On conservative talk radio, especially, Nagin has been characterized as an irrational and incompetent local official who lost control of his city, his police force and, ultimately, his senses when he publicly dressed down the president. Even some of his underlings think the critics may be right.
"He should have evacuated the place earlier," said one city firefighter, echoing a mostly whispered sentiment here as the collection of dead bodies begins in earnest. The firefighter asked not to be identified for fear of retribution.
Determining what could have been done better, and what mistakes were made, will take months and perhaps years. Bush is among those vowing to do some accounting. In one recent interview, the mayor said that everyone, including him, shares the blame for the untold numbers of dead lying under the fetid waters that now cover 60 percent of the city. Pressed on the criticisms, Nagin shot back at a news conference this week: "To those who would criticize, where the hell were you?" he said. "Where the hell were you?"
His officials said they did everything they could. Joseph R. Matthews, the city's director of emergency operations, said the city went on alert the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 26, even though a full evacuation was not ordered until Sunday. It became clear then that New Orleans would not be spared at least some of Katrina's wrath when the storm came ashore on Monday. The Superdome was opened as a shelter of last resort, though it was quickly overwhelmed and those who sought refuge there did not have food and water.
"Nothing prepared us for this," he said. "It was just too much."
Nagin has praised his police and fire departments for working long hours under horrific conditions. Two officers have committed suicide since the hurricane hit, and at least a couple of hundred remain unaccounted for. Capt. Marlon Defillo of the New Orleans Police Department said some have had trouble getting through, and some -- like other residents -- were trapped in their homes. Others, he said, may have died.
Nagin, 49, is a 1978 graduate of Tuskegee University. He was a cable television executive at Cox Communications with no previous political experience when he was elected in 2002. He ran as a reformer, beating 14 other candidates.
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NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 9 -- Mayor C. Ray Nagin created many new friends and probably as many enemies for his decision to pointedly chastise both Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D) and the Bush administration for talking too much and working too little. Now, however, difficult questions are...
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Baghdad Airport Closed in Debt Dispute
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BAGHDAD, Sept. 10 -- A standoff over a multimillion-dollar security bill owed by the Iraqi government shut down Baghdad's international airport Friday and severed Iraq's last safe route to the outside world, highlighting disarray in the country's administration and security forces and spurring U.S. troops to step in to maintain security.
With the closing, air travel joined electricity, clean water and security as essential services now in short supply in Iraq 2 1/2 years after the U.S.-led invasion. Many Iraqis and some foreign contractors, who are vital to rebuilding Iraq, blamed the transitional government for Friday's shutdown.
The dispute concerned a payment, now totaling $36 million, owed British-based Global Strategies Group for running the airport's security. The $4.5 million monthly contract was signed by Iraq's previous government and has gone unpaid since January as the current government tries to renegotiate it, Iraqi officials confirmed. Global shut down airport operations for 48 hours in June in a dispute over the same contract.
On Friday, Global's security contractors turned back would-be passengers, shutting down travel. But they maintained their posts around the airport, guarding the airport road, which was one of Iraq's most frequently bombed routes until the U.S. military intensified its presence there, and the airport itself, which insurgents have not managed to hit.
"Make a U-turn. There are no flights today," a Global guard at a sandbagged, concrete-walled checkpoint told one traveler, a police officer with luggage in the back of the car and a ticket in hand for a training seminar in neighboring Jordan.
"Why?" the man asked, demanding to know when he could fly. "We don't know," the guard answered. "We just need you to turn around."
The news caught more than travelers by surprise; top Iraqi officials from the Transportation Ministry, called at midmorning for comment, said they were unaware of the closing.
By late afternoon, U.S. troops had set up their own impromptu checkpoint by parking Humvees across the airport road and stopping each vehicle to check for IDs. Lt. Col. Steve Boylan, a U.S. military spokesman, said the Iraqi government had asked the Americans to step in.
Acting Transportation Minister Esmat Amer vowed to send Iraqi troops to force a reopening of the airport. "This issue is related to Iraq's sovereignty. Nobody is authorized to close the airport," Amer told the Associated Press.
The ministry dispatched its police, only to call them back after they reached the American checkpoint. "We did not want to create a confrontation," Amer said. Officials from the Interior Ministry also briefly appeared at the checkpoint, guards said.
Government officials said throughout the day that the airport would reopen imminently and normal traffic would resume. By early Saturday, however, it was unclear when that would happen, although a spokesman for Global said the airport would reopen Saturday at 8 a.m.
The shutdown was more than an inconvenience. Insurgent attacks, bandits and the numerous armed men of murky affiliation on Iraq's roads made driving out of the country gravely dangerous for Iraqis and almost impossible for foreigners. Disappointed travelers, including parents with children returning or leaving home after summer breaks and a doctor who needed to send a sick 5-year-old to India for surgery, besieged travel agents.
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BAGHDAD, Sept. 10 -- A standoff over a multimillion-dollar security bill owed by the Iraqi government shut down Baghdad's international airport Friday and severed Iraq's last safe route to the outside world, highlighting disarray in the country's administration and security forces and spurring U.S....
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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 offers 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.
Metro Washington, D.C.: Dear Carolyn, I have a friend who regularly comments how r-u-d-e people are. Just like the behavior of others she's commented about, I (and other friends of ours -- hey, and this friend, too, come to think of it!) have been known to be late, fail to respond timely to an invitation, cut someone off driving, etc.
I think these are the normal facts of life -- if you throw a party, some people will be late and you're just happy they came, if you want to meet someone at 8 p.m., things come up, etc. Now her latest is it's rude not to answer your cell phone if you have one!
I would like to apologize for my transgressions and move on, but her regular barrage of opinions on the matter makes me want to stuff her manners up her a--hat.
Should I just ignore her? I do that most of the time... but she never says anything directly to the person.
Carolyn Hax: Some of those things are normal facts of life, some of them are rude, and some of them are dangerous. (Please don't cut me off on purpose because your time is more important than mine, thanks.)
As it happens, constantly talking behind people's backs about how rude they are without addressing your concerns with them directly also qualifies as rude. Plus, you're her friend and the constant audience to all this complaining. So, please feel it's your place to speak up sometime (when the perceived rudeness isn't rudeness at all, like ignoring a cell call, which in fact is often polite. Ask any doctor or symphony conductor). "Don't you think you're being awfully hard on people?" seems gentle enough. That, or finding a new friend whom you actually like to be around.
Detroit, Mich.: I have a job that involves watching televised sporting events and recording information about what happens. Obviously, for someone who loves sports like I do, it's a great job. But my problem is that I can't seem to get friends and family to understand that it is, in fact, work. How can I make it clear that people can't just show up with a six pack to watch the game with me? And what do I say to people who, when I tell them I can't get together this weekend because I'll be watching football for 12 hours a day, respond, "You can't tear yourself away from the TV to spend time with me?"
Carolyn Hax: 1. "If I brought a sixpack to your office, I don't think you'd be as nice to me."
2. "How many times a day do you stand up during the middle of a meeting and announce you're going to go out for a drink with your friends?"
3. You are never going to be heard by people who choose not to listen. Make your point, then just let them misunderstand and hate you for it.
4. If one were to apply for this job, to whom would one send one's resume? Just hypothetically.
Numb, Reston, Va.: Hi Carolyn,
I read your column religiously. My mouth is numb from the filling of numerous cavities this morning. Can you say something uplifting? A favorite quote? Something that might make me smile (with that half of my face that still moves)?
Carolyn Hax: I believe that even with a mouth that's almost completely numb, you can still sing a pretty intelligible "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." Give it a try and write back. (Extra points if you're in a cubicle.)
Washington, D.C.: I have a wide circle of friends and am happy to introduce people from one group to another. An old friend of mine has made efforts to cultivate her own friendships with everyone I've introduced her to (e-mail, inviting them to parties, etc) to a point where I'm starting to feel like her personal friendship recruitment service without getting much back. And I'll admit some insecurity that they both will like eachother more than me (especially because she's making such a strong outreach effort to them). I feel very eigth grade about this. Advice on ways I can stop feeling insecure? Anything I can say/do to address the resentment I'm feeling towards this friend?
Carolyn Hax: You have a wide circle of friends on your own, she needs to borrow them from you. She will not always have you, but you will. Let her do her thing.
Besides, eventually she will either move away, stay put while you move away, make enough friends not to need to keep calling people, or alienate the new people just as she's alienated you. Things are very unlikely to remain as they are at this moment.
You've said before that therapy is not a weakness. Have you ever heard of the concept of therapy as shameful?
When I was 10, my parents sent me to a child guidance clinic. For some odd reason, the clinic's sessions were during the school day. So for each appointment, my mother had to come and pull me out of class. My classmates naturally wanted to know where I was going, and my parents forbid me from telling the truth. Instead, I was told to say that I was going to "the doctor."
At the time, I wasn't even told why I was being seen at the clinic. I assumed it had to do with being picked on regularly in school. Years later I asked and my parents mumbled something about me having trouble getting along with my classmates.
Carolyn Hax: Mental-health care has been seen as shameful in some circles as recently as, um, now. This is exactly why I keep beating the point that seeking this care is not an admission of weakness.
I don't know how old you are now, but it could be your parents were responding to the prevailing view of counseling, which was widely seen as a dirty secret as recently as the '80s. It could also be that they felt it was none of anyone's business, which was legit then and would still be legit now. Just because you want to keep something private doesn't make it shameful.
And, last, it could also have been that your parents were already concerned that kids were picking on you, and didn't want to give them more ammo. I can't think of a parent 20 years ago, now, or 20 years from now who wouldn't want to protect you under those circumstances.
So, if your parents' secretiveness fed into an ongoing misconception that therapy is shameful, then please use these possibilities to give the institution another look.
Grand Rapids, Mich.: Our local paper carries your column, but there's only one letter answered each time. Are you just lazy or are they cheating us out of the full column? If the latter, what can we (or you) do to get us the whole thing? Thanks.
washingtonpost.com: You could always just read online: Tell Me About It column archive
Carolyn Hax: I have a word count I have to meet for each column, so if you're getting less, then your local paper is cutting it. The best way to change anything with your local paper is to write a letter to the editor, cc'd to the editor of the section you're writing about.
Or, you could just do what Liz says (since we all do what Liz says), but your local paper might not take to kindly to my advocating that.
Los Angeles, Calif.: Carolyn, I have a friend whose mother is currently quite ill and very possibly near death - which I found out via email. I am notoriously bad at finding the right thing to say at times like these. Any ideas on good phrases, gestures to make? Please help!
Carolyn Hax: If you are close, call and say the friend/family is in your thoughts and is there anything you can do to help, like tend to small errands or bring dinner for everyone. If this is more an acquaintance than a close friend, send a note saying the same.
General note, very few people know the right thing to say at all the right times. That's why it's so important just to show up and show you care.
Fort Worth, Tex.: Carolyn --
My girlfriend was molested at age 14 and has understandable issues with sex. She professes and shows interest, but can't actually go through with it. We're very close emotionally, and agree getting comfortable physically is an important step. What can I do to make her more comfortable?
Carolyn Hax: Listen to her. Follow her lead. Don't push. Do your homework on sexual abuse and its aftereffects. Sincerity on all counts will help her feel safe, and feeling safe is what she's going to need before she's ready to go any further sexually.
And for you, since it's also important for you to take care of yourself: Pay attention also to her way of dealing with her problem. Your patience/sacrifice/hopes should be in proportion to her effort to get better. Meaning, if she has sought counseling and is making progress and communicating with you and etc., then the signs that she'll be able to become a full partner to you are encouraging, and I hope you'll give her all the time she needs. But if she's hiding from or behind this and expecting you to do all the accommodating, then you might have to realize there's a limit to how much better things will get.
Re: Friendship Recruitment Service: Carolyn,
I see some of myself in that poster's comments, and now I'm worried. Is acquiring new friends through your other friends so bad? I have a few close friends who are more outgoing than I am, and when I think about, many of the newer people in my life are introduced to me by my more outgoing friends. I have my own casual friends, too, from work and volunteer activities, but as far as new people in my main social circle, I'm never the one that introduces them to the group. And I do end up being friends with these newer people. I've always thought of it as shyness and didn't realize it might get on people's nerves. Should I give this more thought?
Carolyn Hax: I think a lot of people are on this fine line and suddenly wondering. To me, you cross the line when you reach out pretty much to every person your more outgoing friends introduce to you, or when you reach out without also inviting your recruiters. (Doesn't have to be every time, obviously, but enough so that you avoid the appearance of, "Seeya, sucker, thanks for the new friends.")
I do think recruiters also have to keep things in perspective, and realize it's tough to meet people, and anyone who's good at should feel more lucky than victimized. And understand that some of the people who meet through them will get along better than they ever did with either party. That you can never avoid.
Florida: I also think it's rude not to answer your cell phone if you have one (unless there's something going on like a meeting or something). You choose to give your number out to people... if you don't want people calling you, don't give out your number to them. You also buy a cell phone because of the accessibility it provides.
Perhaps I am slightly jaded regarding this rude behavior, as my "boyfriend" is choosing to break up with me by refusing to answer his cell.
Carolyn Hax: No no no no no. Don't twist kindness and courtesy just because someone's maybe being a jerk to you. If you're not in a position, or even a mood, to to talk to me, please don't pick up your phone. Let me leave my message and go about my day blissfully unaware that I just called at a terrible time. I give out my number, I want people to call, but that doesn't mean I'm making myself available to them every waking minute of my every day. Sometimes I like to drive safely, place an order intelligibly, finish a conversation, drink my coffee in peace.
Now: Stop calling his cell. He should have picked up or called you back, but it's also possible he legitimately couldn't talk or wasn't ready to and then saw you called him 10 times in 8 minutes or whatever and now doesn't want to talk. Childish, a bit, but sympathetically so. He knows you want to talk to him. If he is worth talking to, he will get back to you.
Favorite Columnville: Hey -- just curious... have many of us (besides me) responded with our favorite column for your future book?
Carolyn Hax: So many of you that I haven't been able yet to email you all with my thanks. I was going to say as much at the end today, but you beat me to it. So, thanks!
Detroit, Mich.: Carolyn, today started out great, until one of my clients asked me, "Are you pregnant?" I was completely mortified as I am NOT pregnant, but laughed it off. I know I've gained a lot of weight in the last three months due to medication change but don't feel like explaining it to her. I have to see her again tomorrow and I'm not sure I can keep a stiff upper lip about this, as her comment really made me feel horrible. Any suggestions from you or the peanut gallery on staying professional?
Carolyn Hax: Don't beat yourself up so much. If you say you gained weight, then I believe you, but a lot of styles right now are loose around the waist and really hard to distinguish from maternity. Plus, pregnant women, IMHO, look great in a way that people who are just bummed about putting on extra pounds do not. So, if your medication was going to do a number on you, there wasn't a whole lot you could do about it, so try to take some comfort in its being perceived, at least by this one client, as a happy thing.
This one client, by the way, feels horrible too.
Carolyn Hax: I still have a pulse, I just had a post go flooey on me and it took a while to get it to work.
New England: Carolyn, I'm in my late 20s and just kind of generally uneasy about the direction of my life and the many unknowns. Does it get any easier in your 30s? Your column is my religion, by the way.
Carolyn Hax: No wonder you're uneasy.
It gets easier and harder. If it helps, I'd take 30s any day--but a lot of that comes from a better appreciation for, and attitude toward, unknowns. My 20s attitude was, ooh, unknowns, scary; my 30s epiphany was, yoo-hoo, there is no such thing as a known. (Except the usual death, taxes and highlights are expensive to maintain.)
What's scary to me now is the idea of following some rigid path as a buffer against unknowns. You still have just as many unknowns as before (see above), but you're stuck in something that doesn't suit you. Let your expectations go, follow your nature (within the bounds of law, civic responsibility and good taste), and see what happens.
Portland, Ore.: I'm in my upper 30s and am in great shape. I've always been very involved in sports and outdoor activities and I also eat well, and as a result, I have always been slender. At this point in my life, I am completely sick of hearing people say, "Oh, you're so LUCKY you're thin," especially when I hear it from friends who never exercise. I actually gave a snotty response to a co-worker I barely know today. So what is a polite response to this? I feel offended when people chalk it up to luck (like many, I find going to the gym boring and hard work, but I do it because staying fit is important to me), but I don't want to be snotty either.
You did this for yourself, so please feel free to keep it that way.
RE: Detroit: I had a coworker make a really good save from a similar comment. She asked if I was the one who just had the baby, and when I laughed shakily and said my baby was 10 years old, she just said, "You know, I thought that couldn't be you. No way you could get back in shape so fast!" We both saved face. Very elegant.
Carolyn Hax: She's my hero.
I was hoping for advice from you and Zuzu on this one. Yesterday, I found a stray dog on the side of the road. I took her straight to the vet, who told me that she's half-starved and had been beaten but she's basically OK. (Side rant: who would beat a helpless dog?) The dog is absolutely the sweetest girl, and I want to adopt her.
So, it turns out, she's an American Staffordshire Terrier, and the vet said inexperienced dog owners should never, ever have pit bulls. Since I've never had a dog and know nothing about them (the vet had to tell me the breed), I called a few shelters. But it looks horribly bleak -- all the shelters said they either can't take pit bulls in the first place, or have an incredibly hard time placing them and she would probably end up euthanized.
I love this dog, but don't want to give her a bad life because I don't know what I'm doing in raising her. But I can't bear to give her to a shetler after what they told me. None of my friends are able to take her in, either. So, what should I do here? Is there another option I haven't thought of?
Carolyn Hax: You could talk to a RESPONSIBLE AmStaff breeder or three, whom you can find by asking around, starting with the vet; you could call around RESPONSIBLE obedience schools to see if anyone on staff specializes in this or other strong breeds; you can hit the Internet for breed-specific rescue groups (tho I do wonder if the pit/staffy ones are inundated); you could wait to see what the peanuts say. If you really take this seriously AND have the temperament and circumstances that would allow you to be a firm, responsible, educated dog owner, you could give this dog a good life. But these are ifs best discussed and worked out with people who know what they're doing--and are also able to assess the temperament of the doggie.
Yay for you for sticking with this. Would that we were all so humane and committed.
I thought we were all adults here...: Hi Carolyn,
I just found out that a friend is complaining about me and my ex to other friends - she's letting folks know that she's angry with us. She has yet to say anything at all to me. (Last I heard from her, she was all happy that Ex and I were getting a real friendship sorted out and under way.)
I'm going to call her, and ask what's going on - why is she angry, what have we seemingly done, and why is she telling others and not me/us?
So here's my question: do I call Ex and ask what, if anything, he's heard about this from her? Or do I leave him out of it all until and unless she says something that I think he needs to know? I haven't seen or spoken with her since June, he has - he's related some conversational bits to me. And I think that if she told him she was angry with something the two of us had done he'd've told me. So, do I call and ask him, first, or just call her and let her know that I've been getting an earful from others?
Unfortunately, all this has to happen over the phone because of geography, none of us are within a 2 hour driving range of any of the others; I'm a full day's drive away or I'd be doing this in person.
Carolyn Hax: This is between you and the middle schooler. Next time you talk to the ex, you can mention it.
Or you could just wave your hand and make it all go away. That's the beauty of all those miles.
"Lucky" to be thin: I usually say "Thanks but unfortunately I have to eat right and work out just like everyone else." Said with a laugh and in a tone of voice that hopefully communicates that I don't think I am somehow superior to the other person. Is this appropriate?
Carolyn Hax: I get the thinking behind it, I think--you want to be modest, seem like everybody else? But it's not quite accurate, since some people can eat crap and do nothing and stay lean, and it's not quite necessary.
It's a compliment, so, take the compliment. "Thanks."
And if it's a barbed compliment, all the more reason to take it as a plain compliment. Frustrate the hell out of people.
Portland IS Lucky: Without going into the "why should slenderness be valued so highly" debate, I would just like to point out that I know people who exercise, eat right, and are overweight. Fat happens. If you follow a certain lifestyle to obtain a certian physique, it's still a crapshoot.
Carolyn Hax: Well said, thanks.
For the Staffordshire Terrier rescuer:
Staffordshire Terrier Club of America Rescue Committee Chairperson
AmStaff: Hot Water Rescue specializes in the big dogs that shelters euthanize. They are on the web.
Carolyn Hax: Yay yay. Thank you.
To Boston: I'm just reminding people that pit bulls can be wonderful dogs. When I was a little girl I had numerous incidents with dogs while selling Girl Scout Cookies and became terrified of them. The dog that got me over my fear was my aunt's pit bull, who thought she was a lap dog (note: she was also a guard dog) and who was also wonderful with small children. What matters most is the master and how a dog is trained. Incidentally, the second dog I was comfortable around was a Rottweiler.
Carolyn Hax: And of course there's Boo, who's the gentlest creature of all. (Unless an off-leash dog charges her bare-fanged when she's on leash, but that's why you talk to the breeders and take obedience training seriously.)
pit bull: I am the owner of a mixed breed pit bull, took her in as a puppy, didn't know what she was. I grew up with dogs but she has been a challenge. 5 years later we are good and I couldn't imagine life without her. Definately recommend special training, mine is too smart for her own good and we had to work on who was alpha. Now I know her and know what too expect. It can be done and be rewarding but do be careful. Mine doesn't like other dogs, she will not go after them but if they don't leave her alone she will attack and it's scary to see, although she has never hurt one, just bowls them over. I keep her on her lease at all times with a training collar, scary to look at but better than a choker and I am able to maintain control of her at all times. It's work but worth it.
Carolyn Hax: The realistic side of, "It depends on how they're trained." Tx.
Washington, D.C.: I'm the friend that is nice. Always looks out for others. Thinks of everyone else. My problem is that because everyone is so used to be being "perfect," if I slip for whatever reason, there are a few people who can't handle it. I'm in a bad mood today because I keep thinking, people do stupid stuff all the time, why am I the only one who's not allowed (or the only one who notices)?
Carolyn Hax: Two questions. Is it possible your kindness attracts users, and you need to be more careful to whom you choose to give so much? That's the obvious one. Or is it possible you've set such high expectations of yourself that you're overreacting to people's reactions, and perceiving "can't handle it" where really people are reacting okay?
Just a couple of things to think about.
Arlington, Va.: For the person who watches sporting events, I bet you do statistics which require a lot of math skills. Why not tell people you do stats and rarely mention the football?
Carolyn Hax: I suppose. But that seems to me like saying, "New Haven" when you're asked where you went to college, because you don't want to get the high-eyebrows response to "Yale." Better just to say what it is and get the reaction you get.
RE: Doesn't know what to say: I was also unsure of what to say people who were facing the illness or death of a loved one. This summer, I was one of those people. My father passed away and I was blown away by the kindness of our friends and family. My personal bias is that sometimes a phone call can be hard for both parties -- hard to know what to say, may be a bad time -- but I appreciated every one. I have to admit that I really cherished notes and cards that people sent that basically just read, "Thinking of you."
Carolyn Hax: Anything anything anything. Can't say it enough. Can't do it enough, either, since I know I've been guilty myself of disappearing during other people's grief, which is why I have special warm feelings for the people who came through for me during mine but haven't banished those who didn't.
Carolyn Hax: But people who don't answer their cell phones, boy, they are WAY off my list.
Okemos, Mich.: Re: Dogs/Pittbulls Its important for anyone considering an abused animal to be aware that they have special needs and often more challenging dispositions. Reguardless of breeds. I lived with a previously abused dog in college who was a beagle (an otherwise great, friendly bread)- she would snap on a dime for no reason other than she felt like it. If you are considering having kids while you would have the dog please give it careful consideration many people end up putting the dog down because it snaps at a kid being a kid.
Carolyn Hax: Yes yes, very true and important, thanks, especially since this is no beagle. But not all abused dogs do this, so it's important to take the time to find out.
Seattle, Wash.: My husband travels for work and is usually gone 2-4 nights during the week, so I usually save my weekends for plans with friends who want to see both of us, and make plans with friends who only want to see me when he is out of town. In your opinion is this "revolving my life around my man?" (implied co-dependency)
Thanks, Thought I WAS Independent... Sheesh!
Carolyn Hax: So one of these weekdays-only friends took a shot at you? Ignore it. We all do what works.
Worse than not pregnant.: If you think being mistaken for pregnant is bad, about two weeks after I had my son I was walking proudly down the hall at work with him and a coworker (not someone I knew) said "OH! Is this your little grandbaby?" I was speeechless.
Carolyn Hax: Can't top this one. Thanks for appreciating that intense personal pain should never get in the way of a great story.
And speaking of intense personal pain, I'm hungry. Bye, thanks everbuddy and type to you next Friday.
Oh, and somebody asked--yes, still welcoming all votes for favorite past columns, and chat stuff too if you saved it. Thanks again.
I have a question I need some good advice on. I have a friend who lives in Florida with her husband. They have 3 small children together. She is starting to become terrified of the man, he has cheated on her, physically assaulted her (not TOO badly...yet), and seems to have no care of their children's welfare at all. The problem is this - he controls their money, and thus she cannot afford a lawyer. What recourse does she have? She is desperate to leave the guy (he's been determined to have some mental issues by their counselor) but doesn't know how, since she can't afford it. Do you, or anyone else, know how to help her on this? I fear for her safety. Thank you.
Carolyn Hax: Call the hotlines--1-800-799-SAFE and 1-800-656-HOPE, and check www.peaceathome.org--to ask about local resources, legal, financial and otherwise, available to abused victims and their families. Money control is a standard element of domestic abuse, and so any centers, etc., that are in the business of getting people and kids safely out of these homes are also prepared to handle the money problem. Just make sure you both understand that a domestic abuse situation can get even more dangerous when a person attempts to leave, so no one can afford to get sloppy.
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Work on Rights Might Illuminate Roberts's Views
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In 1990, the Federal Communications Commission asked the first Bush administration to defend a policy aimed at encouraging more minority ownership of broadcast stations. As the number two man in the solicitor general's office, John G. Roberts Jr. played a critical role in the government's decision to reject the request, according to documents that came to light yesterday.
The case was one of hundreds that Roberts, President Bush's pick to become chief justice of the United States, handled during his tenure from 1989 to 1993 as principal deputy solicitor general. It is also one of 16 cases that Democrats are demanding to learn more about as they prepare for next week's confirmation hearings, a request they renewed yesterday.
The documents offer a rare glimpse into a time in Roberts's life that has remained largely shrouded, on an issue that is likely to be central to next week's hearings: Roberts's civil rights record.
Under then-Solicitor General Kenneth W. Starr, Roberts tackled a host of controversial issues, questioning the legality of affirmative action programs and co-writing a brief arguing that Roe. v. Wade , the 1973 case that legalized abortion nationwide, should be overturned.
The White House, however, has refused to turn over memos and other documents Roberts wrote during that time frame, contending it would have a chilling effect on the advice the government receives from its lawyers. Meanwhile, Roberts has argued that the positions he took on behalf of the government were not necessarily his own.
But Roberts had an influential hand in shaping the government's arguments, at least in the case involving a challenge to the FCC's policy of giving minorities an edge when it came to the awarding of radio and television broadcast licenses, according to documents found at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library in Texas and provided by a source opposed to his confirmation as chief justice.
The FCC's policy was adopted at the urging of Congress, and the solicitor general's office usually defends agencies such as the FCC against legal challenges. But a Jan. 9, 1990, handwritten memo found in the files of Associate White House Counsel Fred Nelson suggested that Roberts was behind the office's refusal to do so. "John Roberts at SG handling. Reluctant to defend commission's position," the memo said.
The case had the potential to sweep aside similar minority preference programs throughout the federal government. Three days later, the chairman of the FCC wrote to then-Attorney General Richard L. Thornburgh, asking that he persuade the solicitor general's office to reconsider. Because Starr had recused himself, Roberts was acting as solicitor general. His view prevailed in the administration, and he went on to argue that the FCC's policy violated the 14th Amendment's equal-protection clause because it unfairly discriminated based on race.
The Supreme Court did not agree, ruling 5 to 4 against him; five years later, however, the high court reversed course in another case that invalidated many minority contracting programs.
Unlike internal documents in the solicitor general's office, the memos in the FCC case come from files outside that office that are subject to public records law. Because the solicitor general files are not subject to the same laws, Roberts's reasoning on this and many other cases remains unknown, and it is impossible to know how vigorously he pressed his own views.
Ralph G. Neas, president of the People for the American Way Foundation, which opposes Roberts's nomination, said the FCC documents "underscore the need for the Bush administration to stop stonewalling and turn over the solicitor general's memos."
The solicitor general is often known as "the 10th justice" because the office so frequently argues before the Supreme Court, representing government agencies and intervening in cases in which the federal government has an interest. Roberts's position as principal deputy solicitor general was the highest appointment he held before he was nominated to his current post as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
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In 1990, the FCC asked the first Bush administration to defend a policy aimed at encouraging more minority ownership of broadcast stations. It is one of 16 cases that Democrats are demanding to learn more about as they prepare for next week's confirmation hearings.
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Rehnquist Eulogies Look Beyond Bench
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President Bush led official Washington yesterday in remembrance of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist at a funeral service that offered an unusual personal glimpse of a man whose 33-year Supreme Court tenure made him one of the more consequential figures in U.S. judicial history.
"Many will never forget the sight of this man, weakened by illness, rising to his full height and saying, 'Raise your right hand, Mr. President, and repeat after me,' " Bush said, referring to Rehnquist's appearance at Bush's swearing-in on Jan. 20, three months after the chief justice first learned that he had thyroid cancer. Rehnquist died at 80 on Saturday.
The service took place at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Northwest Washington, and Rehnquist was later laid to rest in a private burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
His friend of more than five decades, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, spoke admiringly of his leadership as chief justice, after he was elevated to that job by President Reagan in 1986. "He never twisted arms to get a vote on a case," she said. Instead, like the expert horsemen on the ranch where she grew up, "he guided us with loose reins and used the spurs only rarely."
For the most part, however, the chief justice's official persona was not the focus of the two-hour service, which was attended not only by the president and first lady Laura Bush but also by Vice President Cheney and his wife, Lynne, all eight associate justices of the court, the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate, federal judges, dozens of the chief justice's former law clerks, and members of his Lutheran congregation.
Hardly any mention was made of the content of the many opinions he wrote on the court, or of the deep and often controversial impact on the law he had during a Supreme Court tenure that began with his nomination as an associate justice by President Richard M. Nixon in 1971.
Rather, amid frequent laughter, speaker after speaker recalled the chief justice's rich personal and family life, a life that was, as they told it, free of conflict but full of jokes, family vacations and parlor games.
What emerged from the eulogies was a kind of parallel biography separate and distinct from his amply documented official record -- and much different from the sometimes stern face he showed while running oral arguments at the court. The service made it plain that Rehnquist had left as much of an impact on his loved ones as he did on the country, if not more.
Rehnquist, Bush said, "was devoted to his public duties but not consumed by them."
"To say that family came first with my Dad is to say there was competition. There wasn't," said Nancy Spears, his daughter.
Among the new insights was the fact that Rehnquist, music lover, first suspected his illness when he found that he couldn't sing hymns at church, according to the Rev. George W. Evans Jr., pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in McLean, where Rehnquist attended services for many years.
Evans also said in his sermon that as recently as "a week ago Monday" Rehnquist was still intending to return to the court for the term that begins Oct. 3.
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President Bush led official Washington yesterday in remembrance of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist at a funeral service that offered an unusual personal glimpse of a man whose 33-year Supreme Court tenure made him one of the more consequential figures in U.S. judicial history.
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Planning for Next Time
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Ask any hurricane expert, any disaster planner. Or ask anyone who knows about evacuations and he'll tell you: There are always some people who stay behind. During Hurricane Elena in 1985, 10 percent of the inhabitants of the washed-out coastal barrier islands refused to leave, despite repeated warnings and despite their relative wealth. They stayed because they had lived through hurricanes before; because they believed, incorrectly, that their homes were impervious; and because -- surprisingly often -- they were worried about their pets.
Quite a few also stayed because they "didn't hear" the warnings to leave. Jay Baker of Florida State University found after Hurricane Charley last year that at least half of the people who stayed weren't aware that they were supposed to leave, despite media coverage and a mandatory evacuation order. Another researcher, Carnot Nelson of the University of South Florida, found that after Hurricane Elena in 1985, people were far more likely to leave if they had heard an evacuation order from an actual person, walking through their neighborhood or knocking at their door. Still another, Mike Lindell of Texas A&M, thinks the best measures are even more dramatic. He tells, approvingly, the story of one local official who goes through neighborhoods likely to be hit by a hurricane and asks those refusing to leave to fill out a toe tag, the better to identify their bodies after the storm.
In New Orleans, as we now know, the numbers who didn't evacuate were multiplied dramatically by the city's unusual immobility: Some 57,000 households in Orleans Parish did not own a car. A University of New Orleans study published in July noted that only 48 percent of the inhabitants of Orleans Parish had a definite evacuation plan. Susan Howell, one of the study's authors, says emergency managers knew of this immobile population and had discussed them, inconclusively: "There was no comprehensive plan to get them out." The city made no provision either for the people who wouldn't leave or for the people who couldn't. On the day before the storm, the "mandatory evacuation" was announced over the radio -- but there were no officials delivering a personal message, let alone distributing toe tags. The interstates out of New Orleans were turned into one-way roads -- but there were no buses, trains or ships for those who couldn't drive. The city initially won praise for evacuating some 80 percent of 1.4 million area residents, but no provision -- in the form of rations, water bottles, security -- was made for the 25,000 people who showed up, predictably, at the Superdome, the city's designated "shelter of last resort."
This failure is worth remembering and retelling, not only to better understand what happened last week but also because it goes to the heart of what's wrong with all of our "preparedness" exercises: Emergency planning, much like academic economics, too often assumes that human beings will behave in a rational manner, that they do what they are told, and that they are more or less middle class. Go to the Department of Homeland Security's Web site at http://www.ready.gov , and you'll find lots of useful advice ("If you have a car, keep a half tank of gas in it at all times") geared almost exclusively toward people who are going to leave town anyway. The D.C. Emergency Management Agency's Web site tells you, among other things, to "take photographs or videotapes of your belongings," and advises that "at least one telephone in your home should be a regular touchtone device." It doesn't say what to do if you don't own a telephone -- although in that case, you won't be reading anything online anyway.
If we have learned one thing from the Katrina experience, it is that all this advice must now be rewritten, and that information must be redirected at the immobile, the unwilling and the distrustful. This means rethinking not just the preparedness Web sites but the whole subject of disaster planning. After all, the 125,000 people who didn't leave New Orleans are the same 125,000 who won't get vaccinated in the face of a mass epidemic, who won't stay inside in the event of a chemical attack and who won't do what they are told after a "dirty bomb" is detonated outside the White House. They are the same 125,000 people who will always require food, water and, above all, security when everyone else has fled.
I doubt many disaster planners have thought much about this population. As of Friday, a spokesman for the D.C. Emergency Management Agency could not say how many District households don't own a car. From now on, that is a number that should be known to every person who works in that department, and to every emergency planner across the country. That is the bare minimum number of people who will always be left behind, and who will always be the public's responsibility. It's time to move them from the periphery of emergency planning and toward the center.
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Post-Katrina disaster planning must to focus on helping those who can't help themselves -- the ones who will require food, water and security when everyone else has fled.
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A Bigger Test Than Roberts
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The tests for John Roberts do not really change with the decision by President Bush to nominate him as chief justice of the Supreme Court, rather than as a replacement for Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. If anything, it makes Roberts easier to confirm, while increasing the stakes on the second vacancy Bush now has to fill.
The personal qualities that would have assured Roberts of a warm welcome from his colleagues on the bench -- his high intellect, work ethic, good humor and friendliness -- will serve him well as the court's presiding officer.
It is true that at 50, he is far younger than most of the justices and far junior to them as a writer of opinions, with only two years of appeals court service behind him. But he has demonstrated his literary craftsmanship in the memos from his years in the Justice Department and the White House counsel's office. The members of the court know him favorably from his many appearances as an advocate. And he is skilled enough in human relationships to show respect for his elders.
He also seems well equipped for the public role a chief justice plays as the personification of the judiciary. The man he would succeed, William Rehnquist, contributed mightily to the institution with his quiet, persistent affirmation of the independence and integrity of judges. Whether the criticism of the courts came from the left or the right, Rehnquist insisted that the judiciary be treated with respect -- and Roberts, who was his clerk and is his admirer, seems certain to maintain that vital tradition.
The relevant questions for the Senate focus entirely on his view of the Constitution and the role of the courts. Everything we know about Roberts suggests that he will be an advocate of judicial restraint, hewing closely to precedent and to a narrow interpretation of federal authority. Because of the close proximity of his views to those of Rehnquist, a court headed by Roberts is likely to function in the same centrist-conservative dimension as the Supreme Court has in recent years.
That probably spells some frustration for advocates of certain liberal causes who have come to depend on the courts to advance their agendas beyond what they can achieve at the moment in the political process. But liberals, like conservatives, need to know that lasting changes in this country must be ratified by public opinion, and the public speaks most clearly through its elected officials.
Whether an actual threat develops to established standards -- to abortion, civil liberties, civil rights, affirmative action, gender equality, environmental protections, or the separation of church and state -- probably depends on the choice Bush makes for O'Connor's replacement and Senate action on that nomination.
Because she was the swing vote on so many of these issues, where Rehnquist often found himself in dissent, it is O'Connor's seat that now provides Bush with his most significant choice.
He will be under pressure from the right wing to name someone as conservative as Roberts, or more so, to the court. Those groups that want to reverse or curtail Roe v. Wade , end affirmative action in college admissions and hiring, limit federal environmental regulation, or restore prayer to public schools and allow the public display of the Ten Commandments can sniff a possible breakthrough.
But you have to wonder how many of those issues the political side of the White House really wants to reopen to debate. Republicans are on the defensive about the war in Iraq, the handling of Hurricane Katrina, Social Security, immigration, health care and the budget. Do they really want to see a Bush-remade Supreme Court enable Democrats to blame the GOP for reversing course on abortion, civil rights and the environment?
Bush's political advisers will be conscious not only of the dangers of an ideological battle over these issues but also of the advantages of filling the O'Connor vacancy with a woman or a Hispanic judge.
Given the emphasis that Karl Rove and Bush himself have placed on courting Latino voters, it would be surprising if the president rebuffed that constituency by passing up for a second time the possibility of naming the first-ever Hispanic justice.
Many Democrats privately are convinced that Bush will choose not to miss that opportunity. They will breathe a sigh of relief if he so chooses, and happily go to war if he makes an ideological choice.
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Hiding Bodies Won't Hide the Truth
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Cadavers have a way of raising questions.
When people see them, they wonder, how did they get dead?
When a lot of people see a lot of dead bodies, politicians begin thinking of damage control.
Echoing a Defense Department policy banning the photographing of flag-draped coffins of American troops, representatives from the much-maligned Federal Emergency Management Agency said on Tuesday that it didn't want journalists to accompany rescue boats as they went out to search for storm victims, because "the recovery of the victims is being treated with dignity and the utmost respect." An agency spokeswoman told Reuters, "We have requested that no photographs of the deceased be made by the media."
Whatever the objective, those pesky questions about accountability are not going away. And a full-scale political storm over the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina continued to rage around the White House this week, despite the best efforts of the president's supporters to deflect criticism by tagging it as partisan--even though many of the critics are themselves Republicans.
"There were two disasters last week: first, the natural disaster, and second, the man-made disaster, the disaster made by mistakes made by FEMA," House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters this week.
And her Senate counterpart, Harry Reid (D-Nev.) raised the question, "How much time did the president spend dealing with this emerging crisis while he was on vacation?"
Both have demanded a wide-ranging investigation of the response to Katrina.
"While countless Americans are pulling together to lend a helping hand, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are pointing fingers in a shameless effort to tear us apart," Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman said in a statement on Wednesday.
But Mehlman had no admonitions for the many Republicans who've urged accountability and demanded answers for the slow response to Katrina.
The president's defenders have now perfected their public relations talking points: The public doesn't blame Bush. Any journalist, pundit or politician who criticizes the president is out of touch with the mainstream. Anyone who has the audacity to demand accountability is just a big old partisan meannie.
Making the rounds on the morning news shows, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), a presumptive candidate for president in 2008, repeatedly made the point that "the buck stops at the federal government." In another breath, she insisted, "I'm not interested in pointing fingers; I'm interesting in getting answers."
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Cadavers have a way of raising questions. When people see them, they wonder, how did they get dead? When a lot of people see a lot of dead bodies, politicians begin thinking of damage control.
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Clinton Draws Heat in Role Of a Conspicuous Critic
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The raging debate over what happened after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast has provided Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) an opportunity to emerge as a national spokeswoman for the Democratic Party, stirring Republican criticism that she and other Democrats are seeking political gain at a moment of national crisis.
Clinton has long maintained that she is focused solely on serving the interests of her New York constituents. But she was on all three network morning shows yesterday to promote her call for returning the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to independent status, and for creating an independent commission to investigate what went wrong when the storm hit and the levees gave way in New Orleans.
Her high-profile role, which Republicans say is tinged with 2008 presidential politics, has created a potentially sensitive situation for her husband, former president Bill Clinton. President Bush has tapped him to join with former president George H.W. Bush in reprising the role they played last winter raising private money for Asian tsunami victims. Clinton does not want to jeopardize what has become both a working relationship and a friendship with the elder Bush.
But even the former president, in a more gentle way, has raised questions about the federal government's response in what has rapidly become an quarrel between the Clinton and Bush administrations over disaster relief and preparedness, and the role of government. Privately, Clinton has been incredulous over what he regards as the administration's failure to grasp quickly the perilous situation materializing in New Orleans, particularly for poor African Americans.
Other Democrats, lead by Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) have been far more strident than the Clintons -- so much so that both Republican and Democratic strategists said yesterday the opposition party is in danger of overplaying its hand. The harsh rhetoric, the strategists said, could create a backlash among the public and engender sympathy for a president who has been on the defensive much of the past week.
Pelosi yesterday described Bush as "oblivious, in denial, dangerous" to problems in and around New Orleans, and to what she said were his administration's failures in their response. Reid urged a Senate investigating committee to probe whether Bush's out-of-town vacation contributed to what has been judged as a slow response by the federal government.
Lending further evidence that Katrina is rapidly becoming a war between the parties, the political action committee of MoveOn.org announced a public rally across from the White House this afternoon. It is to include evacuees demanding the president "acknowledge that budget cuts and indifference by his administration led to the disaster in New Orleans and along the Mississippi Gulf Coast."
Hillary Clinton has no formal role as a designated spokeswoman on the disaster, but by virtue of her celebrity status and her presumed presidential ambitions, she attracts attention when she chooses to speak out.
Both she and her husband began to sound public alarms last Friday during a joint appearance at the New York State Fair, but their criticism, particularly by the former first lady, has grown increasingly pointed. During a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, she accused the administration of rejecting the Clinton administration's policy giving FEMA responsibility to prepare state and local communities for disaster relief, and to lead when disasters occur.
"They do believe that people should rely on state and local response and private charities," she said. "I think that is a recipe for disaster. . . . There was nobody in charge in the federal government, and there was nobody willing to take responsibility to work with state and local officials to make sure they were prepared."
Asked on NBC's "Today Show" about criticism from Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, who accused her of seeking political gain at what he said should be a moment of national unity, she replied: "Well, you know, that's what they always do. We've been living with that kind of rhetoric for the last 4 1/2 years. . . . Every time anyone raises any kind of legitimate criticism and asks questions, they're attacked."
One Clinton adviser said the New York senator has chosen to speak out so forcefully in large part because of her longstanding opposition to the shift of FEMA into the Department of Homeland Security, and because of her concerns that an ill-prepared FEMA poses problems for her constituents in a state regarded as a prime target of terrorist attacks.
In addition, she and her husband consider the performance of FEMA under James Lee Witt, its former director and a fellow Arkansan, to be one of the true success stories of the Clinton administration. The Clintons believe the agency has been degraded under Bush.
The image of one administration pitted against another has been reinforced by the weekend decision of Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D) to hire Witt as an adviser in the relief efforts. Blanco squabbled with the White House in the first few days after Katrina struck, and Witt's arrival was widely see as a direct criticism of the administration.
Clinton allies say anger over FEMA's performance and a belief that the Bush administration has harmed the agency motivated the senator to jump into the debate. From a purely political point of view, they say, it might have been wiser to maintain a lower profile.
Having raised her visibility, she is now a clear target. "It's interesting that at a time when she could have differentiated herself from the ranks of [Democratic National Committee Chairman] Howard Dean and Nancy Pelosi and the far left ranks of the Democratic Party, she chose to join those on the front ranks of the blame game," said RNC spokesman Brian Jones. "It would have been interesting if she had shown some level of restraint."
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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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Ukraine's President Fires Cabinet
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MOSCOW, Sept. 8 -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko fired his prime minister and entire cabinet Thursday after a simmering power struggle among leaders of last year's Orange Revolution erupted into very public infighting about alleged corruption in the government's top ranks.
The president appointed Yuriy Yekhanurov, a former economics minister and regional governor, as acting prime minister, replacing the firebrand Yulia Tymoshenko, and addressed the nation in an effort to calm the worst political crisis of his young term.
The mass dismissal signaled the end of the broad coalition that led a popular revolt after fraudulent presidential elections last November and brought Yushchenko to power.
Ukraine is the largest of three former Soviet republics in which a democratic opposition has taken power in this way. Western governments have been watching it closely for evidence of whether the new leadership can maintain unity and address endemic economic and social problems inherited from the communist era.
On Thursday, Yushchenko addressed the nation after a last-ditch effort to restore unity between the Tymoshenko government and his own presidential administration.
"I knew that there were definite conflicts between those people," Yushchenko said in his televised address. "I hoped that if each of them immersed himself in work, there would not be enough time for mutual intrigues." But he concluded that the government "lost the team spirit and faith."
The dismissal was triggered by a series of resignations by top officials who charged that some of the most powerful people around Yushchenko were using their positions to enrich themselves and reneging on one of the most important promises of last December's revolt, the eradication of endemic graft.
On Saturday, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Yushchenko's chief of staff, accused by name Petro Poroshenko, head of the Defense and Security Council, and Olexander Tretyakov, a senior presidential adviser, of "cynically carrying out their plan to use government posts to their own ends."
"Corruption is now even worse than before," said Zinchenko, announcing his resignation on television in a live nationwide broadcast.
As Zinchenko, a chief architect of the revolt, spoke, Poroshenko, a confectionary and media magnate who was a key financier of the Orange Revolution, stood scowling at the back of the room. Poroshenko moved to the podium when Zinchenko finished to angrily deny the accusations before reporters who were mesmerized by the verbal shootout.
"During my time in government, I did not become one penny richer or gain one share," said Poroshenko, whose candy factories have earned him the nickname Chocolate King in Ukraine. "I ask for one concrete fact that proves the accusations here today."
Zinchenko's resignation was followed Thursday morning by the departure of Deputy Prime Minister Mykola Tomenko. "I don't want to carry responsibility for people who have created a system of corruption," Tomenko said. "Today the president does not know what's going on in the country."
Poroshenko also resigned Thursday before Yushchenko dismissed the government.
Political analysts said the crisis stemmed in large part from the political enmity between Poroshenko and the now dismissed prime minister, Tymoshenko, who is one of the country's most charismatic leaders. Last year, she galvanized huge crowds on Kiev's Independence Square, the epicenter of the mass demonstrations that brought Yushchenko to power.
Poroshenko also aspired to the prime ministership. Igor Koliushko, head of the Center of Political and Legal Reform in Kiev, said in an interview that he used the security council chaired by the president to form "an alternative government" that was in constant conflict with Tymoshenko's cabinet.
"They tried constantly to change the decisions of the constitutional government," Koliushko said. "The split reached such a pitch that they couldn't possibly be together anymore."
Whatever the truth of the allegations of corruption, the public airing of such accusations was designed to force other divisions to a climax, analysts said. Disagreement over how to investigate alleged corruption in past privatizations of state industries is a central issue.
Yuschenko's camp favors a relatively limited look, while Tymoshenko's wants a deep probe.
Svitlana Kononchuk, head of political programs at the Ukrainian Center for Independent Political Research, said Yushchenko must accept some blame for the crisis.
"The war between Tymoshenko and Poroshenko has lasted for seven months," Kononchuk said. "Yushchenko gave a lot of freedom to his partners. He assumed that these people were professionals, efficient, and they understood the importance of the situation which Ukraine found itself in. Yushchenko hasn't become a politician yet. He imagined himself a symbol, not a manager."
Yushchenko, however, said Thursday that "the president cannot be a nanny for them."
A spokesman for Tymoshenko refused to comment on the cabinet's dismissal, but a Ukranian news agency, quoting unnamed government sources, said that the prime minister felt betrayed and was likely to seek a return to office after the next election. After that vote, the prime minister and cabinet will be chosen by parliament rather than the president, as they currently are. The powers of the prime minister will also increase at the expense of the president.
The crisis is likely to deepen public disillusionment with the government's failure to deliver quickly on some of the basic promises of the Orange Revolution, particularly rapid economic improvement. An opinion poll conducted last month found that 53 percent of respondents believed Ukraine was on the wrong path, up from 30 percent in April.
Yushchenko was also tarnished by recent accusations that his 19-year-old son was leading a lifestyle far beyond his apparent means. A Ukrainian Web site reported that Andriy Yushchenko, a student, was driving a high-end BMW, had a luxury $30,000 cell phone and lavished cash on restaurants and other locations around the capital. To the fury of many people in Ukraine, he also registered as trademarks the symbols of the Orange Revolution.
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MOSCOW, Sept. 8 -- Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko fired his prime minister and entire cabinet Thursday after a simmering power struggle among leaders of last year's Orange Revolution erupted into very public infighting about alleged corruption in the government's top ranks.
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DeLay PAC Is Indicted For Illegal Donations
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A grand jury in Texas indicted yesterday a state political action committee organized by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) for accepting $120,000 in allegedly illegal corporate campaign contributions shortly before and after the 2002 elections that helped Republicans cement their control of the House of Representatives.
The indictment follows a lengthy investigation in Austin that previously had targeted the defunct political action committee's executive director, John Colyandro. He was indicted last year for accepting illegal corporate donations and for illegally laundering $190,000 in corporate funds through the Republican National State Elections Committee that later wound up in the hands of Texas Republican candidates.
The criminal charges are based on a Texas election law, akin to rules in 17 other states, that strictly bars political contributions from corporations for election purposes. But according to evidence submitted in a related civil trial, the committee, Texans for a Republican Majority (TRMPAC), raised and spent at least $523,000 in corporate funds -- most of which were not reported to state election officials.
The funds paid for surveys, mailings, receptions, candidate investigations and probes of Democratic candidates that helped Republicans gain control of the Texas House for the first time in 130 years, and enabled them to redraw the state's congressional districts in 2003 in such a way that Texas voters elected five more Republicans to Congress in 2004.
DeLay, who was a member of the committee's advisory board, signed fundraising solicitations and participated in at least one conference call to discuss the committee's plans, was not named in the indictment. He also has not been publicly identified as a target of the continuing investigation by Travis County District Attorney Ronald Earle.
DeLay spokesman Kevin Madden responded to the indictment with a written statement saying that it "is limited to a political organization and does not affect Mr. DeLay."
Madden also disclosed for the first time that DeLay had "voluntarily" talked to Earle's office about the investigation last month, and that DeLay said then that his involvement in the committee's activities was "limited to serving on the political action committee's advisory board along with other elected Texas officials and . . . appearing at fundraising events."
Madden said DeLay "assured the district attorney's office that he was not involved in the day-to-day operations of TRMPAC, and to his knowledge all activities were properly reviewed and approved by lawyers" for the committee.
When asked yesterday about DeLay, however, Earle said at a news conference that he was hampered in bringing charges by a provision of the election law that gives him direct authority only over residents of Travis County. He has separately said he does not face that limitation with respect to bringing new charges under the state money-laundering statute.
DeLay's residence is in Fort Bend County, where the prosecutor is an elected Republican, John F. Healey Jr. If Earle found evidence of criminal wrongdoing by DeLay under the election statute, he could only pass on the information to Healey with a recommendation that he pursue the matter.
Earle has not done so, several sources said yesterday, but has until the end of this month to decide the matter under a three-year statute of limitations.
The grand jury singled out two contributions that it said the committee illegally accepted -- a $20,000 contribution from AT&T Corp. on Nov. 18, 2002, and a $100,000 contribution from the Alliance for Quality Nursing Home Care Inc. on Oct. 24, 2002. The latter donation generated considerable controversy in Texas political circles after local newspapers reported that state Rep. Tom Craddick accepted it in a white envelope from the head of a large Texas nursing home chain during a meeting at a Houston restaurant.
Craddick's attorney, Roy Q. Minton, said that Craddick -- who was later elected speaker of the House and in that role oversaw the redrawing of congressional districts -- immediately passed the check along to TRMPAC. "Just because the guy happens to be speaker of the House does not mean it's against the law," Minton said.
Terry Scarborough, an attorney for TRMPAC before it formally went out of business this summer, declined to comment on the committee's indictment. Four additional indictments by the grand jury separately accused the Texas Association of Business with accepting additional illegal corporate funds and coordinating its expenditure with TRMPAC. Attorneys for the association have denied wrongdoing.
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A grand jury in Texas indicted yesterday a state political action committee organized by House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) for accepting $120,000 in allegedly illegal corporate campaign contributions shortly before and after the 2002 elections that helped Republicans cement their control of...
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A City's Heritage, Reflected at Home
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Whatever sort of new New Orleans emerges from the aftermath of last week's catastrophic flooding, it seems likely that the architectural core of old New Orleans -- the part of the city familiar to most visitors -- will remain intact.
But as for whole neighborhoods of houses that don't show up in guidebooks, but that do retain the affection of locals and historians who see them as inextricable components of New Orleans culture, it's anyone's guess.
It now appears that the French Quarter and the Garden District were spared the kind of wholesale devastation visited upon other areas. Both are fortunate to sit relatively high on the lip of this basin city that rests below sea level. Nevertheless, they almost certainly will be among the first to receive the ministrations of architectural preservationists. As the city's two most famous and visited neighborhoods, theirs are the icons we automatically summon whenever we imagine the charms of the Big Easy.
At some point, tour buses will resume their slow creep past novelist Anne Rice's Greek Revival mansion in the Garden District. Tipsy conventioneers will once more stare up admiringly, if dizzily, at the French Quarter's famed wrought-iron balconies. And gaggles of elementary school students will again file into the Old Ursuline Convent on Chartres Street; dating from the mid-18th century, it's the oldest building in the Mississippi Valley.
But what's to become of the modest Creole cottages of Faubourg Marigny, downriver from the French Quarter? Or the "shotguns" and "camelbacks" scattered throughout neighborhoods such as Faubourg Tremé, Bucktown and Bywater?
The city's vernacular architecture, says William R. Mitchell Jr., is richly varied and widely distributed, and of vital significance to its overall architectural legacy. Mitchell, chairman and president of the Atlanta-based Southern Architecture Foundation and author of "Classic New Orleans," a 1993 book that explored the city's identity through its buildings, knows New Orleans as a collection of precincts, each with a distinct flavor and filled with unique architectural delights.
"By no means is New Orleans just two neighborhoods, the Garden District and the French Quarter," says Mitchell. He recalls examples of important architecture throughout the city -- houses off the tourist track that now will have to be carefully and expensively restored, assuming that they haven't been utterly annihilated by treacherous winds and flooding.
"In the Esplanade Ridge district, for example, there's the Mayor James Pitot house -- a fabulous French Colonial-style plantation house. I remember an unusual five-sided Creole cottage in Faubourg Marigny, built that way to conform to the wedge-shaped lot. Classic New Orleans consists of many historic neighborhoods: Marigny, Bywater, Esplanade Ridge, Carrollton -- I could go on and on. And at this point we just don't know how much has been threatened."
Of the different vernacular house styles, the most well-known is probably the shotgun: a long one-story house, often with a covered porch, which is entered at the gable end and is typically only as wide as its widest room. The camelback is simply a shotgun to which a second story has been added over the rear. The Creole cottage, another characteristic style, was borrowed from Caribbean architecture. From the time they first started appearing in the 19th century, all three were popular among the city's working classes, including freed slaves and their descendants.
"The flavor and physical setting of the city's culture is locked up in the vernacular wooden houses of the 19th century," says S. Frederick Starr, a historian and international affairs specialist at Johns Hopkins University who has written four books about New Orleans culture and architecture. "And I fear for them now. These are fragile buildings."
With special regret, he notes that the West End, an area of town just below Lake Pontchartrain's western curve, was among the hardest hit. "At the turn of the 20th century, it was a great entertainment district: a center of dancing, socializing and jazz. Now the West End is gone. And it was something that was very colorful."
Jonathan Fricker, director of the Louisiana Division of Historic Preservation, expresses hope that many of New Orleans's older houses, built on piers so that they rest several feet above the grade, may turn out to have stood up better than expected, once the final damage tallies are in.
"Also, many of these old wooden houses are cut from virgin timber, which is fairly resistant to rot and insect damage," Fricker adds. "That type of wood is what they were building with a hundred, 200 years ago. It's of a much better quality than what you can get today in the lumber yard."
But Starr, whose own 1826 West Indian-style plantation house in the Bywater neighborhood was completely underwater at one point after the flood, is less optimistic. "The fact that they're built on props is fine -- unless they start floating off their props," he says. "Remember, there was a hurricane before there was a flood. And these houses took a lot of hits in the wind."
Although he agrees with Fricker that houses of wood, especially super-resilient cypress wood, might survive, he's less sanguine about houses built from pine, which is more vulnerable to rot and insects. And he is especially doubtful about the prospects for houses built from the local "batture" brick.
"They dug into the bank of the lake for the clay. It's beautiful, but it crumbles and dissolves. And worst of all, if it's sitting in a foot of water, batture brick will transmit that water right up to the top of the wall through capillary action."
What worries Starr most, he says, is that momentum within the city government over the past several years has been toward new development, not preservation. "Given that [city officials] have done nothing for the preservation cause, and indeed have done a lot of damage to it, [are they] going to seize on this as an opportunity for mass demolition, in order to build something akin to Houston?"
Starr says that his greatest fear is that the city's political powers will "clean-sweep whole neighborhoods, in the name of 'health' and 'safety' and 'a great future' and all that, and end up doing what Ceausescu did to Bucharest. And then it will be gone."
From a preservation standpoint, he says, "the fate of the city's mass of wooden vernacular architecture is the key policy challenge for the next period. Do you put in place programs to salvage and renovate it? Or do you start demolishing it in the name of creating some faceless, suburban type of city?"
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Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland home and garden news/headlines, including build/fix and furnishing/design, garden/patio tips. Resources and coupons for homes and gardens, DC, MD, VA contacts. Guides for organizing, cleaning, planting and caring.
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It's a Web Buying Spree for Big Media
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Sharon Keating, a lawyer in New Orleans, grabbed her laptop as she fled Hurricane Katrina with her family in a three-car caravan. For the past 11 days, Keating has been blogging about her evacuation on the home page of About.com, a Web site owned by the New York Times Co.
Tiny details brought her account to life, such as her husband waking in a hotel and saying, "I don't own a pair of socks," and her own feelings of guilt that she couldn't stop thinking about things she left behind, including the afghan her grandmother made for her fifth birthday.
Keating is one of 500 "guides" paid to write on special-interest topics for About.com, one of the Internet's most heavily trafficked sites even though it is not well known. She usually writes a tourist guide to New Orleans, but her part-time hobby suddenly became newsy, emotional and much more widely read after Katrina devastated the city where she was born and raised.
About.com is among the many Web properties that traditional media companies have snapped up this year as they scramble to cash in on the second big Internet advertising boom. While Internet ads claim a small slice of the overall ad pie -- generating not quite $10 billion in the United States last year, less than 5 percent of all ad revenue -- the online dollars grew more than 30 percent, much faster than off-line. In response, traditional media companies have been making some startling moves.
The New York Times Co. in March paid $410 million for About.com, a seemingly disjointed collection of articles covering thousands of topics. Perhaps more surprising was the $580 million cash purchase that News Corp. announced in July of MySpace.com, another hodgepodge with more traffic than name recognition.
Three newspaper chains jointly paid $64 million for a stake in online news aggregator Topix.net, while Dow Jones & Co. bought financial site MarketWatch.com for more than $520 million and The Washington Post Co. picked up online magazine Slate for an undisclosed sum.
All of which instills deja vu in folks who follow Internet media closely. Who could forget how big media's last Internet binge ended, with Time Warner's disastrous merger with American Online? That was five years ago, just before Internet advertising tanked.
My point is not that another stock market crash lurks but that there are parallels between the two sprees. The obvious one is the fear that traditional media companies have of missing the Internet ad boat, leading some to seemingly overpay for relatively obscure Web properties. To be fair, one key difference is that today's takeover targets have real revenue and lower expenses.
About.com, for example, is an eight-year-old Web oddity with a rocky past.
It had 500 employees back in 2000 when it was sold to print magazine conglomerate Primedia for roughly $700 million in stock. Primedia had little luck with its plan to marry About to its print magazines, and by the time it unloaded the site this year, its full-time staff had dwindled to fewer than 100.
That translates to modest expenses for a site that generated roughly $40 million in revenue last year. The Times would not disclose how much it pays guides, but the rate is based on traffic and does not appear to be high (Keating said she has been earning slightly more than $500 a month).
The Times, like many media firms, is betting that original content will continue to be valuable online and that search engines won't get all the entire Internet advertising. It also is betting that niche content, in particular, will increase in value as search engines offer new ways for people to find it.
Unlike a typical news site, for example, fewer than 5 percent of About's visitors enter through its home page, according to chief executive Scott Meyer. The vast majority arrive via search engines, he said. "They may start with a search, but they find what they are looking for on About. Our tag line is, 'We provide practical solutions to everyday problems.' "
Meyer cited five goals for About -- building name recognition, improving content quality, enhancing site design, expanding revenue and boosting traffic to the larger Times network of Web sites. He hopes to add 50 guides and double About's editorial staff to 12, while coordinating ad sales more closely with the Times.
Skeptics question whether About's many static articles can generate much more in the way of ad revenue. But Keating's remarkable blogging over the past week -- along with the work of other guides who jumped in and wrote about Katrina's impact, too -- convinced me that the site has the potential to become more dynamic.
Leslie Walker's e-mail address iswalkerl@washpost.com.
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While Internet ads claim a small slice of the overall ad pie, the online dollars grew more than 30 percent last year, much faster than off-line. In response, traditional media companies have been making some startling moves.
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Compelling Collisions in 'Lost' and 'Crash'
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"Crash" (Rated R; List price: $28.98)Release Date: Sept. 6
Collisions lie at the core of two of this week's major DVD releases: the first season of TV's "Lost" and Paul Haggis's critically acclaimed film "Crash." Both deal with accidents -- in "Lost," a plane wreck; in "Crash," a series of vehicular smashups and racial conflicts. Both deliver completely compelling viewing; but DVD-wise, only one provides a complete package absolutely worth purchasing.
That would be "Lost," which expands on all the suspense and mystery of the series with scads of extra features. For those who haven't joined the cult of Sawyer-and-Sayid worshipers, the seven-disc set provides an excellent introduction to this cast of appealing survivors, none of whom (thankfully) bears any resemblance to Richard Hatch.
With panoramic views of the tropical island setting and convincing special effects, "Lost" has a more cinematic feel than most TV shows. That's highly apparent on DVD: Presented in widescreen format, the picture looks practically as sharp as it does when ABC broadcasts it in high-definition.
Fans of "Lost" will want to revisit the episodes prior to the second season's premiere on Sept. 21 if only to again comb each scene for clues to certain unanswered questions. (Seriously, what is the deal with that hatch?) But they also will relish the opportunity to dig into the extras, which are superb, except for the sometimes superfluous commentary tracks.
Disc seven is devoted to nothing but bonus features, including several behind-the-scenes featurettes, 13 cast audition tapes, a half-hour look at the making of the pilot, 13 deleted scenes, bloopers and an excerpt from a panel discussion at the Museum of Television & Radio. One complaint: None of the extras delves into the show's numerology, which has become the source of much fan fascination. Then again, that's what The "Lost" Numbers Blog is for.
The "Lost" crew -- including creator J.J. Abrams, who also gave birth to TV's "Alias" -- clearly put a lot of thought into what should be included in this collection. It shows, and it's why "Lost," unlike many TV shows, winds up with a DVD that matches the quality of the series itself.
Unfortunately, "Crash," a terrific film, comes to DVD with a scarcity of bonus features. An indie with a high-caliber cast, the movie's small budget probably didn't allow for the creation of in-depth DVD peeks into the filmmaking process. Instead, the disc includes one short, behind-the-scenes featurette and a commentary track by writer-director Haggis, producer-co-writer Bobby Moresco and producer-star Don Cheadle. The three spend much of their time complimenting the fine performances by the actors. Of course, they're right: Matt Dillon does "deliver big time" and Ryan Phillippe is "great in this." But it's not particularly enlightening to hear. Of greater interest are the other tidbits Haggis mentions, like the fact that "Crash" was shot in just 36 days, or that the part played so commandingly by Terence Howard was originally written for Forest Whitaker.
With its multifaceted characters and honest look at race relations in America, "Crash" is a must-see movie. But those who feel they must purchase the DVD may want to hold off. If it garners a few Academy Award nominations -- and early buzz indicates that it will -- a special edition might very well come to pass.
Best 'Lost' Airplane Bonus Points: The featurette "Designing a Disaster" shares fascinating details about doomed Oceanic Air Flight 815, re-created for the show with a retired Lockheed L1011 that had to be taken apart, flown to the set in Oahu and reassembled to create a crash site. If that aviation information doesn't fascinate, "Welcome to Oahu: The Making of the Pilot" goes a step further by revealing that pieces of the wreckage were used as instruments that can be heard, faintly, during the show's musical score. Now that's recycling.
Lost 'Lost' Bonus Point: I'm sure there are more Easter eggs buried in this massive set. But so far, I've only unearthed one: Click on the words "Disc 7" on the bonus features disc and you can see an alternate opening to the show.
Also New on DVD This Week: "Racing Stripes" and "Toy Story: Tenth Anniversary Edition."
Coming in Next Week's Bonus Points: A review of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."
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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Blogs Provide Storm Evacuees With Neighborhood-Specific News
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As the world's news media show the big picture of the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina, some Web sites are finding ways to provide specific information to those hungry for details about their homes and local landmarks.
Brian Oberkirch's Web log ( http://slidell.weblogswork.com ) has become such an outlet, filled with dispatches and photos from people who ventured back into Slidell, a community four miles from the Louisiana coast he and thousands of others evacuated before Katrina blew through.
"I was able to get to my apt at the Anchorage Sat 09/03/05," said one message posted yesterday. "Came in thru Eden Isles off Hwy 11 -- the beautiful white anchor at entrance is covered in about 7 ft of debris and there is only a one-lane path to enter/exit until over the little bridge."
Evacuees who didn't have Internet or phone access just after the Aug. 29 hurricane are slowly regaining the ability to check in on the familiar places they left behind. They report on what happened to the local school, grocery store, church or neighbor's home. Some online dispatches include digital photos from the scene, and some feature maps superimposed on recent aerial photos of the area, such as those available on Google Earth. The Internet continues to teem with pleas for information about missing children, family members and friends.
"People got scattered and are using it as a virtual rally point," Ernest Svenson, a New Orleans lawyer who evacuated to Houston with his family after the storm, said of the blog he started three years ago ( http://www.ernietheattorney.net ). He's received trickles of e-mails from friends and co-workers who've been able to survey their neighborhoods and has posted them.
Initially, with no access to phone or Internet service, Svenson sent text messages to a friend in Florida who posted them on the site. The availability of the Internet on the day of the storm and just afterward plummeted, according to ComScore Networks, a company that tracks Internet traffic. Online usage in New Orleans dropped by 80 percent the day of the storm and 90 percent the day after. Similarly, in the Biloxi-Gulfport area of Mississippi, Internet traffic fell by more than 75 percent on Aug. 29 and below reportable levels the following day.
On Monday, with limited access to the Internet, Svenson posted parts of an e-mail from a lawyer friend who'd gone back to New Orleans: "The flooding starts about a block past Feret to Claiborne. Down at Napoleon it starts at Pascale's M. I drove in and drove down st. charles all the way to Poydras. The D-Day Museum, Ogden Center, CAC -- are all basically unscathed. There's flooding every where else."
That prompted a plea for more information: "I am not clear about where exactly you said the flooding starts on Napoleon Ave. At Freret, or after if you are headed down to Claiborne? I ask because my boyfriend and I live in a house right at the corner of Freret on Napoleon, on the downtown side (on the right if you are headed up toward Claiborne). We are extremely frustrated that we cannot find any info on the state of our home."
The Sun Herald newspaper in Biloxi, Miss., allowed Internet users to "post damage reports" on its Web site, where one visitor asked, "Is the Father Ryan House B&B still standing? I looked at the aerial photos and really can't tell," and another posted photos of a Biloxi apartment building with its roof ripped off. The St. Bernard Parish government Web site posted hourly reports, including on the water levels in the neighborhood and statements from the local high school principal.
By yesterday, Oberkirch -- who posted his own report from a weekend visit to his home -- said his Slidell blog had gotten 400,000 hits in the previous six days.
One posting by another resident included a photo of a crowd lined up on a clear day in front of a building with a collapsed roof. "My dad and I went to Slidell yesterday," the accompanying message said. "As expected, the damage is everywhere . . . [We] went to Our Lady of Lourdes 10:30 mass. They held mass in the street due to the condition of the church."
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New, Thinner IPod Upstages ITunes-Ready Cell Phone
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The worst-kept secret in Silicon Valley -- the introduction of the world's first iPod-like cell phone -- finally was revealed yesterday.
The phone itself -- a Motorola device that works over the Cingular wireless network -- failed to impress critics with what should have been a resounding "wow." But Apple Computer Inc. chief executive Steve Jobs still managed to create a buzz with a little something that no one saw coming: a new iPod as thin as a pencil.
"It's one of those products that's going to cause a lot of techno lust," said Tim Bajarin, an analyst with research firm Creative Strategies, who predicted that the new player -- called the iPod Nano -- will be a "runaway hit" for Apple this holiday season.
Yet, the Nano, while smaller, more durable and less battery-hungry than the popular iPod player, doesn't fundamentally bring anything new to the company's line of music players. Each new music player introduced by Apple -- the iPod Mini, iPod Photo and iPod Shuffle -- has tried to create a new niche simply by tweaking the original iPod. Aside from its thickness, the Nano doesn't look much different from the original iPod.
The Nano, which comes in two- and four-gigabyte models for $199 and $249, respectively, will replace the Mini, Apple said. It was showcased on the home page of Apple's Web site shortly after the announcement while the phone -- named Rokr and pronounced "rocker" -- was featured lower on the page.
Clearly, the Nano took the limelight away from the Rokr.
"When you walk into an Apple store, there is a 'wow' factor," said Jane Zweig, chief executive of the Shosteck Group, a Maryland-based research and consulting firm. "My first reaction is, where is the 'wow' factor?"
Zweig, who said she owns both an iPod and an iPod Shuffle, said she was unimpressed by the design of the Rokr, while David Ottalini, an officer with local Mac user group Washington Apple Pi, had issues with the phone's capacity for music.
The phone, which is available to Cingular customers for $250 with a two-year contract, holds about 100 songs and comes equipped with built-in stereo speakers, headphones that double as a mobile phone headset and a color screen for displaying album art images.
"The way we think of this phone is, it's really an iPod Shuffle on your phone," Jobs said, referring to the company's cigarette lighter-size music players that were introduced earlier this year.
Ottalini said 100 songs wasn't much, compared with Apple's other music player products.
"I'm not sure how many customers there are for a rather pricey cell phone that can sync up with iTunes," he said.
But Apple had to do something to get into mobile phones. A growing number of cell phones are already compatible with online music programs such as Napster, Rhapsody and MSN Music. And many of those services have allowed subscribers to download music using the phone's connection to the Internet.
The Rokr does not allow over-the-air downloads of music over the phone's iTunes program. Instead, users must synchronize their phones with the iTunes program on their Macintosh or Windows computers.
The other music services are considered distant competitors to iTunes and its online music store, which has sold a half-billion songs since its debut in 2003.
But continued success requires constant change, said Paul Saffo, a director of Institute for the Future, a Silicon Valley think tank.
"Cell phone providers are desperate to differentiate themselves, and the cell phone manufacturers are desperate because cell phones have become a fashion business, not an electronics business," he said.
For Apple, getting new partners to support the iTunes music format is "hugely important," he said, noting that the company wants to establish iTunes as a standard so the recording industry will accept it universally.
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Hostages' Frustrated Families Keep Faith
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BOGOTA, Colombia -- In the apartment above his shoemaking shop, Silvio Hernandez and his wife, Magdalena, slip a worn videotape into a VCR. They watch the grainy footage through tearful eyes and listen once again to the only words they've heard from their son Elquin since he was abducted by anti-government rebels in 1998, when he was 22.
"Fortunately, I do not have children, because they would be suffering in this situation," Elquin Hernandez says on the tape, made in the rebels' jungle hideout. Flies crawl across the camera lens and swarm around him.
About 2,500 miles away, at her home in central Connecticut, Jo Rosano sometimes watches another video, taped by a journalist who was granted brief access to her son, Marc Gonsalves. A U.S. government contractor on an aerial drug surveillance mission, he was seized by rebels after his plane crash-landed in the Colombian jungle on Feb. 13, 2003.
"I want you to know I'm being strong," says Gonsalves, who was 31 when he was captured along with two other Americans on the plane. "I'm not being hurt or tortured. I'm just waiting to come home."
Hernandez and Gonsalves are among 60 hostages being offered as part of a prisoner exchange by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. The guerrilla group, which has been waging war against the Colombian government for 41 years, says the freedom of the hostages depends on the release of about 300 rebels imprisoned in Colombia and the United States, some of them for drug trafficking and murder. Beyond the group of 60 hostages, there are estimates that several times that many have been kidnapped by the FARC. One of the most prominent is Ingrid Betancourt, kidnapped in 2002 while campaigning for president.
"The government must negotiate for their release, because there's no other solution," Silvio Hernandez said after watching the video one recent evening. "We've been going through this for seven years. We have no horizon to our lives."
Negotiating a release with the FARC is exceedingly thorny. The 13,000-member insurgency has proved to be a relentless adversary of the government, and it controls substantial areas of the countryside. The group espouses a Marxist revolutionary ideology and has depended heavily on drug trafficking to finance its operations.
In the 1980s, a group of wealthy landowners banded together to establish a network of paramilitary operatives to defend against attacks by the FARC. The paramilitary groups, sometimes linked to members of the Colombian military, have been blamed by human rights groups and others for massacres of civilians.
The government of President Alvaro Uribe has pursued a policy of encouraging the paramilitary fighters to demobilize in return for resettlement and light penalties for their crimes. The offer has prompted some to surrender, and officials hope to demobilize 20,000 of them by the end of the year.
But officials and analysts say the FARC and a smaller rebel group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN, are reluctant to give up their fight and have opposed peace entreaties from the government. The guerrillas also charge that Uribe has been softer on the paramilitary groups and more open to compromises with them.
The U.S. government, which considers the FARC a terrorist group, refuses to negotiate for the return of Gonsalves or the two other Americans captured with him: Tom Howes, now 52, of Merritt Island, Fla., and Keith Stansell, now 41, of Colquitt, Ga. All three were civilian employees of California Microwave Systems, a unit of Northrop Grumman Corp., working under U.S. military contract to conduct aerial surveys of areas where coca crops are grown.
The FARC routinely kidnaps people for short periods to raise money through ransom, but it has identified only the 60 long-term hostages -- including policemen, soldiers, politicians and the three U.S. contractors -- as "exchangeable" with the government.
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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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Apartment Life Live
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Welcome to Apartment Life, an online discussion of the Washington area rental market, featuring Post columnist Sara Gebhardt.
In her monthly exchanges with the audience, Gebhardt discusses rental issues and lifestyle matters.
Sara Gebhardt: Good afternoon all apartment-dwellers, renters and others joining in today. I hope everyone has had a decent month renting and is enjoying this beautiful weather. Let's get to the questions!
Boston, Mass.: I heard that there was going to be some kind of rental program for people who lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina. I was just wondering if you could give me some more information or details.
Sara Gebhardt: Hi, Boston. Thanks for bringing this up. I am gathering information about what apartment owners can do for evacuees and where renters affected by the hurricane can turn for my next column. In the meantime, the National Apartment Association has compiled information on its Web site www.naahq.org.
Arlington, Va.: This may seem an odd question, but I'm hoping you can answer it. I rent out an efficiency room in my home that is vacant. I was thinking about offering it rent-free to a Katrina evacuee, but I cannot afford to lose the rent for more than a few months. I hate to think the worst of people, but after all it would mean allowing a total stranger into my home. If the evacuee refuses to leave after a few months, what is my recourse?
Sara Gebhardt: This is not an odd question at all. I hope many other landlords like you will think about donating their quarters for people in need, even if only for a little while. What you can do is offer a short-term lease to that you can end the agreement in the period of time you desire.
Rockville, Md.: How do I politely tell my much-younger housemate that not only is he messy (food left behind in kitchen) but that he slams doors and otherwise does not respect normal good behavior?
When he moved in, he asked if there were any rules and I explained other than non-smoking, there weren't any specific rules but that we were to be bound by good behavior. Apparently we disagree as to what that means.
My sleep is important to me because I have apnea (which he knows about). I basically think he doesn't watch himself -- not sure if this is unconscious rebellion.
I need his half of rent economically but I could get another roommate because I am the leaseholder.
Sara Gebhardt: Maybe politely explain that you expect him to clean up after himself in the kitchen and to be gentler on the doors. See if he follows this advice before you do anything more drastic, like berate him for being young and careless. In fact, don't ever get mad at him; simply tell him -- after giving him a chance to shape up -- that you are thinking of getting another roommate.
Ann Arbor, Mich.: I signed a one-year lease on my apartment that ends next May, but circumstances have changed such that I am now looking for a house or condo. Any tips for negotiating an early end to my lease? The lease is silent on the matter (e.g., no early buy-out provision).
Sara Gebhardt: Sure, the easiest thing to do is to assist your landlord in finding a replacement, so that he/she doesn't lose a month's rent due to your early termination.
Honolulu, Hawaii: I'm moving to D.C. soon, and I heard it was cold (at least in comparison to where I live now) in the winter. Do the apartments there get warm enough? I am worried about gas prices too, so I am trying to figure out what kind of place to look for without freezing to death. I know it's early to ask this, but I like to be prepared.
Sara Gebhardt: I'll pose this to our readers, but, yes, in my opinion, apartments are warm enough in the winter. I am not sure how our indoor temperatures compare to Honolulu's outdoor environment, but my guess is you'll manage. You may want to look for apartments with utilities included or electric (not gas) heating systems. Heat and A/C can get expensive, obviously, but there are ways to save... which I generally write about during the winter and summer seasons.
Waldorf, Md.: I just bought a townhouse and am thinking about renting one of the rooms. I'd only charge $400 per month, which would include utilities. Where would I advertise for a housemate?
Sara Gebhardt: Try your local newspaper or post signs in local shops, grocery stores, health clubs, schools, etc. You could also advertise in larger newspapers, like the Post, or online at craigslist.org.
Columbia, Md.: 37-year-old male, 52k salary, currently renting. Rent is a cheap $300. Should I try to buy a home now or wait? Thanks!!
Sara Gebhardt: It's really your decision whether you buy or rent. It's a personal choice... but with rent that low, you might as well wait to see if prices level off. You can invest whatever you're saving in the meantime.
Adams Morgan, D.C.: I hear heating bills will be going up this year because of Katrina. My utilities are included in my rent... Can my rent go up mid-year?
Sara Gebhardt: It depends on the details of your lease, really. If you're in a 12-month lease (not month-to-month), your rent cannot go up until the lease terminates.
Question: If I break a lease due to the fact that I need to clean out my cabinets and shelves every week for pest control, am I obligated to pay the fee for breaking the lease?
Sara Gebhardt: You could try to get your landlord to waive the lease termination fee based on the repeated visits from pest control. But if the landlord disagreed, you would have to prove to the housing authorities that you were living in unsafe/unhealthy environs. It's possible, it just might take some work going down these avenues. And you never know unless you try.
Arlington, Va.: Do you or any of the readers have experience dealing with the Arlington County Tenant-Landlord Commission? I recently moved out of my apartment and am battling to get the security deposit back. Thanks.
Sara Gebhardt: Anyone out there have experience with Arlington County Tenant-Landlord Commission?
Basement crickets/spiders: I live in a basement apartment and I have some seriously scary cricket/spider things. The landlady has sealed up any cracks where they might be getting in, but now how do I kill them? My current method is keeping a broom close at all times, but I feel there must be some bug repellent/fly sticky paper/roach spray sort of thing that I could use to root them out. Any ideas?
Sara Gebhardt: A broom seems like a good weapon against crickets. I prefer shoes or books I'll never read... No, really, go to Home Depot or another hardware store and look at products for warding out insects. Anyone out there have advice?
Largo, Md.: Okay... I'm not sure if this is a suitable question... but here it goes. My girlfriend and I have been going out for about six years now. I moved in with HER! And now we're breaking up because she is a total headache. I want her to reimburse me for all the work I did on the house. Am I asking too much? I mean, when I moved in it was a total hellhole.
Sara Gebhardt: Hi, Largo... I hope all you did in her apartment was some minor painting and hammering... I'm sorry your girlfriend's a total headache, but you may be out of luck in getting her to reimburse you for work you most likely did out of love for her. Just in case, maybe you could broker a deal with her if your relationship is intact enough. She may be willing to negotiate assuming the work you did was substantial and she doesn't think you're a total headache too.
Heat: Radiators! I've never been cold in an apartment with old-fashioned radiators and I've never paid for heat in such an apartment either.
Sara Gebhardt: That's exactly what I was thinking.
Lewisdale, Md.: I'm renting this place from a friend of mine starting September 1. Last night I was coming out of my yellow room and I jammed my toe into the corner of the wall. My friend didn't, I guess, nail it down completely before she rented it out to me. Is it proper to ask for her to pay my doctor bills? The doctor said that my toe is broken. Thanks, Sara G.
Sara Gebhardt: Oh how I love Lewisdale. And yellow rooms for that matter. But I digress. Your friend didn't nail down the corner of the wall? I am not sure I understand, but unless there was a nail or piece of wall jutting out in a dangerous way, you might have to pay your own doctor's bills. It really depends on the technical details of what happened. Your landlord does have to ensure a safe environment, so you should determine whether or not your clumsiness caused this accident.
New York, N.Y.: Heating expenses are included in my building, but I cannot adjust the temp, and I am always freezing. I'd suggest looking for a place where you can control the heat yourself.
Sara Gebhardt: Everyone's got a different view of heating, just as some people are cold or hot by nature. Often, people are too warm or too cold in temperature-controlled buildings. If you're looking for a place in a temp-controlled complex, it would help to ask many residents how they feel about the temperature.
Puerto Rico: Hi, my name is Carlos. I'm originally from Washington, D.C. Prices are going up... Do you think real estate will continue the way it's going? If so, I was thinking about moving out of my mom's place.
Sara Gebhardt: Hola, Carlos. I do not predict how the market will go. If you're ready to move out of your mom's house, then go for it. Or maybe ease into the transition of living on your own by renting a place before buying.
Silver Spring, Md.: I have horrible giant crickets in my basement apartment and my good, old-fashioned flyswatter is always at hand. If you hit them lightly enough, they don't even squish their guts all over -- just get stunned enough to toss 'em in the toilet. The good news is, if you kill a lot of them for a few days, it does cut down on the population. And they'll go away when the weather gets cold.
(If you want to go the natural route, spiders help eat them, but then they also reproduce and you get spiders everywhere. Ick.)
Sara Gebhardt: Wow. The wonders of a fly-swatter.
Reston, Va.: RE: the spider/crickets you have in your basement. These are actually camel crickets commonly known as spider crickets. I know, because my place used to be infested with them. The only real solution is to call the exterminator. The bugs are intelligent and will quickly multiply. Call early, call often. If you get them to spray weekly, you'll be bug-free by the end of the month.
Sara Gebhardt: Here's something for the cricket problem.
Silver Spring, Md.: I am moving out of my apartment next week. Months ago, I called and asked management if they prorated rent if we left mid-month, provided we still gave proper notice, and they said they did and we would only be responsible for the part of rent prior to our termination date.
However, this week they are now saying that we owe them for the entire month, despite their previous assertions. Had I known I would be responsible for the entire month, I would have moved earlier (it was possible for me to move earlier, but more convenient to move mid-month and since they said they would prorate the rent, I opted for mid month).
Do I have any recourse? I do not want my credit blemished by failure to pay rent. Management lied to me and misled me, however, I (perhaps stupidly) took them for their word instead of getting something in writing about their agreeing to prorate rent.
Sara Gebhardt: This is an example of why it is so important to get everything in writing. Do you have proof of giving proper notice? You might be out of luck, but before you give up (and pay up), write a letter to management stating the time/date of your phone call, who you talked to about getting your rent pro-rated, etc. Send it to the management, and if it is a large management company, also send it to a higher-up. See what happens and hopefully they will honor their previous verbal agreement.
Cats and crickets: If you have a cat, let it prowl around in the basement for a while. My cat used to eat crickets and it really controlled the cricket issues in my house. I'm not joking here...
Sara Gebhardt: Here's a vote for getting a cat.
Columbia Heights, D.C.: Okay, so when do you think the weather gods are going to declare a moratorium on the summer heat and make it cool enough for me to open my windows? I'm tired of the stale, circulated A/C that's been in my apartment for months. Come, fall, come!
Sara Gebhardt: The weather gods, no doubt, are concerned about your indoor comfort and working on this. Have you tried opening your windows every now and then and using a fan? It may save you from A/C overload.
Re: Basement crickets/spiders: Living close to a wooded area, I have the same problem. I call them, grasshopper cricket things. Besides the method you're using, which I also use (the broom), I have found that Raid House and Garden spray works well. They tend to start for me in the bathroom so I spray around the baseboards which usually takes care of them or slows them down making them easier to get rid off. As it gets colder, they'll go away.
Sara Gebhardt: Another vote for colder weather, albeit not because of A/C.
Massachusetts: I just read the gentlemen's question from Largo, Md. In 2002, I injured my knee and my foot because of the terrible work they did in my apartment. (TERRIBLE.) My lawyer told me at the time that it was no use in suing my landlord. I found out later that they were friends. Now I think I could've won. Is it too late? I live in Mass. now but I'm still having knee and foot problems. I iced my foot right away...
Sara Gebhardt: After having lots of knee and foot injuries, I can assure you icing is the best medicine. Are you still limping? Since I am not a lawyer, I don't know if it's too late. You should consult a lawyer who is not in cahoots with your old landlord.
Clarendon, Va.: I'd like to rent one or two bedrooms out in my house in Clarendon. Where is the best place to advertise for roommates that would attract interested people 30 or older (I'm 38).
Sara Gebhardt: Try the regular avenues... Maybe the Washington Post and craigslist.
Washington, D.C.: Hello. I apologize in advance for the length of this question. I've recently moved above a couple that fights constantly. Not just bickering, but "chase each other around the apartment" fights. This happened a few weeks ago (not for the first time) and I contemplated calling the police. I did not. I did, however, report it to the landlord as a general noise issue (as they have their TV/radio on at such levels that I can actually understand the words/music perfectly).
I have approached one of the tenants about the noise level and she denies they even have the TV on (and I know this is an outright lie). When I talked to the landlord she said I have a he said/she said issue and there's nothing she can do. She urged me to call the police when the noise gets to loud so there will be a record of what's going on.
But, who calls the police when TV/radio levels are unbearable? That seems silly. I will in the future call when they are fighting. The landlord said she would be happy to talk to the tenants but only if I allow her to say that I've made a complaint to her. I don't want her to do this for fear that this will make things worse for me. Other than move, what are my options? Thanks!
Sara Gebhardt: Noise issues are indeed some of the worst apartment tenants have. Let your landlord talk to your neighbors. If they have been dismissive of you already, chances are they don't like you for having said anything in the first place. Let your landlord attempt to deal with it, and if it persists, think about asking to move to a different unit. Since your landlord seems receptive to the problem, she may allow you to do this when a unit becomes available.
For Clarendon: Describe yourself in an ad on craigslist and you are likely to get like-minded people. I.e. I keep a clean house and don't listen to loud music. Looking for a roommate who respects this, etc.
Re: injury from apt.: Consult with/ a lawyer or even go on the Web site for the courts in Mass. and check on the statute of limitations. You only have a certain amount of time to file a claim, depending on the claim it can be anywhere from one year to several years, I'd say check it out immediately. Probably a negligence suit might be your best shot -- check with a tort attorney (yes, the ambulance chasers).
Sara Gebhardt: Lastly, some more comments.
Sara Gebhardt: Well, that's all for today. Thanks for joining me, and sorry if I didn't get to your question. Look for answers in my future columns, or come back next month for the Apartment Life discussion. Until then, take good care.
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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Arlington County Public Schools
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Smith has been superintendent of the Arlington Public Schools since July, 1997.
washingtonpost.com: Superintendent Smith, thank you for joining us today. Are there any changes or improvements in K-12 education this year in Arlington County that are worth mentioning to parents today?
Dr. Robert G. Smith: Our major emphasis for this school year will be the implementation of a new six-year strategic plan adopted by the Arlington School Board in June. The plan was developed over 18 months with the assistance of hundreds of Arlington parents, community members, staff and students. It features four goals. They are:
Rising achievement. Ensure rising achievement for all students on standardized tests and other measures of performance that go beyond state and federal standards.
Eliminate the gap. Eliminate gaps in achievement among identified groups
Responsive Education. Prepare each student to succeed in a diverse, changing world through instruction and other school experiences responsive to each student's talents, interests, and challenges.
Effective Relationships. Build effective relationships with parents and the community so that they know about and actively support the education of our students.
You can see the full plan with statements of objectives and indicators that measure achievement of those objectives on our web page: www.arlington.k12.va.us
Arlington, Va.: Who determined that APS's spring break should be tied to the religious holiday of Easter, which can vary between March 22 and April 25? Try taking your kids anywhere the week before or after Easter, the crowds are really large at all the kid-friendly vacation sites. Why don't we just pick the same week in March every year to avoid these crowds, and let everyone have off the Monday after Easter for those few who travel specifically for Easter.
Dr. Robert G. Smith: The development of the school calendar undergoes an extensive process involving parents, staff, and community members. Typically, we also try to coordinate our spring break with other school divisions in the area. Most of our neighbors share the same week for spring break. We welcome your thoughts and will pass them on to Dr. Betty Hobbs, our Assistant Superintendent for Personnel, who chairs the calendar committee process.
Alexandria, Va.: What's the story on the construction of the new Arlington high school?
Last I heard the building violated zoning ordinances due to its height, and it was not so simple to get a variance.
Dr. Robert G. Smith: The Washington-Lee project is on schedule for receipt of bids in December, with construction slated to begin in January. The change in ordinance required for the variance in height has been approved.
That approval followed considerable discussion with the community regarding the height of the building and changes to the building design, resulting in a set-back of the fourth floor facing Stafford Street.
Arlington, Va.: Are county schools at all impacted by Katrina displaced children? Will there be any relocated kids in school?
Dr. Robert G. Smith: We have enrolled as of yesterday 11 students from the Gulf Coast area. Our counseling staff and the public health staff have been working with the students and their parents to ease their transition into our schools.
, many of our schools and PTA's are engaged in fund raising and a member of our Department of School and Community Relations is coordinating the collection of contributions to the Red Cross.
Arlington, Va.: Hi - Has there been any discussion in implementing a system-wide four-year-old preschool program? I understand the county has a program for lower income families, which is wonderful. A good early education is so important (as I am sure you know). Will the county considering expanding this program to all preschool age children?
Dr. Robert G. Smith: Our School Board has adopted an policy and a plan to offer pre-K experiences and to encourage other providers to do the same. Our current pre-K program includes 23 Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) classes (up from the two classes that we offered in 1999) that serve four-year-old children from families of lesser means. We also offer 17 Montessori classes for children ages 3-5, with two-thirds of the available spaces reserved for children of families of lesser means. Additionally, 28 preschool classes for preK children, ages 2-4, are distributed across the Arlington schools.
We also have made space available in our schools for Headstart and Early Headstart classes and work closely with that program.
To provide universal education for four year olds and/or three year olds would require, I believe, a major discussion within the community about our priorities and allocation of resources. We believe, on the basis of national and local studies, that Pre-K education represents one of the most effective means to eliminate achievement gaps, yet recognize that it also benefits other families and their children as well.
Arlington, Va.: Hello Dr. Smith. I am curious to know if APS has considered having uniforms for students? It seems that many public school systems have adopted them with great success, as it eliminates the distractions that can come from kids focusing on fashion/related peer pressure.
Dr. Robert G. Smith: Our procedures allow for individual school communities to adopt a recommended dress code. Currently, two of our schools, Carlin Springs and Randolph elementary, have gone through an extensive process with the parents and community and have adopted such standards.
Arlington, Va.: Good afternoon, I am concerned with the number of soft drink and junk food machines through out the schools. Health reports show that children are more obese than ever, will Arlington county take these machines out of the schools and replace them with healthy alternatives? I am not advocating no sweets, but having them available all day everyday seems a bit excessive. Thanks.
Dr. Robert G. Smith: How timely. The School Board tonight will be considering a new policy on vending machines that would have us adopt standards for beverages and snacks to be included in all vending machines in Arlington. Currently, vending machines are available to students only in high schools, with use during lunch and breakfast proscribed.
Arlington, Va.: Will any part of the old W-L building be preserved for history's sake?
Dr. Robert G. Smith: No. The original 1924 building was razed during previous renovations.
Arlington, Va.: Does the School District set the date for the PSAT? Why is it scheduled for the Jewish holiday?
Dr. Robert G. Smith: No, we do not set those dates. The Educational Testing Service does. We have had a similar question about our College Night which is scheduled for the first night of Yom Kippur. This date, as well, was set by the Educational Consortium of College Placement. When we realized the conflict, we made arrangements (for this year) for Arlington students to attend the College Night at T.C. Williams, and have informed the Consortium that future conflicts must be avoided.
Thank you for making yourself available for this discussion. I followed with interest the budget debates this spring about funding full-time resource teachers for the gifted in Arlington's elementary schools. Although your proposed budget added no funds for gifted services, the Advisory Committee on Instruction unanimously recommended as its top budgetary priority increasing staffing of RTGs from half-time to full-time, and the School Board initially proposed adding $150,000 in funding to gifted services. The APS staff budget report also recommended funding full-time RTG positions at most elementary schools. Will you make funding full-time RTGs a priority in next year's budget, and, if not, what are your reasons for rejecting these recommendations?
Dr. Robert G. Smith: We will be considering, during the coming year, how we go about the process of providing, in cost effective ways, professional development across a variety of areas (e.g. technology, reading, mathematics, gifted. We continue to be mindful of the competing demands for expenditure of funds on specialists who do not provide direct services to students on a daily basis. Tune in this winter during our budget deliberations.
I know differentiated instruction is APS policy, and the Strategic Plan includes delivery of differentiated education to all students as an objective. Differentiated instruction is especially critical for gifted students, who often find the standard curriculum geared to a level well below their abilities. What measures are you implementing to ensure that students receive differentiated education, and how will you measure whether differentiated education is occurring effectively?
Dr. Robert G. Smith: The third goal of our new strategic plan, which treats issues of responsive education, involves providing educational experiences (both instructional and extra-curricular) that respond to the individual talents, interests and challenges of all of our students. Accomplishing this goal, of course, requires differentiated experiences. I would suggest that you take a look at the objectives and indicators supporting that goal that appear on our Web site.
Arlington, Va.: I was surprised to learn that the latest school budget reduces funding for Gifted Services in Arlington by 90 percent. Is the program being eliminated entirely, or are you changing to a different system?
At the elementary school level, it takes a full school year for a child to be "identified" as needing more advanced work, and identification seems to be the end of the services offered. Last year, my child's teacher (a lead teacher for her grade, with several years experience in Arlington) said she had never heard the terms "vertical acceleration" or "compacting the curriculum."
Looks like there is a real need to modify the system, but I hope the plans go beyond de-funding it!
I'd appreciate any updated info you can share on this topic.
Dr. Robert G. Smith: We have not reduced staffing or funding for gifted services. In fact, over the last few years, funding has been increased greatly as we have moved to full time positions in secondary schools, and have assured a half-time position at every elementary school. We also have allocated new funds in this year's budget to ensure a full complement of teachers endorsed in teaching gifted children.
Arlington, Va.: Is APS planning to allocate additional funding to establish afterschool Spanish programs in more elementary schools next year? In addition, is it planning to expand the current program at Glebe for future years to accommodate all students interested in the program? From what I understand, the Glebe students had to undergo a lottery for 22 slots and some students were turned away.
Dr. Robert G. Smith: The new afterschool program at Glebe is a pilot program this year. Following evaluation later this year, we will determine whether expansion is warranted.
Arlington, Va.: When will the next phase of construction begin at Yorktown High School?
Dr. Robert G. Smith: The current capital improvement program schedules the next phase of the Yorktown construction to continue after the 2006 bond referendum. The School Board will act in June on a revised capital improvement program that will address the next phases of the Yorktown construction project.
Arlington, Va.: What is APS's standard the teacher-student ratio in first grade, and what is considered the maximum class size for first grade?
In addition, if a first grade class size exceeds APS's maximum class size, what are the principal's options for reducing class size once school begins?
Dr. Robert G. Smith: We staff first grade on the basis of one teacher to twenty students, with a recommended maximum class size of 23. This recommended maximum is not an absolute, and whether another teacher should be added depends upon a variety of factors including the composition of the class, the availability of space for new teaching stations, likelihood that the enrollment above the maximum will persist, and the time of the year that the maximum occurs. The principals work closely with me to make such decisions.
Arlington, Va.: There has been much research conducted about class size, and it appears that the optimal class size for the elementary years is an average of 18 students per teacher.
Given this number, what is APS's maximum class size in elementary school, and what is the procedure for a school that has exceeded this threshold?
Dr. Robert G. Smith: I suspect you could find a number of other competing "optimum class sizes," most of them smaller. APS recommended class sizes are 23 in grade 1, 25 in grades 2 and 3, and 27 in grades 4 and 5. For Kindergarten, we operate with an absolute maximum of 22.
In the past two years, our average class size, K through 5, has ranged between 18.3 in the 2004 K class to 21.8 in the average 2003 Grade 5 class.
I was in high school when you came to Arlington and simply wanted to thank you for provided such loyalty and service to Arlington for all of these years. Often we hear about a virtual revolving door of education leaders and upon starting my career in the area, I was surprised to see that you were still here and dealing with the ongoing nature of Arlington school problems. While I was already crowded in high school, seeing trailers, etc., filling empty spaces in schools was somewhat shocking. Thank you for pushing through initiatives for new school buildings and looking after the needs of those learning and teaching within the school system.
Dr. Robert G. Smith: How nice! Thank you. I am fortunate to work with a talented and dedicated staff, a stable and responsive School Board, and caring and supportive parents and community members.
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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California Legislature Approves Gay Marriage
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SACRAMENTO, Sept. 6 -- The California Assembly voted Tuesday to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry, making the state's legislature the first in the nation to deliberately approve same-sex marriages and handing a political hot potato to an already beleaguered Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R).
After a vehement floor debate in which legislators quoted the Pledge of Allegiance and accused each other of abusing moral principles, the state Assembly passed the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, which recasts the definition of marriage as between "two persons," not between a man and a woman. The state Senate passed the bill last week.
"There are moments in the history of any movement when the corner is turned," said Geoff Kors, the executive director of Equality California, a gay rights group. "This is it. This is the tipping point."
Advocates of the bill, including Christine Chavez-Delgado, granddaughter of Cesar Chavez and an organizer of the United Farm Workers of America, and Willie L. Brown, former mayor of San Francisco, argued that the bill fit into California's sense of itself as a trendsetter for the rest of the country. In 1948, California's Supreme Court became the first state court to strike down a law prohibiting interracial marriage. And California in 1976 was among the first states to repeal sodomy statues.
But opponents, including conservative Republicans, have argued that the law must be stopped in the nation's most populous state because it constitutes another assault on the sanctity of the family. Californians passed a defense-of-marriage act defining marriage as between a man and a woman in 2000, and the state, which mixes freewheeling Marin County with culturally conservative Orange County, has emerged as a front line in the battle over the bedroom ever since.
"Marriage should be between a man and a woman, end of story. Next issue," insisted Assemblyman Dennis Mountjoy (R-Monrovia). "It's not about civil rights or personal rights, it's about acceptance. They want to be accepted as normal. They are not normal."
Tuesday's 41 to 35 vote amounted to more difficult news for Schwarzenegger, the Republican actor-turned-politician who roared into Sacramento on the back of a recall election in 2003 promising fundamental change. Schwarzenegger, who has taken on teachers, nurses and other state workers, has seen his popularity lag in recent months. A Field Poll of registered voters early this month put the governor's approval rating at 36 percent -- an all-time low.
If he vetoes the bill, Schwarzenegger will retain the support of his GOP base, which he needs in a special election he has called for November. But he could also alienate many Democrats who voted for him and whose backing he still covets. In the special election, Schwarzenegger is asking voters to grant him more budget-cutting power, to block gerrymandering by placing legislative redistricting in the hands of retired judges and to make public school teachers work five years instead of two before they earn tenure.
"This puts Schwarzenegger on the hot seat," said Bruce Cain, a professor of political science at University of California at Berkeley, who predicted the governor would veto the bill. "I think it's a slam-dunk that he's going to have to veto the bill and hope that the anger in the gay community doesn't spill over into other groups."
Other political strategists, however, said Tuesday's vote would force Schwarzenegger to parse his own personal mix of fiscal conservatism and liberal social views. As a former Hollywood star, he hails from a social milieu where gay men and women occupy key positions, and he has spoken glowingly about his friendships with people of all sexual orientations.
"I think the governor's going to be in a difficult position, because during the campaign his positions were ambiguous on the issue," said Arnold Steinberg, a political strategist who generally works with Republicans.
Schwarzenegger supports domestic partnerships but opposes same-sex marriage, a spokesman for the governor said.
The legislature's move goes further than other states, such as Vermont and Connecticut, which have passed legislation allowing more strictly defined "civil unions." And it differs from Massachusetts, the only state to grant full marriage rights to same-sex couples, because the Massachusetts regulations were passed by order of the state's courts, which ruled that a ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
California is already one of the most gay-friendly states in the nation. Its domestic partnership legislation grants same-sex couples most of the benefits of married couples except a few, such as the right to jointly file income tax returns, the right to bring a foreign partner into the United States and right to pass Social Security benefits on to a spouse. So far, more than 30,000 same-sex couples are registered in California as domestic partners.
The Assembly members were aware that they were making history, and their debate Tuesday night -- to a packed gallery -- focused on whether they should vote their conscience or represent the wishes of their constituents. Slavery, the Bible and the Pledge of Allegiance were wielded by both sides in a piece of political theater rarely seen in Sacramento.
"There are a handful of issues where history will record where we were. This is one of them," said Thomas J. Umberg (D-Anaheim), who had abstained in a vote on the issue in June but voted yes on Tuesday night.
"History will record that you betrayed your constituents and their moral and ethical values," countered Jay LaSuer, his Republican counterpart from La Mesa.
Dignan is a special correspondent; Pomfret reported from Los Angeles. Special correspondent Sonya Geis contributed to this report.
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The California Assembly becomes the first state legislature in the nation to deliberately approve same-sex marriages and hands a political hot potato to an already beleaguered Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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Katrina Takes Environmental Toll
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NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 6 -- The dank and putrid floodwaters choking this once-gracious city are so poisoned with gasoline, industrial chemicals, feces and other contaminants that even casual contact is hazardous, and safe drinking water may not be available for the entire population for years to come, state and federal officials warned Tuesday.
Mayor Ray Nagin authorized law enforcement officers and the military to force the evacuation of all residents who refuse to heed orders to leave. Nagin's emergency declaration, released late Tuesday, targets those still in the city unless they have been designated by government officials as helping with the relief effort.
It came as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gingerly pumped swill into Lake Pontchartrain, where rising water levels could increase pressure on levees that may have been damaged when Katrina hit but cannot be checked because they are under water on the city side.
As hundreds of police officers, emergency workers and volunteers waded through flooded neighborhoods trying to coax remaining residents from their ruined homes, health officials offered the first tentative assessments of the environmental damage wrought by Hurricane Katrina and its resulting floods: They ranged from contaminated water to the destruction of coastline that acts as a buffer against hurricanes and other severe weather.
The fallout from Katrina continued to buffet Washington; President Bush and members of Congress announced at least three separate probes into the faltering governmental response to the storm and its aftermath. Bush, reeling from bipartisan complaints about the slow federal reaction, promised to lead an investigation to "find out what went right and what went wrong" and informed congressional leaders of a request for as much as $40 billion in additional relief funds.
State officials released new tallies of Katrina's destruction, with up to 160,000 homes in Louisiana destroyed and nearly 190,000 public school students displaced by the storm and its aftermath.
Louisiana health officials reported 83 confirmed deaths but cautioned that the total is likely to soar into the thousands as corpses are uncovered in receding floodwaters. As of late Tuesday, 59 bodies had arrived at a temporary morgue in St. Gabriel, La., that is set up to handle more than 5,000 dead if necessary.
"It could take days, it could take years, it could take lifetimes" to identify some victims, said Bob Johannessen of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.
Some local officials in Louisiana were adamant in placing most of the blame on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and other federal agencies.
"Bureaucracy has murdered people in the greater New Orleans area," Aaron Broussard, president of Jefferson Parish, said on CBS's "Early Show." "So I'm asking Congress, please investigate this now. Take whatever idiot they have at the top of whatever agency and give me a better idiot. Give me a caring idiot. Give me a sensitive idiot. Just don't give me the same idiot."
Amid the detritus in New Orleans, officials began to shift their focus from rescue to recovery, affixing red tags to floating corpses and noting locations by global satellite positioning for retrieval later. Survivors were being talked out of staying.
Micheline Doley, 24, and three companions agreed to abandon their dry third-floor apartment on South Liberty Street after aid officials warned they would no longer drop off water for them. Doley said she had a battery-powered television, hot water and gas for cooking.
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NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 6 -- The dank and putrid floodwaters choking this once-gracious city are so poisoned with gasoline, industrial chemicals, feces and other contaminants that even casual contact is hazardous, and safe drinking water may not be available for the entire population for years to come,...
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Bush to Probe Storm Response
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Stung by criticism of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, President Bush yesterday promised to investigate his own administration's emergency management, then readied a request for tens of billions of dollars for relief and cleanup.
From the Pentagon to Capitol Hill, official Washington spent yesterday grappling with a hurricane recovery effort that, according to some estimates, will cost more than $100 billion and influence a broad range of federal policy, from emergency response to coastal development, from expanded domestic oil exploration to the future of the estate tax.
Bush vowed to "find out what went right and what went wrong." Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said that the military already has begun a "lessons-learned" assessment of its coordination with state and local governments. Nine Cabinet members briefed Senate and House leaders last night on the federal response, and key senators pushed for changes that would allow Third World relief efforts to be emulated in the United States.
"Nothing will be the same again," said Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), whose Pascagoula home was destroyed.
Just days after Congress approved a $10.5 billion emergency relief package, Bush informed congressional leaders of a request of as much as $40 billion, making Katrina the federal government's most expensive domestic emergency ever. The package could be passed as early as today, aides said.
But with the Federal Emergency Management Agency spending more than $500 million a day, lawmakers from both parties said the cost will climb much higher. Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) suggested the total could exceed $150 billion, with $100 billion for FEMA alone. Lott said the cost will be "well in excess of $100 billion," and few were disagreeing.
Beyond money, congressional leaders ordered committee chairmen to draft any legislation that could remedy the problems revealed by the hurricane and its aftermath. And after nearly a week of recriminations, Washington slipped into an extraordinary bout of self-reflection.
"It is fair to say the overall response to this emergency could have and should have been better," House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) said.
Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.) called for FEMA Director Michael D. Brown to leave and be replaced by "an experienced, professional emergency manager."
Speaking to reporters after a Cabinet meeting , Bush said: "It's very important for us to understand the relationship between the federal government, the state government and the local government when it comes to a major catastrophe. . . . We want to make sure that we can respond properly if there's a WMD [weapons of mass destruction] attack or another major storm."
Bush, who has called the response to the hurricane unacceptable only to amend that to say the results were not acceptable, offered no specifics on his planned investigation. Still, the call for an investigation was unusual coming from a president who rarely admits mistakes.
House Republican leaders suggested that Congress launch one comprehensive examination of the disaster response, possibly a joint House-Senate investigation. But Senate committees were already moving forward. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee has scheduled hearings next week to examine the federal disaster response.
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Stung by criticism of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina, President Bush yesterday promised to investigate his own administration's emergency management, then readied a request for tens of billions of dollars for relief and cleanup.
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For Chief Justice, A Final Session With His Court
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The flag-draped wooden coffin of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist was carried with slow, halting steps yesterday, up the long marble sweep of the institution where he presided for nearly two decades, between two silent lines of colleagues, staff and former law clerks, into a columned corridor where the mighty and humble alike began paying respects.
It was a journey that lasted only minutes, yet few gathered in the morning crowd outside the Supreme Court missed the most telling moments: when John G. Roberts Jr., the man nominated to succeed Rehnquist, walked solemnly with the other pallbearers toward the hearse bearing his body, and when an emotional Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, on the eve of her own planned farewell, wiped away tears as the plain white pine coffin passed and entered the building's Great Hall.
There, it was placed on the historic Lincoln Catafalque, which was covered in black velvet. Busts of Rehnquist's 15 predecessors as chief justice line the room where O'Connor and five other justices joined with his children and grandchildren in a short prayer service.
"Rest here now, child of God, William Hubbs Rehnquist," intoned the Rev. George W. Evans Jr., pastor of Lutheran Church of the Holy Redeemer in McLean, which Rehnquist attended for many years. "Rest here in the halls you know so well."
In those usually calm, reasoned halls -- where Rehnquist had been known simply as "the Chief" since President Ronald Reagan elevated him to the post in 1986 -- feelings flowed freely. Roberts, one of those former clerks, seemed to struggle to keep his composure. Justice Antonin Scalia brushed a tear from his eye.
And O'Connor, a tough westerner raised amid cattlemen and rattlesnakes, sobbed openly; her friendship with Rehnquist dated more than a half-century to their law school days at Stanford University.
Outside, flags flew at half staff as a steady procession of visitors waited for admittance through the court's massive bronze doors. President Bush and the first lady arrived just before 4 p.m. and were escorted in through another, secured entrance. They stood before the coffin briefly, then walked over to view the formal painting of Rehnquist in his black judicial robes, on display for the first time.
Official Washington was joined throughout the day by tourists, teachers, bankers, ministers. Even when disagreeing with Rehnquist's unwaveringly conservative legal views, they said they appreciated his consistency, his leadership, the brilliance of his reasoning.
"He served this country well for a very long time," said sociology professor Roger Nemeth of Holland, Mich., drawing nods from those around him.
Representing Rehnquist's native state was Shirley S. Abrahamson, chief justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, whose take on his legacy is far more honed than most. So, too, is her personal connection: Rehnquist swore her into her position nearly a decade ago.
"You have someone who is widely praised as an administrator and chief, who's been fair and equitable with all the justices and managed to win their respect and regard" -- despite often sharp differences of opinion, Abrahamson reflected. "He stood up for administrative issues and judicial independence."
At 9:40 p.m., 20 minutes before the viewing was to end, more than 200 people still waited. They formed a line that stretched for 1 1/2 blocks, even after some were told by police that they probably would not make it inside the building.
At least 70 people remained as 10 p.m. came -- and went. The door remained open, and all those in line were allowed to pay their respects.
The public viewing continues from 10 a.m. to noon today. The 80-year-old Rehnquist, who died Saturday at his home in Arlington after battling thyroid cancer, will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery after a funeral service at 2 p.m. today at St. Matthew's Cathedral in Northwest Washington.
Evans and two other ministers from Holy Redeemer will conduct the service. Bush and O'Connor are expected to offer eulogies, as are two of the chief justice's children, James Rehnquist and Nancy Spears, and granddaughter Natalie Lynch.
Court officials said all eight justices will attend. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was unable to make it back yesterday from travels in China, and Justice David H. Souter also was out of town.
Staff writer Alan Lengel contributed to this report.
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Bush Pledges Wide Search for Court Seat
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President Bush vowed yesterday to "take a good, long look" at a "wide open" list of candidates before deciding whom to nominate for a second open seat on the Supreme Court, as both sides girded for twin confirmation battles and recalibrated strategies after the dizzying events of recent days.
The casket of the late Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist was laid in repose in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court, borne by a cast of pallbearers that included his former clerk and would-be successor, John G. Roberts Jr. Some influential Democrats signaled that Roberts's ascension increased their eagerness to press him on his record -- particularly on civil rights, which they said has taken on new salience in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
"What the American people have seen is this incredible disparity in which those people who had cars and money got out and those people who were impoverished died," Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said in an interview . The question for Roberts, he said, is whether he stands for "a fairer, more just nation" or for "narrow, stingy interpretations of the law to frustrate progress."
Bush, who tapped Roberts on Monday to replace Rehnquist, suggested that he will take his time finding a new candidate for the seat of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, which was originally supposed to go to the appellate judge. Aides said they expect no announcement this week as Washington focuses on the damage wrought by Hurricane Kristina.
At the same time, Bush playfully hinted he could choose his friend Alberto R. Gonzales, a prospect that reignited consternation among conservative groups skeptical of the attorney general's politics.
"The list is wide open, which should create some good speculation here in Washington," Bush told reporters after a Cabinet meeting, generating laughter. With a sly look, he added: "And make sure you notice when I said that, I looked right at Al Gonzales, who can really create speculation."
Whether or not the president actually intends to nominate Gonzales, who would be the first Hispanic on the court, that lighthearted remark crystallized the renewed battle within the Bush camp over the selection of an associate justice -- a virtual replay of the fight that preceded Roberts's original nomination in July, pitting the Republican right against the White House.
At the same time, having already chosen a white man for the high court, Bush came under pressure from within his party to make diversity a priority. Republican Sens. Arlen Specter (Pa.), Kay Bailey Hutchison (Tex.) and John Cornyn (Tex.) all advised the president to consider a woman or a member of a minority. O'Connor and first lady Laura Bush have both previously stated a preference for a second woman on the bench as well, while Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice smiled broadly yesterday when Bush was asked whether he would name a female nominee.
With O'Connor's pending departure, the court would be left with one woman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and one minority, Clarence Thomas. "Two women are, I think, a minimum," Specter said, though he added he does not favor a quota.
Complicating the picture is the political aftermath of Katrina, which analysts say has left Bush weakened amid recriminations over a slow, ineffectual initial response. Some analysts speculated that Bush might avoid a provocative conservative in favor of a less ideologically pure nominee, possibly Gonzales. But White House advisers scoffed at the notion, suggesting that fundamentally misunderstands Bush's nature.
Conservatives lobbied against shifting course because of Katrina. "The court is a long-term thing," said William Kristol, the influential editor of the Weekly Standard. "It's crazy to mess up your long-term legacy to possibly help him with a short-term PR problem. I think Gonzales would be a disaster."
Some Republican strategists reason that the hurricane may actually work in their favor in that the public has no appetite for a fiery, partisan battle over the Supreme Court. "People are in no mood for a circus," said a senior administration official who spoke anonymously because of the sensitivity of the situation. "The country is dealing with a terrible tragedy. The American people want a dignified process."
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President Bush vowed yesterday to "take a good, long look" at a "wide open" list of candidates before deciding whom to nominate for a second open seat on the Supreme Court, as both sides girded for twin confirmation battles and recalibrated strategies after the dizzying events of recent days.
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Bob Denver, 70; Brought Goofy Comedy to Role as TV's Gilligan
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Bob Denver, 70, the goofball television comedian who played beatnik Maynard G. "stands for Walter" Krebs on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" and was first mate Gilligan on "Gilligan's Island," died Sept. 2 at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina. He had complications from treatment he was receiving for cancer.
Mr. Denver's stint as the clueless Krebs from 1959 to 1963 and the hapless castaway on a deserted island from 1964 to 1967 brought him far greater notice in reruns than during the shows' initial lifespans.
The "Gilligan" characters were supposed to be from a cross section of society, all marooned on a South Pacific island.
Mr. Denver once said he was so busy shooting the series initially that he never saw the reviews, "which was lucky, because they were atrocious. But, if I were a reviewer and saw the show, I'd probably attack it, too, and call it silly and inane -- which it was meant to be."
As one of the most popular programs ever in reruns, "Gilligan's Island" was elevated to iconic status, inspiring existential dissertations. Mr. Denver later drubbed co-star Tina Louise, who played a sexpot actress on the show, for turning down one of the "Gilligan" reunion specials for potentially harming her career as a dramatic star.
"I don't know how she can think one two-hour movie can tarnish her image, when 'Gilligan' is showing five times a day everywhere in the country," he told People magazine.
For better or worse, those early sitcoms overshadowed anything else Mr. Denver ever did, which included years on the dinner-theater circuit and taking over on Broadway for Woody Allen in the comedy "Play It Again, Sam" in 1970. Reviewer Clive Barnes wrote in the New York Times that Mr. Denver "has a genuine clown-like wistfulness that Mr. Allen sometimes perspires to with only small success."
He was, above all, a physical comedian who spoke of his great enjoyment working with Alan Hale Jr., who played the burly skipper on "Gilligan's Island."
"I couldn't hurt him," Mr. Denver once told the Los Angeles Times. "I could climb on him, bounce on him, roll all over him and he would go, 'Are you done?' He would never hurt me. He was just too big and strong. You can't rehearse a lot of physical things we did, but you can't do it by the numbers. Whatever happens, you've got to trust each other."
Robert Denver was born in New Rochelle, N.Y., on Jan. 9, 1935. As a pre-law student at what is now Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, he was recruited somewhat unwillingly as house manager for the university theater. He then was asked to audition for the part of a nervous seaman in "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial."
He acted in a handful of other roles, including Falstaff in Shakespeare's "Henry IV," and, after graduating from college with a political science degree, supported himself as a teacher and postal clerk for several years.
In 1959, he auditioned successfully for the part of Krebs, the goateed, bongo-playing dropout who winced at the thought of work. He was in the supporting cast on the CBS sitcom, one of the many friends of Dobie Gillis, played by Dwayne Hickman.
Mr. Denver went on to other television series, including "The Good Guys" (1968-1970), playing taxi driver Rufus Butterworth, and "Dusty's Trail" (1973), a comedy Western reminiscent of "Gilligan's Island" with its varied characters. He wrote a book, "Gilligan, Maynard & Me" (1993).
After many years living in Las Vegas, a city he said he found "really ridiculous," he moved to Princeton, W.Va., in the 1990s with his most recent wife, Dreama Denver. They co-hosted an oldies radio show.
Earlier marriages to Maggie Ryan Denver and Jean Webber Denver ended in divorce. People magazine once reported an additional marriage to a woman whose name he refused to divulge.
He is survived by his wife and four children.
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Bob Denver, 70, the goofball television comedian who played beatnik Maynard G. "stands for Walter" Krebs on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" and was first mate Gilligan on "Gilligan's Island," died Sept. 2 at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina. He had complications from...
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Surviving Katrina's Huge Damage Claims
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Hurricane Katrina seems likely to become the most expensive natural catastrophe in U.S. history, but unless insured damages go far higher than the current high-endestimate of $35 billion, the insurance industry should be able to pay the claims without threat to its own solvency, industry experts said yesterday.
Because of the nature of the storm and the type of damage inflicted, private insurers will probably bear only a fraction of the total losses suffered in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama -- estimated at more than $100 billion by Risk Management Solutions Inc., a California firm that does computer modeling of damages from catastrophes.
But taxpayers, insurance ratepayers and others are likely to be feeling the economic effect of the giant storm for years to come, they acknowledged.
And some risk experts are starting to raise the question of how -- or if -- houses or other buildings in low-lying areas such as New Orleans should be rebuilt.
"There is a lot of variability" in loss estimates so far, said Robert P. Hartwig, chief economist at the Insurance Information Institute, an industry group, adding that insurers are expecting more than 1 million claims. Adjusters are already at work in some areas, though not yet in New Orleans.
But "the industry approached the '05 hurricane season in a position of financial strength," following eight months of very strong earnings, he said.
Insurers "were able to bear the $23 billion [in losses] from last year's four storms" in Florida with no significant insolvencies, and "that situation will remain the same this year," Hartwig said.
The $100 billion loss figure includes damages covered by private insurers, those covered by the federal government's National Flood Insurance Program and those not covered by any kind of insurance, often because the owners couldn't afford coverage or because they self-insured. Many municipalities self-insure with roads, bridges and other infrastructure, on the ground they can simply fix anything that goes wrong.
Laurie Johnson of RMS said the company is analyzing satellite images to try to determine how much of the flooding coincided with the coverage area. "When we know much of that flood exposure" was actually flooded, she said, "we will see the loss."
But ultimately the numbers suggest that $60 billion to $70 billion in property losses from Katrina will have to be absorbed by taxpayers, through government programs and repairs, and by owners of homes and businesses.
The storm will push insurance rates up for some consumers. "It always does, because in the end, who else is there to pay the bill except ultimately the consumer?" said Tom Upton, a financial services analyst with Standard & Poor's in New York. But the Insurance Information Institute's Hartwig said the impact should be confined to hurricane-prone areas. "It does put upward pressure on rates as to higher risk areas," he said. "That's been the case in Florida. But those effects are isolated to the states likely to be impacted."
A key reason is that rates, at least for personal insurance, are regulated by states, and state officials aren't likely to allow a company to raise rates because of risks elsewhere. Regulators in Minnesota wouldn't approve a company's request to raise rates there because of what happened in, say, Florida, Hartwig said.
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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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Is Plan B 'Unsafe'?
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision to defer a ruling to allow over-the-counter (OTC) sales of the emergency contraception drug Plan B has generated debate over the agency's independence from political pressure.
But opponents of broader access to the so-called morning-after pill often cite safety issues as a primary concern. They say there is no research in adolescents showing safety of the treatment, which consists of high doses of the hormone progestin.
Some opponents say use of the pills leads to higher incidence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and promiscuous behavior, which can carry its own dangers. A Swedish study published in 2002 reported that STIs were on the rise among adolescents who had OTC access to emergency contraception and other forms of contraception.
Groups opposing OTC status include the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Concerned Women for America, a public policy organization. Since birth control pills, which contain lower doses of progestin, are available only by prescription, said Wendy Wright, senior policy director of Concerned Women for America, "it's crazy that we're even discussing that the high dose of the drug be available without a prescription."
Most research conducted on Plan B does not substantiate these safety concerns. Several mainstream medical groups, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, issued statements in support of Plan B, emphasizing that the drug is safe and effective.
An opinion piece to be published in the Sept. 22 New England Journal of Medicine points out that the FDA has not cited any data supporting safety concerns, and that the agency's advisory committee, including those who subsequently voted against OTC access for Plan B, "acknowledged its appropriate safety earlier at the December 2003 meeting, when the committee voted 28 to 0 that the drug was safe."
What has stalled FDA approval of the drug for over-the-counter (OTC) sale is controversy over whether Plan B should be sold without a prescription to those ages 16 and under. Plan B was approved by the FDA in 1999 as a prescription-only medication. But in 2003, the FDA advisory panel voted to allow Barr Laboratories to sell the drug over the counter. Because the pills must be taken soon after unprotected intercourse to prevent pregnancy, the panel said, barriers to access must be low.
A study published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology this month suggests the treatment is safe for adolescents and younger women.
The analysis, which draws on information derived from an earlier randomized controlled trial, reports the experiences of 2,117 young women given access to Plan B, either directly (they were given three packets of Plan B in advance), through a pharmacy (where they could get Plan B for free and without a prescription) or at a clinic (where they had to see a doctor to get the drug).
"We didn't find, with regard to health issues, that younger women were any different than older women," said study co-author Philip Darney, chief of obstetrics and gynecology at San Francisco General Hospital and a professor at the University of California, San Francisco.
While the study looked mostly at the behavioral effects of different levels of access to Plan B, it also monitored STIs. Researchers reported finding that level of access had no effect on STI rates. The study also found that sexual behavior was not riskier among those who had pharmacy or direct access to the drug than among those who saw a doctor to obtain it.
Plan B contains a high dose of a synthetic form of progestin, which has been used in birth control pills for more than three decades -- both in progestin-only formulations and in combination with estrogen, another female hormone. (The combination pill, especially in formulations stronger than those currently on the market, is associated with increased risks of nausea, vomiting and blood clots in the legs and lungs. The combination pills may also increase the risk of breast cancer, liver tumors and endometrial cancer. It is not known if progestin-only contraceptives increase risk for those conditions.)
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The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision to defer a ruling to allow over-the-counter (OTC) sales of the emergency contraception drug Plan B has generated debate over the agency's independence from political pressure.
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Coast Guard's Chief of Staff To Assist FEMA Head Brown
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With Michael D. Brown, the embattled public face of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, taking harsh criticism for the slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the secretary of homeland security this week assigned a top Coast Guard official to help bail him out.
Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen, the Coast Guard's chief of staff, was assigned on Monday to be Brown's deputy and to take over operational control of the search-and-rescue and recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast. The unprecedented task of coordinating the massive effort was handed off to a leader and expert who was described by colleagues as unflappable, engaging and intensely organized.
Allen is also familiar with the inner workings of the Department of Homeland Security, where the Coast Guard has landed alongside FEMA as one of the designated main protectors of the United States. Allen has been one of the primary shepherds of change at the Coast Guard since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and has been praised for his ability to reach out to other agencies to develop "big-picture" approaches to homeland defense.
Retired Adm. James M. Loy, former commandant of the Coast Guard and former deputy secretary of Homeland Security, said yesterday that Allen has the experience to help steer the federal response to the Katrina catastrophe in the right direction after early shortfalls. When Loy was the Coast Guard chief of staff from 1996 to 1998, Allen was his resource director, and Loy said he "always brings a new idea per minute to the table as far as how to grapple with difficult situations."
DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff handpicked Allen to essentially lead the federal recovery efforts in New Orleans. As Brown's deputy, Allen will work with Army Lt. Gen. Russel L. Honore -- head of the military's Joint Task Force Katrina -- to oversee, manage and lead all military and civilian recovery efforts.
Loy also praised Allen's experience, which ranges from being a sailor in the early part of his career to leading the Coast Guard's transition into the Department of Homeland Security. Allen also led the Coast Guard's maritime response to the Sept. 11 attacks, mobilizing his Atlantic forces to shut down major seaports and to control U.S. waters.
Since then, Allen has been working on transforming the Coast Guard's dominant missions of drug interdiction and migrant issues to protecting the borders from terrorism.
"If I was confronted with a multi-stakeholder nightmare, Thad Allen is the guy I would want to have put in charge of coming up with the solution that would keep the stakeholders engaged, participating and focused on the chore at hand," said Loy, who is now a senior counselor at the Cohen Group in Washington.
The task in Louisiana and Mississippi is in some ways uniquely suited for the Coast Guard, which is routinely involved in search-and-rescue, recovery, waterway reconstitution and pollution cleanup efforts. The Coast Guard has rescued thousands of people stranded last week as a result of the hurricane and subsequent flooding.
Allen, 56, is a native of Tucson, and he graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1971. He later went on to earn a master's degree in Public Administration from George Washington University and a master of science degree from the Sloan School of Management at MIT.
After the Sept. 11 attacks, Allen provided the Coast Guard with an oral history of the day's events, discussing the decision to block the Potomac River and secure ports in New York and Boston. He spoke of the need to "keep cool" and "not get excited about everything," according to a transcript of the interview.
"I guess what I'm saying was I wasn't overcome by the magnitude of the event where it paralyzed or impacted my thinking," Allen said in the March 2002 interview. "I was treating it like I would a major catastrophe because we get involved in those over our career a lot. This was an order of magnitude that nobody could imagine. But nonetheless you get on task and you start working."
Adm. Thomas H. Collins, the Coast Guard's commandant, said yesterday that Allen will make a great deputy principal federal official, the official title of Brown's deputy.
"The Coast Guard is blessed with many talented personnel," Collins said in a statement. "Vice Admiral Allen is a tested leader and knows how to manage a crisis. We're glad we could send one of our best to help [Brown] manage the extraordinary challenges of this rescue and recovery effort."
Cmdr. Brendan McPherson, who was Allen's public affairs officer on 9/11 and is now at Coast Guard headquarters in Washington, said Allen is an extremely effective leader, especially in crisis situations.
"He has an amazing ability to quickly recognize a situation that needs leadership, that needs action, and then to develop a plan that can be quickly implemented," McPherson said, adding he was impressed with Allen during and after the terrorist attacks. "He quickly identified that, pulled in the resources that he needed, developed a plan, and then implemented a plan to secure the maritime borders."
Allen lives with his wife, Pamela, in Potomac, and they have three grown children and two grandchildren. The couple was away for the past week and returned to learn that Allen was going to be assigned to Louisiana. Their 30th wedding anniversary is in October, and Pamela Allen is not sure he will be home to celebrate.
"We've been sitting back wanting to help, and he was given the privilege of being able to help," said Pamela Allen, who is assistant dean for academic and career services at the George Mason University School of Management.
"He's been in the Coast Guard his entire life, and one of the things he does and does well is what the Coast Guard motto is, be always prepared. He takes every new event and gets down and starts working and sees it to its end."
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With the embattled public face of the Federal Emergency Management Agency taking harsh criticism for the slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the secretary of homeland security assigned a top Coast Guard official to help bail him out.
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With Death at Their Door, Few Leave Iraqi City
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TALL AFAR, Iraq, Sept. 6 -- On one side of the concertina wire lining an avenue stood 100 U.S. troops, five Bradley Fighting Vehicles and two M1-A1 Abrams tanks. Across the street were about 1,000 men, women and children of this embattled northwestern city.
The military had warned in leaflets dropped by helicopter and messages played over loudspeaker Tuesday morning that it would soon raid the insurgent-controlled neighborhood of Sarai, east of the city center, and asked civilians to evacuate through checkpoints in the southern part of town. But the Sarai residents, most of them Sunni Turkmens, insisted they would either flee northward or remain in their homes, come what may.
After an eight-hour standoff marked by a cycle of negotiation, miscommunication, occasional gunfire and flashes of anger, one family, about 17 people, agreed to leave the city with a military escort, after a U.S. commander gave the crowd "one final chance." The rest retreated into Sarai, vowing to take their chances.
"A lot of people are just barricading themselves in, which is a big mistake," said Staff Sgt. George Kakeletris, a psychological operations soldier who drove a Humvee all day up and down the avenue, which the military calls Bel Air, blaring messages in Arabic from speakers mounted on the roof.
About 5,000 U.S. and Iraqi soldiers entered Tall Afar four days ago in an offensive aimed at dislodging insurgents. Fighting has been sporadic so far. One U.S. soldier has been killed, along with at least 200 suspected insurgents, said Col. H.R. McMaster, commander of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which is leading the assault.
Five civilians were killed Tuesday when a suicide bomb detonated near an Iraqi army checkpoint. Four days of small-scale raids and house-to-house searches have allowed troops to encircle Sarai, where commanders here believe insurgents have massed.
The Iraqi government has asked the military commanders to minimize civilian casualties in this highly volatile region. A U.S.-led invasion of Tall Afar one year ago this month outraged the Turkish government, which argued that the assault victimized Turkmens, who share ethnic ties with Turks. When the U.S. withdrew, insurgents returned, capitalizing on anger over the offensive to consolidate control over the city, which has also been marred by sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite tribes.
"Steps are being taken to ensure that this is done with the least possible amount of harm done to civilians," McMaster said.
But several Sarai residents said they had been warned that Shiite residents or policemen, who are concentrated in southern Tall Afar, would attack if they left in that direction.
"I would rather die from American bombs in my home with my family than walk south," a man in a gray dishdasha , or robe, and white head scarf explained to soldiers. "People are saying the Shiites will kill you or kidnap you. That is a disgrace."
The evacuation of Sarai, the oldest section of Tall Afar and a web of narrow streets where fighting is expected to be difficult, was supposed to help prevent civilians from being hurt or killed during the offensive's final phase. The military strung nearly a mile of concertina wire along Bel Air, on the northern edge of the neighborhood, on Sunday to encourage people to migrate south, where it had established checkpoints to prevent insurgents from fleeing undetected. Among 200 people who followed instructions and fled south Tuesday, soldiers discovered a man suspected of being an insurgent who was dressed as a woman, complete with prosthetic breasts.
For the military, problems began at 8 a.m. Tuesday when soldiers who had spent the night in an abandoned house awoke to about 300 Sarai residents who had picked their way across the wire and were sitting in the street outside the house, asking how they could get out of Tall Afar.
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TALL AFAR, Iraq, Sept. 6 -- On one side of the concertina wire lining an avenue stood 100 U.S. troops, five Bradley Fighting Vehicles and two M1-A1 Abrams tanks. Across the street were about 1,000 men, women and children of this embattled northwestern city.
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Gang Attacks, County Troubles Cloud Duncan's Introduction to Md. Voters
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It wasn't the kind of summer Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan had in mind when he set out to introduce himself to the rest of Maryland as their best hope for governor.
Duncan's strategy to defeat Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley for the Democratic nomination next year has been to match his rival's telegenic glamour by presenting himself as the man of substance. His calling card is his 11 years at the helm of The County That Works.
But this summer, he has had to contend with gang violence and a planning department in which documents were altered to cover up violations by developers. He's even had to have officials mediate a financial crisis at the SoccerPlex in Boyds, one of the gold-star amenities that has gained Montgomery a reputation as a shining example of suburbia.
Duncan, a candidate in all but declaration, said voters will judge him on his response to these situations, rather than fault him for their occurrence. The summer, he said, has been productive for his campaign. "We're actually further along than I thought we would be," he said.
The summer's events underscore how much Montgomery has changed since Duncan was first elected county executive in 1994. "We have more diversity, we have more poverty, we have more urbanization," said council member Steven A. Silverman (D-At Large), a Duncan backer who is running for county executive next year. One illustration of Montgomery's evolution is the decline of the white population. The 1990 Census showed that nearly 77 percent of the county was white; in 2000, the figure was less than 65 percent.
Those changes were writ large for many county residents with the Aug. 5 knife attacks at Springbrook High School in the Colesville area and at a Target store in Wheaton. Police, who have connected the bloodshed to Latino gangs, have charged 12 teenagers and young men with attempted murder and assault.
Late last month, authorities announced the indictment of 19 men on federal racketeering charges, accusing them of membership in the Latino gang Mara Salvatrucha and of involvement in murder, kidnapping and other crimes in Prince George's and Montgomery counties.
Duncan and other county leaders defend their anti-gang efforts, which include nearly $5 million spent on gang-prevention programs this year and a plan to build a youth center with Prince George's County. After the stabbings, Duncan observed that the County Council this year had declined to fund his request for six additional detectives for the police force's gang unit.
Council President Tom Perez (D-Silver Spring), while noting that gang-related violence has declined nationally since the mid-1990s, said the county needs a "bold and comprehensive strategy" to address the recent attacks in Montgomery.
A potential political danger zone for Duncan is the nexus between gang activity and immigration. Duncan often touts his embrace of diversity and his background as the son of a French immigrant. The perception that gang-related violence is rising "ignites the whole simmering issue of illegal immigration," said Blair Lee, a political commentator and Duncan supporter.
In addition, county officials are struggling to devise a strategy to address planning problems that came to light this summer after Clarksburg residents discovered that hundreds of homes in their community were built in violation of height and setback limits.
Last week, the director of the county Department of Park and Planning announced his retirement, citing the need for a "fresh view" to get beyond the controversy. A junior planner resigned in June after acknowledging that she altered a site plan to make it appear that the Clarksburg homes had been built in line with the Planning Board's rulings.
Lee called Clarksburg a "black eye" for Duncan and said it is "embarrassing when you can't get height and setback right."
The council is the ultimate overseer of land use and the Department of Park and Planning. Duncan controls the county's Department of Permitting Services, which shares enforcement responsibility with the planning department. It remains unclear to what extent either agency is responsible for the lapses uncovered in Clarksburg.
Duncan initially responded by imposing a freeze on the issuance of new building permits, a move that analysts saw as an attempt to distance himself from developers who have often backed his campaigns. The freeze has effectively thawed, Duncan spokesman David Weaver said. County officials are awaiting the outcome of several investigations before instituting changes.
In the late 1990s, Duncan supported the creation of the SoccerPlex, a multifield facility run by a nonprofit organization on county land leased for $1 a year. In July, several area soccer organizations wrote to Duncan that the venture "is broken and needs to be fixed" and complained about high fees. Silverman has said the facility, which was supposed to become self-supporting over time, may need a county subsidy.
Duncan supporters suggest, in a bit of glass-is-half-full theorizing, that these difficulties may serve Montgomery politicians who seek statewide office. The more troubled the county is, this thinking goes, the less that Montgomery's leaders will be dismissed as the representatives of a rich, liberal suburb out of touch with the rest of the state.
Duncan's aides say that people elsewhere in the state appreciate his record more when they learn how Montgomery has changed.
Black voters in Baltimore, Weaver said, have been "favorably impressed" after learning that minorities outnumber white students in county schools, where some test scores show that the minority achievement gap is narrowing.
Isiah Leggett, a former state Democratic Party chairman who is running for county executive, observed that Montgomery remains an enviable place. "When someone challenges him about some of the recent problems we've had," he said, referring to Duncan, "the question is: Compared to what? That's not a road too many people will go down." Leggett has not publicly favored either Duncan or O'Malley for governor.
"I don't think anyone in Maryland wants to have their neighborhood become more like Baltimore," Lee said.
Perez, who is considering a bid for attorney general, said it is too soon to tell whether the problems in Montgomery will affect the political fortunes of its leaders.
"If we don't fix the problems, it certainly creates a potential vulnerability," he said. Perez also has not endorsed a Democratic candidate for governor.
Herb Smith, a political scientist at McDaniel College in Westminster, said news of Montgomery's summertime blues "didn't make the radar in the Baltimore area." Duncan himself, Smith added, only "somewhat" shows up on that radar. "It's mostly along the lines of: 'Isn't he the guy running against O'Malley?' "
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It wasn't the kind of summer Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan had in mind when he set out to introduce himself to the rest of Maryland as their best hope for governor.
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On the Football Field, Taylor's Got No Issues
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An impending trial on felony weapons charges and the possibility of a three-year mandatory minimum jail sentence would shake most young men. The possible legal ramifications might hover constantly, distracting the accused at work and blurring his focus, particularly if his employment thrusts him into the limelight.
Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, charged with felony assault with a firearm stemming from an incident in June, lives each day uncertain of his long-term freedom, but since reporting to the team for the start of training camp he has shown no signs of being conflicted or preoccupied. For Taylor, football appears to be a sanctuary, providing structure and camaraderie and filling his hours with practices and meetings and film sessions.
"The man is a focused individual," said Taylor's lawyer, Ed Carhart, "I can tell you that. He's one of these people that football is his life."
Carhart filed a motion to postpone Taylor's Sept. 12 Miami trial date yesterday, he said, and a hearing on the matter is set for tomorrow. Carhart said he will request that Taylor's appearance be waived for tomorrow's hearing, and sources said Taylor is not expected to miss practice to be there, although he has been given the use of owner Daniel Snyder's private plane in the unlikely event the judge upholds the Monday trial date. A source with the State Attorney's Office said "there is no need" for Taylor to attend tomorrow's hearing and that since both the defense and prosecution favor a continuance, the procedure is likely to take only a matter of minutes. The prosecution is not opposed to a postponement until after the Super Bowl in February.
Taylor's offseason -- including boycotting the team's workout program, refusing to return Coach Joe Gibbs's phone calls, and allegedly brandishing a gun and assaulting men he claims stole two of his all-terrain vehicles -- was a major storyline as the Redskins opened training camp, yet he has been uncharacteristically anonymous since. His rookie season was quite a contrast, marked by a series of agent switches, unhappiness about his rookie contract, a one-game suspension for a DUI arrest (he was later acquitted) and repeated fines for violent conduct on the field and NFL game-day uniform violations. Where once chaos seemed to swirl around him, Taylor, 22, has been almost placid off the field the last six weeks despite his legal situation.
"I think it's good for him to be around his other family, and his brothers on this football team," Pro Bowl linebacker Marcus Washington said. "I think it gets him away from all that other stuff. When you're out there playing, man, it's almost like being in your own world, and the only thing that matters is you and your teammates. And I think that's good for him, especially at a time like this."
Taylor, the fifth overall pick in the 2004 draft, declined to comment for this story, and has kept a very low profile since returning to Washington. He answered a bevy of questions at a news conference Aug. 1, but has generally declined to speak publicly since. Taylor has been uncomfortable with the press throughout his brief tenure here, but, where before he was openly hostile at times, he now adopts a more friendly demeanor. While the media attention has turned to the Redskins' offense and quarterback Patrick Ramsey, Taylor has quietly starred on the field.
"He's had a very, very good preseason," Coach Joe Gibbs said. "All of our defensive coaches feel the same way. I think he's a guy who loves football; this is where he belongs, this is what he loves doing. And I think he's had great concentration and I don't think he's shown any distraction or anything. I think he's been totally focused on football, as a matter of fact. [The legal problems] become something you don't even think about."
After two weeks, Taylor rose from the bottom of the depth chart to reclaim his starting free safety position, and is set to start Sunday's season opener against Chicago (in 2004 he did not start until the third game). He showed up in excellent condition -- allaying any concern that his offseason in South Florida was spent largely in South Beach -- displayed an immediate knowledge of the defense despite missing so many weeks of meetings and practices, and seems poised to build upon his successful rookie season.
"You do put a premium on the offseason," strong safety Ryan Clark said, "but some guys have the talent and they're able to overcome that. And he's come back and he hasn't missed a beat. He still knows what he's doing and sometimes when he doesn't his athletic ability takes over from there. He's just blessed, man, and it's obvious. We all see it, and he's done a great job since he's come back."
Taylor, 6 feet 2, 232 pounds, has the body type and intimidating presence to change games from the secondary. He lives to make tackles, has tremendous speed, a gift for prying the football loose from ballcarriers and excellent coverage skills. His reliance on those gifts at times led him to stray from sound fundamentals, which made his decision not to participate in Washington's offseason program all the more troubling for coaches. But those same coaches say Taylor has displayed a better understanding of the defense.
"With a year under his belt, he feels more at ease," said Gregg Williams, assistant head coach-defense. "He's not there yet -- he's not a finished product by any means -- but [safeties coach] Steve Jackson's done a tremendous job of bringing him up to speed in a short amount of time. I've never changed my opinion that he's the best kid I've ever coached, athletically, and I take it real personal in making sure that he matures in the right way as a football player. He's got to take some huge steps here in year two, but when you go back over time in this league, that's usually when the great ones really make a big jump. He's primed to do that."
Several Redskins said Taylor is more driven than ever to prove that his troubles will not affect his play, and that he is one of the dominant safeties in the NFL. They expect him to be a big part of one of the league's premier defenses, and improve on his four-interception, one-sack season.
"I think he's a special person," linebacker LaVar Arrington said. "He'll be all right. He's still growing, he's a young pup in his second year in the league, man, and he'll be fine. We care about him, and not because it's a football thing, but as a personal thing. I was just happy that he was all right. I gave him a big embrace the first time I saw him and I was just happy that he was okay from everything. That was my main concern, not, 'Were you in your playbook?' We'll find that out when the time is right. He's still learning, but he's a phenomenal athlete. I think he'll be fine."
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Info on Washington Redskins including the 2004 NFL Preview. Get the latest game schedule and statistics for the Redskins. Follow the Washington Redskins under the direction of Coach Joe Gibbs.
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PBS Wide Angle: 'Unfinished Country'
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Battered by hurricanes, embroiled in political turmoil, overrun by armed gangs, and largely ignored by the international community, Haiti is trying, yet again, to embrace democracy. As our hemisphere's poorest country attempts to organize for presidential elections in November, some hardened veterans of its endless cycle of uprisings and downfalls are trading guns for voter registration cards, warily giving the election process their support, while followers of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide take to the streets in protest.
Through the access provided by Haitian-based journalists to political strongmen, gangsters turned presidential hopefuls, and ordinary citizens, Wide Angle reveals life on Haiti's streets and among its power-brokers as the country endeavors to fashion a true representative government out of a volatile failed state.
Producer Daniel Morel , director Whitney Dow and writer Jane Regan was online Wednesday, Sept. 7 at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the PBS Wide Angle film "Unfinished Country," about Haiti's attempts to overcome chaos and bring democracy.
"Unfinished Country" airs Tuesday, Sept. 6 on PBS ( Check local listings ).
Producer Daniel Morel , one of Haiti's leading photojournalists, is a freelance photographer for Reuters, The New York Times, Newsweek, the Miami Herald, and others. Previously staff photographer for Associated Press in Haiti and Haiti Bureau Chief of Haitian Times, a Haitian-American newsweekly, his work has received numerous awards including the AP's Award for Excellence and the Overseas Press Club of America's Citation for Excellence.
Director Whitney Dow co-produced with Marco Williams the acclaimed Two Towns of Jasper, a feature-length documentary about the 1998 racially motivated murder of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas. Broadcast on PBS's POV in 2003, the film was awarded a duPont-Columbia Award and a Peabody Award.
Writer Jane Regan is the Haiti correspondent for Reuters TV and has been a freelance correspondent for the Miami Herald, Christian Science Monitor, Boston Globe, Interpress Service, Latinamerica Press, and others. With Daniel Morel she received the North American Congress' Sam Chavkin Prize for Integrity in Latin American Journalism.
Boulder, Colo.: I am totally appalled at your incredibly biased PBS documentary on Haiti. This poorly researched, slanted and superficial portrait of a country in turmoil stuns the imagination. You profiled Guy Philippe, a known CIA-backed paramilitary thug and death squad leader - admitted admirer of Augusto Pinochet -- as a "viable" presidential candidate. You gave him endless airtime without putting him in any kind of legitimate context. You never raised any questions about his background or past activities, which could be easily verified by a bit of factual research.
You utterly ignored the fact that Bertrand Aristide, a DEMOCRATICALLY elected president, and a PRIEST, was deposed by the United States, to the public chagrin of several of our Congressional representatives. You did not interview one single Aristide supporter but negatively referred to the "riots" in the streets that were being caused by those supporters, as if they were derelicts.
According to Human Rights Watch, Guy Philippe was a Duvalier death squad leader in the 1980's. There was not a single mention of this background. Yet, you presented the supporters of Aristide as weirdoes and kooks, without mentioning why they might have a legitimate complaint. Who, in any country in this world -- when "democracy" is such a public U.S. presidential concern - would accept the deposition of a democratically elected leader without a peep? This program is an appalling broadcast for PBS and will make me reconsider my donation. Shame on you.
Please answer why you refused to discuss the background of Guy Philippe, and why you never even broached the topic of Bertrand Aristide's illegal deposition.
Jane Regan: Hi Boulder -
We appreciate your criticism vis-a-vis Guy Philippe but unfortunately we were unable to find any concrete evidence of his involvement with the CIA.
And also you have some facts wrong - he was not in a death squad in the 80's. He was about 15 then.
As for presenting him as "viable," we did not present him as "viable." He is just one candidate. But, he is "viable" because he is popular... If you were there when the crowds of hundreds and thousands cheered as the so-called rebels entered each city you would understand that.
As for the Aristide question, this was not a film about the overthrow, it was about WHY AGAIN? and NOW WHAT?
Wellington, Fla.: Do you think that Guy Philippe according to the majority of the young people of Haiti will represent this country, and will he not do exactly as former president Aristide? Personally I love the guy (Guy Philippe) and as a young man I think he would bring change to the country and for its youths; a modern and prosperous Haiti that's what it will be.
Jane Regan: We don't know how it will turn out... that is the problem so far in Haiti. Promising people emerge as leaders and then are corrupted or somehow the system changes them. They say "absolute power corrupts absolutely" and it sounds like a cliche but it seems to be true.
Remember that Haiti as immense poverty and also 200 years of an elite and a political "class" skimming off money, corrupting, robbing, pillaging and then leaving.
Hummelstown, Pa.: Unfinished Country does an excellent job of portraying Haiti's complexity. Most of the Haiti reports and articles that I read lack perspective and balance. Having worked since 1991 with a wide range of people including kids on the street, women who were victims of abuse by de facto regime following 1991 coup, Rotarians and members of elite, NGO leaders/staff, members of numerous peasant organizations and community groups, not to mention my neighbors in the rural community I call home, I've experienced some of Haiti's complexity. Unfinished Country helps people better understand the issues and opportunities at hand. My Haitian colleague who lived in Cite de Dieu for the last 6 years said, "It [Unfinished Country] presents the truth about what's happened and is happening." He also added that there has been much less random violence in Port-au-Prince during the last two months.
One question/critic: Why did Guy Philippe have so much air time? To me, it would have been more ideal to have less of him which would have provided more opportunity to hear perspectives from some other groups/sectors?
Whitney Dow: Thank you for your kind words. As you have worked in Haiti you know how difficult it is to accomplish anything in Haiti, and this shoot was very difficult. We focused on guy for a couple of reasons. Guy was they guy who drove Aristide from power., and he was now trying to participate in the political process. We thought that this was unique as most of the time if a person has the military force he would just take power. Also Jane and Daniel had traveled with guy and Butteur during the uprising and had very intimate access to both. --Whitney
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.: When will it air again?
Whitney Dow: Check your local listings at PBS.org.
Coral Springs, Fla.: Can you do another documentary during and after the election and interview the University students as well ?
Daniel Morel: Hi thanks for your question.
We would love to do more documentaries on our country... it is a matter of getting funding and finding interest. If you really liked it, let your local PBS station know.
PS We have lots of friends who are students and professors in Haiti... at probably the most run-down university in the hemisphere. It is a tragedy...
Hempstead, N.Y.: My name is Dave Leveille, I am a graduating senior at Hofstra University. I want to purchase the taping of Wide Angle: Unfinished Country for a class discussion. I am the president of Hofstra Haitian Org. and the New York National Rep for the National Haitian Student Alliance. Thank you for your imagery of my country. Your assistance will be greatly appreciated.
Jane Regan: Hi Dave - Thanks for logging in. To get a tape or DVD you need to get in touch with WNET, the PBS station in NYC. You can also write to us at jregan@wozoproductions.org
Washington, D.C.: How can Haiti's elections be seen as legitimate as long as Fanmi Lavalas, the country's largest political party, is planning to boycott them (as stated on its Web site, Hayti.net )? And considering that hundreds of Lavalas members and leaders continue to be imprisoned - many without charges - and others have been persecuted, isn't Lavalas' boycott entirely justified?
Whitney Dow: Lavelas has now said that they will now participate and Gerard jean-Juste has declared himself a presidential candidate (from prison accused of killing journalist Jacque Roche) there are many people in prison in Haiti that are not Lavalas and most have not been charged with anything.
Washington, D.C.: When will Unfinished Country be played in D.C. again?
Whitney Dow: Check your local listings at PBS.org
Pompano Beach, Fla.: Where can I get a copy to this program on Haiti?
Whitney Dow: Contact Wide Angle and Thirteen.org.
Brockport, N.Y.: Great job, Daniel, Whitney and Jane - where can I get a complete written transcript and/or a copy of the video?
There's no ordering information on the PBS site for such materials and I'd like to have them on file.
Whitney Dow: Thank you. Contact wide angle at www.thirteen.org.
Los Angeles, Calif.: I just finished watching 'Unfinished Country' on PBS' Wide Angle program. It was really funny to see the program totally omitted the direct involvement of U.S. getting rid of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide who is democratically elected. Why don't you tell the real story what really happened in Haiti?
Jane Regan: Hi and thanks for writing.
First of all the program was not about how Aristide was overthrown out/chased away. It was about how it happened again... and why and what is next.
It is true that the US government, and also the E.U., Canada, etc., all do and did fund opposition groups, NGOs that were anti-Aristide etc., and that these were the ones who were involved in lots of anti-government demos.
It is also true that it was a little convenient that Philippe and another 100 camouflage-clad men with guns were able to mass in the DR and come across the border... certainly there was DR government involvement and probably US, although I have never (not yet) found proof.
But the film was not about that...
If I had been the editor (WNET has final say) I would have put in more about US involvement in Haiti over the years, supporting Duvalier, funding what I call the "real coup" against Aristide. etc. But in the end, WNET had the final say.
New Orleans, La.: How used to hurricanes is the Haitian government? Do they know to respond quickly and to seek people who are stranded and to either rescue them or, if that is not feasible, to at least drop food and water to them?
Jane Regan: Hi New Orleans -
Sorry to hear about what is going on down there for you.
The Haitian government so far has a horrendous response to hurricanes. The last two storm- and hurricane-related flooding incidents killed over 5000. The UN was already in Haiti, as were tons of aid agencies, so they did all the work.
The Haitian government has no planes, and a budget totally dependent on foreign aid. Worse, it has no real disaster relief network or programs. Once, there was the threat of a hurricane and so government officials got on the radio and told people to "move in with friends who live on higher ground and buy canned food and bottled water to last 3 days." Millions of people live in sea level slums and would not know anyone "on higher ground" and with 2-3 million living on less than $1 a day, do you think they can buy even one can of food?
Rochester, N.Y.: Hi-Your story didn't go into details about the candidates for the upcoming Presidential elections, specifically Chavannes Jeune and others. What resources would you recommend to do additional research on the respective parties and candidates?
Also, what resources would you recommend as reliable organizations for financial contribution to help the election succeed?
Daniel Morel: Hi Rochester -
We did not have time to profile candidates... we just had to pick one to try to give an idea of the power-play politics in Haiti.
For info on other candidates, you should monitor different Haitian news Web sites like alterpresse, radiometropole.com, etc. Also check the CEP Web site: www.cep-ht.net or .org I think.
As for contributions... I would say your contribution would be much better used and appreciated by a place like the Seguin Foundation (the ones doing the trees) or an educational institution. Let the big guys (UN etc.) and pols deal with the elections... they have $60 million. What is more important is what comes next.
Raleigh, N.C.: What do you know about sustainable agricultural development near Leogane?
Daniel Morel: Hi Raleigh -
I am not sure I know which one. Is it involved with sugarcane? There are lots of projects there... Write again if you have more specifics.
Thanks for watching our film...
washingtonpost.com: For more information on this program, please visit the Web site for "Unfinished Country."
Richmond, Va.: What comparisons can be made between Haiti and its its contiguous sister country of Dominican Republic?
Is DR as poor as Haiti? Is violence as pervasive in DR? Can DR be a model for Haiti?
I appreciate the clarity you tried to bring to the vexing challenges faced by the people of Haiti.
The DR is not poorer. It has more trees. All kids go to school. Most roads are asphalt. It is not as violent, EXCEPT some Dominicans just murdered a group of Haitians for what appear to be purely racial reasons. It is a country with a pervasive anti-Haitian undercurrent...
That is a long story.
Anyway it cannot be a model for Haiti because it has a different political history and economy... But it should at least prove that on the same island, it is possible to have a country where people can live with dignity.
Arlington, Va.: When did you decide to make this film and can you provide some insight into what is what actually like making it? How much time did it take you? Did making the film personally impact you in some way? If so, how? Thank you.
Jane Regan: Hello Arlington and thank you for participating.
Daniel and I were thinking of doing this film or some kind of film on Haitian politics and the constant betrayal of the Haitian people for some time. (See the wide angle Web site for more on that...) To make it was tough since the situation in Haiti has been and remains dangerous or, at the least, unpleasant. But we have been there so long (12 years for me, 20 for Daniel), and we know everyone on all sides, so that made it at least possible. Whitney was a great partner because he was able to be more objective and look at everything with new eyes. As for how long it took, some footage is from my and Daniel's work 2 years or 1 year ago; all the rest we shot and edited (with TWO editors) in five months which is incredibly short. As for impact... well we are proud to get someone about our country on PBS, even though we would have wanted more time so we could go more in depth.
Thanks for your comment, here is Whitney:
Whitney Dow: As Jane said it was extremely hard making the film. (personally I have never had an AK-47 put to my head before) As an American it was incredibly illuminating to go to Haiti and see first hand what it is like there. You here all the time about how bad the conditions are in Haiti, but the extent of the privation and devastation is staggering. Right now our country is very focused on itself and how the world impacts our lives, it was interesting to look back at the us with Haitian eyes and see how it looked from a country that has been impacted, sometimes extremely negatively by our actions.
Hamlin, N.Y.: You mention the Sequin Foundation - what was the name of the local activist in the show that was working on the erosion and deforestation project?
Whitney Dow: His name is serge cantave and I believe he just posted below, and included a link to the foundation.
Port Au Prince, Haiti: We at Foundation Seguin want to thank you guys for the opportunity to show to the world a matter of environmental urgency on this battered island. Besides all the political emphasis the program also showed that it is a matter of real human beings, their survival and that of their their land.
We would like to tell anyone willing to help in our effort, to first visit our site Foundation Seguin for an overview of our endeavor, and to contact us at info@fondationseguin.org.
We also want you to know that the show was viewed by a large audience in Haiti including many officials of the government.
Daniel Morel: Hi serge we are posting this for you.
I understand there is a project called CODEP, Comprehensive Development Project that has been in existence for about 15 years that has had a lot of success in reforestation and sustainable agricultural development in the mountain valleys above Leogane. It photos show a lot of trees, and a stark contrast to denudation elsewhere in most of Haiti. Hope this helps.
It seems that this kind of "ground up" (literally and figuratively) project work is what will provide at least one way out of the extreme poverty in the country.
I'd be interested in your thoughts on this kind of approach.
As far as I know, there is no real "Successful" reforestation program. Because even if trees are planted and survive a couple of years or even a decade, they will be cut down. Every year there are less trees, despite the MILLIONS being planted every year.
With no alternative fuels, with no subsidy for fuels like gas, etc., people will keep cutting trees. Most people cook with wood, bakeries and dry cleaners use wood. Something like 75% or more of the energy needs of the country come from wood.
The country needs a state and government with an ENERGY program, not just an environment ministry that does "studies" and has lots of conferences at the fancy hotels...
Sorry to be negative but those are the facts. As you drive past a town like Leogane, piles of tree trunks, planks made from fruit trees, mounds of smaller wood and charcoal all line the roads for sale. It is all technically illegal and yet there it is, no matter who is in power...
Washington, D.C.: So, after making this documentary, what are your overall impressions there? Do you think democracy has a chance? Thank you for your opinions and your explanations.
Jane Regan: Hi - We are all going to answer this.
Daniel: How can there be democracy when it is foreign governments paying for elections and in some cases, campaigns of candidates, and when 1/4 of the population is starving? I think that it might be better if there is no foreign involvement at all... and let Haiti and Haitians figure it out.
Jane: I think that the basis for a democracy is economic stability (and growth if possible!), a sound public education and health system, and then a way for all citizens to participate (open media networks, etc.) Haiti has none of these. The economy (and, related to that, the environment) continues to go downhill, less people work than before, only 66% of kids every set foot in a school room and all but a handful of schools have appalling standards. And the media system (2 papers, none of them daily, lots of radios all in private hands except the state radio controlled by the politicized state, etc.) is far, far from adequate for the level of dissemination of information and participation necessary for a democracy. (Of course the same could be said of the USA!)
Anyway in short, I feel the effort on elections is mis-placed. The country needed and needs a progressive Marshall Plan with a local and regional trade-based development vision. NOT a "free trade" one.
Whitney Dow: That is a tough question. Haiti is one of the few places that I have been where there seems no logical solution. So many times you say to yourself, if only . . . But in Haiti I could not complete the sentence. Democracy is such a buzz word right now and is being advanced by the current us administration as a cure-all for every country. I don't know if the is either the Haitian will, the people are starving, or the international will, the international community has contributed only 60 million toward the elections.
Whitney Dow: I want to thank everyone for both watching our film and writing in with your questions. I also recommend that you try to watch wide angles other shows as it is the only series on television that is really covering foreign affairs. For those that took issue with our depiction of Haiti, remember that we as documentarians can only present of perception of the truth. Anybody who has been to Haiti knows that in Haiti there are many truths. We tried to capture ours and hope that it helps illuminate something valuable about very complex country. Also, please excuse my poor typing.
Jane Regan: In conclusion to the Web chat, I would like to thank all of those who watched the film and also who logged in to participate here.
I wish that more US citizens and residents would take the time to see what is going on outside the US borders... US funding for dictators, US use of land mines, US subsidies for American farmers who then produce food that undercuts local farmers in Haiti US chicken is cheaper to buy that Haitian chicken), US media, US ignoring environmental treaties, US support of political parties and even, perhaps, paramilitaries, etc... it all has huge impacts in most -- maybe all -- countries in the world. We have a RESPONSIBILITY to know what is going on in our world, on our planet, But especially in our neighborhood. I have lived outside the US for 12 years and so I know that. I never forget how it is in Haiti and other places like that. When I walk on a sidewalk or take my kid to public school, I NEVER forget how lucky I am, but I also never forget that I MUST stay involved in politics in the US and in the world if I want to be a responsible and, ultimately, happy person. Sorry to be so heavy, but that is what living in Haiti will do to you. But even if you just live in New Jersey, talk a look outside the US...
Please go to the Wide Angle site for more on Haiti: www.pbs.org/WNET/wideangle/about/film_s4_s6.html
In conclusion to this Web chat I would like to thank people who watched the program. I know that many people in Haiti watched and I am proud of that. I am also proud that we were able to feature the music of Freedom and Masters. Freedom has a Web site: www.freedomrecordz.com, I think. I have been a fan of them for a long time.
This film was not about who is RIGHT and who is WRONG. It was about the tiny bit of hope that still remains for Haiti... that is what we tried to get at, while at the same time trying to get at some of the roots of Haiti's problem: hunger for power, greed, selfishness etc.
I hope this time Haiti can make it, not waste tax money and be less dependent on foreign money. I think foreign aid is almost like poison.
Only time will tell -- the elections are just one small step.
Jersey City, N.J.: This is my conclusion about Haiti's problems: Every political leader believes that he has the solution to Haiti's problem. No one is willing to hold their comments aside and unite to address Haiti's real problems, which are poverty, illiteracy, deforestation, etc.
In the Bible it states that we should not not put our trust in princes and mortal men. Haitians need to turn to God for He is the only one who can save Haiti.
Whitney Dow: We had joke during the production that everyone in Haiti wants to be president.
Some say that Haiti has been waiting for God for 200 years. Now there are three political parties running on "I will get God to save Haiti" platforms. Who knows, everything else has failed.
Berrien Springs, Mich.: As one with talented, delightful Haitian friends, I can only be hopeful for the U.N. to do more than eat mangos and drink coconut juice to try and win enough peace to run a fair election.
What can we do as friends of Haiti to cheer on peace and a fair election?
They are doing more than eating mangos and drinking coconut juice... there are lots of people working hard. But to the people in the slums, the UN presence does not make much difference. Perhaps now that the UN has cracked down on the kidnapping and violence a bit more...
But still, people like Elizna, her kids and her friends are literally starving as they watch tanks and snazzy SUVs roll by.
What can someone like you do? I think encourage your elected officials to have a more progressive United Nations, and a more progressive foreign policy (economic and political). Also you could help by getting in touch with foundations or institutions in Haiti doing work you think will assist without creating more dependency...
Columbus, Ohio: I appreciated getting to see this show. I have been learning all that I can about Haiti for several years. I have read everything I can find and many Haitians have found their way to my life. These people have been from every political position. I have contact with a priest who visits Haiti regularly. Maslow's basic needs must be satisfied before progress can be made. when a people struggles to survive on a daily basis, no other needs can be met. We (Americans, watching the devastation along the Gulf Coast) can now only begin to comprehend the struggle of the Haitian population. I am very interested in Serge's work and hope to be able to communicate with him.
Whitney Dow: Thanks for your kind word about our film. If you scroll up on the chat you can see that Serge posted a link and can be reached through the Seguin Web site.
washingtonpost.com: Thank you all for joining us 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 Daniel Morel, director Whitney Dow and writer Jane Regan discuss the PBS Wide Angle film "Unfinished Country," about Haiti's attempts to overcome chaos and bring democracy.
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Emotion Overcomes Sober Court
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By design, the Supreme Court is the least emotional of Washington institutions--one that prides itself on cool, reasoned legal debate. Displays of passion by lawyers at oral argument are frowned upon.
Yet this morning, feelings flowed freely at the court, as justices, law clerks and court staff gathered to say good-bye to William H. Rehnquist, the man everyone in the building had known simply as "the Chief" for almost 19 years.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, on the eve of her own planned farewell to the court, stood by Rehnquist's flag-draped coffin, trembling and sobbing openly. O'Connor is a tough 75-year-old who was raised amid cattlemen and rattlesnakes on the Arizona desert, a female trail-blazer on the court known for zero tolerance of wayward attorneys.
But even O'Connor could not contain her feelings for a friend she first met at Stanford Law School more than half a century ago.
As she took her place with her fellow justices, O'Connor glanced in the direction of an oil painting of Rehnquist in his judicial robes, which had been put on public display for the first time.
"Nice portrait," she whispered through her tears, as if complimenting Rehnquist himself.
O'Connor was flanked by Justices John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia--brushing a tear from his eye--Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen G. Breyer.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy was traveling in China and was unable to make it back in time for the ceremony; Justice David H. Souter was also out of town. Court officials said both men will be in Washington for the chief justice's funeral tomorrow.
Also at the center of the brief prayer ceremony was John G. Roberts Jr., whom President Bush has nominated to succeed the chief justice. A former law clerk to Rehnquist, Roberts was one of eight former aides tapped by the family to carry the casket up the court's long marble staircase.
Jaw set, staring straight ahead, Roberts helped hoist the heavy white pine box onto the Lincoln Catafalque, draped in black velvet, which had been loaned to the court by the U.S. Congress and set in the middle of the court's marble-columned Great Hall. Busts of Rehnquist's 15 predecessors as chief justice looked down on the scene.
Then Roberts took his place in a corner of the hall, his eyes rimmed in red. One was left to imagine the emotions surging within him as he pondered first burying an old mentor, then taking his place.
The chief justice's three children gathered near the of the coffin:James, a lawyer and former college basketball star; Janet, also a lawyer; and Nancy Spears, whom Rehnquist frequently credited as an editor of his books about Supreme Court history. Their children, Rehnquist's grandchildren, fidgeted and sobbed.
"Rest here now, child of God, William Hubbs Rehnquist," intoned the Rev. Dr. George W. Evans, the pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in McLean, which Rehnquist has attended for many years. "Rest here in the halls you know so well."
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By design, the Supreme Court is the least emotional of Washington institutions--one that prides itself on cool, reasoned legal debate. Displays of passion by lawyers at oral argument are frowned upon.
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Roberts Confirmation Hearings Begin Monday
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Confirmation hearings for chief justice nominee John G. Roberts will begin Monday at noon, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said today.
Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he expects the hearings to be completed by the end of next week. He did not say when he expects the committee to vote on the nomination.
He did express confidence that a full Senate vote on Roberts would allow him, if confirmed, to take his seat before the formal opening of the court's term, Oct. 3.
Hearings for Roberts' nomination as an associate justice were originally set for today. Specter said that even before the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist on Saturday, he had received requests for a delay so that attention could be focused on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Specter said that in postponing the hearing, the committee was deferring to the Rehnquist family and others involved in the late chief justice's funeral.
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Confirmation hearings for chief justice nominee John G. Roberts will begin Monday at noon, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said today.
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Roberts's Personal Skills and Political Savvy Seen as Assets
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On Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia has been the acknowledged intellectual leader of the conservative bloc, a brilliant writer and legal thinker with many followers in legal academia.
Yet when it came time to replace Rehnquist as chief justice, President Bush did not tap Scalia, 69, as some conservatives had hoped. Rather, he reached outside the court and selected John G. Roberts Jr.
Roberts, 50, is not only younger than Scalia, but also mellower, a former law clerk of the easygoing Rehnquist. Roberts became known for his astute political judgments in the Reagan administration and his cordial personal relations with many liberal attorneys during his years as a Supreme Court advocate. In a role in which he will have few means of forging majorities other than persuasion and tact, that could make Roberts an effective force for conservatism on the court.
"A committed conservative with interpersonal skills equal to or superior to Rehnquist's would be a far more effective chief justice than a nominee of equal intellect who lacks those graces," said David J. Garrow, a professor of law at Emory University.
Historians have often labeled different eras at the court for the chief justice who presided at the time. Yet whereas the chief justice runs oral argument and closed-door conferences, he has only one vote and few formal means of control over the court. Rehnquist himself once likened leading the Supreme Court's eight associate justices to controlling "hogs on ice." The court's nominal boss, he said, "may at most persuade or cajole" his independent-minded colleagues.
Thus, the Warren Court's jurisprudence probably owed as much to the thinking and interpersonal skills of Justice William J. Brennan Jr. as it did to the ideas of Chief Justice Earl Warren. Sandra Day O'Connor, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan who often found herself unable to agree with Scalia, was the controlling force of the Rehnquist Court.
Probably the chief justice's principal power is the right to assign the writing of opinions for the court when he is in the majority. Rehnquist was known for the fairness with which he distributed opinions among the associates -- especially in contrast to his predecessor, Warren E. Burger, who often generated ill will by manipulating the process.
Rehnquist also prevented the court's conferences from turning into prolonged debates, which had often led to delays and personal feuding at the court earlier in the 20th century.
Instead, Rehnquist's policy was that every justice would speak at least once, to announce his or her vote and view of the case, before anyone would be allowed to raise an objection.
The Burger period was a time of notorious internal bickering at the court, which Roberts saw first-hand as a law clerk for Rehnquist -- then an associate justice -- during the 1980-1981 term.
As chief justice, Rehnquist would sometimes join a majority he probably did not agree with, so as to reserve the opinion-writing for himself and thus limit the damage to his own legal preferences. But he would also take his share of less-glamorous assignments, such as tax and Indian law cases.
As a young aide in the Reagan administration, Roberts was an advocate of conservative policy positions -- but also a keen student of politics and the media who frequently counseled his superiors how to achieve their objectives without ruffling feathers.
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On Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist's Supreme Court, Justice Antonin Scalia has been the acknowledged intellectual leader of the conservative bloc, a brilliant writer and legal thinker with many followers in legal academia.
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Roberts Was Influenced by Critics of the Warren Court
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From his youthful days as a Reagan administration aide to his current job as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, John G. Roberts Jr. has consistently espoused a clear view of federal judicial intervention: Less is more.
This same principle was held dear by the man Roberts served as a Supreme Court clerk, the late William H. Rehnquist -- whose former position as chief justice of the United States is now suddenly within Roberts's grasp.
In the quarter-century since he served as Rehnquist's aide, Roberts has made an instinctual and deeply held conservatism plain at nearly every turn. As a young Reagan administration aide, he registered his skepticism toward court-recognized "fundamental rights," such as the right to privacy. Earlier this year, Judge Roberts voted to permit President Bush to subject terrorism suspects to military trials at Guantanamo Bay.
The question -- more urgent now since Bush nominated him yesterday morning to lead the high court -- is where Roberts's vision of judicial restraint would lead him on the most volatile issues. The woman Roberts was originally tapped to replace, Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, sometimes displayed her conservatism by bowing to precedents on social issues -- notably Roe v. Wade , which established a right to abortion rooted in a right to privacy. Rehnquist labored mightily to reverse some rulings on abortion and the rights of criminal defendants that he thought were wrongly decided in the first place.
To Roberts's supporters, his history suggests he will be a careful and principled leader of the federal judiciary, one who would restore the true constitutional balance of power between the courts and the people's elected representatives in Congress, the White House and the states.
To his opponents, it suggests a willingness to leave the constitutional rights of women and minorities unprotected against violations by the more political branches of government.
What is unmistakable from Roberts's record, however, is that his essential philosophy about the role of courts in American life is strongly held. There is little prospect that the 50-year-old judge will be any less likely to press his beliefs in conference with colleagues on the court than he was to promote them in memos to his elders in the Reagan administration.
Sounding very much like the 26-year-old aide who ghostwrote articles and speeches on judicial restraint for President Ronald Reagan's Justice Department, Roberts told the Senate firmly in a written submission last month that federal judges "do not have a commission to solve society's problems, as they see them, but simply to decide cases before them according to the rule of law."
Roberts has said that defining the proper boundaries of judicial review is a "central problem" of American government. Few legal analysts of any ideological stripe would dispute that.
Throughout history, the Supreme Court has provoked controversy by using its power to declare laws unconstitutional in ways that critics saw as overstepping its authority.
President Thomas Jefferson condemned the 1803 Marbury v. Madison decision that established the doctrine of judicial review.
The Dred Scott case of 1857 -- which declared that black people were "beings of an inferior order" and that congressional efforts to restrict slavery in northern territories were a violation of property rights -- discredited the institution for a generation. A series of rulings striking down state and federal economic regulations provoked President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "court-packing" plan, until the justices backed down and began upholding New Deal legislation.
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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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President Bush announced Sunday that he will nominate John G. Roberts as the 17th chief justice of the United States. If confirmed, Roberts will replace William H. Rehnquist, who died Saturday from cancer. Bush had selected Roberts in July to fill the seat of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. Senate committee hearings on the original nomination had been scheduled for Tuesday but those were postponed until after Rehnquist's funeral.
Susan Low Bloch , a professor at Georgetown University Law Center's Supreme Court Institute and co-author of "Supreme Court Politics: The Institution and Its Procedures," was online Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 2 p.m. ET to discuss the Supreme Court and Bush's nomination of Roberts as chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Va.: What if Justice Roberts was confirmed last week for O'Connor's seat and then nominated again for Chief Justice? Would he have to go through another confirmation hearing?
Susan Low Bloch: Anyone nominated for Chief Justice must go through a confirmation hearing - whether the nominee is already on the court or not.
Va.: Was Warren Burger a lawyer? Is legal training required to be a Supreme Court justice?
Susan Low Bloch: Burger was a lawyer. One does not have to be a lawyer to be on the Supreme Court, but every single justice since the beginning has been a lawyer.
Washington, D.C.: Besides presiding over Presidential impeachment trials in the Senate (which happen very infrequently, recent history excepted), what other authority does the Chief Justice have beyond that given to associate justices?
Susan Low Bloch: The Chief Justice is responsible for the whole federal judiciary, worrying about how it works, its budgets, its buildings, etc. That includes not only the Supreme Court but also the federal District Courts and federal Circuit Courts. In addition, he has some responsibility for the Smithsonian.
Thurmont, Md.: Is it unprecedented for someone to be nominated for Chief Justice prior to being an Associate Justice? Aren't the current Justices feeling slighted for not being considered for Chief Justice?
Susan Low Bloch: It is unusual to be nominated for Chief while one is waiting to be confirmed as Associate Justice. But it is not unusual to nominate someone for Chief who is not already on the Court. In fact, of the 16 past Chief Justices, only 5 came from on the Court. Rehnquist of course was one, but he was unusual. More typical is from outside - like Burger and Warren - predecessors of Rehnquist.
Washington, D.C.: Assuming Roberts is confirmed, how do you think the other justices will react to the newest and youngest member of the Court walking in as the new Chief Justice? It seems akin to a new college graduate skipping the entry level position and going straight to CEO.
Susan Low Bloch: Good question. I think it will be odd for all of them, but Roberts is a respected attorney whom the Justices know pretty well so he can probably pull it off. He is very friendly and very respectful, so after some awkwardness, it should work well.
How is the chief justice selected? Is it just the President's choice? If I heard correctly, the previous chief justice was an associate for 15 years before he was appointed. What is the significance of the President picking his appointee to also being the Chief Justice? Thank you.
Susan Low Bloch: The Chief Justice is chosen in the same way as any other Justice - the President nominates and the Senate confirms. The President can nominate someone already on the court or someone outside. Of the 16 Chief Justices in our history, only 5 have come from inside the court.
Silver Spring, Md.: I know the question was asked about whether it is unusual for someone to be nominated who isn't an associate judge, but is it unusual for someone with such little judicial experience to be nominated? Also, regardless of his beliefs, do you expect the experience factor to be an issue for the chief justice nomination more-so than just an associate nomination?
Susan Low Bloch: In recent years, it has become more common to name justices who were already judges elsewhere. That is, prior judicial experience is becoming more common. But it is not always the case. Rehnquist had no judicial experience before getting on the Court. Neither did Earl Warren. Its probably easier to start if you have some judicial experience, but it is not essential.
Washington, D.C.: Sometimes it takes years for a case to be heard by the Supreme Court. Are there any interesting test cases on Roe v. Wade currently in the federal appeals processes that Roberts might seize in this term and then force the issues onto paper to begin the dismantling process?
Susan Low Bloch: I don't know of any Roe cases in the current pipeline - that is, I don't know of any states that ban abortions. But there are cases dealing with statutes that regulate abortions. For example, there is a case pending that restrict the ability of minors to get abortion. That will give us a sense of where Roberts is on the issue.
Baltimore, Md.: What is the current train of thought for the next nominee? Any speculation on who it might be? And what ever happened to Gonzales?
Susan Low Bloch: The O'Connor seat now needs a nominee and Gonzales is still a possibility for that seat. I also wouldn't be surprised to see Bush nominate a woman for the O'Connor seat - current speculation includes Edith Jones of Texas and Edith Clement of New Orleans.
Washington, D.C.: Two quick questions, please. Do you think that any of the other 7 justices felt slighted by the selection of Roberts as President Bush's choice for Chief? There is no shortage of egos on the court. From the President's perspective, his selection makes perfect sense. This is the best man for the job, so let's have the best man for the job for chief.
What if the Senate does not confirm Judge Roberts as Chief? Can President Bush renominate him for the associate justice position? How weird would that be?
Susan Low Bloch: I'm sure that some felt slighted. But to nominate one of the sitting Justices would have meant 3 confirmation hearings. By naming Roberts, there will be only 2. I'm sure Bush did not want any extra confirmation hearings. Moreover, since O'Connor said she would stay on until her successor is confirmed, naming Roberts gives the Court the possibility of being complete when it starts in October. And Roberts is a good choice.
On the second question, it would be weird to renominate Roberts if he did not get confirmed as Chief. It would be legal but it's hard to imagine why Bush would do that.
Lansing, Mich.: Now that Roberts is up for the Chief's spot, will he have an easier confirmation process given the fact that he's probably replacing someone who was more conservative than he is? Any names being thrown around for O'Connor's replacement? Any chance we will have a nominee who is a true moderate? I know many people are very concerned about their personal liberties with the appointment of a justice who swings to the right on social issues.
Susan Low Bloch: You are correct that replacing Rehnquist with Roberts should be easier - except for the fact that people always pay more attention to the chief. SO on balance, I think the confirmation will go about the same way it would have if he were replacing O'Connor.
Re: replacing O'Connor, I predict Gonzales or Edith Jones (Texas) or Edith Clement (New Orleans). Not sure Bush will name anyone moderate, although some people think that Gonzales might be somewhat moderate on social issues.
Albany, N.Y.: Defenders of Roberts rightly point out that as an attorney he has to make his client's case, and seem to imply that there was nothing more to his briefs than that. This begs the question: if a person only seeks to work with/for people with a particular point of view, is it not fair to infer that they must share that point of view as well? As I recall, Roberts worked for the Reagan, Bush I and Bush II administrations. He did not work for the Clinton administration. Why not? If it turns out that he expressed an interest in doing so, or attempted to do so, this would go a long way toward easing my fears.
Susan Low Bloch: Good question. I do not know whether he talked to the Clinton administration. But I do know that he did pro bono work for a gay rights group.
Austin, Tex.: There have been a couple of questions about how the other Justices will feel about the Roberts nomination.
I'll ask the question a little more bluntly. Was Scalia (relatively young, ideologically in tune with Bush, etc.) hoping/expecting to be the next Chief Justice?
Susan Low Bloch: I imagine Scalia was disappointed. But as I said earlier, that would have required 3 confirmation hearings - 1 for Roberts for O'Connor's seat, 1 for Scalia as Chief, and 1 for whoever would replace Scalia. I'm sure Bush would not want 3 confirmation hearings.
Susan Low Bloch: Thanks everyone for your excellent questions. I enjoyed chatting with you. Till next time, Susan Bloch
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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Book: 'Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War'
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In his new book, "Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War," Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Anthony Shadid of The Washington Post Foreign Service tells stories of ordinary Iraqis caught up in conflict. Shadid, who speaks Arabic fluently, was not embedded during his time in Iraq and was able to gain insights on individual stories--from those who supported the U.S. action to those taking up arms as jihadists. Shadid's on the street approach merges the big picture of the war with the daily lives of Iraqis and provides an illustration for life in Iraq during and after the overthrow of Saddam Hussein .
The Washington Post's Anthony Shadid was online Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 1 p.m. ET to discuss his book, "Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War," and the impact of the war on ordinary Iraqis.
After the Fall, Amal Surrenders Her Illusions.
An Uncertain Dawn On a Scarred Street
Anthony Shadid: Good afternoon. It's a pleasure to join you all today, and I'm looking forward to the discussion over the next hour. I see some questions already here, so I'll go ahead and get started.
Toronto, Canada: Mr. Shadid, I reside in Canada and receive my news from CBS, ABC, NBC but mostly Washington Post and CNN I should also mention PBS radio in Buffalo. My vantage point might not be as clear as most U.S. citizens who live with these concerns every day. My question is do you believe that most Americans have a good knowledge of the day to day war in Iraq, or are they fed the administrations message? What is the real deal in your opinion. Is the war message being sanitized for home consumption? if so by whom and for what purpose? Again in your opinion.
Anthony Shadid: That's a tough question. Since I spend most of my time in Iraq and the rest of the Middle East, it's difficult to say how informed people are in the United States on Iraq. I guess my gut sense is that people seem better informed each time I visit. I think there is an attempt by all sides -- the U.S. government, the Iraqi government, insurgent leaders, etc. -- to define Iraq one way, to create a narrative that fits into their preconceptions of what Iraq is. I've always been struck by how Iraq defies those attempts. Even today, I don't think there's an easy way to describe the country. As a person spending time there, I guess I'm struck by how difficult life remains -- less electricity than ever before, days without water, the lurking threat of violence. Those issues, I think, dominate life there and define, for many, their attitudes and perceptions toward almost everything.
Washington, D.C.: What would happen to people like Amal's family if and when American troops withdraw?
Anthony Shadid: I wish I knew the answer to that. I think the general sense is that an American withdrawal would precipitate even worse violence, perhaps chaos. There's an alternative view out there, though, that only with an American withdrawal could a future government secure the legitimacy that remains fundamental in creating the institutions to move Iraq forward. My sense is that there's a bit of a no-win situation at work: Stability, at least for now, requires an American presence, while the American presence itself fuels strife.
Munich, Germany: I read a review of your book last weekend and I duly noted that you were described as a "Formidable Journalist". The review also mentioned that you're of Lebanese descent, born and raise in Oklahoma and fluent in Arabic.
With your fluency in Arabic, I was wondering how well you could assimilate yourself in Iraq.
Could you pass yourself off as Iraqi while walking the streets of Baghdad? Did you feel that you could venture to parts of Baghdad and Iraq that other journalists couldn't?
Anthony Shadid: No, I can't. I learned Arabic in Egypt and speak with an Egyptian accent. I've never been treated as an Iraqi while working in the country. But language has helped open doors there and allowed me some access I might not have had otherwise. As an Arab-American, I feel like I maybe blend in a little bit better in some places.
Los Angeles, Calif.: Mr. Shadid,
The most pressing question remains:
At what point will a withdrawal of U.S. forces result in the locals turning on foreign fighters WITHOUT devolving the conflict into a civil war?
Anthony Shadid: I think what you're suggesting here is a tantalizing question. To be honest, I don't necessarily see an answer right now to ending the strife in Iraq. At the same time, I don't see a bleak future as certain. Could Iraq be a functioning, if troubled democracy in 10 years? Perhaps. Could it be a version of early 1990's Afghanistan, with competing militias staking out turf and profits in a lawless environment. I think that's possible, too. There's a scenario, though, that you hint at -- what if an American withdrawal allowed Sunnis to fully join a political process no longer burdened by the image of a U.S. occupation? Would some Sunni elements then treat foreign insurgents differently? I don't know the answer. But it's difficult for me to see national reconciliation as long as the United States maintains the role it is playing now.
Thanks so much for your great insight in the past....it's always enlightening to read your work. Perhaps this is an impossible question to answer briefly, but could you explain the basic difference between the Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds in terms of their religious beliefs? Or, is the current Sunni / Shiite power struggle a purely political one? (i.e. old grudges or wealth or oil reserves or land....) Any insight will be greatly appreciated!
Anthony Shadid: I'll give it a shot in a few sentences. The two dominant Muslim sects in Iraq are Shiite and Sunni Islam. The majority of Arabs in Iraq are Shiite, though traditionally, Sunnis have played a bigger role in the government and security forces. The majority of Kurds, a minority themselves, are Sunni, although there are smaller communities of Shiite Kurds. The division between Sunni and Shiite Islam dates to a 7th century dispute over the succession to the Prophet Mohammed. Over the centuries, that dispute has evolved into differences in doctrine, worship and the communities' sense of themselves. In Iraq today, the differences are far more political than religious. To a greater degree than in past years, religious Shiites are acting as a community motivated, primarily, by politics (or, more bluntly, power). That's part of a transformation we've seen over the past few years, in which sect and ethnicity are becoming the crucial elements in political bargaining, negotiation and compromise. Sect and ethnicity always played a huge role in Iraqi life, but I think increasingly, they now define it.
Clinton, Iowa: Is there any feeling by the Iraqi population, that the U.S. troops are helping them? Are we just seen as an occupation army as some have said?
Anthony Shadid: I always hesitate to speak with any authority about sentiments across the country. I'm sure there are places where people are happy with the U.S. presence, and there is no question that projects designed at improving life have been completed across Iraq. But I think if you honestly ask what is the prevailing sense about the presence of U.S. troops it would be this: We expected far more and we're frustrated with how little has been achieved. Life has improved in some ways, but worsened in so many others.
Charlottesville, Va.: How long do you think American troops will have to stay? That is, when will the Iraqis be able to provide their own security and govern themselves?
Anthony Shadid: I think that's a question that a lot of Americans ask, and to be honest, I don't know the answer. I guess we'll have a better sense once a clear criteria for their departure is set: Is it, like you said, when the government can provide security? Is it when Iraqi security forces are somewhat evenly matched with insurgents? Is it when domestic political demands require a departure before either occurs? I'm just not sure.
New York, N.Y.: Could you elaborate on a point Spencer Ackerman made about your book in his review in The American Prospect, namely that al-Sistani and Sadr are much closer in their views than the U.S. government and media tend to credit them?
Anthony Shadid: Sure. In terms of religious doctrine and ideology, Sadr and Sistani are both part of what Iraqis call the Hawza, the Shiite religious establishment. Both remain very unclear on what shape a future government will take. Neither would suggest that Islamic law should somehow be ignored, neither are opposed to the idea of elections, neither would say the clergy should have no political role. What they do disagree on is engagement with the U.S. presence. Sadr has opposed it, fighting twice against U.S. troops. Sistani has grudgingly accepted it, as a means to an end. Some people have remarked that Sistani's endorsement of elections was revolutionary. I think it is interesting, but if we look back at those months in 2003-4, it was actually Sadr that first called for elections. My sense was that then and at other moments, Sistani was reacting to sentiments on the ground. And, I think if you get down to it, both see those elections as guaranteeing a Shiite majority that would defer to the Hawza on crucial questions. It's as tactical as it is strategic.
Do you think the Insurgency is in it's last throes as Dick Cheney said few months ago? and secondly, how long do you think it will go on? Commander in Iraq recently said he sees the possibility of withdrawing significant number of troops in spring, what is your take on it?
Anthony Shadid: No, I don't think it's in its last throes. If anything, I'm struck by the ways in which it evolves, becoming more complex, more violent and more durable. My sense is that it will continue as long as their is a U.S. military presence. I think there may be a withdrawal in the spring, but I'm not sure that will reflect success against the insurgency.
Columbia, Mo.: How much, if any, ethnic and sectarian displacement occurred since the U.S. invasion? Particularly in towns with both Sunni and Shia and towns with Kurdish, Assyrians, Turkomens, Arabs, etc.
Anthony Shadid: My sense is that most of the displacement has occurred along the frontier between Kurdish-dominated northern Iraq and the rest of the country. Despite denials, there is a redrawing of the border going on in northern Iraq, an attempt, it seems, by the Kurds to create facts on the ground before that border is eventually negotiated. Most of the displacement has occurred in that respect.
Alexandria, Va.: How do you move about Iraq to interview ordinary Iraqis? Do you have a military escort?
Anthony Shadid: I travel in a car with two men I've worked with for more than two years now. We have a car that follows us at a distance, in case we run into trouble or break down. We don't have a military escort. You'd really only have that if you were embedded.
Baltimore, Md.: Thanks for your excellent coverage. As a journalist, can you talk about your experience not being embedded, both early and recently? Your relative ease of access to the people of Iraq has clearly been an advantage, but has it tried you in any ways?
Anthony Shadid: It's interesting. I look back to that period between Saddam's fall in April 2003 and the Sadr uprising and first attack on Fallujah in April 2004 as a period of some of the most remarkable access I've ever encountered. In a way, it was the first time in 10 years that I felt you could report completely unencumbered in an Arab country. Back then, it was just a matter of endurance -- if you could spend the time, you could almost always get to the story. That's obviously not the case anymore. I think we're limited to Kurdish regions, parts of Baghdad and parts of southern Iraq. Even in southern Iraq, though, I've found parts of it becoming more and more dangerous as militias run by Shiite religious parties broaden their sway. Basra, in fact, has become one of the riskier places to work.
Rockville, Md.: It is sometimes sarcastically asserted that the country whose national security has most unambiguously benefited from the Iraq invasion is Iran.
Sarcasm aside, do you think there is much truth to this?
(If true, how bitterly ironic for our "war on terror.")
Anthony Shadid: I hesitate to say anything on a strategic level, but I am struck by the degree of Iranian involvement in southern Iraq. There's a definitely a sense in Basra, the second-largest city, that Iranian intelligence has a pretty free hand there. Often heard is the remark that if relations drastically worsened between the United States and Iran, southern Iraq might be the battlefield. I don't want to suggest all this is insidious. Iran has an understandable national interest in Iraq, its neighbor. But if you look at parts of the south, especially Basra, the Iranian have far greater sway than either the United States or Britain.
What is your sense of Iraqis' opinions about the most popular of Bush's comments--Iraq war is a war against terrorism and that we fight them on the streets of Baghdad rather than the streets of our cities? I recently saw a comment from a professor in Baghdad University who said "Bush would rather have Iraqis die to make his city safer".
Anthony Shadid: I've heard that often, though perhaps more a year ago than now. I mentioned earlier this distrust and suspicion that sometimes spills over into conspiracy. That's an example -- I think there's definitely a sense among a certain constituency that the Americans have brought the war to Iraq so that they don't have to fight it in the United States. In that vein, some suggest that without the Americans there, the foreigners wouldn't have anything to fight about. I'm not saying I agree. It's just what you hear.
Palatine, Ill.: With Saddam Hussein's removal, has there been a significant return of Iraqis who had left the country under Saddam's rule?
Anthony Shadid: Not really. In fact, I think there's been a lot of emigration from Iraq, especially to Jordan and Syria. There are whole neighborhoods these days in Amman that are basically Iraqi.
New York, N.Y.: Ackerman also implied that your book suggests Sadr is more of a power among Shi'ites in Iraq than Sistani--or at least more of a power than the media and U.S. are able or willing to admit. (Or did I read him wrong?)
Your book sounds fascinating, by the way, and I'm very much looking forward to reading it.
Anthony Shadid: I wouldn't argue that Sadr has more religious influence than Sistani. Sistani remains the marja, the supreme Shiite religious authority in Iraq, and that carries tremendous weight. But I think there are a couple of levels to that influence. Even today, Sistani is criticized for not speaking out enough. I actually heard that as recently as a few weeks ago in Najaf. Sadr is extremely outspoken, and that is one of his sources of support. The other is guns. Sadr has them; Sistani, in a formal sense, doesn't. Sadr may not have more influence in a religious sense than Sistani in Diwaniya, Amara or Nasiriya. But his militia could probably seize control of any of those cities in a matter of days. On your last question, I think Sadr has been consistently underestimated.
Washington, D.C.: Was the chaos in Iraq inevitable or do you believe it is due to a lack of planning on the part of the U.S.?
Anthony Shadid: That's a great question and, again, I hate to say this, but I'm just not sure. I do think that much of what we see today in Iraq was decided in the first few weeks after Saddam's fall. Baghdad was wrecked, views toward the United States were formed and credibility was ruptured. Could the United States have gotten through that? Perhaps. It probably would have required not only an infusion of aid, but effectiveness in spending it; a massive troop presence; a somewhat quick transfer to U.N. authority; a rapid handover to an Iraqi government. But even if that had happened, would it have worked? I just don't know. So much that has happened in Iraq felt inevitable to me, as though forces were unleashed that had been there for decades, even centuries.
Washington, D.C.: Hi, Thanks for your great reporting. If there is one persistent theme I have noticed in your work, it is the observation that most Iraqis have been concerned more by the basic security and living issues--ability to walk streets, have electricity, etc--rather than relatively chimerical developments such as a constitution. The question: To what extent has the lack of these basic amenities fueled the insurgency thus far?
Anthony Shadid: I do think that's right. Living conditions, it seems, to me are by far the priority in Baghdad and elsewhere. That can be defined loosely -- politics are the key to stability and stability affects everything. But I think the overwhelming ambition for many Iraqis was an improvement in the lives, an end to what had been almost 25 years of deprivation. It didn't follow. Did that have a direct impact on the insurgency? I don't know. But I think it did have a huge effect on the atmosphere and climate in which the insurgency was fought. There is a lot of anger toward militants, particularly over the killing of civilians. But that anger doesn't translate into support for the U.S. military, itself a source of suspicion, mistrust and anger.
Columbia, Mo.: In a general sense what is Sistani's current health? What would be the implications of his death with respect to the power base among shia? Would Sadr benefit or is there a well known spokesmen who would step in to represent Sistani?
Anthony Shadid: I asked that question in Najaf a few weeks ago. From what I heard, his health is good, but I suspect any problems he might be having would be kept a closely guarded secret by his men. I think the transition would be relatively smooth. The successor mentioned most often is Mohammed Saeed Hakim, one of the four men generally recognized as grand ayatollahs in Najaf. It would take him time to build up his credibility, influence and power, though, and I'm sure in a vacuum Sadr and others would have greater leeway to act.
Doylestown, Pa.: Greetings, I'm curious what the Iraqi civilians have to tell about those eight or nine U.S. military bases being built by the Pentagon around Iraq?
Anthony Shadid: I think many people see construction at U.S. bases as a sign of American intentions to stay in Iraq for a long time.
La Paz, Bolivia: What is the sentiment of most Iraqis to whom you speak regarding political repression and violence but stability of Saddam's regime versus the political chaos and everyday violence? If they could turn back the clock, would they?
Anthony Shadid: Again, I think there are so many perspectives on this. I guess if I had to say what I hear most often it would be that there is frustration and resentment with both -- a loathing of Saddam and a deep disenchantment with what followed. People do speak nostalgically about the lack of crime under Saddam, but it's rare to hear people say sincerely they want him back. At the same time, I hear a lot of frustration with today, probably more than at any point since Saddam's fall. I guess I'm always struck by resilience in Iraq. As bad as it was, as bad as it is, there still is hope that it will get better. So in a roundabout way, I guess that's the answer -- they don't want what they had, or what they have now, but what they could have, and I think there's definitely still hope for that.
Anthony Shadid: Well, I think time's up. I want to thank everyone for their questions, and I'm really sorry I didn't get to most of them. I hope I can do this again soon.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
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The Washington Post's Anthony Shadid, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting from Iraq, discusses his book "Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War," which tells the stories of ordinary people caught up in war.
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An Uncertain Dawn On a Scarred Street
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On June 23, 2005, a war more than two years old arrived at the busy commercial district of Karrada, where Amal Salman, now 16, lived with her family.
For months, hardly a day had passed without a car bomb somewhere in Iraq; the scenes unleashed in Karrada by the explosion at 7 a.m. were so familiar as to have become routine. Twisted wreckage smoldered, its acrid smoke mingling with the stench of seared flesh. Water cascaded over the fires, then, turning black, mixed with pools of blood. Shattered glass danced along the buckling asphalt like a hailstorm.
Left in the bomb's wake were the ruins of the Abdel-Rasul Ali Mosque, a neighborhood place of worship entered through wooden doors graced by a blue, floral-tiled portico and decorated by calligraphy invoking God, Muhammad and Imam Ali. In quieter months, under lazy fans and chandeliers, Amal, her mother and sisters had gathered there to celebrate the religious holidays of Shiite Muslims.
"I woke up terrorized by the powerful explosion, with my heart beating fast, fearing that someone might have died or been wounded," Amal wrote in her journal that day.
With her sisters and mother, she clambered onto the balcony of their three-room apartment. Surprisingly quickly, police had arrived, vainly trying to direct dazed bystanders, some of their faces frozen in the blank stares of shock. From the third floor, Amal heard the shouts of others -- cries of anger and, more frequently, helplessness.
Minutes later, in a tactic that had become more and more common those days, another car bomb detonated, then another, all along her street as Amal watched. Before the spasm ended, four in all exploded, killing 17 people and hurting many more.
"For a moment, I thought I had died," Amal wrote in a long entry. "Then I realized I was not dead, but I was so scared. In a moment the police car was burned and those inside it were dead, burned. A young man who had only recently announced his engagement died, along with a good old man who lives in the neighborhood, named Abu Karrar, and Khalil the Kurd, who owns a shop in one of the small shopping centers here."
Since she had begun keeping her diary in 2003, Amal had witnessed the events of a lifetime: an invasion and the only government she knew toppled in a few weeks; an occupation; promises of prosperity and the disappointment that followed; an insurgency and the specter of civil war. That Thursday morning was the first time she had seen death.
"It was a true disaster which I will never forget as long as I live. Total destruction, not only in the Karrada district, but inside me, my family and among our neighbors," she wrote. "I was really in pain over this scene which I hope no one would ever have to see."
Residents sometimes remark that Baghdad is cursed by how little is ordinary. It is a city that Karima, Amal's mother, calls forsaken, tempered perhaps only by its resilience -- the city's best and, in these days, most valuable trait. On a hot summer day, as a sandstorm cast the capital in a sickly glow, Amal recovered from the latest disaster. She helped care for her sister, Hibba, whose right arm was torn by flying debris. She traded gossip with neighbors about who lived and who died. She watched police clear the streets, then saw the Americans arrive. A military truck brought bottles of water; people lined up to receive them.
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BAGHDAD Last of three parts On June 23, 2005, a war more than two years old arrived at the busy commercial district of Karrada, where Amal Salman, now 16, lived with her family.
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It's Your Failure, Too, Mr. Bush
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BATON ROUGE -- After a tragically incompetent beginning, the effort to give urgent care to the multitudes from New Orleans whose homes and livelihoods have been obliterated is finally in high gear. The problem now is that nobody knows where it's headed.
At the top, things are still hopeless. Federal, local and state officials who perform for the cameras here at the Louisiana State Police complex, headquarters for the relief effort, still spend an unconscionable amount of time debating who's in charge. Is the president the ultimate authority, or is it Blanco, Nagin, Chertoff, Brown or the generals? The answer seems to vary from hour to hour, depending on who's holding court in the hot, stuffy briefing room or outside on the portico, where visiting luminaries get mobbed by microphones.
Fortunately, the finger-pointing follies don't matter much on the ground and in the water. Military, police and civilian relief units did what had to be done and emptied the New Orleans basin of Hurricane Katrina's bereft survivors. They are being fed, sheltered and clothed. They can't be described as alive and well, but they're alive.
Hundreds of thousands of evacuees are scattered around Louisiana and neighboring states in a sudden diaspora, and no one seems to have any idea what to do with them next. The evacuees bristle at the word "refugees," which makes them sound as if they don't belong in this country. But whatever you call them, they won't be able to go back home -- and won't have a home to go back to -- for months or even years.
Baton Rouge, perhaps the best example, has swollen like the Mississippi River in an epic flood. The people here have been generous and good-natured to a fault. Down by the river, at the convention center, the Red Cross is housing about 5,000 evacuees; another big shelter is being opened across town, and smaller shelters are being organized every day, many by local churches. It's impossible to count the families who have opened their homes to relatives, friends or needy strangers.
Every city and town in Louisiana that wasn't blasted by the hurricane is full of evacuees. Then there are the tens of thousands in Texas and the multitudes scattered across neighboring states. Their host communities have the best of intentions, but many won't be able to stand the added drain on resources indefinitely. Where will these people go? Why wasn't there a plan?
That's when I start my finger-pointing, because a few days in and around this ground zero have convinced me that there are two things the federal government failed to do, and that for these failures there's ultimately no one to blame but the president.
First, an administration that since Sept. 11, 2001, has told us a major terrorist strike is inevitable should have had in place a well-elaborated plan for evacuating a major American city. Even if there wasn't a specific plan for New Orleans -- although it was clear that a breach of the city's levees was one of the likeliest natural catastrophes -- there should have been a generic plan. George W. Bush told us time and again that our cities were threatened. Shouldn't he have ordered up a plan to get people out?
Second, someone should have thought about what to do with hundreds of thousands of evacuees, both in the days after a disaster and in the long term. As people flooded out of New Orleans, it was officials at the state and local level who rose to the challenge, making it up as they went along. Bring a bunch of people to the Astrodome. We have a vacant hotel that we can use. Send a hundred or so down to our church and we'll do the best we can.
Tent cities aren't a happy option, but neither is haphazard improvisation. Is the problem the Bush administration's ideological fervor for small government? Does the White House really believe that primary responsibility should fall on volunteers, church groups and individuals? Or is it just stunning incompetence and lack of foresight?
At the big shelter here in Baton Rouge on Sunday, some student volunteers from Louisiana State University took a group of children outside to get some air. The kids were using sheets of cardboard as sleds and surfboards, zooming down the grassy levee next to the Mississippi River and then scampering back uphill for another ride. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and the scene warmed your heart. But those college students are going to have to go back to their classes, and then how will those kids from New Orleans spend their days?
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An administration that since Sept. 11, 2001, has told us a major terrorist strike is inevitable should have had in place a well-elaborated plan for evacuating a major American city.
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Why, Oh Why?
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Why, throughout most of last week, was the most eloquent ambassador, and the only recognizable white face in New Orleans, the great and noted statesman . . . Harry Connick Jr.? The jazz musician appeared on NBC's "Today" show several times, roaming the streets of his home town, ruminating on its history, delivering food to the displaced and bemoaning the hideous lack of response to Hurricane Katrina.
Why did Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and FEMA head Michael Brown appear on television repeatedly patting themselves on the back for the federal government's effort, when it was so clear to the rest of the world that people were suffering and dying in the streets? "People are getting the help they need," Brown said Friday on the "Today" show, even though the newsreel suggested otherwise.
What in the world was President Bush talking about when he praised Brown at a news conference in Mobile, Ala., saying, "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job"?
Speaking of Brownie, how did a guy with no notable experience in disaster relief get that job, anyway?
Mr. President, why did you think it was so important to deliver a political speech comparing Iraq to WWII the day after the hurricane?
Why was Condoleezza Rice, the administration's highest ranking black official, grinning and guffawing at the Broadway show "Spamalot" and shopping for expensive shoes at Salvatore Ferragamo on Fifth Avenue days after the hurricane ravaged the Gulf Coast and left tens of thousands of poor black folks hungry, desperate and dying?
Dear Federal Officials, what kind of message do you think your response to the hurricane must have sent the terrorists, sitting at home watching CNN?
Local and state officials, you can't escape scrutiny: Why didn't you do a better job preparing for the process of evacuating people, given that this sort of disaster has been predicted for decades, and at least one previous study has shown that as many as a third of the residents of New Orleans would be reluctant to evacuate? Did you do everything in your power to prepare the police department, state law enforcements and other emergency services for this disastrous event?
Wait a minute . . . Democrats, you can't get away scot-free. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid did issue some tough sounding press releases, and Pelosi held a press conference on Friday. But neither exactly played a high profile role earlier in the week. Is that what you call leadership?
Back to Connick for a minute . . . why is it that he had no trouble getting in and out of New Orleans, but the feds couldn't figure out a way to deliver water to people five days after the hurricane?
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Questions. So many questions. Why, throughout most of last week, was the most eloquent ambassador, and the only recognizable white face in New Orleans, the great and noted statesman . . . Harry Connick Jr.?
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Bob Denver, 70; Brought Goofy Comedy to Role as TV's Gilligan
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Bob Denver, 70, the goofball television comedian who played beatnik Maynard G. "stands for Walter" Krebs on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" and was first mate Gilligan on "Gilligan's Island," died Sept. 2 at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina. He had complications from treatment he was receiving for cancer.
Mr. Denver's stint as the clueless Krebs from 1959 to 1963 and the hapless castaway on a deserted island from 1964 to 1967 brought him far greater notice in reruns than during the shows' initial lifespans.
The "Gilligan" characters were supposed to be from a cross section of society, all marooned on a South Pacific island.
Mr. Denver once said he was so busy shooting the series initially that he never saw the reviews, "which was lucky, because they were atrocious. But, if I were a reviewer and saw the show, I'd probably attack it, too, and call it silly and inane -- which it was meant to be."
As one of the most popular programs ever in reruns, "Gilligan's Island" was elevated to iconic status, inspiring existential dissertations. Mr. Denver later drubbed co-star Tina Louise, who played a sexpot actress on the show, for turning down one of the "Gilligan" reunion specials for potentially harming her career as a dramatic star.
"I don't know how she can think one two-hour movie can tarnish her image, when 'Gilligan' is showing five times a day everywhere in the country," he told People magazine.
For better or worse, those early sitcoms overshadowed anything else Mr. Denver ever did, which included years on the dinner-theater circuit and taking over on Broadway for Woody Allen in the comedy "Play It Again, Sam" in 1970. Reviewer Clive Barnes wrote in the New York Times that Mr. Denver "has a genuine clown-like wistfulness that Mr. Allen sometimes perspires to with only small success."
He was, above all, a physical comedian who spoke of his great enjoyment working with Alan Hale Jr., who played the burly skipper on "Gilligan's Island."
"I couldn't hurt him," Mr. Denver once told the Los Angeles Times. "I could climb on him, bounce on him, roll all over him and he would go, 'Are you done?' He would never hurt me. He was just too big and strong. You can't rehearse a lot of physical things we did, but you can't do it by the numbers. Whatever happens, you've got to trust each other."
Robert Denver was born in New Rochelle, N.Y., on Jan. 9, 1935. As a pre-law student at what is now Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, he was recruited somewhat unwillingly as house manager for the university theater. He then was asked to audition for the part of a nervous seaman in "The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial."
He acted in a handful of other roles, including Falstaff in Shakespeare's "Henry IV," and, after graduating from college with a political science degree, supported himself as a teacher and postal clerk for several years.
In 1959, he auditioned successfully for the part of Krebs, the goateed, bongo-playing dropout who winced at the thought of work. He was in the supporting cast on the CBS sitcom, one of the many friends of Dobie Gillis, played by Dwayne Hickman.
Mr. Denver went on to other television series, including "The Good Guys" (1968-1970), playing taxi driver Rufus Butterworth, and "Dusty's Trail" (1973), a comedy Western reminiscent of "Gilligan's Island" with its varied characters. He wrote a book, "Gilligan, Maynard & Me" (1993).
After many years living in Las Vegas, a city he said he found "really ridiculous," he moved to Princeton, W.Va., in the 1990s with his most recent wife, Dreama Denver. They co-hosted an oldies radio show.
Earlier marriages to Maggie Ryan Denver and Jean Webber Denver ended in divorce. People magazine once reported an additional marriage to a woman whose name he refused to divulge.
He is survived by his wife and four children.
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Bob Denver, 70, the goofball television comedian who played beatnik Maynard G. "stands for Walter" Krebs on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" and was first mate Gilligan on "Gilligan's Island," died Sept. 2 at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in North Carolina. He had complications from...
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New Support for Doubling Principals' Pay
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Two years ago I had what I thought was a great idea for fixing our schools: double all principals' salaries. My column about this did not win universal approval. I could not even persuade the principals I knew, who said it wouldn't work unless teachers got a big raise too.
But I remained true to the concept. I thought paying $150,000 a year, or more, would ensure we got the best people in the most important single job in any school, and lure many more capable people into education.
Now, finally, someone has seconded my motion. And this person has more than enough money and power to make it happen, at least in the 157 public schools his company runs.
My unexpected (and likely unaware) supporter is Chris Whittle, founder and chief executive officer of the Edison Schools, a for-profit company that runs schools in mostly low-income neighborhoods in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
Whittle has just published a book, "Crash Course: Imagining a Better Future for Public Education," Riverhead, 288 pages, which you can get for $16.47 on Amazon.com. It is a wild read -- part confessional memoir, part annual report, part speculative fiction -- and well worth the money, particularly his wise affirmation of my thinking in chapter six, "Next-Level Educators:"
"Anyone who has been around schooling very long knows this: An underperforming principal guarantees an underperforming school, and a good one gives you a chance at a good school," Whittle writes. "Principals are one of the key leverage points within a school."
Then he notes the annual salaries of other key service providers: physician in internal medicine, $175,000 to $250,000; 747 captain, $240,000 to $275,000; hospital head, $135,000 to $200,000; large-store manager, $120,000 to $200,000. He compares those salaries to what we are paying on average to our 90,000 public school principals -- $75,000 to $85,000.
If the pay structure holds, Whittle writes, "only those prepared to make a dramatic economic sacrifice will be our schools' leaders. Thousands of those heroic individuals are out there -- they make up the best of our principal corps today -- but are there 90,000 of them? History and our record of school performance tell us no. So either we dramatically increase the pay of our school leaders or we accept the inevitable result."
I noted in my column that since there were relatively few principals in any district, a big bump in their pay would not be a budget buster. Whittle, who unlike me has actual experience running schools, makes this argument with much more confidence and sophistication:
"Let's assume there are 90,000 principals with an average pay of $80,000 each. That means we spend about $7.2 billion per year in principal compensation, or just 1.75 percent of total annual expenditure on K-12 education. The math is pretty simple: we could increase principal pay in the United States to $200,000 per year by adding to or reallocating just over 2.6 percent of annual K-12 spending. We could finance this investment by directing a portion of our annual education spending increases to it. Or we could find the money through allocation of our existing educational dollars."
He notes that Edison gives bonuses of $25,000 to $35,000 to principals who show an annual gain in student achievement of more than 10 percent and meet their budget targets. Before this incentive program began, the average Edison school gained about 4 percent a year in student achievement, he says. Since the bonuses program took shape, that gain has nearly doubled to 8 percent. (I can hear Whittle's many critics -- he is a favorite villain of the nation's teachers unions -- chortling at this, and suggesting the numbers are cooked to make his company look good. But let's assume for the moment that what he says is true.)
He proposes a new base salary for all principals of about $120,000 a year, with a bonus potential of up to $80,000. He says this will increase the candidate pool of principals, making it easier to find good ones, and sharply reduce principal turnover, which would also help schools.
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Oil-For-Food Probe: UN Needs Overhaul to Stop Fraud
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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 6 -- The U.N. Security Council and Secretary General Kofi Annan failed to adequately manage and police the $64 billion U.N. oil-for-food program, creating a permissive environment that enabled Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq to take billions of dollars in illicit kickbacks, according to the findings of a U.N. investigation to be released Wednesday.
The report by Paul A. Volcker, the former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman who heads the U.N. Independent Inquiry Committee, will portray a largely dysfunctional, leaderless international effort to operate the humanitarian relief effort for Iraq from December 1996 until the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. Volcker will urge world leaders attending a Sept. 14 summit on U.N. reform to support steps to strengthen the quality of independent oversight of the organization's spending.
"To settle for less, to permit delay and dilution, will invite failure, further erode public support, and dishonor the ideals upon which the United Nations is built," says the preface of Volcker's report.
The document, which is expected to exceed 700 pages, is the fourth and most comprehensive report by Volcker's panel and will summarize previously published findings while offering new details of abuses in the program.
Among those conclusions, the report will say that Iraq's neighbors, including Jordan, Turkey and Syria, violated U.N. sanctions by smuggling billions of dollars of Iraqi oil from Hussein's government, U.N. sources said. The report will also fault key Security Council members, including France and Russia, for impeding efforts to reform the oil-for-food program. And it will criticize the United States for doing too little to discourage allies in the region from violating the sanctions and by abetting the smuggling of Iraqi oil by Jordan immediately before the invasion, the sources said.
"The committee report documents how differences among member states impeded decisions, tolerated large-scale smuggling, and aided and abetted grievous weaknesses in administrative practices within the [U.N.] Secretariat," says the preface, which was released Tuesday. "As the years passed, reports spread of waste, inefficiency, and corruption, even within the United Nations itself. Some was rumor and exaggeration, but much -- too much -- has turned out to be true."
The U.N. program was established to allow Iraq, which was under a U.N. trade embargo following its 1990 invasion of Kuwait, to sell oil and use the proceeds to buy food and medicine and pay billions of dollars in war reparations. The report to be issued Wednesday says the program achieved "important successes" by improving nutritional and health standards and by undermining Hussein's efforts to build weapons of mass destruction. But it says the United Nations allowed Hussein to abuse the program by bribing U.N. officials and by forcing hundreds of companies to pay kickbacks in exchange for the right to trade in oil and humanitarian goods. The abuses cast a "dark shadow" over the program, Volcker's report says.
The oil-for-food scandal has triggered federal criminal investigations and several congressional probes of the United Nations' management of the program. The U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York has charged two Russian nationals with wire fraud and money laundering. One of them, a U.N. procurement officer who has pleaded guilty, was cited in a previous Volcker report for soliciting a bribe from a Swiss company seeking to do business in the oil-for-food program and for receiving more than $950,000 in bribes from contractors in other U.N. programs.
Volcker's new report will sharply criticize Annan's oversight of the oil program as lax, citing "serious instances of illicit, unethical, and corrupt behavior" by U.N. officials under his watch. The report will draw attention to administrative shortcomings by the nine U.N. humanitarian agencies, including the U.N. Development Program and Habitat, the main housing agency. It also will accuse the 15-nation Security Council of providing "uncertain, wavering direction" to U.N. officials running the program. "Neither the Security Council nor the Secretariat leadership was clearly in command," the preface states.
Annan conceded in an interview with the BBC on Monday that "mistakes were made" in managing the program, but he insisted that there were "concessions that had to be made to get Saddam Hussein to agree."
"I accept responsibility for inadequacies and failures," he told the BBC. But "when it comes to Iraq, on this issue, no one is entirely covered in glory. . . . Honestly, I wish we had never been given that program, and I wish the U.N. will never be asked to undertake that kind of program again."
The Volcker panel singled out Annan's son, Kojo, for abusing diplomatic privileges extended to his father. The report claims that Kojo Annan received a $3,000 loan in 1998 to buy a $39,000 Mercedes-Benz from an executive of a Swiss company, Cotecna, that was trying to do business with the United Nations through the oil-for-food program, according to a member of Volcker's staff.
The report will also assert that Kojo Annan obtained thousands of dollars in diplomatic benefits -- including breaks on taxes and customs fees -- from the transaction by falsely claiming that he was purchasing the car for his father, according to the staff member. The sale was first reported by Time magazine. Efforts to reach Kojo Annan's attorney last night were unsuccessful.
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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 6 -- The U.N. Security Council and Secretary General Kofi Annan failed to adequately manage and police the $64 billion U.N. oil-for-food program, creating a permissive environment that enabled Saddam Hussein's government in Iraq to take billions of dollars in illicit kickbacks,...
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Ride 'em, Convict!
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The pink billowing sky fades to black over the rodeo arena as the Friday night crowd ambles in, women in slinky halter tops and dark red lipstick, men in cowboy hats and blue jeans, tins of tobacco pressed into their back pockets.
Along a back row of concrete benches, LaDonna Meadows, 63, lifts herself from a wheelchair and stands on an artificial leg, her hand over her heart. On white horses, a parade of riders, with sequined crosses stuck to the backs of their red-white-and-blue vests, circles the arena while a singer delivers a honey-smooth rendition of "God Bless America."
Meadows peers through binoculars until she spots a figure across the way, standing among a crowd of men on bleachers between a high, chain-link fence and a wall topped with coils of razor wire. "My boy," she says of Danny Liles, 45, wearing a straw cowboy hat and red western-style shirt, and longing for his moments in the lights.
Meadows smiles, and she seems to forget, at least for the moment, that she's inside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, where guards in watchtowers stand ready with shotguns and death row is just down the road; that her Danny -- competing tonight in the annual prison rodeo -- is serving a life sentence for murder; that the crowd is here to see snarling bulls trample and gore and otherwise send Danny and his fellow convicts flying.
"Doesn't he look handsome?" Meadows asks, her gaze still fixed on her son.
More than 2,000 years after Caesar, the spirit of ancient Rome endures in southeastern Oklahoma, only now the gladiators wear cowboy hats. The prison rodeo at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary, a tradition since 1940 and among the last of its kind, is that most incongruous kind of American pageantry, a mix of Main Street piousness and patriotism, and unabashed Coliseum-style brutality.
For two nights every Labor Day weekend, thousands of spectators make their way to a rodeo arena located behind the prison's white walls for a program that includes professional cowboys wrestling and roping steer and cowgirls barrel racing. But what lures them back each year are the inmates, many of them more outlaw than cowboy, tumbling off bulls and bucking broncos.
The evening's main attraction, the one they promote on T-shirts, is something called "Money the Hard Way," in which inmates jump in the ring to try to grab a burlap sack hanging from a horn of a 2,000-pound Brahman bull. If they're trampled or battered, as some have been over the years, so be it: The prize is $100 (put up by a local car dealership) -- 10 times what many convicts earn in a month serving meals and mopping floors.
"It's our calling card," says Bill McMahan, 72, for 18 years the rodeo's chairman, as he walks through a rodeo street fair the night before the opening. He sips bourbon and water from a plastic cup and chuckles at the prospect of carnage. "People don't go to NASCAR to see the cars run around the track," he drawls. "They're waiting for a big wreck; same with the rodeo. It's human nature. People want to see what ought not be."
Last year, an inmate ruptured his groin riding a bronco; a while back another cracked his skull and racked up at least $150,000 in medical bills, according to deputy warden Kameron Harvanek.
But tackling a steer is not a problem, particularly for someone whose résumé includes gang fights and being shot in the shoulder and stabbed in the leg, as is the case with Larry Menafee, 28, known as Jughead to his prison pals. He is serving a 10-year sentence for intimidating a state's witness.
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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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Book World Live
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"Well, dear reader, get ready for a horde of friends to overrun your house this fall: The sheer volume of book production is breathtaking. It's as if publishers had decided to bring out a book by every established author they could think of and tossed in a slew of fresh-faced novices for good measure. We've never experienced anything quite like this." -- Fall Preview (Book World, Sept. 4)
Book World editor Marie Arana was online Tuesday, Sept. 6 to field questions and comments about the new season of titles, both fiction and non-fiction.
Arana worked in the book industry for many years before coming The Washington Post in 1993. She is the author of the National Book Award finalist American Chica, a memoir about her bicultural childhood between Peru and America. She is also author of The Writing Life: Writers on How They Think and Work, which is a collection of columns from Book World. Her next book, a novel called Cellophane, will be published in the spring of 2006.
Catch up on your summer reading with Great Escapes , Book World's summer reading guide.
Join Book World Live each Tuesday at 3 p.m. ET for a discussion based on a story or review in each Sunday's Book World section.
Marie Arana: Welcome Book World readers! It's a beautiful day in Washington, Labor Day is behind us, the sand is off the shoes . . . and now it's time to think about books. The upcoming book season is huge. There are so many good forthcoming publications that it was impossible to get all of them into the small space of the Preview. (I've already heard from some authors with ruffled feathers!) Nevertheless, this venue should allow us to spread out a bit. Let me know what you're looking forward to this season.
Arlington, Va.: Thanks for the Fall Preview--always a BW highlight. I didn't see any mention of Jonathan Harr's "Lost Painting." What's the inside word on Harr's new book? Also, will BW review James T. Patterson's "Restless Giant?" Thanks
Marie Arana: Jonathan Harr's upcoming book on the lost Caravaggio promises to be quite interesting, no? There's a great interest it seems in art and history this year. John Berendt--remember him? Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?-- is publishing a book about Venice and its destruction and dramatic recovery after the terrible fire of '96. We're looking forward to that. Especially given the plight of our own New Orleans.(See Book World on Sept. 18)
We're also looking forward to Patterson's "Restless Giant," which covers U.S. History from 1974 to 2000. Patterson is one of our eminent historians, always interesting in my view.
Bethesda, Md.: I was thrilled to see that the cover of last Sunday's Book World, which featured new releases for fall reading, showed Patrick O'Brian's name among the luminaries presumably being reviewed. But when I looked inside I found nothing by or about the recently deceased author. Did I miss it, or was it just a tease? And what is it?
Marie Arana: Well, we love Patrick O'Brian, too. And as it happens, if you love O'Brian, you're in luck. There are two books that relate to him this Fall: First is his own first novel for adults, The Catalans. The second is a biography of O'Brian written by Nikolai Tolstoy.
The reason he was on the cover but not inside (you are a very observant reader!) is that we just didn't have room to include everything. At the last minute, we found ourselves doing major triage . . .
Virginia: Hello. Can you include the ISBN number of all the books in Book World? A few titles have several authors when I searched on Amazon. Thank you.
Marie Arana: We often get this question and certainly have considered it over the years. It's a matter of those cumbersome numbers! If there were some graceful way to do it, we'd definitely do it. We'd like you to have all the information you need.
Columbia, Md.: Hello Marie, Have you seen any parts of Ann Rice's forthcoming book? Any similarities to her vampire series?
Marie Arana: Anne Rice's book is an astonishing departure. We're told that she plunged into the literature on New Testament scholarship, took issue with some of it, and decided to frame her novel "Christ the Lord" around her own conclusions. Naturally, it doesn't have all that lush New Orleans-y flavor of her vampire novels. Quite different all the way around.
Brooklyn, NY: Are there any good books about film coming out?
Marie Arana: Thanks for this question.
There's a big, big book on Lawrence Olivier coming from Terry Coleman. It promises to be truly interesting. But there is also a book I mentioned in the Preview about the man who discovered Rock Hudson, Tab Hunter and others-- a strong conservative in spite of the many homosexual actors he represented.
Capitol Hill, DC: Sunday's "Book World" included a column by Michael Dirda. Hurray! Has Mr. Dirda returned to writing his weekly essays? Or was last Sunday's article merely a teaser to remind us what we're missing when his column is omitted?
(Alas, at age 62 I've decided that I want to be Mr. Dirda when I grow up.)
Marie Arana: Everyone wants to be Michael Dirda when they grow up!
But, as one who knows Michael well, let me tell you his secret: Michael's enthusiasms are downright boyish. He plunges into the most arcane subjects with delight. I hope he never grows up. . .
Yes, he's back with us after a summer hiatus. We're delighted to have him back on our pages. Look for his review of Zadie Smith's new novel this coming weekend.
New York, NY: This year is the 50th anniversary of James Dean's death. Are there any books coming out about him or his movies?
Marie Arana: There happens bo have been a book about Jimmy Dean by Wes D. Gehring from a small publisher (Indiana Historical Society). Our reviewer John DiLeo reports that it has a real Hoosier twang.
Flushing, NY: I love books about Hollywood in the thirties, forties and fifties. Are there any good books on this topic coming out?
Marie Arana: This seems to be a perennial. There was a book not long ago (Living Dangerously) about the producer of King Kong that had a lot of good play on review pages.
Bethesda, Md.: I delighted to hear that I can look forward to a new Patrick O'Brian novel, but I was puzzled by your comment that it was his "first novel for adults." I devoured his Aubrey/Maturin series thinking, apparently mistakenly, that I WAS reading books written for adults. They certainly were much, much more than ripping good sea yarns.
Marie Arana: Well, that's what you get when you read catalogs too closely. That's exactly the way O'Brian's publisher describes it. It seems a number of children's books preceded it.
Ashburn, Va: What in your opinion is the best biography of Winston Churchill?
Marie Arana: I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours.
I remember reading the Manchester biography many years ago when I was in the book publishing business. I thought it was splendid. But there are books about Churchill every year, it seems. Jon Meacham, who's now at Newsweek, published a very good one, although it was a double biography of FDR. It's called "Franklin and Winston: An Intimate Portrait of an Epic Friendship." There will be at least two more books about Churchill this year . . .
booker prize: I noticed that the U.S. versions of several titles on the longlist for this year's booker prize were included in the fall preview. The short list will be announced this week. Does BW have a policy of trying to review the shortlisted titles?
Marie Arana: Thanks for this question. Prizes in general have such an interesting effect on a book's publishing history. I think we should do more pieces on them.
But to answer your question: We have an uneven history and relationship with the Booker. Some years, the American public really pays attention: Witness "The Life of Pi" and its success. (Yann Martell was a complete unknown before that,although he had published two or three books in the U.S.) And other years, the Booker winners simply languish on our shores.
I think there has been such a steady stream of excellent writing from Britain (from Ian McEwan to Salman Rushdie) that we can't afford not to pay attention. The Booker unearths some extraordinary books.
Idea for Book World Online: Marie, I can't resist the opportunity to beg you, plead with you, for a second Book World general chat each week. We love Michael Dirda---don't get me wrong. But one chat is just not enough, and a second host (you or someone else on your staff) would provide a different perspective and set of interests. Many faithful Book World chatters have seconded my plea. Please consider it!
Marie Arana: What a lovely tribute to Michael and to Book World in general. Thank you.
Yes. I've noticed that there's a big hunger to talk about books, especially the current spate. And it makes sense, doesn't it? How else to sift through the huge stores of publications that come our way every season? Human contact, personal recommendations -- these have always been the ways the best book sharing takes place. Nothing like a passionate endorsement.
I promise you we'll take your request seriously. Some weeks ago we put our Audio Books specialist, Katherine Powers, online and her discussion was a smashing success. That fact didn't escape us.
Picking Titles for Fall Preview: Hi Marie. Can you tell us on what basis you pick the titles to highlight? I'm sure there isn't enough room for all you'd like to feature. Also, how many of the books have you actually read (perhaps in proof form) before including them? Last, if you and your staff have had the chance to actually read many of hte titles, what are the must-reads in fiction, in your opinion? Thanks!
Marie Arana: Thanks for this.
Let me say it outright: I have read none of the books in the Fall Preview. (Okay, I take it back. Now that I think of it, I've read about 4 of them). The idea behind the Preview is to let book readers know what's coming. We have yet to know how our reviewers will weigh in on them.
Which is why you're unlikely to find any truly wonderful first novels on that list: We just don't know how they'll pan out.
The books chosen for the list come from a culling of all the catalogs (hundreds of them) publishers send us. I go through page by page and pull out the titles I think will interest our readers most.
We never have space for them all, though. It always hurts to see the original list get trimmed back so dramatically.
Sterling, Va.: Any word on the new book by Vince Flynn due out in October?
Marie Arana: "Consent to Kill."
Funny you should mention. We've been talking about Vince Flynn a good deal in Book World.
I can tell you the book is out for review, but how our reviewer comes down on it I have no idea.
The rumor is that he's definitely a writer to watch.
Alexandria, Va.: I hear Simon and Schuster has a new book coming out about the making of Rebel without a Cause. Any word on how good it is?
Marie Arana: Is that "Live Fast, Die Young"?
Should be interesting and, I believe, out this month.
I'm a fan of Jimmy Dean--the heart-throbbing variety of fan. But it would take a great book to approximate what we see up there on the screen.
Marie Arana: Speaking of movies,
a friend just sent me this list of movies that are based on books and being released this year:
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Zathura (Chris Van Allsburg's Polar Express)
Audio Books: Me again---the one who suggested a second Book World general chat. Yes, the Katherine Powers chat was very, very interesting! I've found myself unable to listen to some audio books because the narrator's voice or narration style were so disagreeable to me. So the comments of Katherine and the other chatters were very helpful. The topic of vendors or online lending libraries of audio books would be another interesting subject.
Marie Arana: Here's something I'd like to suggest to you.
Send me your ideas of topics you'd like to discuss (that have to do with books, of course). Send them to aranam@washpost.com.
We'd love to consider your notions of what would make for a good third online discussion venue (besides Book World Live and Dirda on Books).
cap hill manager: Any word on Mary Gaitskill's new novel "Veronica"? I love her work!!!!
Marie Arana: We'll see that book come October.
It's had some very good prepublication reviews. I remember seeing a starred review in Publishers Weekly (for those of you who don't know, PW is the trade journal and a starred review months before publication raises the ears of editors like me). I can tell you the book is out for review to a very, very good writer . . .
Rockville, Md: Have you read the new Rushdie novel. And if you have, is it has a more cohesive structure like'Shame'or scattered like 'Satanic Verses'?
Marie Arana: Thanks for asking this. It allows me to say that you'll see a review of this book in this coming Sunday's issue of Book World.
I've read a good portion of the book already (inspired by our excellent review) and I'm very impressed. I thought that Michiko Kakutani's review of it this morning in the NYT seemed very picky, given its considerable attributes.
To answer your question, it's neither like Satanic Verses or Shame. More like Moor's Last Sigh or The Ground Beneath Her Feet.
Marie Arana: Well, it looks as if it's time to sign off, folks. Thanks very much for joining me today and thanks for being such good readers of Book World. Don't forget to stick with us this Fall to see what our reviewers think of those books in the Preview. The ones that don't make it onto that list(the ones that surprise us) are, very often, the best books of the year.
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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Book World editor Marie Arana will field questions and comments about the new season of titles, both fiction and non-fiction.
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An Icon Imperiled
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New Orleans finally met a guest it didn't like.
That's always been the thing about New Orleans, the founding principle behind its eternal bon temps mood: Everybody's welcome. Anything goes in New Orleans, and all are invited, even -- especially? -- rascals, scamps and those generally well short on their Eagle badge requirements. Ne'er-do-wells are just more spice for the stockpot, a little more filé in the city's long simmering gumbo of Old South manners, New Wave funk and occasional freaky mayhem. Ask anybody who's been there: New Orleans is the most welcoming city in the world.
Not even hurricanes were shunned, to be honest. Rather than flee them, New Orleanians have been taunting them for years. From its legendary hurricane parties to its crosshairs location in the sump of the Mississippi River, they all but dared those gulf blows to come on in and liven up the celebration. In spite of warnings about the Big One over the years, disaster prep in much of the French Quarter could have been summed up as an abiding faith in Pat O'Brien's to cheer up even a tropical depression.
Until now. Thank God most people took Katrina more seriously than they did earlier storms, or the death count would be even higher. As it is, we still don't know exactly how bad it is, what will be left when the waters drain away and how much will ever return. New Orleans may come back, but it will never be quite the same.
This tragedy is not about travel, not yet. The shocking catastrophe unfolding in the city's more deeply flooded neighborhoods has properly overshadowed reports from the tourists' favorite French Quarter. With refugees still in stadium purgatory and loved ones still missing and a million lives wracked with grief and loss, specific questions about New Orleans's future as a playground for tourists are questions for another day.
But tourism is elemental to New Orleans's being -- both economic and spiritual -- and a little early reflection by travelers on the place's iconic status doesn't have to equal a premature obituary. Does it? It's just impossible for memories not to pour out of a heart that cracks wide open at every new shot of a submerged streetcar or a crumbled fountain or a street where good-timing and joy have been swamped by silence and sorrow.
They say the wall at Antoine's Restaurant came down and I think of all the courtyards -- so coy and secret and still -- bare to the roaring world. Did Cafe Du Monde make it? The Acme Oyster House? Tipitina's? The Maple Leaf? The Audubon Zoo?
The restaurant on Canal Street where my wife -- a Tulane grad and a deep, deep lover of the city -- and I had our engagement party was on the second floor, but does that matter? Could the fairgrounds really be gone, where we and so many thousands reconvened for Jazz Fest year after year? And, oh my Lord, when will there be another Mardi Gras?
There is too much to love in New Orleans, too much to lose.
That's why tourists, in particular, need to help New Orleans find a way back. Not for the good times we hope to let roll there in the future, but for all the big and easy pleasure -- all that fine swamp cooking, all those jumping tunes -- that New Orleans has given us since the first Creole merrymaker put his feet up on a wrought iron rail and said, "Let's just set and enjoy ourselves for a bit."
It's everyone's favorite city. Telling someone you're from New Orleans is like telling them you're from San Francisco or Honolulu. "Oooooh," is what they say. " Love that town." Imagine everybody loving your home as much as you do.
What other city draws such raves from such a miscellaneous audience, from the buzz-cut stiffs in for the Homeland Security conference at the Hilton to the blue-hairs pumping quarters at Harrah's to the bookish literati basking in the dark, damp moodiness of old streets shadowed in Spanish moss?
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Find Washington DC, Virginia and Maryland travel information, including web fares, Washington DC tours, beach/ski guide, international and United States destinations. Featuring Mid-Atlantic travel, airport information, traffic/weather updates
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Katrina Q& A: Cancellation Policies, Refunds and More
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It may seem insensitive to think about vacation plans in the wake of the disaster wrought by Hurricane Katrina. But looked at another way, tourists are the economic lifeblood of many of the gulf coast communities that have been so cruelly inundated by water and whipped by winds.
Tourism is the top, or one of the top, industries in New Orleans, depending on how you calculate. Domestic visitors spent more than $4.4 billion in Orleans Parish last year, according to a study by the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA). In neighboring Jefferson Parish, where the New Orleans airport is located, U.S. tourists brought in another $945 million. And that's not even counting foreign tourists. Last year, 244,000 of them visited New Orleans -- an increase of 23 percent over the previous year, said Cathy Keefe of TIA. About 73,000 locals earned their living through tourism last year, the state-sponsored study showed.
The gulf coast communities soon will begin to struggle to their feet. Tourism will eventually be a tool that will help them stand. Until that day comes, here are answers to the questions we've been hearing.
I was planning to visit New Orleans this fall. How soon will the city be ready for tourists?
Authorities have estimated that it will take one or more months just to empty the city of standing water. Neither private business owners nor government officials have had the opportunity to conduct damage assessment.
"Any guess about how long it will take to get back to normal is a wild guess," said Louisiana State University professor Jim Richardson, an economist whose specialties include tourism. "I'd say that to get everything back into shape, to re-create the New Orleans we knew and enjoyed, you're talking a year, maybe more."
I've heard that the recovery will be quickest downtown and in the French Quarter. True?
Most likely, yes. The historic French Quarter has one of the highest elevations in the city, so it suffered less water damage. Workers who visited the area Tuesday night reported that legendary Bourbon Street was emptied of water. A collapsed wall that exposed part of the interior of the famed Antoine's Restaurant represented a unique example of visible damage to a Quarter landmark. But assessments for less obvious damage have not yet been made.
Many large, well-built hotels weathered the storm fairly well. For example, the 14 Marriott hotels in New Orleans seem to have no structural damage, said company spokesman John Wolf. The company has engineers and equipment standing by in Baton Rouge, La., ready to return to New Orleans as soon as officials allow.
Miami seemed to bounce back quickly from Hurricane Andrew. Maybe New Orleans will do the same?
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It may seem insensitive to think about vacation plans in the wake of the disaster wrought by Hurricane Katrina. But looked at another way, tourists are the economic lifeblood of many of the gulf coast communities that have been so cruelly inundated by water and whipped by winds.
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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.
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
Cindy Loose: We usually skip the weekly travel chat when it falls on a holiday Monday. But in the midst of concern and grief over the still-unfolding tragedy along the Gulf Coast, it seemed like chatting shouldn't be skipped this week.
Although much remains unknown, we'll do our best to answer questions you may have about Katrina's lingering impact on transportation and other travel-related issues. In addition, we'd also like to solicit your fondest memories of visits to the Gulf Coast, and New Orleans in particular. Please send them to chat right now. Then, after the chat, if you are willing to have your chat entry considered for publication in next week's Sunday Travel Section, please also send your comments, along with your name and the name of the city or town where you live, to travel@washpost.com.
The chat host today, Cindy Loose, is joined by K.C. Summers, John Deiner, Anne McDonough, Andrea Sachs, Carol Sottili, Gary Lee and Steve Hendrix. The lines, so to speak, are open.
NW Washington, DC: No question, but I wanted to say how meaningful I found your essay on New Orleans as American icon. I've been going to New Orleans at least once a year for 12 years (I'd live there if there was job for me). You summed up the beauty of the city perfectly and for the first time all week I actually cried as I read it.
I have plans to go next March and I'm not cancelling yet.
Steve Hendrix: Many thanks, NW. I have no idea what you'll find in New Orleans next March, but I hope to see you there soon.
Travel to St. Louis: Hi Crew,
I know you are mostly taking questions about the hurricane, but I have a middle-america travel question. I am looking for a good fare to St. Louis the weekend after Thanksgiving. Do you know what a good fare would be? They seem to be hovering around $200, which seemed high for a down week...
Carol Sottili: That's about the going rate to St. Louis. $200, if it includes taxes, is really quite good. Sign up for Southwest's "Ding" feature, and you might get a better deal. American also has frequent esavers to St. Louis of about $139 round trip, but it's hit or miss - if you need to be there for a specific weekend, you can't count on it.
I should know this...: What is the current status of New Orleans? Is the mandatory evacuation still in place? I have a non-refundable reservation for next week, and while I know it's no place for a vacation, I can't figure out whether or not I am officially eligable for a refund. I can't even reach the bed and breakfast.
Any tips? I don't want to stick them with charge-back fees from the credit card company.
Cindy Loose: There is no way travelers will be welcome into New Orleans next week, or weeks to come. You should have no problem getting back money for a nonrefundable airline ticket--first of all, they must give back money if flights are cancelled, and beyond that, the airlines have all made allowances for refunds or credits for non-refundable tickets. If you were stayin in a major hotel chain I'm sure you could call to get a refund. But there will be no way to get through to a B&B--phone lines are down, and who knows when they'll reopen. Your options are to wait until the B&B reopens, if it does, and ask for your money then, or to ask the credit card company to return your deposit, seeing as how it's pretty clear you won't get the service for which you paid.
Annandale, Va.: Sorry, I had no other way to ask this question, but could you possibly know and therefore give me, Steve Hendrix's e-mail address. I want to compliment him on that wonderful article he did about New Orleans. Thank you, gloria Dunlap
Anne McDonough: He just may shoot me for doing this, but Steve's email is hendrixs@washpost.com. Just kidding: We welcome and any and all feedback to our stories.
Haymarket, Va.: Several months ago, I booked a package (air-hotel-transfers-insurance) thru Expedia.com for a convention in Nov. in New Orleans. The convention was cancelled, and Expedia told me I'd get everything back but the $25 I paid for travel insurance. When pressed, Expedia admitted that those who did NOT buy insurance but cancelled got all of their money back. So, I'm being punished for being prudent. Does this seem fair to you? I'll never book Expedia again, nor will I buy this scam insurance ever again.
Carol Sottili: Sorry, I don't see this as a scam at all. You paid for travel insurance that you well may have used had you gotten sick, etc. But Expedia decided to refund money to all because this is a disaster of incredible proportions. The $25 that you paid was given to the insurance company that underwrote the policy - Expedia won't get that money back. Yes, it seems very fair to me.
Washington DC: My NOLA memory: I was born in NOLA, but having moved away when I was 1.5 years old, I didn't have a memory of the place. So, in 2001, I had plans to finally get back to NOLA and to "see it again for the first time". I was scheduled to fly out of National on 9-14-01, I had my reservation to hear Ellis Marsalis and his Quintet at Snug Harbor, and my list of sites I wanted to see. Then 9-11 occurred and I had to postpone my trip.
Well, I did make it down there in March 2002 and had an absolute blast. I had one of the best meals of my life at Mr. B's Bistro in the Quarter. I had beignets at Cafe du Monde. I did get to hear Ellis Marsalis at the Snug Harbor and his music and loved every bit of it. I won $10 at the slots in Harrah's. I walked the French Quarter and the Garden District. I rode a streetcar.
I really terrific city and I am very glad I went when I did.
But I never want to go back, even if it is rebuilt.
Cindy Loose: Food and music--the key to New Orleans. Thanks.
Austin, Tex.: I went to New Orleans July 28th to celebrate my 27th birthday. I'd only been as a 9 year old with my parents. Going as an adult, with a friend who was about to move to England, was a fantastic time.
Favorite memories: Walking out Magazine Street in the rain & seeing the shift in neighborhoods from the Warehouse District to the Lower Garden to the Garden.
The lesson I learned is that trips are always worth it for me--they are experiences that can't be taken away. Memories always stay.
I hope New Orleans rebuilds.
Cindy Loose: Never heard of Pimms Cups. But when the city comes back--which it has to do--I'll be looking for them to have with my muffaletta.
Cindy Loose: By the way, we're open to any and all travel questions, on any world topic.
Fairfax, Va.: How do you find the cost of train tickets? Are there advanced purchase options, like with airlines?
I occasionally go to Mystic, Connecticut. I use Independence Air (Dulles to Providence, RI). I know that there is a train station right in Mystic, but have no idea how to find train fares/schedules to see if I can get a better deal that way. It would take longer, but it would bring me closer to where I need to go.
Cindy Loose: Call 1-800-USA-RAIL or go to www.amtrak.com.
Deep Valley, USA: NOLA memory: In the early 80's my professional association had its convention there, ending the first day of Mardi Gras. Some of us stayed on. This was a group of computer programmers who were also college professors, and thus two-ply double-dyed nerds who usually worked all night and slept all day.
Can't do that in NOLA. We ALL, every one of us, went out and partied three nights in a row. People who never stood up except to get more Jolt Cola actually danced with beers in their hands. CANADIANS let their backbones slip, right there in public.
At least one marriage had its genesis in those three days of Mardi Gras.
Cindy Loose: One marriage, and perhaps babies too. Thanks.
Baltimore, Md: I have been to New Orleans on many occasions, it is truly one of my favorite cities in the U.S. As soon as New Orleans opens its doors, my friends and I are going there immediately to show our support for those that are rebuilding, to spend our money on masks, beads, drinks, music, hotels and everything else one expects from the Big Easy. While rebuilding and cleaning up will be far from easy, we know that it will re-emerge with the same spirit and charm it always had.
Steve Hendrix: It's going to be fascinating to see how the process unfolds. There is going to be a lot of money sent that way, and plenty of political and sentimental pressure to rebuild it in a way that preserves the spirit and charm that we love.
Taller, stronger levees are probably a given, but is this a chance to do New Orleans better and differently? Already we're seeing the planners come forward with some Big Ideas (for example, let the lowest areas stay under water, making NOLA a sort of "American Venice.") If nothing else, the poorest neighborhoods need to be made safer and more livable (without being urban planned to death).
December Travel: Hi, there -- Any tips for three single folks heading to Park City, Utah, in early December? We're thinking of renting a condo with easy access to town. None of us can ski, but we drink a mean hot cocoa ...
Carol Sottili: You're going to have a great time there. Park City has a main drag that's filled with restaurants, shops, etc. And there are things to do other than ski - sleigh rides, snowshoeing, tubing, art galleries, historic tours, etc. The Utah Olympic Park isn't too far away - you can bobsled, luge or skelton there. Plenty of condo/hotel availability. We rented through an owner at www.vrbo.com, and got a nice house not far off the main drag. There's also a shuttle that runs around the town so you really don't need a car if you're going to stay local. I really enjoyed the Park City Silver Mine tour. For more info go to www.parkcityinfo.com
Loving memories of NOLA: Vacationed in N.O. a few years ago. What I remembered most was the general hospitality - everybody reaching out to you to make you feel welcomed. From the B&B we stayed at, all the establishments we went to, to the strangers on the street - every one greeted me warmly, even though you couldn't miss that I stood out like a sore thumb, being the only person of my race around. I don't remember ever being in another city where people seemed to really want you to be there, even if you look so different from them. I'll miss Nawlins.
Gary Lee: Your feelings reflect mine and, I think, those of all of us here. We're betting that whatever else was lost that the gracious attitude was not.
Something tells me we'll all find our way back there somehow.
Austin, Tex.: Pimm's Cup: Pimm's Gin, Lemonade, Cucumber. Invented at the Napoleon House in the French Quarter, & very refreshing. I liked them better than Hurricanes.
Cindy Loose: And here I was thinking you were talking about cupcakes.
Pentagon City, Va.: Fondest memory of New Orleans - After getting married, we scraped up enough money for a week-long honeymoon to New Orleans. I'll never forget sitting in a cafe in the French Quarter, eating my first oyster poorboy and listening to jazz on the local public radio sation with my new husband. We were poor as can be, but I realized that for once in my life I was perfectly happy. I was exactly where I wanted to be in this world and my life was exactly the way I wanted it. I wouldn't have changed a thing. I had never felt that way before or since and it's a feeling that I will associate with that great city forever.
KC Summers: Yes, N.O. would be the perfect honeymoon city. Only way you could've topped that experience is if you'd been listening to live jazz. First thing I'm doing when I go back is heading for Frenchmen Street in the Marigny for some of that.
Bethesda, Md.: I don't want to sound like a ghoul but will recent events trigger cancellations or price adjustments so that I could afford a hotel room for Marti Gras this year? Last I looked rooms booked up a year in advance and cost upwards of $400 a night.
Cindy Loose: We're making no predictions about the state of Mardi Gras at this point. Even though it's six months away, a lot of work has to be done between now and then.
Cleveland Park, Washington, DC: My family is planning a get together to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary next summer. We're trying to find a resort in the Northeast or even in Canada, that would be interesting and fun for a group of 18, ranging in age from 3 to 70. We prefer cooler-weather environs. Also we've been told that cruises might be appropriate. Do you have any wonderful ideas?
John Deiner: Hey, CP. Two resorts jumped into our heads when we saw your question. Carol suggests Woodloch Pines (www.woodloch.com) in the Poconos, where her family has reunioned in the past. And we've always been intrigued by Mohonk Mountain House in New Paltz, N.Y., which has a great rep and is in a beautiful locale.
As far as cruising, I say . . . why not? Plenty of activities for all age groups, and if you go on a decent but lower-priced line like Royal Caribbean, you may avoid some of the "But I'm not sure Uncle Howie can afford that" sort of thing that goes along with planning a big family do, as there are a wide range of prices on most cruises.
NOLA: I enjoyed a short holiday in New Orleans the week before the hurricane hit; my friend and I marvelled at the warmth of the people we met and the general sense of joy that we found throughout the city. My most poignant memory was of an artist who sold wooden crosses behind the cathedral; each cross had a virtue painted across its horizontal plane ("love," "hope," "faith," etc.). I hope that such virtues prevail over the horrors that New Orleanians are now experiencing.
KC Summers: That's a lovely thought. I'm kicking myself for not buying a little red fleur-de-lis cross I saw at a gallery in the Quarter last spring. Thank goodness I sprang for the water-meter rubbing. At least I have something tangible now...
Best New Orleans Memories: I've been to New Orleans three times - once for Mardi Gras while in college, once for work, and once for a short vacation. I have to say my fondest memories are of the trip I made to New Orleans with my co-workers. How I loved eating beignets at Cafe Du Monde, walking around the Garden District - finding the house Anne Rice owns (ed?) with the creepy iron gate surrounding the property, admiring the aquatic life in the fabulous aquarium, and dancing on a rather large stage, in front of several thousand people (including my bosses and co-workers) with a friend/colleague, and singing along with the zydeco band. Ah, New Orleans. Yes, I'll visit again, soon.
Cindy Loose: Let's hope soon comes quickly. Thanks.
Washington, DC: This weekend I bought a ticket to Dakar, somewhat on a whim. I'll be there for 10 days in Nov., with about 12 hours in the Casablanca airport on the way. Is the Casablanca airport reasonably close to the city? Is there anything in particular one who's never been to Morocco should seen in those few hours??
Anne McDonough: I like whims like that. None of us have Morocco experience to share, so I'm going to throw this one out to the hordes and hope that they can help. Hordes?
Arlington, Va.: My friends and I first went to New Orleans for New Years 2002. We had a fantastic time- the most memorable even being a 4:00 AM run to Cafe Du Monde. Hot coffee and fresh beignets couldn't have tasted better after coming in soaking wet from the cold rain, and the city was so beautiful at that time of night, empty of its usual crowds.
My last recent trip was three weekends ago, just before Katrina hit, with the same group of friends. We had decided to return to visit our friend who had moved to New Orleans after graduation to teach. All of those memories have been running through my head over and over for the past week and a half, from the overwhelming heat and smell waiting for a cab at the airport to the wonderful feeling of the air flowing through the streetcar while traveling past all of the lovely houses.
On the way back from NO in August, I was already making a list of the things and places I wanted to go back to see. I won't discard that list, and I hope that someday I will be able to return.
Cindy Loose: Thanks--and remember--send the comment along with your name and name of your town or city to travel@washpost.com
Maryland: Just wanted to point out that what you think should be a "down week" as far as your airfare goes might not really be so - i.e.: can't get a hotel room next week in NY, which to me is a "down week" since it is after labor day, but it is fashion week (or so I'm told) and there isn't a one to be had.
If something is going on in St.louis in that timeframe, you're paying for it in your airfare. Not to mention fuel cost increases are being seen in airfares now.
Carol Sottili: Historically, the week after Thanksgiving doesn't usually command top dollars. That's not to say that every city falls into this situation - if there's a special event going on, you will have trouble finding a room. Again, $200 round trip to St. Louis isn't expensive, especially if that includes taxes.
Boston, Mass.: I'm trying to head off to Paris the second and third week of December. Is now the right time to book tickets if I want them cheap?
I've heard that many travellers book apartments for a week in Paris...how would I find out about that?
Also, are there any un-miss-able daytrips from the Paris area? I'd love to get out of the city for a bit, but don't want to complicate an 8-day trip with a second city.
Gary Lee: The low season fares to Europe are being introduced around now. If I were you, I'd keep checking the major sites -- expedia, travelocity, orbitz, and others, for the next couple of weeks. For that period, as long as you don't get caught up in the Christmas rush, you should be able to get a ticket for around $500 or so, maybe less.
There are lots of sites for booking apartments in Paris. One that seems to have decent places at decent rates is www.parisnet.net.
As for day trips, the standard but always entralling options are: Versailles and Giverny (where the biggest attraction is the museum full of Monets.) I also like the day trip offered by Paris Visions to Normandy, including Omaha Beach, etc.
Baltimore, Md.: I am trying to book a flight from the DC area to Venice in February (23 - 27) for a long weekend during Carnival. What price would be average for a trip at that time. We have already found a hotel on San Marco for 777 Euros for three people, so we are set on that end. Also, how do you obtain tickets for the Balls?
Steve Hendrix: Best we're seeing is about $655 on Air France, which is pretty good for that time of year. You could squeeze a few more Euros out by booking to a major discount hub, like London, then onbooking a flight to Venice from there.
For the balls, this website has a lot of information, including a registration form.
Also, have a look in the general Italian tourist site:
Washington, D.C.: My wife and I had a trip scheduled for New Orleans the weekend of September 30th. We are now scrambling to figure out other options for our weekend getaway. We were both really excited about New Orleans so we are having trouble thinking of a location that sounds just as appealing. Any suggestions?
Cindy Loose: There is no good New Orleans substitute, given how unique the city is. But for a weekend, how about Chicago? They've got the blues, great food, lots of attractions. Also, there are loads of direct flights, which means you'll get alot of weekend out of your weekend.
Fairfax, Va.: Good afternoon, my husband and I have an opportunity to use my parent's timeshare in the Poconos over the Thanksgiving weekend. We're worried that there won't be much to do since we'll be in between seasons. Too early for snow but too late for fall. What do you suggest? Is there enough around to occupy us for 4-5 days? Thanks.
John Deiner: Hey, Fairfax. Good question. My answer: I dunno. Lots of candle factories and knickknack shops and those sorts of activities up there, but I'm not sure what the situation is between the time the leaves fall off the trees and the snow starts falling. Just building a fire, cooking good meals and reading sounds pretty nice to me, but if you're after lots of activities, you may be underwhelmed.
Anyone out there know for certain?
Thank you Steve Hendrix on your wonderful piece in Sunday's Travel section.
I had never set foot in New Orleans until June, 2004. My now husband is from NO and invited me to attend a family member's wedding. Since this maiden visit, we have been back together three times, the most recent being our wedding in April.
New Orleans is indeed a special place. The hospitality, like most of the south, is amazing. No doubt the city will be back.
Steve Hendrix: Thank you so much. I'm glad you were able to have a New Orleans wedding. That may be hard for a while.
Washington, D.C.: I'm going to be going to L.A. in early November. What kind of weather can I expect? Is there likely to be a lot of rain? Also, I'm planning to travel up the coast -- Santa Barbara is an obvious option, but is there a less touristy destination that's not too far?
KC Summers: Hey, don't knock Santa Barbara just because it's obvious! It's one of the prettiest cities in the country, well worth visiting, with gorgeous architecture, great restaurants and shopping, and lots of great things to do. (Tip: It's colder on the beach than you'd expect.) In November, L.A. temps should be in the low 70s, i.e. perfect. Maybe in the 50s at night. The rainy season is more July and August.
Farther up the coast, Hearst Castle is a definite don't-miss, absolutely amazing. Also stop in at the artists' town of Cambria. And farther north, of course, Big Sur and Monterey.
NOLA Story: Can you post a link to the NOLA story everyone is talking about? As a former resident, I would love to read it and, possibly, share it with some friends. We're all so heartbroken, but know that since the quarter and much of The Avenue survived, the city will be fine...eventually.
Cindy Loose: The comments on the chat are referring to Steve Hendrix's story. See link attached.
Re: Boston, Mass.: For the Paris visitor, craigslist.org sometimes has great deals for weekly apt. rentals.
Gary Lee: Thanks for the great tip. Craiglist is a good site for all kinds of travel tips, including vacation apartments.
New York, NY: In your column about New Orleans, you asked whether Cafe Du Monde made it. There were pictures on the TV of the French Quarter, and even the AWNING of the Cafe was intact, if you can believe that. Amazing how many buildings survived in that area. Perhaps even the forces of nature knew to stay away from certain things...
Steve Hendrix: In fact, we're beginning to see more of that good news from the Quarter, from Audubon Park, the Garden District and other areas that sat high on the riverside levees. That's all to the good (the more of that tourist infrastructure is left, the faster the jobs will return for the refugees), but it's hard to get excited when death and destruction is still the news of the day.
Bethesda-My N.O. memory: I've only been to New Orleans once. My then boyfriend-now husband took me there several years ago for a long weekend. We stayed in a beautiful bed and breakfast called Maison Perrier where we had the most delicious pecan french toast. We walked around, listened to music, admired the architechture. And of course ate and ate. It is a beautiful city and my heart breaks for the wonderful people.
Cindy Loose: Let's hope they get a chance to be involved in the rebuilding,and come back better than ever.
Falls Church, Va.: I was just in New Orleans for a work-related conference in the middle of August, so I can vividly imagine the landmarks mentioned on the news, and remember clearly seeing the levees that kept Lake Pontchartrain out of the city. I now regret that I spent so much time in meetings and not seeing more of the city, but I will particularly remember an exclellent Italian restaurant in the Warehouse District called Eleven 79, as well as a restaurant called Mother's on Poydras Street that seemed like it had not changed since it opened in the 1930s. I hope both re-open.
Gary Lee: Aw, Mother's! At the very mention of the name, I can taste the huge, wonderfully fattening po-boys they serve there. I don't know Eleven 79, but if Mother's reopens, I'll be one of the first ones hustling through the door, looking for a table...
New York, NY: New Orleans is the city of my heart--my parents met there and spent the first years of their married life there, and my brother was born there. I still promote Mardi Gras up here in NYC--every MG I order a King Cake from Gambino's and share it with the office. My mother became an expert in pies because her cakes listed in the uneven buildings built on squashy ground. I took my boyfriend there last March and as we rode through the Quarter on our way to our guest house he said "It's incredible, it's like we've stepped back in time."
As soon as the first bar reopens in the Quarter, as soon as the Camellia Grill and Cafe du Monde come back, I will be there to give them my money. God, what an achingly lovely city.
Loved your essay and quoted it on my blog.
Steve Hendrix: Thanks so much. We look forward to a little King Cake every year here at Travel, too.
You know, I'm pretty sure the Camillia Grill closed sometime last year. It was in the news that they were losing their lease. Anybody know for sure?
Greenville, SC: Would you buy a ticket on Independence Air for mid October?
Carol Sottili: I think so. Let's face it - at some point, some airline is going to go belly-up, and we really don't know which one it will be. But usually an airline will enter bankruptcy before it ceases service. And Independence Air hasn't taken that step yet. That's not to say that the cart couldn't come before the horse, so I'm hedging here. But if the price were right, and the schedule fit my travel plans, I'd take the chance.
Richmond, Va.: The last time I was in New Orleans, I was lucky enough to be there during the first week of Mardi Gras. Each night was at least one different parade. Lots of beads, lots of beer and Popeye's chicken. Since it was durin gthe playoffs, my husband and his pals decided to stay in to watch the games. I instead, headed into the Quarter and caught the Barkus parade. You gotta love a city that has animals dressed up for a parade.
Every time I've visited New Orleans, I have been astounded by the generous hospitality of the people. I look forward to returning.
Washington DC: I couldn't even begin to share my favorite memory of NOLA. As a college student at Tulane, as an adult living and working Uptown and planning my wedding, and later as a tourist who has only missed one Jazz Fest since starting college in 1991. Crawfish at Frankie & Johnny's, cheese fries at Cooter's, burgers at Port of Call?! Kermit playing at Joe's, Rebirth at the Maple Leaf?! This week has been painful beyond belief--friends have lost everything (thank GOD they are alive!) and I feel like I have lost one of my best friends.
I hope that people, especially tourists who provide the lifeblood of this city, will not give up on New Orleans. Don't say you'll never go back. That only encourages those who don't want to rebuild. New Orleans will need our tourism, our dollars, our support over the next several years. Just my two cents...thanks.
Cindy Loose: I'm convinced the city must come back. When it does, the tourists will not be far behind.
"discount hub": "You could squeeze a few more Euros out by booking to a major discount hub, like London, then onbooking a flight to Venice from there."
Does this apply to all other EUropean destinations (provided that there are connections from London)?
And how do we go about this when booking online? Do you specify that you want connections (instead of non-stop), and specify London as the intermediate? Or, do you simply book the round trip to London, and then another round trip btw London and somewhere else? For example, I have Lisbon in mind.
Carol Sottili: You can save money doing this to many cities, including Lisbon. But you will be inconvienced. You can't book the entire itinerary through the originating airline. You must first book your international fare, and then book your domestic fare. Usually, you'll have to go directly through the discount airline's Web site to book, as very few have U.S. offices. Also, there is a very good chance that you will have to switch airports. Most discount airlines fly out of Gatwick, Stansted, Luton - not Heathrow. So when you figure in your transfer costs, and you realize you have to lug your luggage around, maybe the money you save isn't worth it. But maybe it is. Monarch flies between Gatwick and Lisbon and Air Berlin flies between Stansted and Lisbon. Go to www.whichbudget.com to see who flies where.
Alexandria, Va.: re: $200 flights to St. Louis. (All my family's in MO, I fly there about 3 time a year.) If you don't care which airport, you can usually find something cheaper out of BWI. That's probably the best you'll get out of National or Dulles.
Carol Sottili: Southwest has sales out of BWI on a regular basis. But it's not going to be all that much cheaper than $200.
Washington, D.C.: coast trip from l.a.- sorry, but i think that if the poster is based out of l.a., a trip up to hearst castle, big sur and monterey might be a bit of a jaunt. if anything, maybe santa barbara, then hit lompoc and then some of the wineries in the area.
John Deiner: KC says: Good stuff, DC. Thanks for chiming in.
Baltimore, Md.: No questions, just a memory. Visited Gulf area in late 1980s Mardi Gras and saw it through eyes of my friend who grew up in the area. Enjoyed a fabulous catfish fry in Hattiesburg, saw lots of small towns in MS where they didn't even bother to close the car door when they parked at home--they only have to open it again, after all. Also saw all the great spots in New Orleans, meeting lots of very warm people native to the area. I have a thing for cemeteries, and remember even seeing one NoLa "Doctor of Jazzology" mausoleum. I have found myself wondering about the condition of the cemeteries this week.
Steve Hendrix: I've been wondering too, Baltimore. Those cemetaries are (were?) wonderful, all above ground sarcophagi because you can't dig a grave in that low terrain. Like Central American cities of the dead.
Boston, Mass.: Hi--Can you please tell me about the accomodations on an overnight train from Munich to Prague? Do you know whether private cabins are available, or if the rails only provide semi-private compartments? Is it safe? Do border guards still board the train to check passengers now that the Czech Republic is part of the EU? And is there a place to book this type of ticket online or stateside? Thanks!
Gary Lee: When last we checked, it was possible to get a sleeper car on Deutsche Bahn, the German railway, from Munich to Prague. Check out the Deutschebahn website, for details. Technically there should not be a guard checking passports but we can't be sure that that won't happen.
Anybody with recent experience traveling from Germany to Prague who can add something here?
Cindy Loose: Thanks forjoining us. Over and out.
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Freshman Classes Getting Hooked on the Classics
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Six years ago, a faculty committee at Ursinus College near Philadelphia sat down to review its core curriculum. The usual results of such meetings, some critics of higher education say, are minor adjustments in a smorgasbord of courses that don't really have much to do with each other.
At Ursinus, with 1,500 students and a good reputation for medical sciences, something else happened. The committee thought it was time to make a radical move and decided to create a full course on the human experience that every freshman would be required to take.
Forcing all first-year students to read the same classic texts by Homer, Plato and Virgil used to be fairly common at U.S. colleges. But the academic rebellions of the 1960s and 1970s led to more student choice and less contact with dead white male writers of classic literature and philosophy. Many colleges adopted core programs that were very loose, except for a few stubborn enclaves, such as the St. John's colleges in Santa Fe, N.M., and Annapolis that make everybody read the same old books.
Ursinus President John Strassburger said he was not sure how students would react to the new required course, the Common Intellectual Experience, or CIE. He and his faculty soon learned that even for 21st century undergraduates, the great works can be addictive.
"I discussed ideas from the 'Heart of Darkness' when talking about racism in a course about Hispanic literature and culture, and witnessed a heated argument about Simone de Beauvoir's take on feminism at a frat party," said junior Sally Brosnan. "I have walked in on my roommate reading the unassigned chapters of Nietzsche's '[On] the Genealogy of Morals,' instead of her usual Wednesday night reruns of 'Sex and the City.' At the end of the semester, several students kept their CIE books rather than selling them back to the bookstore for beer money."
J. Scott Lee, executive director of the Association for Core Texts and Courses headquartered at Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga, estimated that about 65 undergraduate institutions require all freshmen to take the same classics or core courses. Even so, he said, that is more than did so in the 1970s.
Lee said that when the group of colleges that form his association had its first meeting in 1995, those in attendance were surprised at how many schools had begun to have such freshman year course rules. This was in part, he said, a reaction to "the core being too much like a shopping mall, and there was a deeper and more fundamental concern over the very nature of what education should be for undergraduates."
Most colleges still give freshmen plenty of choice, in part because they think students are more likely to apply themselves to subjects that interest them. "The difference between courses where students are forced to be there and where students have chosen to be there is like night and day," said Paul Armstrong, dean of the college at Brown University, which does not have core requirements.
Armstrong added, however, that his son Tim, who attends Reed College in Portland, Ore., enjoyed the Humanities 110 course required there for all freshmen.
Barry Latzer, a Graduate Center of the City University of New York political scientist and expert on core curricula, said several colleges seem to have common freshman course requirements but in reality don't. "Many of these courses seem to be seminars, small classes with term papers, the subject of which varied with the interests of the instructors, who were drawn from different departments," he said.
Anne Neal, president of the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, said one reason why most colleges do not have a common course for freshmen is because "it's much easier not to." The number of courses at all schools has grown rapidly, each with its advocates.
Faculty commitment to research also plays a role. "Professor Jones is researching Tibet, so he wants to teach a course on Tibet," Neal said. "But the reality is that faculty are there to teach students, and the question is, what do our students know when they graduate? Have they received a coherent and rigorous education, or have we simply given them a patchwork of classes and a curriculum where everything goes?"
Among the colleges that have freshmen take the same course are schools as big and famous as Columbia University, with 23,800 students in New York, and as small and little-known as Oglethorpe University, with 1,029 students in Atlanta. Colgate University has two required courses, and George Washington University for the first time this year will require all freshmen to take a writing course, even if they had top scores on entrance exams.
Some of the common freshman courses are not too strenuous, students say, but others are terrifying. John Schiappa, a former undergraduate at Hampden-Sydney College in Hampden-Sydney, Va., said he has vivid memories of Rhetoric 101 and 102, required of all freshmen, as well as a required sophomore rhetoric course.
"It may seem elementary to teach college students the value of writing and speaking well and correctly," Schiappa said, "but the course pushes so far beyond that. HSC's rhetoric requirement is akin to the worst grammar class one has ever taken, multiplied by a factor of 10 and stretched across two years. . . . It was a catalyst for bonding through hardship."
The same feeling of togetherness is generated by Humanities 110 at Reed. "Every freshman student is reading the same thing at the same time," said Peter Steinberger, dean of the faculty, "so when it is Herodotus week, the campus is awash in copies of Herodotus. This creates an intellectual basis for freshmen to interact."
At Ursinus, the incoming class of 2009 read the epic poem "Gilgamesh" over the summer and discussed it during orientation week. The following Monday, Aug. 29, the freshmen gathered in the evening to watch faculty and students perform a medieval cycle play about Noah, since the story of the great flood figures in both "Gilgamesh" and another Common Intellectual Experience reading, the book of Genesis in the Bible.
Ursinus students said they were excited to read a recent essay by Harvard University professor and minister Peter J. Gomes recommending the Common Intellectual Experience for other schools, including his own. Gomes said he thought Harvard's faculty would resist the idea, but "why should all of the creative and liberating ideas for liberal education be left to the small residential liberal arts colleges?"
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Six years ago, a faculty committee at Ursinus College near Philadelphia sat down to review its core curriculum. The usual results of such meetings, some critics of higher education say, are minor adjustments in a smorgasbord of courses that don't really have much to do with each other.
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Democrats Pledge More Intense Scrutiny of Roberts
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Senate Democrats yesterday promised to subject John G. Roberts Jr. to an increased level of scrutiny in light of President Bush's decision to nominate the 50-year-old appeals court judge to replace the late William H. Rehnquist as chief justice.
But with conservatives and liberals alike saying that Roberts is on track to be confirmed, the focus was already shifting to what both sides believe will be the real battle: Bush's yet-to-be-named pick to replace retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
O'Connor's seat is critical because she often provided a swing vote on such controversial issues as affirmative action, abortion and prayer in public places. Roberts was initially chosen to replace her, but instead is now poised to succeed Rehnquist, a reliable conservative who died Saturday of thyroid cancer.
The rare opening of two seats on the nine-member court gives Bush the opportunity to dramatically move the balance of power on the court to the right.
The switch, which comes as the Bush administration struggles to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, had both sides hurriedly recalibrating their strategies. Senate leaders agreed to postpone Roberts's confirmation hearings, which had been scheduled to start today, probably until next Monday.
Bush urged the Senate to quickly confirm Roberts in time for the Oct. 3 start of the new Supreme Court term, saying that the Senate was "well along in the process of considering Judge Roberts's qualifications."
But Senate Democrats said that the move to make Roberts the 17th chief justice of the United States required careful deliberation, particularly given Roberts's relatively short, two-year tenure as a federal appeals court judge.
"The stakes are higher and the Senate's advice and consent responsibility is even more important," said Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.). "If confirmed to this lifetime job, John Roberts would become the leader of the third branch of the federal government and the most prominent judge in the nation."
Democrats on the Judiciary Committee plan to renew their calls for the White House to release memos and other documents from Roberts's 1989-1993 tenure as principal deputy solicitor general in the administration of President George H.W. Bush, his highest government posting. "Judge Roberts has a clear obligation to make his views known fully and completely," said Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y).
Still, even liberal groups opposed to Roberts's nomination said yesterday that the shift is unlikely to alter his chances of being confirmed, given that Republicans are in firm control of the Senate. Some Republicans argued that it will even help his prospects, given that replacing Rehnquist with Roberts isn't likely to change the ideological center of the court.
Kate Michelman, a former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America, said that what senators must do now is highlight Roberts's record on civil rights, his skeptical writings about the legal underpinnings of abortion rights and other stances to "show people what it means to have his views on the court and lay the groundwork for the next nomination fight."
Democrats are already moving to link the two nominations. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) said that a review of memos that Roberts wrote while a young lawyer in the Reagan administration shows that Roberts sought to "weaken voting rights, roll back women's rights, and impede our progress toward a more equal nation."
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Rural Activist Seized in Beijing
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BEIJING, Sept. 6 -- Local authorities on Tuesday seized a rural activist who has been leading a high-profile legal campaign against the use of forced sterilization and abortion in China, in an apparent effort to block him from meeting with senior government officials who had expressed support for his cause.
The detention of Chen Guangcheng, 34, a blind peasant who has been preparing a class-action lawsuit to challenge population-control abuses in the eastern city of Linyi, occurred a few days after he arrived in Beijing for meetings with lawyers and journalists. He was seized just as the Chinese government opened an international legal conference here.
Several men in plain clothes grabbed Chen when he left an apartment building on Tuesday afternoon, witnesses said. The men did not identify themselves, and Chen resisted, shouting for help as they dragged him across a parking lot and pushed him headfirst into an unmarked car with tinted windows, the witnesses said.
A small group of people, upset by seeing the rough treatment, surrounded the vehicle and prevented it from driving away. As two men held Chen down in the back seat, he could be heard screaming and appeared to be in pain.
Residents called Beijing police. Two uniformed officers arrived, consulted with the men who had seized Chen, then cleared a way for the car to leave. The officers said the men who seized Chen were police from China's Shandong province, where Linyi is located. Tu Bisheng, a friend who was with Chen at the time, said local officials from Linyi were also present.
"We feel this is extremely inappropriate," said Li Heping, one of the lawyers working with Chen. He said the Linyi officials appeared to be "taking revenge on him for trying to protect the rights of local citizens and exercising his right to criticize the government."
A spokesman for the Shandong public security bureau said he knew nothing about Chen's detention and declined to accept questions about the case.
Chen was seized just hours after meeting with a reporter who works for Time magazine, Tu said. Over the past few days, Chen also met with a Washington Post correspondent, diplomats from the U.S. Embassy and several lawyers in Beijing who have volunteered to help him sue officials in Linyi, a city of 10 million located about 400 miles southeast of Beijing.
In March, residents said, the Linyi government began requiring parents with two children to be sterilized and forcing women pregnant with a third child to have abortions. Officials also have been detaining family members of such people who fled, beating them and holding them hostage until their relatives return and submit to the operations, according to residents interviewed in Linyi.
Chen's attempt to organize a class-action lawsuit against Linyi was the subject of a report in The Washington Post on Aug. 27. At the time, officials in Beijing said the practices described by Linyi residents were illegal and expressed support for the lawsuit.
After publication of the article, the National Population and Family Planning Commission, the cabinet-level ministry that manages population growth in China, sent a team of officials to investigate the allegations in Linyi. The investigators tried to meet with Chen, but he had already traveled to Beijing.
In an interview before his arrest, Chen said he was thinking about meeting with commission officials, but was worried about being arrested.
A commission official, contacted by telephone, said the ministry was unaware of Chen's detention and could not immediately comment on it. The official said the ministry would try to contact Shandong authorities to determine what happened to Chen. The ministry considers the Linyi case a priority and will severely punish family planning officials who violate the law, the official said.
Provincial authorities wield tremendous power in China's one-party political system and often disobey ministries in the central government. But the seizure of Chen represents an unusually public act of defiance, which could embarrass the governing Communist Party as it seeks to project an image that it has abandoned coercive methods to limit population growth.
Local officials throughout China began using forced abortions and compulsory sterilization to enforce the one-child policy in the early 1980s, but the central government since the mid-1990s has tried to eliminate such practices and move toward a more flexible system of economic rewards and fines to slow population growth.
Jerome Cohen, a specialist on Chinese law at New York University who is teaching in Beijing this fall, said he met with Chen on Monday night and discussed the risks of the lawsuit with him. Chen was determined to press ahead, Cohen said.
"This seems to be a case of local officials who have blatantly abused their legal powers, and have no legitimate defense against the case he brought against them, resorting to extralegal methods to cut off his ability to pursue justice," Cohen said. "It's very, very sad, and another example of how rough the legal situation is in rural areas."
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PBS: 'History Detectives'
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"History Detectives" returned for its third season on PBS in June, and a one-hour episode airs on PBS on Monday, Sept. 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT (TV Schedule). Combining the latest forensic technology with old-fashioned detective work, the series lifts the lid on intriguing artifacts and objects, family legends and local folklore in cities and small towns across America.
"History Detectives" is again hosted by Wes Cowan, independent appraiser and auctioneer; Elyse Luray, an independent appraiser and expert in art history; Gwendolyn Wright, professor of architecture, planning and preservation and professor of history, Columbia University; and Tukufu Zuberi, professor of sociology and the director of the Center for Africana Studies at the University of Pennsylvania.
Host Elyse Luray was online Wednesday, Sept. 6, at 11 a.m. ET to discuss the 11-part weekly PBS series "History Detectives."
Luray, a New York University certified appraiser and New York State licensed auctioneer, holds a bachelor's degree in art history from Tulane University and was the vice president and auctioneer at Christie's for more than 10-years. During her tenure at the auction house, Luray was responsible for achieving many record prices, including $690,000 for Judy Garland's ruby slippers.
Each one-hour episode of this series comprises three explorations that uncover everything from interesting trivia to revelations about illustrations that might have helped persuade America to fight the Nazis in World War II.
In this special episode of "History Detectives," three young people, junior super sleuths, join the expert hosts for three exciting mysteries. Monday's episode includes:
Coney Island Lion -- A young, aspiring filmmaker who spent her childhood at Coney Island joins "History Detectives" to explore the colorful history of one of the earliest amusement parks in the country.
Legacy of a Doll -- A Maryland woman owns a beautiful, antique and rare "Greiner" doll. Her grandson joins "History Detectives" to help her uncover the true story behind the doll and its legacy as they explore the complex and intriguing story behind legendary Confederate general Robert E. Lee's relationship with slavery.
Ballet Shoes -- A 12-year-old ballet dancer in Long Island, New York, recently learned from her grandmother that her deceased grandfather once made ballet shoes for many of the top dancers in the 1920s and 30s, including the legendary Ziegfeld star Marilyn Miller. A junior contributor joins the "History Detectives" to find out if there is truth to the grandmother's tale.
Richmond, Va.: I LOVED the piece that aired last night about the ballet shoe ... and it always amazes me with the extent you will go to find an answer to one of the issues being researched. How long does it typically take to research and produce a segment to your show? With the travel time needed for some of the research, I am guessing it is not as easy as it appears to find the answers to some of the questions asked.
Elyse Luray: thanks for watching. The research for one story takes about 4 weeks but sometimes the research may take months due to locations and dead-ends. We tape a show in 5 to 6 days.
Anthony, Ala.: How was it working with a junior history detective? Did it change the way you investigated the story?
Elyse Luray: I loved working with Mariel. She was very smart and had great energy. It was also great to see the support of the community of Port Washington, NY. I met Mariel's mother at a lecture I gave at the local library.
N.Y., N.Y.: You studied at Tulane in New Orleans, how do you feel about the devastation wrought to such an amazing area?
Elyse Luray: There are no words to answer your question. I only hope and pray that the people and the city can rebuild their lives. I hope to travel there soon to help.
Los Angeles, Calif.: Has being a History Detective changed your life?
Elyse Luray: Knowledge is so important to me and I have learned so much in the past 3 years but the best things about being a History Detective are the people. I love learning their history and seeing how in always is weaved into a bigger picture of American history.
Also, I love Wes, Tukufu, Qwen, our producers Chris and Tony and the staff. We are very lucky to work together.
Shaftsbury, Vt.: How do you feel about the digitization of archival records? How does your research benefit from online resources?
Love the show and Web site!
Elyse Luray: Digitization is very helpful to research. It saves time and money for everyone. The New York Public Library has a very strong commitment to this and they feel they will save millions of dollars, while at the same time help millions of people. Their President recently told me that people, who have used their online services, now come to library more prepared and focused. At the same time, I feel that online services can only take you so far. Libraries and historical societies will always be needed.
Portage, Ind.: History Detectives is a great show. Are all of the archives and other documents you use available for use by anyone or does one need special credentials to gain access to them?
Elyse Luray: the great thing about our show is all the documents and research we do is open to the public! Good luck sleuthing!
New York: Dear Elyse -
This is going to sound patronizing - but you have great poise and confidence on the show. Much of it must be natural-born... for the rest, do you credit your experience at Christie's? Personal drive? Mentors?
Also - what challenges do you face every day in trying to "do serious work" while some people may dismiss you on the basis of your appearance (female, youthful, attractive...)?
Elyse Luray: No worries. Tulane and Christies were both great learning places for me. Also antique shows, reading and personal sleuthing always help.
I hope that my youth (if you want to call me young at 37!) helps other young adults want to continue to learn. My goal is to help children learn that American history can be fun!
Chariton, Iowa: I really enjoyed your program last night, it was the first time I had viewed it.
2 questions: As a high school teacher, are there lesson plans and activities to use with your program?
Was Coney Island a specific park or were Dreamland and Steeplechase Park part of Coney Island?
Elyse Luray: yes, there are and we have had a huge response from children and teachers. If you check our Web site at pbs.org/historydetectives you will see a section for the classroom and the answer to your Coney Island question.
thanks for watching and I hope you kids enjoy the show!
Martinsville, Va.: The segments shown on "History Detectives" always have a satisfying resolution. So I wonder, what happens when you or your colleagues come up with a dead end? Do you have some way of working out ahead of time how a case will turn out, before you commit a camera crew? Have there been any segments that were begun in production which didn't make it to air?
Elyse Luray: Usually the ones that do not make it to air, are items that do not have a story to tell. All of us vet the items before we start investigating. If the object is not period then there is no use of starting to research it.
We have come us with some dead ends and at the end we have to tell the person the truth!
In last night's episode (9/5/05) about the "Ballet Shoes," Tukufu ends the episode with an interview with a relative of Broadway Star -- Marilyn Miller. I felt a chill run up my spine when the camera shot the "Welcome to Slidell, LA" sign and scenes of new Orleans at the beginning of the segment. Any word on the well being of the lady interviewed? I am worried we were viewing things in the episode that may no longer exist due to Katrina.
PS: Love the HD's! Brilliant idea of including the kids as "junior detectives" -- what a great way to get kids interested in History.
Elyse Luray: No word yet, but our thoughts and prayers are with her as well as everyone from there.
Frederick, Md.: Hi, I've been watching the show since its first season. Having been a history major as an undergraduate, I have enjoyed watching it. I was interested in the episode where you were researching the poisoned pen. I had no idea that Ft. Detrick had a role!
Elyse Luray: yes and it was lots of fun! thanks for watching
Chariton, Iowa: The New York Public Library looks incredible. All of a sudden I see yet another reason to visit New York!
Are there comparable libraries in the Midwest?
Elyse Luray: I don't mean to sound like a New Yorker, but here it goes:
The New York Public Library is one of the best public buildings and institutions in the world. The building is amazing, their archives are incredible and their collections of books, manuscripts, prints, photos, etc, (from all over the world) are better then most museums. Its a must when you come to New York!
Middletown, NJ: Do you have a good relationship with the other history detectives? I notice you and Tukufu tend to do stories together sometimes.
Elyse Luray: Yes and I love them all. I am very lucky to work with Wes, Tukufu and Qwen.
Gibsonia, Pa.: What an excellent and insightful show! Elyse, how in the world did you land such a terrific job at Christie's at such a young age? I see that you were with them for over 10 years, so you must have started out there when you were fresh out of college. My sympathy and prayers go out to your alma mater (Tulane) after the hurricane tragedy.
Elyse Luray: Thanks. Yes, I started right out of college. I also worked in New Orleans during school at local galleries. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone. I can not wait for the city to rebuild and for the people of New Orleans to have a home again.
Liverpool (near Syracuse) NY; WCNY-TV (PBS): I look forward to your program every season. Any chance it can be expanded to year around shows (rather than 11, say 25 or 52 shows per year). These shows (also saw Ms. Luray on Antiques Roadshow Program last year) give me an understanding of history and appreciation (or shock) at how valuable some items are. Thanks. Paul S.
Elyse Luray: we would love to and we hope PBS lets us do more shows. thanks for watching!
Fairfax, Va.: Love the show! One nit pick, in the Coney Island Lion story last night, why didn't the team look first at a photo of the entrance to Steeplechase Park to see if there were lions that matched the paws, and then work backward to see if the paws you had were the right age and establish chain of possession. It seemed like ending the story with the photo of the entrance, of which I am sure there are thousands, was anti-climactic.
Elyse Luray: sometimes you over look the simple things. I find myself often thinking "Why didn't I think of that earlier?" Anyway, I think the junior detective learned a lot and enjoyed the research process.
Chariton, Iowa: Have you used Presidential Museums and Libraries in your show?
Elyse Luray: yes, we use everything although I do not think we have visited any Presidential Museums and libraries on the show. Sometimes we call them to help us answer questions or direct us to an expert. These calls do not make it on the show.
Washington, D.C.: This may be something you have not come across at all, but was there any indication if Robert E. Lee was a faithful husband or if he strayed? I have a friend where it has been passed down from the generations that they are illegitimate descendants of Mr. Lee. Of course, that could have been a totally bogus story passed from the beginning. I presume it would be hard if not impossible to ever prove such a thing, although I was wondering if anyone at least knew if General Lee had a reputation one way or another towards fidelity.
Elyse Luray: Sorry, I can not answer that but their is great genealogy section on our site that might help your friend. He should ask himself some simple questions first: Did his family member work for Lee, live in the same state, can he match dates, etc. Good luck!
Avon Park, Fla.: I enjoy your show. Has your work on it changed your attitudes toward history and how we commonly view certain time periods?
Elyse Luray: thanks. The show has made me realize how important our history is and how important it is for people to remember history. I love when we are able to take a person's item and tie it to an important event in American history. Also, the show has made me realize how we need to continue to teach our children about our country. These days there are many shows on television and I hope our show teach our children about American history in a fun and entertaining way.
Chariton, Iowa: As the viewer from Maine, we discussed the hurricane as we watched ... think of all the artifacts of history that were destroyed in that storm and flood. What a shame.
Elyse Luray: yes, I know. Lets hope that people who left early were able to load their cars and trucks with some artifacts. I am also hoping that maybe somethings were stored in other areas that are safe. At this point, all we can do is pray and hope!
The cold and lonely archives basement: Just wanted to say ... Kudos to your interns and production assistants. I doubt the public recognizes how many weeks of research goes into the host having primary sources on hand.
Elyse Luray: yes,as I have said before, we have very lucky to have a great team. thanks for watching
What I really love about the program is that it doesn't whitewash over the not-so-pretty parts in our history...for instance, it is so difficult for us to truly comprehend slavery, all these years later...and yet by reading through documentation, visiting the sites, and talking to people, it really really comes alive. Wow. It's terrific for us viewers to be taken along on such a journey, but I imagine it must be a heck of an experience to actually follow the leads and get as close to the past as you can...?
Elyse Luray: Thanks. Working on History Detectives is a great experience and I have learned so much. One of the great things is meeting all the experts that we use. These people have dedicated their lives to working on historical research and it is a treat to get to interview them. Also, I love seeing the archives and the "real" papers, etc.
Morristown, N.J.: Am I correct that your show plans to air an episode about the mysterious stone steps (I believe there are something like 200-300 steps) that are carved into a mountain here in Morris County? I've heard that no one knows how they came to be -- whether native americans formed them or whether Washington's troops built them as a lookout for British troops.
P.S. Love the use of Elvis Costello's "Watching the Detectives" as your show's theme song.
Elyse Luray: Not sure about that one. Maybe you could submit it to us to investigate at pbs.org/historydetectives
Elyse Luray: Thanks for watching the show and please continue to support PBS!
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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Host Elyse Luray discussed the 11-part weekly PBS series "History Detectives." In the special episode of "History Detectives" that airs on Monday, Sept. 5, three young people -- junior super sleuths -- join the expert hosts for three exciting mysteries.
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Chatological Humor* (Updated 9.9.05)
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Gene Weingarten's controversial humor column, Below the Beltway , appears every Sunday in The Washington Post Magazine. He aspires to someday become a National Treasure, but is currently more of a National Gag Novelty Item, like rubber dog poo.
He is online, at any rate, each Tuesday, to take your questions and abuse.
Weingarten is the author of "The Hypochondriac's Guide to Life. And Death" and co-author of "I'm with Stupid," with feminist scholar Gina Barreca. "Below the Beltway" is now syndicated nationally by The Washington Post Writers Group .
Those of you reprobates who are denizens of Achenblog probably are aware that I went to a Nationals game with a guy who countered my prior 0-5 W-L attendance record with an 8-0 record of his own. His name is Jeremy Weiss. And you probably are aware that he broke my curse. We expected a 22-inning-called-on-account-of-exhaustion tie, but in fact, the Nats won, rather handily.
All of this will be explained, and made sense of, with some extraordinary additional facts revealed, in an upcoming column. What you cannot know is that the breaking of the curse has been scientifically verified.
I went to another game on Sunday with my daughter's boyfriend. The Nats won. Everything would be splendid except for one disturbing fact. Molly's boyfriend's name is Jeremy Fisher. It may well be that, for the Nats to win, I must be accompanied by a Jeremy. More on this as facts warrant.
As you can see from the poll, the rib and I have recently returned from New York, where we saw "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" Judging from your observations so far, you guys seem to underestimate the talent of Kathleen Turner. She was a brilliant Martha, squeezing from the script several moments of humor that Liz Taylor never found. She was a funny Martha! And a horrid Martha, too. A triumph. But the truly stunning performance was by Bill Irwin - a clown by trade - who used body language to create a George so unforgettably broken, meek, yet intellectually alive, that no one really ought to try again. The stageplay should be retired.
So far, you are giving my wife and me some slack, in your poll answers today. But you will be surprised, possibly, at some of the correct answers, which I will explain midway through.
Meanwhile, I have a link for you - submitted by Horace Labadie -- that Chatwoman has only reluctantly permitted, and only on the condition that we bury it midway through the chat. Isn't that exciting? So be on the lookout for it! I will subtly point to it at the appropriate time.
The CPOW would have been Richard Thompson's magnificent unauthorized Blondie tribute on Sunday. But, alas, it is not linkable. I'll try for it tomorrow. There is a worthy alternative, however: the sardonic "Curtis," from Monday. That strip has really risen to the occasion this week.
First runner-up: Today's Cathy! (Prediction - You'll never see those five words together again, in this chat.)
Honorables: Sundays Zits, Sunday's Doonesbury, Sunday's That's Life, and Sunday's . Garfield!
It's a week for surprises.
washingtonpost.com: Alt CPOW: Curtis , ( Sept. 5 )
First Runner Up: Cathy , (Sept. 6)
Honorables: Zits (Sept. 4), (Sept. 4), That's Life Sept. 4), Garfield (Sept. 4)!
Weird Weeke, ND: I was awakened at 3:30 am by a strange noise. I lay there awhile but didn't hear anything else, so I dragged myself to the bathroom, half asleep, sans glasses. I should tell you I am legally blind without my glasses. When I stood up, I could tell the contents of the bowl were moving. This was NOT right. So, I fetched my glasses, considerably more awake. There was a mouse swimming laps in my toilet bowl and I had just peed on it. I stood there a few minutes considering the options. I am normally soft-hearted when it comes to animals, but I couldn't think of a good way of getting it out without it getting loose and without getting pee water on the floor. I flushed it. Yes, I am a single female.
Gene Weingarten: Hm. Well, I give you a pass because you are a female. I really, really, really want to know what my wife would do, and I am going to call her and ask her right now. (She is a fierce animal lover, but afraid of mice, and not that icked out by pee.) I don't think she would have flushed it.
I would definitely not have flushed it to death.
I would have taken a large wad of paper towel, steeled myself, plunged my hand in the water, grabbed the mouse, and carried it outside, trailing pee water through the house.
Pee water can be cleaned up off hands and floors. A little mouse cannot be unkilled.
Okay, I just reached my wife, and read her your question. Here is exactly how the conversation went:
Wife; Well, obviously, I would have woken you up and told you to deal with it.
Me: You have to assume you were alone.
Me: Now, you know that wouldn't work.
Wife: I would have taken a long sheet of dry newspaper and made a bridge from the water up over the seat and down to the floor. Then run like hell before it took advantage of this.
Me: You would have let it into the house?
Wife: Under the circumstances, yes.
Get Fuzzy: In today's strip (9/2), there is talk of who pees in sinks. See, it isn't just in chats!
I was waiting for a woman to comment on it in the strip, but I can't think of the last time anyone female appeared in "Get Fuzzy." Even all the animal are male, right? Even the huggy dog who lives in their building.
washingtonpost.com: Get Fuzzy , ( Sept. 2 )
Gene Weingarten: Actually, there was a woman in there last week! It blew me away. Liz, can we link to Sept. 3?
washingtonpost.coz: Get Fuzzy , ( Sept. 3 )
75th Anniversary: Um, Gene do you have any comments on the modern Blondie's dress Sunday? Or are your eyes still popping out of your head?
washingtonpost.com: Blondie , ( Sept. 5 )
Gene Weingarten: Ordinary Blondie fare. You know, I recognized every character except that little chef to the right of Mr. Dithers. Can anyone identify this person?
Mt. Laurel, N.J.: "...Plus, you will become a better driver, because you can anticipate jaywalkers.
Gene Weingarten: This is exactly right. ... The classy jaywalker never affects the traffic pattern at all. He is a threat to no one except the peace of mind of lockstep-obey-all-authority prigs."
Sadly, Gene, this could be said of virtually all traffic rules, not to mention most rules designed for crowd control. And of course we know you're a classy jaywalker and of course so am I. But what about all those other folks, who apparently also think they are classy jaywalkers -- but aren't?
Watching New Orleans unfolding, I'm deeply sorry for both the lockstep-obey-all-authority prigs and the authorities... since the obey-no-authority folks are in charge (and no, I'm not talking about the souls who broke in to get water, diapers, food, etc.). And without in any way letting the authorities off the hook for their incompetence, there's a piece of me that thinks maybe attitudes like yours -- in the wrong hands -- are a little bit contributing to some of the lawlessness. Assuming dumb rules don't apply to you and therefore making up your own rules have long been God-given American rights. (I think there were a lot of folks who thought being instructed to get out of town was coming from lockstep-obey-all-authority prigs...)
Gene Weingarten: Well, y'know, this brings up an interesting issue. I do not go along with all this public outrage against looting. Looting during, say, a riot, is an unconscionable act. Looting during a gigantic public health and survival emergency is something quite different.
I see nothing wrong with looting, here. Common sense should prevail. Virtually all things are going to be wasted anyway, in the flooded areas. All perishables. Most everything. No, I don't feel particularly good about people stealing ten pair of shoes, but I give virtually EVERYONE a pass here, on virtually everything, so long as it does not make another person suffer.
If I were one of those poor people stuck in New Orleans, and I could find food or drink or dry clothing, I'd be a looter, without moral compunction. An even easier decision, perhaps, than the ones I recently made in New York.
Takoma Park, Md.: Have you noticed that President Bush has generalized the Karl Rove Dodge? I speak of his courageous statement on high gas prices: "I think there ought to be zero tolerance of people breaking the law during an emergency such as this, whether it be looting, or price-gouging at the gasoline pump...." The key thing to remember here is that in general there is no law prohibiting "price gouging", of gasoline or anything else. (The antitrust laws do not address this, for example.) But it sure makes for a good excuse for not doing anything ELSE about gas prices, like forcing significant improvements in fuel efficiency. Next up: if an international court whose jurisdiction Bush recognizes declares that the invasion of Iraq violated international law, he will admit his error.
Gene Weingarten: My favorite Bush quote on gasoline was when he urged people not to buy gas if they don't need it. Who buys gas if they don't need it?
Tom the Butcher said: "Yeah, I usually buy a few gallons to display on my mantelpiece. Perhaps I'll cut back on those discretionary uses."
Takomap, ARK: Re Non Sequitur: he's saying the White House "moved the goalposts" again. Since the goalposts are now in the Arctic, we can assume the shift in policy was a major one.
Gene Weingarten: Correct. Several people correctly saw this. I did not. Liz, can we append the cartoon? Last week I said I was confounded. Many of you were not.
Sect. 416 Sunday: So... that was you in the bullseye shirt at the Nats game, correct? We were the family right behind you. Intended to say "hi" but didn't want to disturb what looked like a nice father-son outing. Did that game break your losing streak? My daughter is now 5-0...
Gene Weingarten: That WAS me. A t-shirt made for me by an Invitational person, with a bullseye on the back.
Not my son, though. Almost. Molly's sweetie.
washingtonpost.com: Non Sequitur , ( Aug. 30 )
Gene Weingarten: Wait, were you the couple with the two adorable kids? And dad teaching daughter the game? Those kids made my day! With the win, of course.
Arlington, Va.: Gene, I have been in/with this chat almost every day since its inception, and I have to say that it never fails to stun me. I just logged on to see that today's topic is pee-drenched mice. I cannot think of another forum on the planet where this subject would ever be addressed.
I Am Truly Impressed. Thanks for being you.
washingtonpost.com: We're VERY proud of Gene's chat.
Gene Weingarten: I am just all abashed here.
Kissimmee, Fla.: Regarding your poll, I said it was okay because you weren't truly asking about the amount of money you spent but the fact that you spent it. However, how can you possibly feel that a meal, however delicious it may be is worth $300? I don't even make that in a week and I work two jobs. Sure it was a special occasion and you should splurge, but it just seems to me to be outrageous. I've had fabulous meals for two that didn't exceed $100. Did the waiter do your laundry while you ate? I do apologize for being critical but I'm poor, cranky and dispirited at the moment.
I think this is a matter of perspective. Some people spend thousands of dollars on 25th anniversary soirees for themselves, or long vacations. We considered our expenditure modest, and on a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
You shouldn't criticize a work of art if you haven't seen it, nor a meal if you haven't tasted it. Was this one-time event worth three good hundred-dollar meals?, I would have to say, yes, and more so. We will never forget it, whereas I have had many immediately forgettable hundred-dollar meals.
Chicago, Ill.: How absurd that anyone would give any thought to not flushing based on the fact that it would kill the mouse. The only reason I wouldn't flush would be because I'd be afraid that it might evenutally lead to clogged pipes.
Gene Weingarten: Really? You find that absurd?
Well, relax. A mouse is far smaller than a turd. Flush away, beast.
Del Ray, Alexandria, Va.: So, what do you think about the whole "Race Thing" unfurling in New Orleans? Do you think the Feds would have acted faster if this had happened in Miami or Boston? I know this isn't funny, but I'm curious.
Gene Weingarten: Yes, I do.
I hate to say this, but yes, I do. I think it is the same reason that we helped Bosnia (eventually) and not certain African countries. I think it is sickening.
Re: Bill Irwin: I LOVE Bill Irwin. He is totally underrated. He did a show called In Regard of Flight, which was him and two other clowns, and it was, quite possibly, one of the funniest shows I have ever seen in my whole life. He did a brilliant bit about a waiter trying to get spaghetti out of a pot, but he can't untangle it. I don't know if he's quit clowning since it's so tough on the body, but man... he's awesome.
Gene Weingarten: The two most enjoyable nights we ever spent at the theater were Bill Irwin shows. Woolf, and "Fool Moon."
Those miserable meeses: Oh sure, you'll create a loving habitat for disease-carrying vermin in your home (which one of you thinks that mouse isn't coming right back in?), but you won't skip a meal and a play to help people who are overrun with vermin.
Gene Weingarten: Please. How would skipping that meal have helped the people of New Orleans?
Mouse vs. turd: "A mouse is far smaller than a turd."
Yeah, but turds don't struggle. At least mine don't.
New York: Regarding Wifie's response -- Sigh, I really don't want to snipe, but didn't you just pronounce her to be the ideal woman last week?
If my teenage child did this I would be very, very upset with her immaturity, among other things. I'll assume you posted Wifie's response for humor, not for real 0- even if that's not true.
Gene Weingarten: That was her real response, and yes, she is ideal.
Anniversa, RI: I too recognized all of the characters in the Blondie panel except the chef.
Would it have been apropos if Dagwood had given a toast to acknowledge all of the long-departed friends he's outlived, e.g., Dick Tracy, The Katzenjammer Kids, Henry, Lil' Abner et al.?
Gene Weingarten: That actually would have been moving!
1. How far in advance do you see the comics?
2. How can Chatwoman possibly handle Weingarten, Kurtz, and O'Donnel all at the same time?
washingtonpost.com: I have a staff of three-and-a-half producers... who are merrily producing these other non-mouse-flushing chats you mention.
Gene Weingarten: Who is the half?
Pollish words: In the poll's preface you wrote: "-...the enormity of the New Orleans devastation..."
By "enormity" did you mean heinousness or size? Or were you having it both ways?
Does The Post or Pat the Plus Perfect have a policy on this word?
Gene Weingarten: Huge horror. I was using it correctly.
Baby Sitti, NG: A few weeks ago you mentioned in passing the great Colin Mochrie, which brought to mind the single greatest moment in television history. This moment was, of course, created by Mr. Mochrie, and it makes me giggle each and every time it comes to mind.
Many of your readers probably saw this for themselves, but since I'm a confimed nostalgia nut I thought I'd share.
To set the stage; Whose Line of course, the "Scenes From A Hat" game. Midway through Drew reads out "things you can say to your dog, but not your wife."
I don't remember how many others attempted this before Colin's masterpiece, just that he was not the first. He was certainly the last. Stepping forward Colin turns, looks straight at the camera, extends one hand out -- ready to sniff -- and says one word. "Come."
I am laughing out loud as I type, causing the baby to laugh, too. The joke is one thing, but what makes it the single greatest TV moment of all time is the delivery. Totally deadpan, and you immediately notice the one hand extended for the dog to sniff happens to be exactly at crotch level, fingers up. As matter of fact as day, Colin just let the whole place fall down around him. It was wonderful and I will never forget it.
Gene Weingarten: That was a perfectly splendid moment, but there was a better one on WLIIA. It was the single most stunning thing I've ever seen get through the TV censors. It was uttered not by Colin but by Brad Sherwood. I guess I saw it for the first airing of the show, because I SAW it; according to the Web, it was bleeped out in reruns.
They were doing the bit called "You Know What I Mean?" which is all about innuendo and double entendre. They are supposed to be in a certain venue -- car repair shop, the stands at Wimbledon, etc. -- and use as puns terms appropriate to the situation, followed by a leering "if you know what I mean...."
The audience gave the venue as "a guy's gym," and Sherwood said, "There's nothing like a 200-pound snatch, if you know what I mean."
Everyone fell on the floor laughing. The skit was over, immediately, and as they stumbled back to the set, Ryan Stiles said, "That one will never get on the air, if you know what I mean."
re: Little Chef: The tall chef next to Dithers is the one from the diner where Dagwood eats his lunch every day. I think the little chef is the assistant back in the kitchen...
Gene Weingarten: Really? I don't recognize him. Anyone?
Linthicum, Md.: Has anyone ever told you that you really aren't that funny ?
Blondie Party: It looks like Cathy went alone. Is all not well after marrying Irving?
Gene Weingarten: Irving appears to be out boinking Helga, who also isn't there. The only vaguely interesting part of this cartoon is that the character who talks about "comic strip years" belongs to a strip that operates in real time.
Chantilly, Va.: My in-laws, wife and I ordered the omokase (chef's choice) at Nobu in LA several years ago. The in-laws had a $100 gift certificate given to them by friends. The bill, once the certificate was taken off, was over $500.
Was it worth it? Oh yes. It wasn't just fantastic, it was an experience, a work of art. I may never eat like that again, and I'll most certainly always remember it.
Of course, the two teenaged girls sitting next to us who had decided over riding lessons that afternoon to stop by and get dinner probably didn't have the same appreciation for their meal that we did for ours.
Gene Weingarten: Right. Appreciation matters.
Washington, D.C.: I got a new cell phone this week, and found that it makes this obnoxious beeping noise when I turn it off. There's no way to deactivate this function, and apparently it's now included on a fair amount of phones.
Ninety-five percent of the time that a person turns off his phone, isn't it because he doesn't want it to make noise in a certain place like a meeting or restaurant? Shouldn't somoene really be fired over this unnecessary pain in the neck?
Gene Weingarten: My wife's, too. It's moronic.
Gaithersburg, Md.: Hey Gene, Since you are (or seem to be) knowledgeable about a variety of subjects: Can one tell the difference between a sunrise and a sunset from a photograph ?
Gene Weingarten: I have no idea. Well, I suppose if you knew the landscape and knew if it was being shot west to east, or east to west, you could.
I am going to ask a photographer. Can anyone else answer this authoritatively?
My only knowledge about sunrises and sunsets is that they are far more beautiful today than in the distant past. Pollution. Really.
Arlington, Va.: My wife asked me for a divorce last week. Heartbreak for me, evidently lots of relief for her.
Here's the thing. I'm driving home from the gym last night, getting choked up as I think about all that I'm losing. My wife, my house, my dog, my country western song (Oh wait -- clearly I Have that.) The radio's on but it's just white noise to me. I turn up the the volume and of course it's playing "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes.
To which I start laughing hysterically.
That's either a good sign or an indication of a total meltdown, right? Either is satisfactory at this point.
Gene Weingarten: A good sign. You can either find the humor in heartbreak, or succumb totally to the pain.
I'm glad you didn't mention kids, because, as bad as you feel, that would have made you feel worse.
You can fight for the dog, you know.
Tucson, Ariz.: Yes, Garfield is better than normal, but my immediate reaction, as the daughter of a biologist, is that the spider is missing two legs. So it's kind of lame.
Gene Weingarten: Well, if it's missing two legs, I guess it WOULD be kind of lame.
Genoci, DE: One of the most disturbing statements I've ever heard was uttered by Sen. Joe Biden during the run-up to our Bosnia intervention: "This is not Southeast Asia. This is not Africa. This is EUROPE, for God's sake."
An Army friend translated this as: "These are people who look like us."
Good Lex: "Abashed" -- good word.
You have already told us of your love and profligate use of semicolons. Are there words you look for excuses to use?
Gene Weingarten: I try to use "concupiscence" every chance I get.
Playing Chicken: I have a few five-year-old daughters, one of whom has been getting a real kick out of the Chicken Crossing The Road joke. This is fine with me, because I think it is actually a pretty sophisticated joke. The other night, though, she surprised me with this variation.
"A boy was driving down the road. All of a sudden he blew his horn, and said, "Look out! It's a chicken!"
I just wanted you to know, so you can brace for the competition.
washingtonpost.com: "I have a few five-year-old daughters" gives me the unsettling impression that you're not really sure exactly how many offspring you have.
Gene Weingarten: And what was a "boy" doing driving????
Gene Weingarten: Okay it is now time for Liz to link to....
Gene Weingarten: ... The Awful Thing.....
Gene Weingarten: She Wanted to HIDE!
Washington, D.C.: Following up on the Colin Mochrie story -- I swear I saw Regis Philbin interviewing a female weightlifter a couple of years ago. After she demonstrated one lifting technique, he said, "OK, let's see what your snatch looks like." Those were his exact words. The audience did not respond at all, and I'm quite sure Regis never noticed what he had said.
Gene Weingarten: Regis might have. He is of an era where deadpanning something like that was part of the game. The Soupy Sales era.
Blacksburg, Va.: Rehnquist's death reminded me of a general newspaper question I've meant to ask you before. How late can an unexpected news event happen (such as the death of an important person) and still make it in the next day's paper? How late for an expected event (like the late night results of an election count)? What time is the paper printed?
Gene Weingarten: The paper will occasionally special, very late editions, for huge news (or planned news, like election returns.) I could be off a little here, but I think that the last scheduled press run begins around one a.m. Meaning midnight big news will get into about 200,000 paper or so, most of which will circulate only in Washington D.C. proper.
The all-editions press run begins around 10 p.m., I believe. News happening after about 9 misses this.
Being a copy editor, pthep would know this better than I. Am I close here?
Travel Section: Gene, I'm assuming someone has told you about the review in the Sunday Travel section of a pee-funnel contraption for women? I am totally buying some of those! Now I can pee anywhere! Free at last. . .
washingtonpost.com: It Came In the Mail , ( Post, Sept. 4 )
Gene Weingarten: It's just lovely. What is most bizarre though -- if you blow up the photo of the package -- it appears to be suggesting women utilize this device THROUGH their underpants. At least that is how I see it. Another interpretation of the photo exists, I suppose, but I am not going there.
washingtonpost.com: That Which Can Not Be... ummm... Hid
Gene Weingarten: Okay, the poll:
For questions one and two, there are only two defensible answers: That such an expenditure is either always wrong, or always right. Qualifying the answer by circumstance is just plain silly, because circumstances are irrelevant:
There is tragedy and misery and bad fortune impinging on the lives of other human beings, in large numbers, every hour of every day. If it is wrong to enjoy an evening of luxury because there is a catastrophe underway on the Gulf Coast--well, would it be wrong if the catastrophe were occurring in Sri Lanka or Belorussia or Darfur? Is it moral to make distinctions based on accidents of geography, or preferences of nationality? Clearly not. Morally, that would be myopia at best, xenophobia or racism at worst.
It then becomes a matter, simply, of whether a person is morally flawed for spending a substantial amount of money on a luxury at any time, considering the state of the world. If you feel a person is, then we were wrong. If you feel a person isn't, then we were not wrong.
(As it happens, we DID donate more money to hurricane relief than we had spent in New York on these two events - but we would have done so had there been no New York trip at all. We did not believe we had committed any sin requiring expiation. )
Moreover, to make some sort of distinction based on the NATURE of the expenditure - food versus theater, for example, is to venture down a pretty obnoxious path. Who is to judge what form of extravagance is "Okay" and what is not? The National Arbiter of Extravagance?
The last question was, for me, the most interesting. The only obviously wrong answer is to not tip, but not explain why. That accomplishes nothing.
The most logical response would be to ask the cabbie to turn off the radio; it certainly is the sane and reasonable thing to do in a world governed by sanity and reason and the comity of conversation and whatnot. But this question involved pragmatics as well as ethics, and I would humbly submit that anyone choosing this answer has never lived in New York.
To have asked the driver to turn off the radio would have been to invite debate, and very possibly to risk having him ask you to leave the cab at a place where finding another would be no easy matter. His cab was an openly hostile environment, in which he was openly seeking to proselytize.
We didn't tip, and told him why. Maybe he will reconsider his behavior if it happens more than once.
Hurrica, NE: I was the apparent meanie from last week -- but a chunk of what I wrote didn't make it through, but I'm not mean! I didn't mean we shouldn't spend money on New Orleans, we should. We should spend a fortune rebuilding a lot of the city on nearby but higher ground. Even with a great levee system that is good and properly funded, there are going to be flooding and hurricane issues. Also, they'll be able to rebuild large parts of NO which are at or above sea level, so the city's distinct character will not be entirely lost. As long as the port is there, a city will be needed. But a geologist friend said that building the deep parts of it right back where they were in the big bowl is like building non-earthquake safe houses in parts of California -- people just don't do it, because the risk of loss is so huge.
That's all I was saying! I'm not Hastert!
Dublin Loser, Ireland: Hi gene, What's your definition of meanness? According to a recent Gallup poll, most American job holders would continue to work if they won $10 million in the Lottery. I think that's mean -- on a par with removing free gifts from comics and giving them to children as presents, or taking change out of the collection plate. A man I know wouldn't let his wife buy dishcloths. She was told to use his old undergarments instead. He never washed up.
Gene Weingarten: Hey, Obie. Well, being an American, my definition of meanness is nastiness, not stinginess. But, you know.
I don't see how continuing to work after becoming a minor millionaire qualifies, however. I think I would continue to write if I won $100 million. Its a question of usefulness and creativity.
Gene Weingarten: Actually, now that I think about it, the best example of "mean" was that awful, dreadful woman from last week who suggested bulldozing New Orleans.
Gene Weingarten: Haha. Just kidding, sweetie.
RichardThompso, MN: Gene, please tell TPTB at The Post that Richard Thompsons' work must be made available online.
Meanwhile (with Richard's permission) the day-after-the-party cartoon has been scanned and put on a Web site: Richard's Poor Almanac .
How ironic is that people who aren't religious find religious programming offensive think it should be turned off, yet when I find Howard Stern offensive I am told it is free speech and I should turn the channel and just not listen to it. I am not religious, but I find the double standard ridiculous.
Gene Weingarten: There is no double standard at all. I am saying both should be turned off.
I think a cabbie playing Howard Stern would be committing a hostile act to most of his customers.
Buzzard Point, Washington, D.C.: Gene,
Were you in Miami when Hurrican Andrew hit? If memory serves me, the reponse to Katrina seems quicker than the response to Andrew (not that Andrew response should be the benchmark for success -- some argue that the slow federal government response cost George HW the election). And, supplies were slow in arriving for the survivors of Floyd in North Carolina as well. And remember -- in both of those places, the roads were accessible.
I don't think for a minute the issue of race delayed the delivery of aid, but race WAS an issue because if you were black and living in NOLA, you most likely did not have the resources to evacuate and you most likely lived in an area that was wiped out.
Some other thoughts -- as for the question, why weren't more helos, trucks, supplies on scene -- remember, you need to get those things out of the way first so they're not destroyed and then bring them back. Initially, the helos were then used to pick people from rooftops rather then bring in supplies. Plus, you can't just fly aircraft around with no working air traffic control, then you face the risk pf in flight collisions...
Gene Weingarten: I was not in South Florida then. But if memory serves me, the difference is that people were not actively dying in the immediate aftermath of Andrew. Some had died, but not that many, and few people were in life-threatening states.
Pat the Perfect, ME: News can happen very late -- well after midnight -- and make the final edition of The Post, especially if it's an anticipated event like an election.
Deadlines tend to be earlier on Saturdays because there are more papers to run through the presses: 1.1 million Sunday papers instead of 710,000 for the daily. I am told that Rehnquist's death still made 400,000 papers, due to very quick work on the part of the newsroom Saturday night.
Gene Weingarten: Right. Thanks. That's pretty much what I thought.
Washington, D.C.: Sweet Moses... it's Tuesday!
Too many chats to read... What do I do? I must say though it was a present surprise to realize your chat was today. One of those nice situations where a happy aura comes down after the realization... hoo rah.
Gene Weingarten: I like the term "present surprise," even if it was a typo. It could catch on.
sperate, DE: What is "desperate help?" A local radio station is running a spot saying that those harmed by Katrina "need desperate help." I can certainly imagine that they are "desperate and need help," or perhaps that they "desperately need help," or even that they are "in desperate need of help." But I'm not sure what is this "desperate help" of which the radio announcer speaks. Whatever it is, it appears to be in some demand; a Google search for " need desperate help " returns nearly a thousand results.
Gene Weingarten: Good point! Anyone have any thoughts on what "desperate help" might be? I am drawing a blank.
Hey, anyone know the origin of "drawing a blank"?
Gaithersburg, Md.: The pee-funnel is actually not a new idea. The Sierra Club magazine used to have an advertisement for the "11th essential" for backpacking. It was a similar type device for women. This was back in the '70s.
Gene Weingarten: Hm. But why would you need this if backpacking? Isn't peeing a fairly easy affair for a woman, in the woods?
Jermey Fish, ER: Your daughter the vet-to-be is dating a guy named after a frog? Not an aptonym, but funny nonetheless.
Little chef to the right of Mr. Dithers: It's the butcher from Mutts!
Frederick, Md.: $300 worth of raw fish???
Gene Weingarten: Some of it was slightly cooked. And some of it was sake.
Top "Don't" of Glamour Magazine: On E! television, they're discussing it right now -- VPL! Out of 50 "Do's and Don'ts" of which the vast majority were don't that I totally agreed with. Of course, some of the cases they showed really were horrible, horrible VPL.
But still, I think you ought to offer to do a rebuttal piece.
Gene Weingarten: You said reBUTTal.
Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.: You were right about "Broken Flowers." I can't believe the lack of critical dissent. I love movies in which nothing happens, but this was too much. Or too little.
Gene Weingarten: You mean you weren't excited by all those scenes of Bill Murray lying on a couch watching TV?
VPL and Cycling, Va.: Went for a ride with a woman the other day (I'm a man). When she took her turn in front, I noticed, quite clearly, that she was wearing a thong under her cycling shorts.
I immediately thought of this chat, and started giggling. By the time she dropped off and I passed her, I was noticeably laughing.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"Do you read Gene Weingarten?"
"Oh, just something he wrote the other day."
For the record, although the woman is pretty, biking shorts are unattractive on EVERYONE, and therefore my interest was strictly limited to scientific inquiry.
Gene Weingarten: I do not buy that biking shorts are unattractive to anyone. I will reluctantly accept that they were unattractive on her, because she does not read this chat.
Germantown, Md.: From CNN (good name):
Elsewhere, the decline in ozone levels has stabilized, said Betsy Weatherhead, a researcher at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "The observed changes may be evidence of ozone improvement in the atmosphere," she said in a statement.
Gene Weingarten: Very nice. Betsy Weather wouldn't be very good, but Betsy Weatherhead makes it classic.
Washington, D.C.: Henry Mitchell didn't just write about gardening. He also had a weekly column called Any Day, where he wrote on whatever topic struck his fancy. A book of those columns was published under the same title and is still in print. He was deep and wise and his humor was as dry as a fistful of vermiculite.
Gene Weingarten: Correct, though by the time I arrived at The Post, his general column was gone and he was in semi-retirement. As he lay dying, Mary Hadar asked me to put together some of his best clips for a memorial page, and I did, and he lasted longer than anyone expected, and Mary actually was able to show him the page in advance. I always felt good about that.
Anyone out there have a favorite passage or two you can send in?
Washington, D.C.: The person complaining about the double standard missed your point. You weren't complaining that religious programming exists. You were complaining that you were being subjected to it against your will.
Gene Weingarten: Oh, right. Of course. I think religious programming is fine.
Gaithersburg, Md.: I listened to your voice clip and don't think you sound that bad- kind of like Woody Allen. Is it the New York CIty Jewish thing?
Gene Weingarten: Partially, yes. But I am in the contralto range for a woman, or something. It is a nebbishy, apologetic voice, like Woody's.
Knoxville, Tenn.: I think that "Zits" on 9/1 incorporated Dagwood and Blondie without violating the normal storyline.
I thought it was the best of the lot these past two weeks. Your view?
washingtonpost.com: Zits , ( Sept. 1 )
Gene Weingarten: Yes, very good. But it was beaten by the Curtis from last week, which used the same theme.
15th and L NW, Washington, D.C.: The Friday after Sept 11, 2001, I got my nails done. I felt a little odd doing such a trival activity so shortly after so many people lost their lives.
I was the only in the shop for the hour I was there. There were six manicurists and only one occupied, which represents roughly an 83 percent loss of income for this small business (from being fully booked). If everyone felt guilty about doing what they normally do, a lot of people would loose their incomes. Kathleen Turner probably could skip a paycheck but what the ticket taker or the custodian for the theatre.
FWIW my husband was in the Pentagon when the plane hit.
Gene Weingarten: Interesting point. Thanks.
Thatwhichcannotbeh, ID: Thanks to Liz for having the courage for the link. But an instantaenous follow-up question: suppose that Austrian city were the scene of some unfortunate major calamity. How many Post editors would die when the story carries that city in its dateline?
Gene Weingarten: This is a great question. Phuket tested us, but this one. Man. Wouldn't that be FABULOUS? I mean, not the calamity, but...
Hurrica, NE: I'm such a hanky-wringing liberal (and currently hormone-washingly pregnant) unmeanie, in fact, that I stayed up late worrying last week not only about all the starving children and others just dying all over the place for want of help AND the fact that you and thousands of readers might think I was a meanie. Even totally anonymously. How pathetic is that?
I can now rest slightly better. Thanks.
I'll reward you by confessing I've peed in the (basement utility) sink, once when we had guests, and the one bathroom was being hogged, and I couldn't wait.
Gene Weingarten: You know what I feel guilty about? I feel one guilt about the New Orleans things. A real one. It is that I feel terrible about all the pets being left to die. I mean, in the context of everything else, that's a really pathetic concern, and not a particularly noble one. But I have it. Many of those animals will suffer very bad deaths.
Hanover, Va.: This may sound a bit naive, but why didn't the larger companies who have stores in New Orleans (the CVS/Rite-Aid/grocery store-types) announce that folks in the area could take what they needed (essentials like food and water -- not guns and TVs) from the stores that had been closed because of the floods, and that they would trust folks to pay for the items after the dust had settled (or, in this case, the waters had receded)?
Seems to me that would have been both a good charitable decision and a long-term business decision. Your thoughts?
Anonymous: Since the TV networks are putting on a big telethon to raise money for Katrina relief, why not simply switch the $5-6 billion a month we're spending on the war in Iraq to Katrina relief, and then hold a telethon to raise money for the war? This would be a great opportunity for Bush to demonstrate the support for the war that he claims. In fact, if we always paid for wars via telethons (and I think this was proposed during the Vietnam War), we could save tax money and also ensure that our wars have popular support. I can just see Rumsfeld belting our "My Way" during the telethon. Jerry Lewis, eat your heart out.
Clueless, As Usual: Re: Sunday's column
In the spirit of "Just the Facts," I was under the impression that the rules of baseball involved one team's pitching guy chucking the ball at the other team's batting guy. If so, wouldn't the coach of the chucking team want to face a less than stellar batter, instead of maiming him and thus having him replaced with someone "better?"
washingtonpost.com: Below the Beltway: Using the Old Bean , ( Post Magazine, Sept. 4 )
Gene Weingarten: Nono, the chucking was done during WARMUPS. Both players were on the same team.
Iowa: Department of SO Not Funny:
Barbara Bush: Things Working Out 'Very Well' for Poor Evacuees from New Orleans , ( Editor & Publisher )
Gene Weingarten: See, in Houston, they will have ... cake!
Arlington, Va.: Congratulations on confirming that I broke your streak! I still haven't been back yet, on your recommendation, so I don't know yet if maybe there was some cosmic switch and now I'm the baseball pariah. That would suck. -- Jeremy
Gene Weingarten: Wait a week and a half. See where the team stands in the wild-card race, Jeremy, and then negotiate with the team for your presence at games. What's it worth to them?
Your mojo is powerful stuff, young man.
Springfield, ??: How about the espisode of the Simpsons where the comic book guy, while eating Peeps, says, "If only the real chicks went down this easy."
washingtonpost.com: Tee hee... nice place name.
Gene Weingarten: I missed that!
Washington, D.C.: My friend works for the Humane Society of the United States, and they're working hard to rescue the pets and other animals that people had to leave behind when they evacuated. They are doing really good work. http://www.hsus.org/
Cubeville, Washington, D.C.: My employer is always hiring. To work here, someone would have to be desperate for a job. Clearly, my company is in need of desperate help.
Gene Weingarten: Hm. Okay, an interesting variation.
Fairfax, Va.: My eight-year-old daughter and I have had an ongoing debate for the last few years about whether Tweety Bird is a boy or a girl. The answer is obvious. Yet we are willing to let you settle the debate once and for all (as long as you are right).
So what do you say? Boy or girl?
Gene Weingarten: There are a few solid-clue comic-drawing conventions. Doctors always have that ridiculous reflector thing on their head. And girls always have big eyelashes. Tweety has big eyelashes. The fact that she is bald is irrelevant.
Gene Weingarten: I have a feeling others will disagree. Others, please?
Manassas, Va.: Dear Gene: I like to think I would have stayed with my three dogs; wondering what was going on with them would have driven me insane.
Gene Weingarten: Yeah, my wife and I were discussing this. She claims she would have stayed with pets. And she might have. Whereas I know that, under the circumstances, I would have conspired with the rescuer to tell her that the pets would be taken care of.
Lost Without Your Column, Calif.: I wasn't at a computer on Sunday, and when I tried to read your column yesterday and again today, there's no link to a column from this past Sunday. Both the column page and this chat page link to the Aug. 28 column, with nothing more recent. I re-read your wonderful column about your wife, but I would have done that anyway because I liked it so much. I still want my weekly fix of new Weingarten.
What am I to do?
washingtonpost.com: Apologies. Gene's column archive is now up to date.
Taxi Sermon: Your poll has a fallacy. The choice to ignore it because he has a right to play whatever he wants is just untrue. In the Rider Bill of Rights posted in every New York cab, it says:
"As a taxi rider, you have the right to A radio-free (silent) trip."
The whole Bill of Rights can be seen here .
Gene Weingarten: That is correct. But it is not a fallacy. The fact that we had the right to it does not mean we should have asked for it. See the explanation.
Cabbie-tipping: I do business with a number of evangelical Christians, and they consider everything they do in business to be a reflection of their faith. They are also willing to sacrifice some income if earning that income were to conflict with their faith. So by not tipping, and explaining why (by the way, I agree with the way you handled it), you were able to make clear your opposition to his actions. But there's a good chance that he won't change what he does, because he obviously believes strongly that he is doing what needs to be done.
I don't expect the atheist 75 percent of this chat to appreciate that expression of faith, but it's kinda like refusing to buy products made by little kids (another position with which I agree, by the way), even when humanely produced products cost more.
Gene Weingarten: You know, I am not a Christian and cannot speak for Christians, but I respect the tenets of the faith, and my suspicion is that what that cabbie did -- a rude unwanted assault upon people, implacably pressing his views upon those who may well have been offended by them,and brooking no debate -- is not a Christian thing to do.
RE: Springfield: Well obviously that is not a true Simpsons fan who wrote that as they clearly revealed which state Springfield is in during the "Behind the Laughter" spoof several years ago:
"What's next for this Kentucky family?" and then they proceeded to spoof gazoo from the Flintstones, and the such.
washingtonpost.com: I must check this out with my secret super Simpsons source.
Gene Weingarten: Really? It doesn't SEEM like Kentucky.
Twee, TY: Tweety is a boy. I believe there were several 'toons where a girl-bird (with even bigger lashes) was involved.
Gene Weingarten: Ooooooh, now that you mention it....
Guy in Wheaton, Md.: Two superficial -- but critical -- questions.
One, what do you think about newspapers continuing to use pre-1980s state abbreviations, like Fla. and Va., versus FL and VA? Doesn't it seem useless to maintain a second set of abbreviations (even though it was the Post Office who switched to the two-letter version)?
Two, on a related note, you may have expressed an opinion about this in a column or chat already, but would you be in favor of a complete conversion to the metric system, like Europe-minus-England? Again, a whole separate system that is less sensible. On this second one I have been unable to confidently predict your response, based on your conflicting traits of pragmatism and nostalgia-rifficness.
Gene Weingarten: You sound like a fun guy!
Cape Hurricane: The chatter from last week's timing may have been bad, but it's a sentiment that's been expressed many times before.
I wish I could remember Carl Hiaasen's words -- he wrote some time ago about those who choose to continue to live in a hurricane-prone flood zone (as he does, as I do). We live here because we love it, knowing the risks -- we can't demand insurance, and we really expect the government to keep bailing us out...
Gene Weingarten: Everyone living in the D.C. Metro area is currently living in a potential radioactive ground zero. Is this irresponsible, too?
These are complicated questions. And we don't like to face them. Because we live via denial, every single day of life. We are all dying.
Gene Weingarten: Anyone got any poop jokes?
Foolish Ameri, CA: Gene, Since I feel your chatters are pretty reasonable folks, I am casting this out there. I would be shouted down in many forums, and if I am to be shouted down here, at least it will be rational and intelligent.
To rebuild New Orleans on its prior location is stupid. It is an exercise in man-over-earth hubris that got us here in the first place. I acknowledge and respect the history, economic significance (as a port), and charm of New Orleans, but rebuilding that city is foolish. It is BELOW sea level.
And as a mental exercise, let's say that somehow we knew that next year another Katrina-like hurricane came down upon New Orleans and ravaged the city again. And then it happens again in 2007. Are these likely events? No. But they should be considered as possibilities (though they may be infinitesimally small).
Some year, down the road. Two hurricanes, or two floods, or global warming, or something will teach us that New Orleans -- in its prior location -- was not meant to be. Unfortunately it is asking too much for that lesson to be appreciated this year.
Gene Weingarten: You know, the city stood for a very long time.
It is human nature to refused to be bowed by tragedy, and I understand the impulse to rebuild, the way we rebuilt the Pentagon within a year. It's an act of human defiance.
In this case, I'll bet the city could be rebuilt with a levee-dam system that could work. I believe there are other below-sea-level cities that have withstood worse, no?
Annandale Fats, Va.: Gene -- Speaking of pets and New Orleans, did you see the photo in the Post today of the dead man stretched out and covered with blankets, with his dog nearby, curled up, apparently waiting for his owner to wake up. That just seems to universalize the misery.
Gene Weingarten: Yeah. Hey, we've entered a depression in this chat, and it is time to go. Someone say something funny.
Wash., DC: Clearly many people thought Gilbert Gottfried's jokes about 9/11 were "too soon" at the Friar's Club Roast of Hugh Heffner (from "Aristocrats"). Thus, when would it appropriate to joke about the flooding in New Orleans? Is there a way to tell when enough "cooling off" has occurred?
Gene Weingarten: Sigh. I'll let you know.
Thank you all. Intriguing, as always. And thanks for giving me and the rib a pass.
Next week, same time. And I'll be updating, as usual, through the week.
New poll question: I don't thing there are 75 percent atheists here at all.
Gene Weingarten: Oooooooooh. Thanks. Next week.
Astoria, N.Y.: In your update last week, you said that you were a sucker for interior rhyme. This led me to wonder if you are familiar with/fan of the work of musical theatre composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim. He is the king of the internal rhyme. One of my favorite examples is:
In the depths of her interiorWere fears she was inferiorAnd something even eerier,But no one dared to query herSuperior exterior.
Gene Weingarten: That is not interior rhyme. That is exterior rhyme. this is interior rhyme:Once upon a midnight dreary as I pondered weak and weary Over many a quaint and and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
Tell me that's not gorgeous.
Arlington, Va.: Gene - I read your chat late. Thanks for plunging me into pet-dying-induced depression. I remember being absolutely furious at my parents who sent me a postcard of Grey Friar's Bobby in Edinburgh, Scotland when I was eight years old. I'd seen the story on TV a year or so before and cried for days. It took until I was in my twenties to be able to visit the statue myself.
Anyway -- that's not what I wanted to write about. It's your poll. I was once trapped in a cab with a prostelytizing cabbie. He informed me in no uncertain terms that I'd been put in his cab by god because I was going to discover god through him (the cabbie) etc. etc. etc. I was so incredibly angry by the time I got to my hotel. But the anger was also tinged by fear - this guy came across to me as a fanatic - the subject just happened to be religion. I was a woman alone in a car with this fanatic in a strange city at night. I was scared as well as offended. I gave him money and bolted out of that cab as fast as I could. I felt powerless to do or say anything.
Thanks for bringing back that bad memory too. Geez. Kind of a downer chat this week.
Though the Colin Mochrie description ws priceless - I still remember him miming taking his sweetheart on a bicycle ride. It brought tears to my eyes.
My dog hates it when we laugh to the point of tears. She gets very worried and anxious -- obviously we're in pain. Was Harry S. Truman like that?
OK -- back to the subject of dogs, but a happier one this time. Thanks!
Gene Weingarten: 1. Grey Friar's Bobby -- a dog in Edinburgh who, when his master died, every single day of his 13 year life, he sat on his master's grave, waiting, presumably, for him to return.
2. I once wrote about this: Once, when my wife (an amateur actor) was practicing a monologue from "'Night, Mother," in which a woman is trying to talk her adult daughter out of suicide, Harry became inconsolable. He sensed something was awfully wrong with his ma, and kept jumping up on her, pawing her, offering sympathy. We finally had to put him in the backyard so my wife could continue the monologue. As I wrote at the time, you don't need a brain to have a heart.
Springfield, USA: Mr. Snarky "real Simpsons fan" is actually little more than a provincial fan. Were he a true blue metropolitan Simpsons fan, he would know that although the state is mentioned in the Behind the Laughter episode, there are several different versions of the show, each with a different state name.
Gene Weingarten: Yes, several people mentioned this. Apparently, it was all part of an elaborate tease. Neither Groening nor any of the team ever let on for sure where the Simpsons lived.
Downstairs: Gene, I'm sure the last thing this chat needs is to descend into a litany of "funny TV moments." Nevertheless, when I was living in Madison, Wis., a local newscast had a habit of ending with a fluff piece, complete with a large crawl at the bottom of the screen announcing "ZOO BABY ALERT!" or some such thing.
Alas, one day while starting a story about wheelchair-bound physicist Steven Hawking, they accidentally flashed the crawl for an upcoming fluff piece on a giant tomato. And so we, the viewers, were treated to video of Steven Hawking with the words "GIANT VEGGIE ALERT" underneath.
Feral Funnels: According to the female hikers I know, pee funnels are useful in the wild because it can be a wee bit uncomfortable to squat in snow; being able to stand also minimizes the risk of inadvertant exposure to things like poison oak and chiggers.
And yes, I said "wee bit uncomfortable."
Gene Weingarten: You certainly did.
Expect vs. anticipate: Expect = to believe that something is going to happen. Anticipate = to believe that something is going to happen and to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
So when President Bush stated last week that nobody had "anticipated" the breach of the levies in New Orleans, he was correct, in a ssa-backwards way. He's so much smarter than we think...
You know, we have come full circle with Bush. When he was elected, many, many people -- including those who voted for him -- wondered if he maybe was just a little, you know, dumn.
Then all this stuff happened, and even people like me had to wonder if just possibly we had misunderestimated him, a little, in the cognitive department. Was there a method to this seemingly willful singleminded blinders-on myopia?
Pee is the wo,RD: How do you tell the difference between a kidney infection and a bladder infection? I have burning pee that's cloudy with a little reddish/orange tinge, severe pain in my lower back on the left side, and nausea (which could be from the pain). Any thoughts? I have an appointment tomorrow but am in too much pain today to not be curious.
Oh, and if you need more info- I'm a 26-year-old female. No kids, not pregnant, no STDs (had that appointment two weeks ago).
Gene Weingarten: I predict a kidney infection. That is most likely, and it will be good news, considering other (far less likely) possibilities.
washingtonpost.com: All this playing doctor makes me downright nervous. I can't decide which is more unsettling: The fact that folks trust your "medical" opinion or the fact that you clearly enjoy answering these questions. No good can come of it. I fear lawsuits. Gene, could you maybe prescribe something for paranoia?
Trau, MA: Argh -- I am in a real fix. My husband and I just got two adorable little kittens from the Cat Protection League (we live in the U.K.). We named them on the morning that I woke up and saw a BBC report saying the hurricane turned out to be less bad then expected -- BEFORE we found out the levees had burst and many people were dying.
So we decided to name her Katrina. Because she runs around in circles and causes destruction. Trina for short.
Over the last few days the name has really stuck with her and she is responding to it and we are thinking of her as Trina and everything.
But we are genuinely torn whether we will have to rename her because forever after we will be Awful People if we name our cat after such an unmitigated horror. What do you think? Can we keep our kitty name, or would we be forever banned from the company of civilized humans?
Gene Weingarten: I don't think the name "Katrina" is going to stick, when this hurricane is history. I think it will be the New Orleans hurricane.
Who remembers the name of the hurricane that leveled Galveston? Okay, okay, hurricanes didn't have names then. It's true. And everyone remembers "Andrew." But I still think Katrina won't mean much in five years.
Besides, Katrina is a good name for a Kat.
Pee-drenched mice, Pee-drenched mice! Gee, aren't they fun? Gee, aren't they fun? A topic of nocturnal flushing strife, Who would've been saved by the columnist's wife-- Did you ever hear such a chat in your life As "pee-drenched mice"?
Gene Weingarten: Very nice, but like virtually 99.2 percent of all Style Invitational entrants, your genius ends at competent meter and appropriate word usage. This makes me long for the days I spent at the Czar's side, fixing stuff:
Pee-drenched mice, Pee-drenched mice! Gee, aren't they fun? Gee, aren't they fun? They got themselves flushed, and they lost their life But they would've been saved by the columnist's wife-- Did you ever hear such a chat in your life As "pee-drenched mice"?
A few minutes after the chat ended, I got an email from Richard Thompson, who was writing about his favorite part of the previous hour. The subject line was: Struggling turds.
Washington, D.C.: Gene, This is more of a Carolyn Hax question, but I am actually very interested in your response. If your daughter were 35, single, above-average in terms of attractiveness, financially stable, in shape, funny, kind and intelligent, what would you tell her when/if she expressed anxiety/dissatisfaction at her singleness (btw, I think Carolyn's advice would be, "you'd better come to terms with the fact that you might be single forever and learn to enjoy it).
Gene Weingarten: I would tell her what I told a friend of mine, a young single female Washington Post reporter who worked for me, some 10 years ago. She had the same lament. She was early 30s, single, attractive, financially stable, in shape, funny, smart, etc. I looked her in the eye and told her the truth: that she was an incredible hottie, highly desirable, and could have virtually any man she wanted, but she had to aggressively pursue this. I ordered her to find the man she most wanted, and sleep with him. Then marry him.
She did. And she did. Still married.
Men sometimes need to be told in no uncertain terms what they need.
Thebea, VE: So, did you enjoy Friday's Pearls? Harriet Beaver?
Gene Weingarten: Yeah, I did. Actually, I meant to make this a runner-up. Liz, can we link to it?
Gene Weingarten: "Harriet" was excellent.
washingtonpost.com: Pearls Before Swine (Sept. 2)
Sect. 416 Sunday again...: Not to be presumptious about our kids' cuteness, but... that was us. Glad the lessons didn't bug you, and consider the "making your day" a modest return on the enjoyment I get from your columns. Looks like quite a catch for Molly, BTW...
Gene Weingarten: Your kids were great. Dad's baseball lessons were great, especially how to root. Daughter's loving devotion to dad was great. It was all great.
Yeah, Jeremy's a cutiepie too, isn't he? And (insert stereotypical Jewish mother's nasal voice, which sounds pretty much like me, anyway) he's gonna be a dock-ta.
Chattanooga, Tenn.: Re: Mark Downs I must know. Did that idiot attorney really talk to you? Really? Could he have been so stupid as to say those things?
The sad thing is, I really don't know. While normally I'd think you made it up, there ARE some really stupid lawyers out there.
Gene Weingarten: I don't make up interviews with named people. If there is a name, and the name is not, say, "Aristophanes," it is real.
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Hurricane Katrina: Talking to Your Children
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Dr. Michael Thompson, bestselling author and advisor to PBS Parents Guide to Talking with Kids, was online Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 2 p.m. ET to discuss talking with your children about tragedy, particularly during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
PBS Parents "Talking with Kids."
Author and psychologist Michael Thompson specializes in work with children and families. With co-author Dan Kindlon, Thompson wrote The New York Times bestseller Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys (Ballantine Books, 1999). Thompson is the author of Speaking of Boy: Answers to the Most-Asked Questions About Raising Sons (Ballantine, 2000), and co-author of Best Friends/Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children. A much sought-after speaker, Thompson has appeared on Oprah, 20/20, The Today Show, The Early Show and Good Morning America. Currently Thompson is collaborating with Oregon Public Broadcasting and Powderhouse Productions on a television and Web series for national distribution on PBS, based on his book Raising Cain. Other integrated media projects with Thompson are also in development for PBS. Dr. Thompson received his B.A. from Harvard University, his Masters in Education from Harvard Graduate School of Education and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Thompson also served as a clinical instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and was a member of the Psychology staff.
Accra, Ghana, West Africa: I think children should be brought up to understand that natural disasters may happen sometimes in life, and when they happen they should not be an avenue for trauma but rather bringing family, friends and a nation as a whole to pick up the pieces after such disasters. Thanks.
Dr. Michael Thompson: To Accra, Ghana, West Africa. I agree with you that children should be brought up to understand that natural disasters may happen in life. Certainly, there are many things that we cannot protect ourselves or our children from, even in the most "advanced, industrialized nation" in the world. We are able to protect our children from so many things in the U.S. that a natural disaster of this proportions is deeply shocking to our sense of control. We have to explain to children that some things---and that includes nature---are bigger than all of us. That said, I do believe that losing your house, losing members of your family, losing your school and your toys is inherently traumatic. I believe it traumatizes children whenever and wherever it happens. Children are never not traumatized by such events, even in a country where such things happen frequently. What children do learn---what we all learn---is resilience and how the human spirit can triumph. The children of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast of the U.S. will be learning that these weeks. They will also be traumatized and will need care.
Fairfax, Va.: The human tragedies of Hurricane Katrina have been covered extensively in the news. Today The Washington Post carried a picture of an elderly man in a lawn chair who had passed. His face is clearly visible unlike other pictures of the deceased where the faces were covered. How does one answer a child's question who upon learning he is dead, asks why doesn't his family care about him. When told that his family cares very much about him, he may have been separated from his family during the floods, his family is desperately trying to find him and misses him very much, asks will there be more pictures so other families can find their Grandpa too?
Dr. Michael Thompson: Children are so direct, aren't they? At first shocked by the picture of a dead man in a chair, a child immediately sees the practical value of having his family be able to identify him. Of course there will be more questions. Children need answers and they will continue to ask them until: 1) their curiosity is satisfied, or 2) the adults become uncomfortable. The moment a child senses that adults are uncomfortable answering questions, they will stop asking; otherwise, they will continue to ask them until they have learned what they need to...for now. Later, they will ask more. Children are both scared of death and intensely curious about it.
Papillion, Nebraska: Dr. Thompson, I am wondering if the schools should become involved in helping parents talk with their children regarding this disaster and how to limit the TV time in their homes regarding this. This may become difficult for children to see in the following weeks when they start to show all the bodies that will be found and I'm sure the death toll will start counting. Any directions would be helpful.
Dr. Michael Thompson: Dear Papillion, Nebraska. I agree with you that some of the toughest pictures are still to come, pictures of dead bodies stacked up and especially pictures of dead children. Children like to believe that they are safe, and their parents can keep them safe, even from death. It isn't until they are about eight years old that they realize that death is universal, inevitable and their parents cannot protect them. A famous American psychiatrist called that realization, "The existential crisis of the eight-year-old." But soon they learn to live with the fact of death, and are comforted to know that their parents and the people who love them will try as hard as they can to keep them safe.
Schools should help to talk to children about these things because some parents will be too uncomfortable or frightened themselves. Teachers generally (not always) know how to talk to children about scary topics.
Millbrae, Calif.: What emotions are inappropriate to share with children? Should children see their parents being sad, angry and fearful?
Dr. Michael Thompson: Dear Millbrae, California. Oh yes, children need to see adult emotion so that they know it is natural and acceptable. If you do psychotherapy with children, you know how important and memorable it is for them to see an adult cry. They often mention times when they've seen someone cry; for example, "My father cried when his mother died. I'd never seen him cry 'til then." Sadness, fear and anger are normal, natural reactions to the events in New Orleans. We must not pretend they are not. Children can tell when we are hiding are true feelings and it confuses them.
For children today, having lived through seeing some horrific events (9/11, tsunami, London bombings, Katrina and much more) do you think exposure to these events at such young ages, may lead to epidemic mental health problems for that generation as they reach adulthood?
Dr. Michael Thompson: Dear Chantilly, VA. I absolutely do NOT expect that we will have epidemic mental health problems as a result of 9/11, the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. This is real life, and kids are very good at embracing real life. Children are realistic, sometimes even tough-minded. As long as they have adults around them who try to help them understand, as long as they can see authentic reactions, they can orient themselves. Of course, they'll be a bit scared for a while; it may affect their dreams and even cause them nightmares, but they will recover.
I have been in hundreds of schools since 9/11 and I do not see a generation of traumatized children. They are no more fearful or phobic than any other children I saw prior to 9/11. They do understand, however, that terrorists exist. And so do tsunamis and hurricanes.
Davidson, N.C.: Isn't a "positive approach" to emphasize that affected children either are with parents or connected with family ASAP?
Knowing that the children remaining in London, even during the WWII blitz, felt safer being with their parents than in "safety" separated from them, may help parents assure children learning of Katrina's disastrous effects that they (the parents) have made plans in case there is ever a surprise separation. (They and out of state relatives or godparents should make and exchange plans and, if possible, commit them to paper for legal purposes, just in case....)
There is a sad divide between Katrina children remaining with their parents in the worst of conditions and those taken from parents in good circumstances per a mistaken or malicious child abuse/neglect allegation. Now, those are the hardest to explain to friends and classmates.
Statement of Barbara Bryan, Davidson, North Carolina.
I chose to not have 6 o'clock news on our family TV until my children were out of elementary school. We discussed current events and read newspapers and remained totally tuned in to the world, but my three sons were not overwhelmed in the late 1970's up to the mid 1980's with blood, gore and disasters they could not fix.
In time all three became Eagle Scouts, two are attorneys and all (and spouses) have superb emotional health and an abundance of compassion and involvement in the sadness and tragic circumstances of others.
Dr. Michael Thompson: Dear Davidson, N.C. I agree with you that a child's worst fear is to be separated from his or her parents. They almost always choose to be with their parents in a dangerous situation than to be separated and taken to safety. As a result, children will empathize with and worry about the children who have been separated from their parents because of the flooding. You just have to say to them, "I know that their parents are trying very hard to find them, to get back to them. I know that because that's what I would be doing for you if we were separated by a disaster."
When I was a teacher at a local school, I was lucky enough to hear you speak a few years back, so I know you have the insight to help me with my own daughters (ages 6 and 3). It is an unfortunate sign of the times that I have to check the front page of The Post for distressing photos before I put it on the breakfast table. My instinct is not to expose my young children to horrific images, such as corpses in the streets of New Orleans, or an American G.I. carrying a dead Iraqi child in his arms. I try to talk about what is going on in terms they can understand, but it seems that the pictures would be more disturbing. For the same reason I did not have the TV on all day on 9/11 so that my then-2-year-old would not see what was happening (and I no doubt spared myself some trauma as well). Does this seem to be the right approach? At what age do you think children can and should see disturbing images in the news?
Dr. Michael Thompson: Dear Arlington, VA. Thanks for your kind words. I'll try to be helpful to you. I do think we need to protect very young children from overwhelming or frightening images of death. However, in the U.S. we overprotect them. People die; they always have and always will. My daughter saw both her grandfathers lying in open coffins before their funerals when she was ten and twelve; she went to a neighbor's wake when she was eight, I believe. She was curious and awed by the fact of death.
Death in and of itself is not traumatic. it is a matter of curiosity. Children are always interested in dead beetles and dead animals. They need to know about death and understand it. What we worry about is that we cannot reassure them that we can stop death. I think that's why we don't allow them to see pictures.
I think you can protect your two-year-old because he cannot put the pictures in any perspective. He doesn't have the language (and maybe not the interest) to understand. However, I believe that your six-year-old has already thought about death and if she saw such a picture it would neither overwhelm or nor traumatize her. It would cause some feelings to arise in her and lead to a discussion with you, and I bet you would handle that discussion beautifully, because I bet you have had such conversations with other people's children who were in your class. Were you a teacher when 9/11 happened? Even though you shut off the TV in your house, didn't you have to handle the reactions of students in your class. I bet you did. I bet your hesitation with your own children is because you cannot promise them perfect protection in life.
Norfolk, Va.: Dear Dr. Thompson,
Would you suggest shading the truth from children? My 5-year-old son is asking hard questions and I've been trying to answer, but I'm never sure exactly what line to take. Should I say that "almost everyone" was rescued by the police and army? Should I say that "only a few" people lost their lives and "some" lost their homes?
Dr. Michael Thompson: Dear Norfolk, VA. Don't lie to children. Don't shade the truth. If you say that "almost everyone" was rescued and it turns out that there are 10,000 dead, as the may or New Orleans has predicted (no way to know if he is right or not) then your son might feel betrayed or lied to when he overhears on the radio that so many people have died. I don't think it is really different to say to children that "one hundred people died" or "ten thousand people died," what they need to know is that it is terribly sad, that the mayor, the police, the National Guard and the President are all trying to fix things and that your own family has sent money to help the evacuees.
What frightens children is a feeling of complete helplessness. Children need to feel that they can contribute, or that their families can contribute. Take some blankets or clothes to the Red Cross or another organization. The people along the Gulf Coast need all the help we can give them; it will also be enormously helpful for your own child. I saw how many children in schools were helped by donating money, or raising money, after 9/11. They had done something good and helpful, and it erased their profound feelings of helplessness.
Auburn, Wash.: The parents and students of our local elementary school are planning a fundraiser to help elementary students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Before we approach the children about this fundraiser, we wanted to find out how best to explain our purpose to them. Do we give them information, do we discuss hurricanes? What about the tough questions that they will ask about the dead and the kids with no parents or lost siblings? We do not want to sugar-coat it, but we also do not want to scare them by giving too much detail. Also, I believe, by giving them a specific purpose to raise money for, we put a more tangible face on the reason for this fundraiser. For instance, showing them a photo of a school in Texas where the evacuees are going and explain that some of the money will go there. Do you think this is okay or should we be more vague? Thank you for your help.
Dr. Michael Thompson: Dear Auburn, Wash. I am so glad to hear that you are planning a fundraiser. That's so helpful to the children in your school, and we should all be uniting in an effort to help. Tragedy, as my first questioner from Ghana pointed out, should bring us together as families and community.
You are right. You don't want to overwhelm children with detail, but you do have to be honest with them that there has been a tragedy---the largest natural disaster in U.S. History. It is no favor to children to pretend that things didn't happen. It happened, it was terribly destructive, and we all need to help. Children will sign on to help with that kind of real talk.
St. Paul, Minn.: I saw a CBS Evening News segment the other weekend, in which the reporter ended the segment by quoting vague, unnamed "experts" who caution that child survivors of Katrina must be encouraged to draw, write, and tell all they have experienced, and (quoting here), "...only then can the healing begin."
We have had approximately two decades of a misguided therapy for trauma survivors, in which the focus has been on assisting and even encouraging them to retell, draw, express, and reexperience traumatic events. Now more recent research is strongly suggesting that such reenactments actually put survivors at MORE risk for flashbacks and debilitating anxiety than a focus on moving past the trauma and getting on with their lives (see Gerald Rosen's recent collection of articles on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder research). That is not to say that survivors should not be free to express their stories, just that it should not be encouraged or demanded as a necessary part of healing (as so much of current pop psychology suggests).
How aware of this research are the trauma therapists dealing with Katrina, and do you think that children of this disaster are at risk for further emotional trauma by well-meaning therapists who encourage this kind of "therapy"?
Dr. Michael Thompson: Dear St. Paul, Minn. You raise a sophisticated theoretical issue. Rather than tackle the theoretical issue, which I regard as not definitively decided, I want to address your concerns on a practical level.
Of course, therapists in general have a bias toward getting people to talk about traumatic events because they are trained to talk with people, and they have experience sitting with the people who themselves have sought out therapists with whom they can discuss such events. And therapists see that it works with those people. I, personally, have seen the "talking cure" help people dispel traumatic memories. However,you correctly point out, that not everyone needs to talk and draw pictures. Not everyone needs psychotherapy. Some people need it and others do not. I agree with you that psychotherapy should not be required for everyone; nor do I think psychotherapy is the only way to heal. Having a loving family,working to alleviate suffering, praying to God, all of these can relieve trauma too. Psychotherapy is just one way among many.
Trauma and the need to talk about events, however, existed long before psychologists and psychiatrists claimed the territory. All you have to do is be present after a car accident to experience the fact that many people need to tell it again and again...and they do need someone to listen with empathy.
Washington, D.C.: How do I talk to my 7-year-old child about the issues of race as portrayed in the news? As her father was flipping channels, she inadvertently saw some images of National Guardsman with automatic weapons next to young black children. Now she's afraid to go to the mall because she thinks "the men with guns" will get her.
Dr. Michael Thompson: Dear Washington, D.C. Because your daughter identified with and reacted fearfully to seeing the young black children next to the National Guardsman, I am assuming that you are black. As a black person in a country that suffers from well-documented historical and contemporary racism, you are going to have to have many discussions with your child about race and the media. You are going to have to talk with her over and over about the way blacks are portrayed in the media, and the way whites are portrayed. You are going to have to try your best to teach your truth from media unreality. That's your job as a parent, and perhaps especially as a black parent (though I think it is every parent's job to teach about the evils of racism.)
In this case, however, you have the opportunity to say that the National Guardsmen were sent to protect communities; they were sent to help in an emergency, to help get people out of homes and to stop looting and shooting. You can explain that after a disaster, people sometimes go crazy: they steal because they're crazy from hunger (which is reasonable) or crazy with anger (which is understandable) and then just plain crazy with guns and shooting (which is terrifying and wrong.) You'll have to help her sort it all out: black and white, rational and irrational, emergency behavior from normal behavior.
Your daughter will be okay about going to a mall as long as you and her father can convey that you can tell the difference between good soldiers---both white and black--- and bad soldiers---both white and black---between safe situations and dangerous ones. You need to reassure her that you can sort it out for her right now, and that in the future she will be able to sort it out herself. Meanwhile, she is in no danger and you will keep her safe.
Ridge, N.Y.: Comment. I am a retired teacher. I have put together a kid-friendly web page for students and teachers. I added a feeling page for kids who would like to express how they feel. Writing is helpful and reading what others write is also.
Dr. Michael Thompson: Dear Ridge, N.Y.
I'm glad to hear that you have given children a way to talk about these things online. In my experience, children are often very open and articulate in their writing. Sometimes, I think, English teachers learn more than therapists do when they read the papers that children hand in with personal stories about tragedy and family. (I was a teacher before I became a psychologist.) Keep up your good work.
Washington, D.C.: Are there any popular movies that can help to explain disasters to children? I think the original Wizard of Oz -- where Dorothy is swept off to the Land of Oz by a tornado and never returns -- is an interesting example of an attempt to explain disasters to children through entertainment media.
Dr. Michael Thompson: Washington, D.C. Children are always drawn to disaster movies. I hadn't thought about "The Wizard of Oz" but you are quite right. Children also watched "The Lion King" in which the cub's father is killed in a stampede, or "Bambi" where Bambi's mother is shot by a hunter. All compelling human dramas include tragedy. We need those. Bruno Bettelheim dealt with the issue of why fairy tales are often so violent in his book, "The Uses of Enchantment."
Washington, D.C.: Although I have tried to limit the amount of Hurricane coverage I watch, much of it is unavoidable. My 13-year old daughter has received a full dose of coverage and has asked to sleep in my room for the past three or four nights. She says she is afraid for the children in New Orleans. I let her sleep with me, but need to encourage her to go back to her room. I have also tried to divert her attention by getting involved in some relief projects. What is your advice?
Dr. Michael Thompson: Dear Washington, D.C. I think you were correct to allow your daughter to sleep in your room when she was frightened. You also need to encourage her to go back. The best thing you have done is to get her involved in relief efforts. That's no a "diversion" that's real healing, the best there is.
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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Dr. Michael Thompson, bestselling author and psychologist, discusses how to talk with your children about tragedy.
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For Bush, Next Moves Are Key to Rest of Term
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The first week of September 2005 likely will be remembered as one of the most troubled weeks of George W. Bush's presidency, a time in which natural disaster combined with bureaucratic bungling in ways that threatened to inundate an administration already on the defensive.
Even before Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast last Monday, Bush was buffeted by public dissatisfaction over the war in Iraq and consumer outrage over rising gasoline prices. But the federal government's widely criticized response to the hurricane's devastation in New Orleans and elsewhere turned a challenging environment into one that is potentially overwhelming.
His success in undoing the negative perceptions of the past few days could be critical to sustaining the political capital necessary to achieve other objectives of his second term -- from avoiding further erosion of support for his Iraq policies to domestic initiatives yet to come.
One goal is the reshaping of the federal judiciary, and the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist late Saturday presents Bush with the second opportunity in two months to put his stamp on the high court. It also adds to the burdens of an already besieged White House.
The confirmation of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to the Supreme Court and selection of a successor to Rehnquist will be significant priorities for Bush, and in the long run, changing the courts may be seen as among his most significant domestic accomplishments. But Hurricane Katrina may prove to be the defining test of his second term, just as the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the Iraq war defined his first.
Working in Bush's favor as he deals with these multiple challenges is a record of success at moments of crisis, particularly in the days after the terrorist attacks, as well as a political resilience and resolve that have repeatedly helped him to rise above low expectations. He also oversees a White House staff praised for its efficiency even by political opponents. But the politics of the Supreme Court and, particularly, flood relief are highly charged politically, as the White House well knows.
"He understands that emotions are running high, that people are tired, people are angry and frustrated, particularly in the region," White House counselor Dan Bartlett said. "But at the end of the day, we've got to focus on improving the situation, saving lives and getting the recovery situation underway. The politics will be what they are. We will deal with it, but what the public wants more than anything else is to focus on the task at hand."
Veterans of other White Houses were also quick to note yesterday that the political standing of any president is defined and revised many times, with public impressions subject to ever-changing events and how well they are handled. In that sense, a president has numerous opportunities to rebuild public support and political strength.
The White House has redrawn the president's schedule to refocus on hurricane relief and, now, a second Supreme Court battle. His aides are building what one called "maximum flexibility" into what is normally a well-mapped schedule.
"My impression of what they're trying to do after the first few days is to recover exactly the kind of performance that they say they're good at, which is essentially an executive-style leadership," said Charles O. Jones, emeritus professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin. "That is to say, 'We've got good people in all the top positions, we're hierarchical, we plan.' That's how they're trying to recover. You go with your strength to a point of weakness."
But that management style seemed to fail the president in the first days of the Katrina crisis. Bush's August was already planned to include events designed to rebuild support for his Iraq policies and to attempt to keep alive his hopes for restructuring Social Security. As New Orleans was filling up with water, the president headed to California for those events.
As a result, he was slow to get back to Washington. Administration allies, who normally applaud the planning of the White House, said that in this case, the system proved to be a problem. "It's difficult to move on a dime," a former administration official said. "Now, you would hope they're going to be nimbler."
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The first week of September 2005 likely will be remembered as one of the most troubled weeks of George W. Bush's presidency, a time in which natural disaster combined with bureaucratic bungling in ways that threatened to inundate an administration already on the defensive.
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Bush Calls Rehnquist's Death a 'Great Loss'
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President Bush said today the death of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist "represents a great loss" for the Supreme Court and for the nation, and he vowed to choose a "highly qualified" replacement promptly.
In a brief televised speech from the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Bush hailed Rehnquist, who died of thyroid cancer Saturday night at the age of 80, for "his deep commitment to the rule of law and his profound devotion to duty." Even as he battled his illness, Rehnquist insisted on completing the Supreme Court's session, Bush recalled.
He said he was "honored and deeply touched" when Rehnquist, walking with the aid of a cane and visibly ailing, came to the Capitol in January to administer the oath of office to the newly reelected president as he began his second term.
Rehnquist "was extremely well-respected for his powerful intellect," Bush said. "He was a man of character and dedication. His departure represents a great loss for the court and for our country."
With the flag flying at half-staff over the White House in honor of Rehnquist, Bush noted that the chief justice's death creates the second opening on the Supreme Court, following the retirement announcement in July of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
"There are now two vacancies on the Supreme Court, and it will serve the best interests of the nation to fill those vacancies promptly," Bush said. "I will choose in a timely manner a highly qualified nominee to succeed Chief Justice Rehnquist."
Bush did not mention Senate confirmation hearings scheduled to begin Tuesday on his nomination of federal appeals court judge John G. Roberts Jr. to replace O'Connor, and he left the room without taking any questions from reporters. Even as he spoke, some lawmakers were beginning to discuss whether a delay in Roberts's confirmation might be called for.
On ABC's "This Week" program, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, rejected the idea of a "timeout" in view of the rare double vacancy.
"No, no. I think we have to proceed with the hearings, but we'll have to see. We'll have to see what the president decides to do here," Hatch said. "You know, there are a lot of factors that might enter into -- that could cause a delay, but I don't think so. I think we need to proceed with John Roberts and move right ahead." He said he saw no reason that the hearings could not go ahead "even if the president nominates [Roberts] for chief justice."
But Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a Judiciary Committee Democrat appearing on the same program, disagreed.
"No, I think, you know, we can take a few days out to mourn Justice Rehnquist," Schumer said. "He was a towering figure in the judiciary....... Judge Roberts was his law clerk, and Judge Rehnquist was Judge Roberts's mentor."
Schumer added, "I think it makes a good deal of sense for us to take time, catch our breath and take a few days out. I think that's what Senator Frist and Senator Specter are now considering, and I hope they will, because it makes sense." He referred to Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), the Senate majority leader, and Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, which is charged with holding confirmation hearings on judicial nominees.
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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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Midwestern Scholar With a Steady Conservative Bent
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Asked to trace the intellectual development of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, his college roommate, Bob Bush, suggests starting early.
"If you are looking for influences, the vast majority of them clearly were in play before he got to college," said Bush, who roomed with Roberts for three years at Harvard University.
With a love of tradition honed at a boys prep school and a deep Catholicism instilled by his parents, John Glover Roberts Jr. arrived in Cambridge in the fall of 1973 uncannily self-assured even for a Harvard freshman, his interests, tastes and worldview already formed.
Although he found himself in a much more liberal environment than the steel-making swath of Indiana where he had been raised, the seven years Roberts would spend at Harvard as an undergraduate and a law student ended up reinforcing his conservative views rather than undermining them. Friends say he seemed to feel singularly comfortable sitting outside the campus's political mainstream, engaging in the sport of political debate but rarely altering his views.
As a senior, he explored the thought of Daniel Webster, a prominent 19th-century conservative out of step with his time. As a second-year law student, he startled his tax class by wondering aloud whether the government should switch to a flat tax.
"There is no doubt he was more conservative than the professors and most of the students," said Donald Scherer, a friend who ate lunch with Roberts most days as first-year law students. "I'm not aware of any epiphany. He just seemed pretty consistent."
An examination of the formative years of the federal appeals court judge nominated by President Bush to succeed Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on the nation's highest court provides an important context for two fundamental questions the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider when it is scheduled to begin confirmation hearings on Tuesday:
Do Roberts's recently released writings from years as a legal adviser to two Republican presidents -- containing strong stances on such volatile issues as abortion, affirmative action, gender equity, and the role of religion in public life -- reflect his own views or only those of the officials who hired him? And is Roberts flexible enough in his thinking to decide the issues that come before the court in an open-minded way?
In a memoir about her coming of age called "Portable Prairie: Confessions of an Unsettled Midwesterner," M.J. Andersen, an editorial writer at the Providence Journal, describes how her former boyfriend, a law student named Grover, could be explained in part by his father. The father was, she wrote, a man who "had risen from modest origins . . . and now was in charge of things, the guy who got relocated to solve steel-company problems. It was not hard to see, in Grover, the drive that has been passed on."
Andersen, who dated Roberts while he was in law school and a Supreme Court clerk, will not discuss their relationship. But her book, in which she identifies Roberts by close approximation of his middle name, Glover, presents a vivid picture of a father who by many accounts had a strong influence on his son, including his choice of careers. "Real men study law," the strong-minded father told Roberts when he was considering graduate school in history, one friend recalled.
Jack Roberts grew up in Pennsylvania coal country in a family of Republican churchgoers, according to a cousin, George DiBacco. In 1964, he was dispatched by Bethlehem Steel to join a small group of executives selected to build an enormous new mill on an expanse of empty sand on Lake Michigan's shore. Along with his wife, Rosemary, he moved his family to a pretty community along the lake.
Although it is part of Michigan City, a small industrial town, Long Beach "was kind of an ingrown community . . . always more conservative, kind of the lace-curtain Irish," said Bernie Lootens, who taught history at the city's public high schools for three decades. When Roberts's parents bought their split-level house there in 1966, the property still was covered by a legal covenant specifying that residents had to be "Caucasian Gentiles," according to a longtime realtor, a local title company and county records.
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Asked to trace the intellectual development of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts, his college roommate, Bob Bush, suggests starting early.
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Red-State Democrats Tilt to Yes on Roberts
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Sen. Kent Conrad, a Democrat from North Dakota, sounds like a swooning Republican when he talks about Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr.
"I am impressed with his demeanor, his intelligence, his sense of humor, his modesty," said Conrad. "Absent some bombshell, which I don't expect, I think he will be confirmed and quite handily."
Praise like this is bad news for the nearly 30 liberal special interest groups calling on Democrats to block Roberts's rise to the Supreme Court. But it is good politics for Democrats such as Conrad who are running for reelection in states that President Bush won, according to several senators and strategists.
With the confirmation hearings expected to focus extensively on Roberts's views on abortion, affirmative action and other social issues, a number of Democrats say it would be unwise politically for Conrad and the five other red-state senators to side with liberal groups such as People for the American Way and NARAL Pro-Choice America.
This calculation is a chief reason both sides expect Roberts to be confirmed by the Senate -- with the only real debate among head counters from both parties being how many Democrats will join Republicans in voting yes.
"You are going to be arguing about issues that we all saw Democrats paid a heavy price for in the last election," said Leon Panetta, a former Democratic House member who served as Bill Clinton's White House chief of staff. "Democrats have a tremendous opportunity right now to hit Bush where he's weak, which is on oil prices and the war. Don't hit him where he's strong, which is these values issues."
With the hearings two days away, Republicans and Democrats are carefully weighing the political implications of the Roberts vote for the 2006 congressional elections and the 2008 presidential race.
Nearly six in 10 Americans -- 57 percent -- say the Senate should confirm Roberts to the high court while 22 percent say it should not, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. That's virtually identical to the results of a Post-ABC poll taken immediately after Bush nominated him five weeks ago, suggesting the drumbeat of criticism from liberal groups has had little effect.
If anything, the intense scrutiny of Roberts's record as a lawyer and judge may be benefiting the nominee, the survey suggests. Four in 10 -- 39 percent -- said the more they heard about Roberts, the more they liked him, while 28 percent said new information has made them feel less favorable toward the nominee. Most of the positive movement has occurred among Republicans and political conservatives, and much of the erosion occurred among Democrats and liberals, according to the poll.
Republicans say they expect to benefit politically no matter how Democrats vote, as long as Roberts is confirmed. Several GOP officials said a resounding victory would safely inoculate Republican candidates from charges that Roberts holds legal views that are anathema to the rights of women and minorities, as Democrats plan to contend in the hearings.
At the same time, some White House officials argue that a close vote would allow GOP candidates to wage a successful battle on cultural issues with Democrats in Republican-leaning states, as they did during the past two elections, according to Republican strategists familiar with White House planning.
If this happens, "Democrats will run into what Tom Daschle ran into in South Dakota: You will not be able to toe the liberal line in Washington and communicate about values with constituents back home," said a strategist privy to White House deliberations, referring to the senator's reelection defeat.
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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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Reporter's Query: Tell Us Your Story
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The Washington Post and washingtonpost.com want to hear your stories about Hurricane Katrina -- how the storm affected you personally, or your family or friends. Is your hometown in the area most damaged by the storm, or a favorite vacation spot? Please use the link below to send us your story. Include your name and contact information (a phone number and e-mail address); a Washington Post reporter may get in touch with you to follow up on your story.
Follow our full coverage of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath.
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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The Washington Post and washingtonpost.com want to hear your stories about Hurricane Katrina.
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Many Evacuated, but Thousands Still Waiting
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NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 3 -- Tens of thousands of people spent a fifth day awaiting evacuation from this ruined city, as Bush administration officials blamed state and local authorities for what leaders at all levels have called a failure of the country's emergency management.
President Bush authorized the dispatch of 7,200 active-duty ground troops to the area -- the first major commitment of regular ground forces in the crisis -- and the Pentagon announced that an additional 10,000 National Guard troops will be sent to Louisiana and Mississippi, raising the total Guard contingent to about 40,000.
Authorities reported progress in restoring order and electricity and repairing levees, as a hospital ship arrived and cruise ships were sent to provide temporary housing for victims. As Louisiana officials expressed confidence that they had begun to get a handle on the crisis, a dozen National Guard troops broke into applause late Saturday as Isaac Kelly, 81, the last person to be evacuated from the Superdome, boarded a school bus.
But there remained an overwhelming display of human misery on the streets of New Orleans, where the last 1,500 people were being evacuated from the Convention Center amid an overpowering odor of human waste and rotting garbage. The evacuees, most of them black and poor, spoke of violence, anarchy and family members who died for lack of food, water and medical care.
About 42,000 people had been evacuated from the city by Saturday afternoon, with roughly the same number remaining, city officials said. Search-and-rescue efforts continued in flooded areas of the city, where an unknown number of people wait in their homes, on rooftops or in makeshift shelters. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by the flooding -- 250,000 have been absorbed by Texas alone, and local radio reported that Baton Rouge will have doubled in population by Monday. Federal officials said they have begun to collect corpses but could not guess the total toll.
Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state's emergency operations center said Saturday.
The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.
A senior administration official said that Bush has clear legal authority to federalize National Guard units to quell civil disturbances under the Insurrection Act and will continue to try to unify the chains of command that are split among the president, the Louisiana governor and the New Orleans mayor.
Louisiana did not reach out to a multi-state mutual aid compact for assistance until Wednesday, three state and federal officials said. As of Saturday, Blanco still had not declared a state of emergency, the senior Bush official said.
"The federal government stands ready to work with state and local officials to secure New Orleans and the state of Louisiana," White House spokesman Dan Bartlett said. "The president will not let any form of bureaucracy get in the way of protecting the citizens of Louisiana."
Blanco made two moves Saturday that protected her independence from the federal government: She created a philanthropic fund for the state's victims and hired James Lee Witt, Federal Emergency Management Agency director in the Clinton administration, to advise her on the relief effort.
Bush, who has been criticized, even by supporters, for the delayed response to the disaster, used his weekly radio address to put responsibility for the failure on lower levels of government. The magnitude of the crisis "has created tremendous problems that have strained state and local capabilities," he said. "The result is that many of our citizens simply are not getting the help they need, especially in New Orleans. And that is unacceptable."
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Tens of thousands of people spent a fifth day awaiting evacuation from New Orleans, as Bush administration officials blamed state and local authorities for what leaders at all levels have called a failure of the country's emergency management.
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Storm Exposed Disarray at the Top
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The killer hurricane and flood that devastated the Gulf Coast last week exposed fatal weaknesses in a federal disaster response system retooled after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to handle just such a cataclysmic event.
Despite four years and tens of billions of dollars spent preparing for the worst, the federal government was not ready when it came at daybreak on Monday, according to interviews with more than a dozen current and former senior officials and outside experts.
Among the flaws they cited: Failure to take the storm seriously before it hit and trigger the government's highest level of response. Rebuffed offers of aid from the military, states and cities. An unfinished new plan meant to guide disaster response. And a slow bureaucracy that waited until late Tuesday to declare the catastrophe "an incident of national significance," the new federal term meant to set off the broadest possible relief effort.
Born out of the confused and uncertain response to 9/11, the massive new Department of Homeland Security was charged with being ready the next time, whether the disaster was wrought by nature or terrorists. The department commanded huge resources as it prepared for deadly scenarios from an airborne anthrax attack to a biological attack with plague to a chlorine-tank explosion.
But Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said yesterday that his department had failed to find an adequate model for addressing the "ultra-catastrophe" that resulted when Hurricane Katrina's floodwater breached New Orleans's levees and drowned the city, "as if an atomic bomb had been dropped."
If Hurricane Katrina represented a real-life rehearsal of sorts, the response suggested to many that the nation is not ready to handle a terrorist attack of similar dimensions. "This is what the department was supposed to be all about," said Clark Kent Ervin, DHS's former inspector general. "Instead, it obviously raises very serious, troubling questions about whether the government would be prepared if this were a terrorist attack. It's a devastating indictment of this department's performance four years after 9/11."
"We've had our first test, and we've failed miserably," said former representative Timothy J. Roemer (D-Ind.), a member of the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks. "We have spent billions of dollars in revenues to try to make our country safe, and we have not made nearly enough progress." With Katrina, he noted that "we had some time to prepare. When it's a nuclear, chemical or biological attack," there will be no warning.
Indeed, the warnings about New Orleans's vulnerability to post-hurricane flooding repeatedly circulated at the upper levels of the new bureaucracy, which had absorbed the old lead agency for disasters, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, among its two dozen fiefdoms. "Beyond terrorism, this was the one event I was most concerned with always," said Joe M. Allbaugh, the former Bush campaign manager who served as his first FEMA head.
But several current and former senior officials charged that those worries were never accorded top priority -- either by FEMA's management or their superiors in DHS. Even when officials held a practice run, as they did in an exercise dubbed "Hurricane Pam" last year, they did not test for the worst-case scenario, rehearsing only what they would do if a Category 3 storm hit New Orleans, not the Category 4 power of Katrina. And after Pam, the planned follow-up study was never completed, according to a FEMA official involved.
"The whole department was stood up, it was started because of 9/11 and that's the bottom line," said C. Suzanne Mencer, a former senior homeland security official whose office took on some of the preparedness functions that had once been FEMA's. "We didn't have an appropriate response to 9/11, and that is why it was stood up and where the funding has been directed. The message was . . . we need to be better prepared against terrorism."
The roots of last week's failures will be examined for weeks and months to come, but early assessments point to a troubled Department of Homeland Security that is still in the midst of a bureaucratic transition, a "work in progress," as Mencer put it. Some current and former officials argued that as it worked to focus on counterterrorism, the department has diminished the government's ability to respond in a nuts-and-bolts way to disasters in general, and failed to focus enough on threats posed by hurricanes and other natural disasters in particular. From an independent Cabinet-level agency, FEMA has become an underfunded, isolated piece of the vast DHS, yet it is still charged with leading the government's response to disaster.
"It's such an irony I hate to say it, but we have less capability today than we did on September 11," said a veteran FEMA official involved in the hurricane response. "We are so much less than what we were in 2000," added another senior FEMA official. "We've lost a lot of what we were able to do then."
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The killer hurricane and flood that devastated the Gulf Coast last week exposed fatal weaknesses in a federal disaster response system retooled after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, to handle just such a cataclysmic event.
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72% Say Gas Scalping Is Tied to Storm
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An overwhelming majority of Americans believe oil and gas companies are gouging consumers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina but offer mixed reviews of President Bush and the government's initial response to the deadly storm, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The survey conducted Friday night found that 72 percent of the respondents say oil companies and gas suppliers have taken advantage of the storm emergency by raising gasoline prices, which spiked virtually overnight last week to $3 dollars a gallon or more in many areas. Eight in 10 say the federal government's handling of surging gas prices was "not so good" or "poor," the survey found.
"We're pushing $3" a gallon, said John Snell, 63, a retired boiler operator who lives in Fargo, N.D. "It's never been legitimate -- it's just an excuse to raise prices. . . . It's gouging, that's all it is."
The survey also found that Americans were sharply divided over the performance of Bush and local, state and federal governments in the aftermath of Monday's storm. Slightly less than half -- 46 percent -- approve of the way Bush has handled relief efforts while 47 percent disapprove, a result that might offer some cheer to beleaguered White House staffers who feared a stronger negative reaction.
The early response got equally mixed reviews, with 48 percent rating the federal effort as excellent or good and 51 percent saying it was not so good or poor -- views deeply colored by party affiliation. According to the poll, 68 percent of Democrats rated the government's performance as "not so good" or "poor," while 66 percent of Republicans judged it to be "excellent" or "good." This finding shows this national emergency has not united Americans the way the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, did.
Slightly more than four in 10 say the government response revealed serious problems in federal emergency preparedness overall, while a majority (54 percent) disagreed.
"I think they were just a little too late," said Kathy Morrison, 45, a nurse in Jonesboro, Ark., who said she was "appalled" by the government's tardy response. "I just really don't think the government is doing all that they could. I even voted for Bush. I thought he was going to be the best, but I was wrong, I was terribly wrong. I think all he cares about is oil."
But others were satisfied with the way Bush and the government handled the first days of the crisis.
"The federal government, they went in and they took action," said Terry Pattison, 36, a homemaker who lives in Shalimar in the hurricane-vulnerable Florida Panhandle. "I think Bush has done the best he can with what he's dealing with. I mean, this is a major disaster. This is a horrifying thing, this is horrifying, what's happened. And I really feel for the people there."
A total of 501 randomly selected adults were interviewed Friday night after Bush visited the Gulf Coast region and as National Guard troops, emergency supplies and relief workers began moving into the stricken city of New Orleans. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus four percentage points.
Looking back at the devastation, two-thirds of the respondents said the federal government should have been better prepared to deal with a storm of this size. A larger share of the public was critical of state and local governments in the affected states: Three in four said they should have been better prepared.
While critics of Bush's policies in Iraq say the war has made it more difficult for governments to deal with the storm emergency, most Americans are not yet convinced. Just under half (46 percent) said the deployment of National Guard troops and equipment to Iraq had made it harder to deal with the storm's aftermath, but 49 percent said it had not had much effect -- a split that mirrored the public's divided views on the war.
Many are questioning the wisdom of rebuilding sections of New Orleans, a city where many neighborhoods are below sea level and vulnerable to flooding. Only half of those interviewed -- 49 percent -- say the city should be rebuilt where it is but with a stronger levee system to hold back storm water. But nearly as many -- 43 percent -- say low-lying areas should be abandoned, with those homes and businesses rebuilt on higher ground. Since as much as 80 percent of the city lies below sea level, such a radical step would mean many residents would not be able to rebuild in the city.
"I don't think they should rebuild there at all," said Pattison, the Florida Panhandle resident. "If another one hits, and you never know when another will, and we are rebuilding, we'll be doing all this over again. And that seems to me to be a waste of money. Just flushing it."
Russ Moris, 38, an aircraft mechanic in Chicago, said: "You can't say you can't live there no more. People have got their lives there. . . . You can't say, 'All right, we'll just let it stay underwater.' "
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An overwhelming majority of Americans believe oil and gas companies are gouging consumers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina but offer mixed reviews of President Bush and the government's initial response to the deadly storm, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.
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Living Paycheck to Paycheck Made Leaving Impossible
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NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 3 -- To those who wonder why so many stayed behind when push came to water's mighty shove here, those who were trapped have a simple explanation: Their nickels and dimes and dollar bills simply didn't add up to stage a quick evacuation mission.
"Me and my wife, we were living paycheck to paycheck, like most everybody else in New Orleans," Eric Dunbar, 54, said Saturday.
He was standing on wobbly, thin legs in the bowels of the semi-darkened Louis Armstrong Airport, where he had been delivered with many others after having been plucked by rescuers from a roadway.
He offered a mini-tutorial in the economic reality of his life.
"I don't own a car. Me and my wife, we travel by bus, public transportation. The most money I ever have on me is $400. And that goes to pay the rent. And that $400 is between me and my wife." Her name is Dorth Dunbar; she was trying to get some rest after days of peril.
Dunbar estimated his annual income to be about $20,000, which comes from doing graphic design work when he can get it. Before the storm, when he and his wife estimated how much money they needed to flee the city, he was saddened by the reality that he could not come up with anywhere near the several thousand dollars he might need for a rental car and airfare.
"If I took my wife out to dinner, it was once a month," he said, sounding as if even those modest good times had come to an abrupt end. "We'd go to Piccadilly's. Never any movies. Really, it's a simple life. I go to work, come home, talk to my wife, go to bed, then back to work again. A basic existence."
He was rolling two quarters around in his hand, short 50 cents to make a long-distance call to his son. As his eyes began to water, he repeated himself: "Just a basic existence."
The two smooth-faced boys on the floor, sitting on their backpacks, looked more energetic than most. Corey Wise, 17, and Jermaine Wise, 18, were once residents of New Orleans's 17th Ward.
"Our family was already in a financially depressive situation before the hurricane," Jermaine said.
He calculated where the family -- their mother, Marie, is divorced -- stood financially before the wind, water and destruction.
"We had $300 between us," he said, nodding toward his brother. "Mom had about $225 worth of savings. That was our emergency savings for anything. And that was a blessing."
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NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 3 -- To those who wonder why so many stayed behind when push came to water's mighty shove here, those who were trapped have a simple explanation: Their nickels and dimes and dollar bills simply didn't add up to stage a quick evacuation mission.
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A Nation's Castaways
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On TV, we watch them: His braids are flying above his head and he's got a wild look on his face. He's running, one arm clutching a load of looted clothes, the other reaching back to tug at his pants, which are in danger of sliding past his rump. She's crying and forlorn and too young to be carrying a baby in her arms, but carrying one she is, and both are dirty and sweaty and hungry, reduced to an animal-like state of waiting and starving and begging for help. We see them through our respective prisms of race, and call them "refugees," as if they are foreigners in their own land.
They are the Other, these victims of Katrina.
And in this country, the Other is black. Poor. Desperate.
Mainstream America too often demonizes the Other because, well, we've been conditioned to do so. And because it's easier to put people in a box and then shove it in the corner, away from view. Then it becomes their problem, not ours. To talk about race, for those who are weary of it, is to invite glazed-over eyes and stifled yawns -- or even hostility.
But Katrina blew open the box, putting the urban poor front and center, with images of once-invisible folks pleading from rooftops, wading through flooded streets, starving at the Superdome and requiring a massive federal outlay of resources. Or dead, wheelchairs pushed up against the wall, a blanket thrown over still bodies. The Other is there, staring us in the face, exposing our issues on an international stage. It is at once an embarrassment -- how did we go from can-do to can't-do-for-our-own? -- and a challenge, critics charge: How do we stop ignoring the folks in the box, the inner-city destitute, and realize that their fate is ours as well?
Poor black people, says Lani Guinier, a Harvard University law professor, are "the canary in the mine. Poor black people are the throwaway people. And we pathologize them in order to justify our disregard."
But, she says, "this is not just about poor black people in New Orleans. This is about a social movement, with an administration that is bent on weakening the capacity of the national government to act. . . . I hope this is a wake-up call to all of America. To see this as the tip of the iceberg, the thin edge of the wedge. We ignored the early warning signals. But this is another early warning that we are ill prepared to function as a society."
Just as the United States was embarrassed globally by its ugly tradition -- racism -- being exposed during the civil rights movement, it is now shamed again by "the spectacle of a Baghdad on the Mississippi River and our own people being so poor and so destitute and so helpless at a time when we are talking about trying to spread democracy and curb looting in Baghdad," says Jim Sleeper, a lecturer in political science at Yale University.
Jesse Jackson describes the New Orleans convention center, where tens of thousands live in fetid conditions, as "the hull of a slaveship."
Inside the proverbial slaveship are the "captives," who have been described as running completely amok. But witness the man who feels so guilty about the pita bread, water and juice that he'd taken from a Wal-Mart to feed his family that he kept a list -- so he can pay it back later.
"I feel like an American again," the man says on TV after help began to arrive on Friday. "I thought my country had abandoned me."
But also among the abandoned was the young white woman holding her sick baby and crying as she says, "It's not about low-income, it's not about rich people, poor people, it's about people." It sounds more like a wish than a reality.
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On TV, we watch them: His braids are flying above his head and he's got a wild look on his face. He's running, one arm clutching a load of looted clothes, the other reaching back to tug at his pants, which are in danger of sliding past his rump. She's crying and forlorn and too young to be carrying...
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Questions for Sen. Schumer
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New York Sen. Charles Schumer, a member of the Judiciary Committee and an author of the Democrats' catechism regarding constitutional reasoning, soon will be questioning Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. Herewith some questions someone should ask Schumer:
Does Congress have the power to require Americans to floss after brushing their teeth? Or to regulate the amount of homework children do each night?
The federal government's powers supposedly are limited because they are enumerated. As James Madison said in Federalist 45, "The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined." For seven decades, however, Congress has treated the commerce clause ("Congress shall have power . . . to regulate commerce . . . among the several states") as a license to do what it wants to do.
But in 1995 the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the Gun-Free School Zones Act of 1990 was unconstitutional because what the act criminalized -- possession of a firearm in or near a school -- was purely intrastate in nature and its effect, if any, on interstate commerce was negligible. The principal dissent, by Justice Stephen Breyer, argued that a gun might produce violence that would affect the economy by, among other things, injuring the learning environment, resulting in a less productive citizenry.
Do you, Sen. Schumer, support that reasoning? If so, does not Congress have the power to promote a healthy and productive citizenry by requiring flossing and regulating homework? Does it matter to you that the original intent of the commerce clause was to ensure the free movement of goods and services among the states? Do you think that Madison, the foremost Framer of the Constitution, misunderstood the Constitution?
During debate on the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Hubert Humphrey, the Minnesota Democrat who was one of the principal sponsors of the legislation, denounced the "wholesale distortions" and "nightmarish propaganda" that the law would permit preferential treatment of an individual or group because of race or a racial "imbalance" in employment. Humphrey stressed that under the act no employer would be permitted to "take into consideration race" because it would "prohibit preferential treatment for any particular group." Tom Kuchel, a California Republican and another leading sponsor, said the legislation was "colorblind" and would prevent discrimination "in favor of or against a person because of his race."
Are such assurances germane to judging the legality of what are called "race-conscious remedies"?
In 1868, when the 14th Amendment was enacted with its guarantee of "due process" under the laws, 32 of the 37 states had laws criminalizing sodomy. If you agree with the Supreme Court's 2003 ruling that such laws violate the due-process guarantee, do you think the Amendment's framers and ratifiers meant for it to overturn the 32 states' laws? Or do you think the meaning of the amendment's words somehow changed? If so, how did that happen?
Eighty-five years ago, a consensus having formed in favor of female suffrage, the 19th Amendment was added to the Constitution by democratic processes. Justice Antonin Scalia has written:
"The battle was not fought in the courts, and few thought that it could be, despite the constitutional guarantee of Equal Protection of the laws; that provision did not, when it was adopted, and hence did not in 1920, guarantee equal access to the ballot but permitted distinctions on the basis not only of age but of property and of sex. Who can doubt that if the issue had been deferred until today, the Constitution would be (formally) unamended and the courts would be the chosen instrumentality of change?"
Do you agree with Scalia's use of the word "hence"?
Do you think female suffrage could properly have been conferred by courts construing the equal-protection clause?
If so -- if you think the Constitution is a "living document," the meaning of which changes with the sentiments of society's changing majority -- in what sense is it still a constitution?
Scalia says, "This, of course, is the end of the Bill of Rights, whose meaning will be committed to the very body it was meant to protect against: the majority." Is he wrong?
On another matter, in Roe v. Wade, the court said that a privacy right -- an "emanation" of a "penumbra" of other rights -- guarantees a right to abortion, but also said that right changes with each trimester of a pregnancy. Does it seem at all odd to you that the meaning of the Constitution, or at least of its emanating penumbras, would be different if the number of months in the gestation of a human infant were a prime number?
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Does Congress have the power to require Americans to floss after brushing their teeth? A pre-Supreme Court confirmation hearing quiz for a Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
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The Eyes of Amal
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BAGHDAD First of three parts
In March 2003, a long-awaited war had arrived in Baghdad, and the apartment of Amal Salman, a vivacious girl who would turn 14 that week, was quiet.
She was gathered with her mother, Karima, and her four sisters, all of them reluctant to leave the relative safety of their home, which was off a busy, four-lane street in the working-class district of Karrada. Their three-room apartment overlooked a sagging brick sidewalk and was entered through a dented, rusted steel gate. Rats scurried underneath discarded furniture stacked in the hallway, and wires hung from the ceiling.
Inside, the monotony of wartime isolation ordered their lives. They shared sweet tea in the morning with neighbors who, in turn, shared feverishly traded rumors of an American army that had begun advancing across the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys. At night, at the top of each hour, they tried to pick up Arabic-language broadcasts of Radio Monte Carlo to hear what they considered unbiased reports on the war -- the mere mention of southern towns and cities like Umm Qasr, Nasiriyah, Basra and Najaf bringing fear to those whose relatives were soldiers or residents there. In silence, they scoured the broadcasts for any detail on fighting near Mosul, in the north, where their brother Ali, a shy and gaunt soldier, was stationed at an antiaircraft battery.
"He wasn't scared," Fatima, at 16 the oldest of Amal's sisters, said proudly.
Her mother shot Fatima a look of disapproval. "Of course he was scared," she snapped. "He's anxious. And we're anxious for him. But God is present."
At times, as they sat together that night, Amal and her smiling sisters broke into a reflexive chant for President Saddam Hussein, reverting to the slogans they had so often heard. They seemed to do this more out of fear or habit than fealty. "God protect Saddam," one of the youngest daughters would begin. The others would join in: "The president is the nation, and the nation is the president." Though they expressed hostility toward the Americans and the war, they seemed to be repeating what they had always been forced to say and believe. Their zeal seemed ersatz; sometimes it simply masked confusion. As so often in Iraq, they were spectators in a drama not of their making.
Of them, the precocious Amal was the most enthusiastic. Still awkward, she would put her face in her hands, her shoulders hunched. Her adolescent giggle concealed a sharp intelligence and curious mind. Like many her age, she was a member of the Baath Party youth group. More than her sisters, she said what was expected, in the language she knew.
"If a foreigner wants to enter Baghdad in peace, we will welcome him like a brother," she said. "If a foreigner wants to enter as an enemy, every family will go out and confront them, even with stones. If they don't throw rocks, then they'll throw dirt."
Her mother looked on, a little blankly.
Before the war began, Amal had started keeping a diary, which she tucked in a drawer in the family's apartment. Its passages are a tale of war seen through the gradually opening eyes of a bright but isolated girl. In daily entries -- some chronology, others reflection -- she narrated her family's experiences in her capital and tried to bring some sense to her world, perched as it was between an imminent end and an uncertain beginning.
The diary's binding was soon broken, its tattered cover held together by newspaper. The words were scribbled in the handwriting of a child, the sloping script of her not-yet-confident Arabic. Often, she wrote while lying on the floor, her dark, braided hair falling across her back as she hunched over the paper, her head a breath away from the words she wrote. Her work was illuminated by flickering lights or -- during frequent blackouts -- by a paraffin lamp or cheap candle pouring out black smoke. Her message was not political; during the war, she wrote Hussein's name not once. In her entries, she portrayed the conflict in the simplest, most human of ways, simply as a struggle to survive. She feared war's arbitrary and unappealable verdicts.
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BAGHDAD First of three parts In March 2003, a long-awaited war had arrived in Baghdad, and the apartment of Amal Salman, a vivacious girl who would turn 14 that week, was quiet. Before the war began, Amal had started keeping a diary, which she tucked in a drawer in the family's apartment....
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U.S. Has Second-Half Surge To Clinch Spot in World Cup
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COLUMBUS, Ohio, Sept. 3 -- There were several scenarios Saturday night in which the U.S. national soccer team could have clinched a 2006 World Cup berth. But the most direct route to Germany next summer -- and undoubtedly the most difficult -- was to defeat archrival Mexico in front of an overflowing crowd of 24,685 at Columbus Crew Stadium.
For more than a half, though, the sluggish Americans appeared as if they would have to take the circuitous path -- a tie or loss combined with results in other regional matches. But in a stunning five-minute stretch, midfielders Steve Ralston and DaMarcus Beasley scored goals to send the United States to a 2-0 victory and its fifth consecutive appearance in the World Cup.
"We're going, baby!" forward Landon Donovan shouted following a flag-waving celebration in which the players danced around the field and absorbed the raucous salute from the pro-U.S. gathering.
"They made it a little easy on us; I expected a little more. After we got the first one, they were never in the game. . . . At least for three or four more years, [the Mexicans] will shut up. They can't say anything and I love it."
The Americans (6-1-0) became the eighth team to secure a berth in the 32-nation finals, and they did it with three games remaining on their qualifying schedule after leaving just one match to spare in their 1998 and 2002 efforts. The Mexicans, who could have clinched with a tie, fell to 5-1-1 and will turn to Wednesday's home match against last-place Panama to finish the job.
"A tight game, and in these type of games between two teams like the United States and Mexico, you've got to jump on any kind of opportunities you get," Coach Bruce Arena said. "We did that, and it made the difference in the game."
Until the goals arrived, the Americans had had trouble formulating a consistent attack and failed to test goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez. So they turned to a pair of set pieces to turn the match in their favor.
In the 53rd minute, Eddie Lewis served a 35-yard free kick toward the back post and 6-foot-4 defender Oguchi Onyewu. The Maryland native's short header struck the left post and bounded across the goal line to Ralston, who easily nodded the ball into a vacant net for his fourth international goal.
"It was probably the easiest goal I've ever scored," said Ralston, who has played in MLS for 10 years. "If I had missed that, it would've been pretty embarrassing. We had talked about all week that set pieces would be an important part of the game and would probably decide the game, and ultimately those came up for us."
The Americans harnessed the momentum for a second goal. Beasley pushed a short corner kick to Donovan, who found Claudio Reyna. Reyna directed a perfect diagonal ball to the cutting Beasley, who curled a 12-yard shot into the far corner for his 12th strike in a U.S. uniform.
More than 30 minutes remained, but Mexico was clearly not itself. Its play turned desperate and angry, and the U.S. defense kept its composure to help goalkeeper Kasey Keller extend his shutout streak in qualifying play to 507 minutes, dating to the 2-1 loss in Mexico City in March.
The victory came amid a festive atmosphere. Just off Interstate 71, where the exit ramps lead to the stadium parking lots, fans held up bilingual, hand-written signs: "I Need Tickets. Necesito Boletos." The highest official ticket price was $95, but scalpers were asking for between $150 and $350.
Early-arriving fans crossed paths on the surrounding roads with some spectators who had crossed the city after departing the Ohio State football team's opener a couple miles to the west. Tri-colored Mexican and U.S. flags fluttered out of car windows, scarlet-and-gray Buckeye emblems adoring others.
The American supporters' group, Sam's Army, marched into the stadium by mocking the Mexican fans with unified chants of "Estados Unidos!" Despite U.S. organizers' best efforts to limit ticket sales to Mexican fans, there were a few thousand green jerseys spread throughout the stands.
The Americans dictated play for the first 25 minutes or so, but began to lose their way in midfield. Mexico composed itself and created the most dangerous opportunities of the opening half. Jared Borgetti sent through Antonio Naelson, but the Brazilian-born midfielder's first touch at the top of the box betrayed him and spoiled the moment.
During injury time, Ramon Morales' 27-yard free kick tested Keller, who fully extended himself to the right to push away a shot that might have been going wide anyway.
The second half didn't start much better for the Americans, but out of nowhere, they took command of the match.
As Mexico's chances faded and the final whistle approached, the celebration commenced.
"We didn't go with any expectations when we would qualify -- we just wanted to qualify," veteran forward Brian McBride said. "The team showed a lot of discipline and concentration throughout the whole process."
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The United States cements a trip to next year's World Cup with a 2-0 victory over rival Mexico in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday night.
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In the Face of Catastrophe, Sites Offer Helping Hands
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The Internet offers a ton of ad hoc resources -- along with many official relief sites and an annoying number of bogus ones -- for people who want to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
For example, such major commercial sites as Amazon.com, eBay and Yahoo (plus the iTunes Music Store) posted the equivalent of tin cups on their home pages, inviting visitors to donate to the American Red Cross (http://www.redcross.org/), the agency leading the relief effort.
Many bloggers, meanwhile, declared Friday a storm relief day and linked to as many online relief sites as they could find.
And less-public citizens did their bit, too. Katrina Blankenship, a Web designer in Powhatan, Va., turned her professional site, Katrina.com, into a hurricane relief directory Monday after thousands of strangers started going there in search of updates. Blankenship said she spurned repeated offers to buy her Internet address, including one from a New Yorker who offered to drive to her house, west of Richmond, and give her $500,000 on the spot for her domain name.
"It is not for sale," Blankenship said. She spent much of Friday on the phone with relief workers, trying to figure out what to tell people who kept e-mailing and calling her to say they had lined up caravans of personal vehicles and wanted to head south to help.
A ton of new Web resources popped up for folks trying to find missing loved ones, including forums at the site of the New Orleans Times-Picayune newspaper (http://www.nola.com/) . More official missing-person registries are maintained by the U.S. Coast Guard (http://homeport.uscg.mil/) and the National Next of Kin Registry (http://www.pleasenotifyme.org/). Thousands of people also turned to Craigslist, a classified-ads site that quickly created special Katrina bulletin boards for missing people, housing assistance and volunteer opportunities (http://neworleans.craigslist.org/).
The activist group MoveOn.org fashioned an online clearinghouse for housing at http://www.hurricanehousing.org/.
Consumer groups, meanwhile, warned that bogus sites were springing up and attempting to exploit public concern for the victims. They advised people to make donations only to charities they know, or at least check out any relief group first at clearinghouses such as Charity Navigator (http://www.charitynavigator.org/).
Besides the Red Cross, legitimate groups collecting donations for the victims of Katrina included Catholic Charities (http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/), the Salvation Army (http://www.salvationarmyusa.org/) and AmeriCares (http://www.americares.org/). A list of most major relief agencies seeking donations is available at Network for Good (http://www.networkforgood.org/).
Anyone wanting to organize a volunteer effort locally can use the popular Web meeting service Meetup, which waived all of its regular fees for those providing hurricane relief: http://hurricane.meetup.com/.
For the most part, sites maintained by governments lagged behind those published by volunteer and news outfits, but the official sites did offer some useful resources. The beleaguered Federal Emergency Management Agency, for example, had a two-day-old press release at the top of its home page early Friday (http://www.fema.gov/); down that page, it ran a long list of relief agencies needing donations and offered instructions on how businesses could help.
Considering how hard New Orleans got clobbered and the depth of the ensuing anarchy, it's no surprise that the city's official site (http://www.cityofno.com/) displayed outdated hurricane information Friday. But Louisiana's homeland-security Web site offered loads of useful phone numbers for hurricane assistance (http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/).
Perhaps the best one-stop shop for Katrina resources online was the guide created by Yahoo (news.yahoo.com/fc/World/Hurricanes_and_Tropical_Storms). All the major news sites also published Katrina guides, though most were shorter.
Traffic soared to Internet news sites, Nielsen-NetRatings reported. On Monday, CNN.com drew 6.9 million visitors, up 44 percent from the previous Monday, while Advance Internet, which runs Nola.com, drew 1.4 million visitors Monday, up 170 percent from the previous week. Traffic rose steadily at RedCross.org, too, with 1.1 million people visiting it Wednesday, up from only 390,000 the day before.
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The Internet offers a ton of ad hoc resources -- along with many official relief sites and an annoying number of bogus ones -- for people who want to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
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240,000 Evacuees Strain Capacity
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HOUSTON, Sept. 3 -- Thousands of evacuees, exhausted and frustrated after days trapped in flooded New Orleans, continued to pour into Houston and other cities in Texas on Saturday, rapidly filling enormous arenas and small shelters in an extraordinary exodus of humanity that has quickly strained the capacity of the Lone Star State.
Over the past six days, Texas has mobilized its emergency relief operations almost as if Hurricane Katrina slammed into its borders, rather than the neighboring eastern states, and in a very real sense Katrina has hit Texas with massive force. About 240,000 Louisianans have found sanctuary in the Lone Star State in hotels and large shelters, state officials said. Many more are in church-run shelters and even some in private homes. Officials are scrambling to stay ahead of what they anticipate could be a long-term relocation of humanity.
Houston has become ground zero for the exodus, with 100,000 to 200,000 of the total number of refugees in the state sheltered here. To cope, officials have built a virtual organization from scratch, blending the public and private sectors, nonprofit groups and churches to handle the evacuees' needs.
Almost overnight, officials established one of the largest hospitals in the state to cope with indigent and ailing exiles, and they are planning how to move the evacuees from temporary shelters including Houston's Astrodome and the George R. Brown Convention Center into more permanent housing. In coming days, Houston area schools are expected to absorb 6,000 to 8,000 students from Louisiana.
By Saturday, state officials said they were close to capacity and urged the Federal Emergency Management Agency to start diverting evacuees scheduled to move to Texas to other states. Over the past two days, Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) and his staff have contacted the governors of Michigan, Oklahoma, Iowa, Utah and West Virginia urging them to take some Louisiana evacuees.
"Texas is committed to doing everything it can to help our neighbors from Louisiana, but we want to make certain that we can provide them with the medical care, food, shelter, safety, education and other services they need to start getting their lives back together," Perry said in a statement. "Local officials are beginning to notify us that they are quickly approaching capacity in the number of evacuees they believe they can assist." Some officials in East Texas, however, said they still had adequate space in their shelters as of the end of the week.
In the aftermath of a storm that has raised pointed questions about the adequacy of the response by officials in Washington and Louisiana, Texas so far has avoided the finger-pointing, complaints and social breakdown that have marked the situation in New Orleans while mobilizing rapidly and unexpectedly for the evacuee influx.
The response has not been flawless. The Astrodome reached capacity far faster than expected, and long before the bus convoy from New Orleans had finished emptying the Superdome and convention center there. Tempers flared and city and county officials quickly found more space for temporary housing. Dallas officials sent out alarms early Saturday saying they would soon reach their capacity to handle the evacuees on the way to their city. Bottlenecks in the bureaucracy have complicated efforts to qualify Louisianans for assistance.
On the whole, however, Texas appears to be weathering the first wave of a crisis thrust upon the state by the accident of geography, helped by their experience in dealing with Tropical Storm Allison in 2001, which put 50,000 Houston homes underwater.
Houston Mayor Bill White said in a telephone interview that the city began mobilizing at a new level of urgency when the levees in New Orleans were breeched. "A lot of us understood what that meant, that it was a different issue than a weather issue, that we were dealing with the virtual destruction of a major American city."
State officials estimated Saturday that 100,000 Louisianans were in Texas hotels and motels, 123,000 in 97 shelters around the state and another 16,000 scheduled to arrive by bus or airplane by day's end.
The Astrodome is now home to about 15,000 people, rather than the 23,000 originally envisioned. Another 11,000 are being housed in ancillary buildings. Another 8,000 are in the city's convention center. But even as the influx continues, officials are beginning to move people to more permanent housing, a few hundred at a time.
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HOUSTON, Sept. 3 -- Thousands of evacuees, exhausted and frustrated after days trapped in flooded New Orleans, continued to pour into Houston and other cities in Texas on Saturday, rapidly filling enormous arenas and small shelters in an extraordinary exodus of humanity that has quickly strained...
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Music Legend 'Fats' Domino Coping With Katrina
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BATON ROUGE, La., Sept. 2 -- New Orleans music legend Antoine "Fats" Domino survived Hurricane Katrina, but he's still unsure, he said Friday, about how he will survive its aftermath.
Domino spent the last three nights sleeping on a couch in the two-bedroom, Baton Rouge apartment of Louisiana State starting quarterback JaMarcus Russell, a distant family friend. Domino left that apartment Friday afternoon with his wife, two of his daughters and a son-in-law. He had no idea, he said, where he would go next.
"We've lost everything," Domino said. "I don't know what we're going to do."
Domino and his family waited out the storm on the third floor of his apartment in New Orleans, he said. The water level rose to about 15 feet, threatening the stability of the third floor. Rescue workers saved Domino, 77, late Monday night, taking him out of the city by boat.
They transported him to a shelter in Baton Rouge, where Domino and his family received anti-bacterial shots. After two hours at the shelter, Domino called Russell, who came to pick him up.
"Without JaMarcus, it would have been even worse," Domino said. "We can't thank him enough for letting us stay.
"I'm worried about all the people in New Orleans. Tell them I love them, and I wish I was home with them. I hope we'll see them soon," Domino said.
Russell has had more than 15 people stay in his off-campus apartment since the hurricane hit, he said. When Domino arrived, Russell ran out to Wal-Mart to buy food and water. He went to a drug store, he said, to fill prescriptions at 3 a.m.
The sophomore quarterback -- who had met Domino only once before, through his girlfriend -- said he had not slept for two days. He needed to get a hydrating IV during Thursday's practice of the LSU football team. The team's game against North Texas scheduled for Saturday has been canceled.
"Fats just stayed at my apartment, rested, watched the news," Russell said. "I've had people sleeping on the floor, the couch, everywhere. It's been pretty crazy."
Those closest to Domino had feared the R&B legend might not be okay.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, whose hit singles include "Blueberry Hill" and "Ain't That a Shame," did not contact anybody in the three days after the hurricane. His agent, Al Embry, reported him missing earlier this week, and concern about his fate grew until his daughter, Karen Domino White, said Thursday that she had recognized her father in a picture taken Monday by the New Orleans Times-Picayune. Domino wore jeans and a blue striped shirt, she said.
He was wearing the same outfit when he left Baton Rouge Friday afternoon.
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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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Displacement Of Historic Proportions
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The largest displacement of Americans since the Civil War reverberated across the country from its starting point in New Orleans yesterday, as more than half a million people uprooted by Hurricane Katrina sought shelter, sustenance and the semblance of new lives.
Storm refugees overwhelmed the state of Louisiana and poured into cities from coast to coast, crowding sports arenas, convention centers, schools, churches and the homes of friends, relatives and even strangers. Red Cross officials reported that every shelter in a seven-state region was already full -- 76,000 people in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana. Hundreds of miles from New Orleans, hotels were jammed or quickly filling.
Rich and poor alike, they found themselves starting over. The former began buying new houses and leasing new office space. The latter waited in lines for a bar of soap or a peanut butter sandwich.
Katrina has scattered more than twice as many people as the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, and unmoored more people in a few days than fled the Dust Bowl in the 1930s. Estimating from census data, about 150,000 of the displaced lived below the poverty line even before they lost everything. Far more than 50,000 of them are past retirement age.
Cities and hamlets, charities and individuals stepped up to help. In Washington, District officials made plans to open a shelter in the D.C. Armory, and 415 retired veterans were moved from the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Gulfport, Miss., to a similar facility here.
"The biggest issue we're faced with is handling the volume of people," said Margaret O'Brien Molina, a spokesman for the Southwest region of the American Red Cross. "Just identifying their needs is so complex."
In Baton Rouge and other Louisiana cities, the influx was dangerously straining services, officials warned. Armed guards were stationed at food distribution sites, and Baton Rouge police chief Jeff LeDuff said the city's hospitals might have to be barricaded to prevent desperate storm victims from continuing to swamp emergency rooms. The city's sanitation system is overloaded, garbage collection has soared, gasoline is scarce.
"Instead of water flooding in, we've got people flooding in," said Mike Walker of the East Baton Rouge Parish Council. "The levee of people broke."
Where to go? What to do? They needed food, water, medicine, beds, showers, toilets, clothing, jobs, schools, friends, diversions. Where to begin?
For many of the impoverished refugees from the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, the first step into the future led to a strip mall near the Astrodome, which transformed into a bazaar of free ham sandwiches, water, diapers, baby formula and other supplies brought by volunteers.
Gaynell Warden, 46, stood in her pajamas, 350 miles from home -- make that former home. For now and the knowable future, she lives in a new town of 25,000 made up of cots in an old stadium. "My son is missing. I don't know if he's dead or alive," she said.
Allen Porter, 18, sat in a hotel lobby in Hot Springs, Ark., 530 miles from his former home. His parents were out looking for a condominium while their son tried to sort out the confused picture that had seemed so clear and glittering just days before. Senior year, top of his class at Jesuit High in New Orleans, Porter was a bit annoyed when his mother insisted on evacuating. He packed his iPod, "Wuthering Heights," and his applications to places such as Princeton, Yale and Virginia. Now his high school was reportedly under 13 feet of water, deep enough to drown his transcripts, and his khaki-clad buddies were scattered to the winds.
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The largest displacement of Americans since the Civil War reverberated across the country from its starting point in New Orleans yesterday, as more than half a million people uprooted by Hurricane Katrina sought shelter, sustenance and the semblance of new lives.
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