Atlantic Monthly Contributors's Blog, page 928

Faced with Pressure, Background Check Contractors Work in a Hurry

The private contractor responsible for hundreds of thousands of yearly security checks for the U.S. government routinely "flushes" background investigations into final approval in order to meet monthly revenue goals. That company, USIS, vetted both Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis and NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. It's the latest bad news to emerge from the company, currently under criminal investigation, in the wake of what seem to be a series of high-profile background check failures.  

The New York Times reports that the company is only paid once a background check file is marked "fieldwork finished," and the agency chose to take some shortcuts in order to get that money towards the end of each month: "in the waning days of a month, investigations were closed to meet financial quotas, without a required review by the quality control department," the paper writes, citing unnamed former management officials at the company. The Office of Personnel Management, the U.S. government office responsible for vetting employees for security clearance — the agency that contracts out to USIS, confirmed that they pay in this manner, with the implication that the pay structure is an efficiency incentive, one that seems to be working a bit too well. USIS handles about 45 percent of background checks for the OPM, or about 700,000 checks a year. And that contract work itself, the Times explains, was a result of the process's burden on the government: 

Since the terrorist attacks of 2001, the need for Americans with security clearances to work for the Pentagon and military contractors has soared, with a long backlog building up in the early years of the Bush administration. Investigations for a top-secret clearance took 400 days. Companies used the Internet to identify workers with clearances at rival firms and paid them bonuses to jump ship. To speed investigations, the federal personnel office hired private companies like USIS to do the majority of the work, which significantly eased the backlog.

Earlier reports have backed up the Times's take on the pressure problem at USIS. Employees, speaking to the Washington Post, described "intense pressure" to do as many checks as quickly as possible, even if that meant ignoring red flags. While it's not clear whether Alexis was rushed through the system, the existing problems with the way USIS works have raised a lot of questions — namely, how did someone with Alexis's record gain the security clearance he had, still valid at the time of the Navy Yard shootings? Those questions have prompted the government to conduct a review of the way background checks are handled. It looks like it'll have a lot of material to work with. 

       

Hugh Jackman Might Be Done With Wolverine

Today in show business news: We may have reached the end of an X-Men era, Tim from the original Office moves to Fargo, and Game of Thrones has a new friend.

While doing press at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Daytona Beach, no just kidding it's in Spain, Hugh Jackman said that he will probably not play Wolverine again. While he's been successful in the role, playing it approximately forty-two times in sixty-eight different movies, he said he knows that "Great parts always outgrow the actors that play them." So it'd really have to be quite something for him to consider it. If he is done, who should replace him as The Wolverine? I'm gonna go with Garrett Hedlund for some reason. But Daniel Radcliffe would work too. He's a song and dance man just like Hugh! [The Hollywood Reporter]

Martin Freeman, the little gnome from The Hobbit, has been given a role on FX's Fargo, the (second) series adaptation of Joel and Ethan Coen's brilliant, perfect 1996 film. His role will be similar-ish to William H. Macy's role in the film. Wow, from Hogwarts to Fargo. That little elf is a long way from home, which is Westeros. Good for him. [Vulture]

Jenny Bicks, of The Big C and Sex and the City and Men in Trees, has sold a pilot to ABC called Works With Jerks (great title, though would have preferred Work Is For Jerks). The show is about "an ambitious yet often misguided woman, whose role models are Hillary Clinton and Yahoo's Marissa Mayer, who realizes she may have to rethink her professional strategy when she joins a company where she must work with all male employees." That sounds interesting! What's even more interesting is that it's being written by two siblings who write for Fox's wonderful, weird, heartwarming Bob's Burgers. This could actually be a good network sitcom! [The Hollywood Reporter]

Special Topics in Calamity Physics breakout Marisha Pessl's second novel, Night Film, may not have been exactly the critical darling that her debut was (read Janet Maslin blast the hell out of it here), but that doesn't really matter. It's getting made into a movie! Which is all that counts. Glee, Big Love, and comic book writer (and playwright, but who cares about that, sigh) Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa will write the adaptation. So Pessl wins! Go suck an egg, New York Times. It's time for Hollywood. [Deadline]

Here's a new guy who's been cast on HBO's Game of Thrones. Who is he? Who knows. He's one of Daenerys's friends. You know, all those guys with Z and X names that are impossible to keep track of. We're at that point in the story now, I'm afraid. Oh well. The guy's cute at least! And that's all anyone cares about, right? Right. Carry on, show. [Entertainment Weekly]

Here's a trailer for The Nut Job, a decidedly B-grade animated kiddie movie that's notable only because it has funny people Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph doing voices. That's about it.

       

Iran's Hackers Are Still Chipping Away at U.S. Networks

Even as the presidents of Iran and the U.S. speak to each other (on the phone) for the first time since 1979, it looks like Iran hasn't given up its cyberwar against the U.S. According to the The Wall Street Journal, a group of hackers either working directly for the Iranian government or with its approval accessed an unclassified Navy computer network. 

The paper calls the Navy hack "one of the most serious infiltrations" on Iran's part of U.S. networks, noting that officials don't believe the hackers stole anything significant. But, the action itself could speak volumes, demonstrating "a more potent Iranian hacking capability than previously believed," in hinting of the country's ability to access U.S. military systems. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey were briefed, as were members of congress, on the infiltration. 

Even in the midst of Iranian president Hassan Rouhani's charm campaign towards the U.S., the relationship between the two countries remains very complicated, something the hacking underlines. The army of Iranian hackers, mainly targeting banking and energy companies in the U.S., has been growing for years, with clear ties to the Iranian government. One recent attack reportedly gave Iran the capability to sabotage power plants. The hacks are partially a response to the continuing sanctions against Iran (something Rouhani's recent willingness to negotiate on Iran's nuclear program is supposed to address), and to the U.S.'s own cyberattack effort on Iran: Stuxnet. 

Seeing as it takes two to cyberwar, the U.S. has already attempted a few responses to the attacks in recent years. The escalation of Iran's hacking capabilities prompted the U.S. to help a group of unspecified neighbors of Iran combat and prevent future cyberattacks. And according to leaked documents from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the White House also authorized intelligence officials to create a list of potential cyberattack targets overseas. 

       

'Breaking Bad' Finale Predictions Are Nothing More Than Fan Fiction

Today the Internet seemed to be overflowing with various theories about the Breaking Bad finale, basically meaning a lot of serious minded TV watchers went into the realm of rabid pop-culture fanatics: fan fiction. Predicting the end of Breaking Bad is sort of a futile effort. The pleasure of the show has been that viewers could put their faith in the hands of Vince Gilligan and his team and they never disappointed us while constantly surprising us.

Plus, it's not like Breaking Bad is some sort of mystery. Nothing has to be solved. And it's not like you can predict a work of fiction. We could find out on the last scene that the whole world is in Baby Holly's snow globe or Walt Jr. sees dead people. All it takes is a few strokes of Gilligan's pen.

Of course, that hasn't stopped plenty of people from speculating. NPR's Linda Holmes set up a blog called "Claim Your Cockamamie Theory" for the singular purpose of allowing people to share their, well, cockamamie theories. The Huffington Post's Mike Ryan got various entertainment writers to share their theories. The predictions are fun to read—and everyone seems to have a good attitude about this—but this is basically fan fiction. Here are some examples:  

The Maybe Believable Fan Fiction 

Some of the predictions are pretty rational. Take Lane Brown from New York's take at the Huffington Post. He writes, in part:  

So the only satisfying ending for Sunday's finale is one in which Jesse kills Walt, preferably via some Rube Goldberg machine whose components include a box cutter, an ATM machine, and an exploding turtle. First, though, Walt will free Jesse by slipping the ricin capsule into Lydia's tea, melting Todd in a lab explosion, and shooting up the Nazis with his M60. 

Alan Sepinwall has a pretty simple, and maybe possible, idea at the Cockamamie Theory blog:

The ricin is for Walt. He takes care of business with the Nazis, consumes the ricin, then turns himself into the authorities, cutting a deal that will keep Skyler out of prison. Once the deal is completed, he dies in jail a few days later, with everyone assuming it was the cancer that got him. 

The Reddit Fan Fiction

If you really want to head down the Breaking Bad prediction rabbit hole head to this Reddit thread. There you will find posts like this one that compares Jesse's physique to Batman's:

In my perfect fantasy, Todd drags him into the meth lab and Jesse removes his shirt to reveal he is now as buff as Batman and proceeds to titan-punch Todd into the ground. Then the camera is angled to represent Jesse's fist pounding directly into Todd's skull. With each punch it flashes back to Jesse's four months after Andrea's death, in which he went full Iroh (ALWAYS go full Iroh) and spent the entire time working out in his cell. Pushups, pullups, shadowboxing, ect. After Todd's head is pulp...the machine gun fire begins.

The Really Really Serious Fan Fiction

Over at Previously.TV (via Time) Andi Teran does some serious close reading on the title of the finale, "Felina," noting that it could point to Marty Robbins' song "El Paso." Teran wonders who the "Felina" of the finale will be, ultimately landing on Marie Schrader. 

This is a totally crackpot theory, but what if "Felina" is Marie (Betsy Brandt)? In Sunday's episode, Marie stares out the window of a police vehicle. She's in protective custody, being driven home in the wake of Hank's death, only she doesn't get to go home and is whisked away when her escorts discover that her house has been broken into. If anyone on Breaking Bad has truly lost everything as a result of Walter White's choices, it's Marie. She's lost her husband, her sister, and now her home. She is alone, swathed in black, and no longer comforted by the warm violets of her environs. Interestingly, in desert gemology, the color purple signifies purpose. And if anyone deserves a shot at Walt -- possibly more than Skyler and Jesse -- it's Marie, the only utterly blameless victim in this whole mess. Also, not that I have that much time on my hands, but what is Marie's maiden name? LAMBERT. Will she be the Felina kiss of death?

The Crossover Fan Fiction

Over at the Cockamamie Theory blog, Joe Tone figured how to make the most out of the fact that Jesse Plemons—the psycho Todd on Breaking Bad—played Landry on Friday Night Lights: 

Tyra shows up looking and her bra strap is showing and Landry gets all distracted, allowing Jesse to make a run for it. Coach Taylor, who'd heard about Lance/Landry breaking bad, shows up from Philly in hopes of saving him, but he gets distracted himself, by Pinkman's surprising speed and agility. (He needs a kick returner.)

He quickly discovers that Pinkman only finished two years of high school and thus has two remaining years of eligibility, and with Julie Taylor waving tentatively from the car, Pinkman agrees to make the drive to Philly.

Just then Mr. White shows up, and immediately feels threatened by Coach Taylor's mentoring of Pinkman. But after a long talk, it's discovered that Mr. White happens to have a convoluted hypothesis about offensive football involving the use of two quarterbacks and no offensive lineman. Intrigued, Coach Taylor invites him to Philly to serve as an offensive consultant, and the five of them -- Coach Taylor, Julie, Pinkman, Walter and a clearly perturbed Mrs. T -- make the long drive to Philly, where they live happily ever, at least until Walt designs an undetectable PED and derails everything.

The Funny Fan Fiction 

Dave Itzkoff of the New York Times in his prediction for the Huffington Post hits this one out of the park. His theory ends: 

The screen fades to black, then fades up again on the title card: SIX MONTHS LATER. We find Walt a changed man, now a driver's ed instructor at a public high school where no one knows of his past identity as Heisenberg. We find him on the training course with his favorite student, a spiky-haired, trash-talking pipsqueak who naturally reminds him of Jesse.

Try as he might, this new student can't seem to drive the training car correctly.

"Mr. White," he says. "Why won't this bitch accelerate?"

"That," Walt answers, "is because you're braking. Bad." He looks directly into the camera, smiles and gives two thumbs up.

Freeze frame.

Executive Producer Vince Gilligan. Roll credits.

       

This Is the Big Sister You Wish You Had

We realize there's only so much time one can spend in a day watching new trailers, viral video clips, and shaky cellphone footage of people arguing on live television. This is why, every day, The Atlantic Wire highlights the videos that truly earn your five minutes (or less) of attention. Today:

The Gore family fed a bunny that they found in their garage for a week and released him into the wild so he could be with his mother turn into food for a hawk. Jimmy Kimmel, please say you're behind this: 

Tina Fey is hosting the season premiere of Saturday Night Live this weekend. Here's proof that the show is in good hands: 

And proof that Jimmy Fallon and the Roots aren't the only ones capable of making awesome Sesame Street music:

And this adorable little girl being afraid of kissing her newborn baby brother is exactly how we want to finish our Friday. Have a great weekend. 

       

The Fight to Pardon a Texas Man Executed for Murder Ten Years Ago

It's been nearly ten years since Texas convict Cameron Todd Willingham was executed for the 1991 murder of his three young daughters and four since journalist David Grann pointed—rather convincingly—to his innocence in a massive investigative piece for The New Yorker. Today, fueled by new evidence, Willingham's family members have joined forces with exoneree Michael Morton and the Evidence Project to renew calls for his posthumous pardon.

Willingham maintained his innocence throughout his adult life, notably refusing to plead guilty in exchange for a life sentence, and used his last words to ask that his name be cleared. But by the time an Austin fire investigator, among others, concluded that the evidence of arson was based on "junk science," it was too late; Governor Rick Perry ignored Willingham's appeals, and he was executed in 2004. The New Yorker piece arrived in 2009, shortly after yet another expert concluded that Willingham was likely innocent.

[image error]Today, in addition to new evidence of Willingham's innocence, the Innocence Project is alleging corruption in the trial, the Texas Tribune reports:

Barry Scheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project, said the organization has uncovered new evidence that the prosecutor who tried Willingham paid favors to the jailhouse informant whose testimony—along with arson science that has since been debunked—was a key factor in the young father's conviction. 

In a powerful letter to Governor Rick Perry, Willingham's family, along with Scheck, points out that a major witness in the trial has since recanted his testimony, saying he was "made to lie." Under a 2009 law, this would have provided Willingham a right to relief:

Johnny Webb, a jailhouse informant who had been sentenced to 15 years for aggravated Robbery, testified that Willingham confessed to murdering his children in an effort to cover up child abuse by his wife Stacey. But years before Willingham’s execution, Johnny Webb acknowledged in a handwritten motion that he lied about the confession.

Plus, as the undersigned detail in an accompanying "Petition for Posthumous Pardon," the science supposedly confirming Willingham's guilt has since been disproven. The New York Times summarized the evolving understanding of arson evidence in 2012, when the family first pushed for a pardon (though Grann's piece offers a far more detailed look):

The original report noted burn patterns on the floor and cracks in the window as clear evidence that Mr. Willingham had spread accelerants. But no such chemicals were found in the house, and today fire scientists say that such patterns are evidence not of arson but simply of very hot fires.

On one level, a pardon would be comfortingly symbolic—it would clear Willingham's name, fulfill his dying wish, and provide his family with some semblance of closure. And even if he weren't innocent (which he probably was), he's dead. It's not like Texas would be letting a murderer walk free.

But more practically, it could do much to overturn or prevent false convictions in similar arson cases in Texas or nationwide. As the Times reported in 2010, such a reversal could do much to debunk Antonin Scalia's claim in a 2006 ruling that there is not "a single case—not one—in which it is clear that a person was executed for a crime he did not commit."

That's more than symbolic, a fact perhaps no one understands better than Michael Morton, the exoneree joining the call for Willingham's pardon.

Top photo of Allan B. Polunsky Unit by Texas Department of Criminal Justice via Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain. Photo of Willingham: Associated Press.

       

EA Sports Settles Lawsuit Over Using College Athletes in Its Video Games

Sports video-game giant Electronic Arts will pay out $40 million to college athletes to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that EA Sports's NCAA football and basketball franchises used their likenesses without permission or compensation. This news comes one day after EA Sports announced that they will not produce college version of their popular football game.

That means for the first time ever, college football players will now get paid. Sort of. Between 200,000 and 300,000 current and former athletes can claim a piece of that $40 million, according to the class-action lawsuit's co-lead counsel. That could mean each player receives somewhere between $133 to $200 in a one-time payout, dependent on how many apply (and how much the lawyers get to collect in fees.) There is some question as to whether current players can accept money and maintain their eligibility, although it is believed that players could receive that pay after graduation.

College football beat writer Samuel Mckewon at the Omaha World-Herald notes that the payout is pretty small given the enormous ramifications of the deal.

Players get peanuts/pennies in EA Sports/CLC settlement. http://t.co/7vCLxZCtBH

— Samuel McKewon (@swmckewonOWH) September 27, 2013

The lawsuit, first filed by former UCLA hoops player Ed O'Bannon, accused EA, Collegiate Licensing Company, and the NCAA of using player's likenesses in video games, jerseys, and promotional materials without the player's consent. EA and CLP have both settled, but the NCAA remains adamantly against settling the case, and will likely appeal if it were to lose. One of the plaintiff lawyers told ESPN that he sees the case eventually reaching the Supreme Court.

       

Don't Be Sad About 'Breaking Bad'

You might not know this, because nothing has been written about it on the Internet, but AMC's terrific, tumultuous series Breaking Bad concludes its five-year run on Sunday night. Well, ha, when I said that no one is writing about this fact, that was actually a very funny joke because oh god so many people are writing about it! Including people on this website! It's the most popular TV show to write about right now, because it's a smart and unique and thoroughly captivating series and there's stuff to be said about it. Underscoring all this frenzy is a sort of low-level dread, the apocalyptic feeling that someday soon this will all be gone. Not someday, Sunday. But forget the dread. We should be glad that Breaking Bad is ending.

We should celebrate every time a television show ends on its own terms. Creator Vince Gilligan wanted to do five seasons, and he did five seasons. There's no hideous dragging out of a once-good thing like so many unfortunate series before it. AMC had the good sense to let a storyteller tell his story how he wanted to tell it, and we should publicly applaud them in the hopes that other networks will do the same for their shows. Some cable channels have been good about knowing when to let a series end, but plenty of other networks are still kicking shows further down the road than they ought to be kicked. (Great metaphor. Sorry, it's Friday.) We're looking in your direction, CBS. Let #Dome end!

AMC is doing the same for Matt Weiner with Mad Men, which will end next season. Though, heh, they're splitting that season into two parts, so they can wring out another year's worth of ad dollars. But, whatever. They did the same for Breaking Bad and that worked out pretty well. The point is, while the broadcast networks are beginning to flirt with so-called limited series, they're still mostly operating on the model that successful shows should go on and on and on, season after season. But maybe the more these networks see viewers encouraging shorter, more well-considered runs elsewhere, fans embracing the bittersweet fact that their beloved shows will end when they need to end, then maybe they'll follow suit. That's a big maybe, but it's worth a shot, right?

So there's reason to be happy about Breaking Bad's end from a State of Television perspective. But also? Am I the only one who has grown pretty weary of all the exhaustive coverage this show has gotten? I know, I know, the hypocrisy of complaining about Breaking Bad posts while writing a Breaking Bad post, but at least this isn't some mash-up video or GIF collection or meticulous dissection of one screen grab in an attempt to divine some bit of information about Walter White's fate, right? Because boy has there been a lot of that, the most since Lost, maybe, or at least the most since the Mad Men season finale aired. And while some of it's been fun, and the show itself of course remains excellent, the over-saturation of stuff, just aimless pointless stuff, about the show dampened enjoyment of it. For me, anyway. And, I'd suspect, for some of you too. A good thing can be talked about too much, and Breaking Bad has reached that point.

But blessedly,  maybe next Wednesday or so all will be quiet again. We can stop being annoyed by Hank this and Skyler that, and parody videos, and think pieces, and all manner of detritus that, while lovingly made (most of it, anyway), started to do the show the disservice of distraction. Soon we'll be able to just enjoy the memory of the show, and maybe someday, when the mere thought of hearing one more damn thing about Breaking Bad doesn't make us exhausted, rewatch it, looking for clues on our own time. It's good that that moment grows ever closer.

Let's welcome the end of this spectacular series and happily send it off to the Valhalla of hallowed television shows that passed before it. Its work is done, its last batch is cooked. It's time.

       

The Campaign Against Wendy Davis Is Already All About Abortion

Wendy Davis's non-campaign for Texas Governor, perhaps, should have preregistered electwendydavis.com. Because as of Thursday afternoon, that domain looks something like this: 

According to the domain's Whois information, the anti-campaign site is from the National Review and Center for American Freedom's Andrew Stiles (on the site, the contact email is nobrosallowed@gmail.com). It hit Conservative Twitter late on Thursday: 

Defend the right to dismember healthy, viable babies http://t.co/GCsH1bTXUY

— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) September 26, 2013

"Democrat For Late-Term Abortion and governor" RT @AndrewStilesNRO: http://t.co/lQ31oFgJBg

— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) September 26, 2013

Heh http://t.co/3ROLEXW0Ca

— Jeff Emanuel (@jeffemanuel) September 26, 2013

The site lacks a bio and a slew of other details for the candidate, though the sparsity of this section is almost assuredly intentional:

Of course, Wendy Davis supporters should see this sort of response to her possible candidacy coming. Davis made her name filibustering a restrictive abortion bill (now, an abortion law) in Texas as a state senator. In recent days, conservatives have compared her unfavorably to Ted Cruz by asking why the media seemed more inclined to cover a defense of abortion over a criticism of Obamacare (which, it turns out, they weren't). A Cleveland Plain Dealer columnist characterized Davis as a "late-term-abortion rights advocate who likes pink running shoes, period." There's also Erick Erickson's decision to refer to the politician as "Abortion Barbie." That's even though Davis's filibuster was a little more complicated than a simple objection to limiting abortions to pregnancies before 20 weeks: the omnibus bill could effectively shut all but five of the state's abortion-providing clinics, restricting access to a number of procedures and resources for women in the state. But that likely isn't important to those already fired up against the potential candidate, who can, if they'd like, take comfort in the fact that Davis's campaign is the underdog in the race to replace Rick Perry in 2014, no matter how high her national profile rises. 

       

Astronauts Are Leaving Hidden Messages in Outer Space

Graffiti isn't just for troublemakers and wanna-be artists anymore. Astronauts on the International Space Station are now tagging in outer space, and it's just one of many odd interests astronauts have placed in outer space.

In the outer space equivalent of carving "I was here" into a park tree, Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano left his mark several weeks back with a visible sharpie message:

Before permanently installing this on Canadarm2 we added a message… #Exp36 #Volare pic.twitter.com/6PJZmXaC65

— Luca Parmitano (@astro_luca) September 9, 2013

It's tough to see, but the black letters read: "Installed by your friendly Expedition 36 Crew." Inspired by this inscription, Universe Today looked into other hidden messages in outer space, and they did not come up empty, as NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn explained:

“We did a lot of maintenance during our flight and rotated out a lot of the experiment racks and we saw many signatures on the internal hull or on the inside parts of the racks,” Marshburn told Universe Today via phone from Johnson Space Center. “Things like ‘Greetings from the Water Recovery team!’ with everyone’s signature. That’s fairly prevalent on the inside, particularly behind the racks, but not in plain view.”

Like regular people, astronauts want to be remembered, even if it's only by other fellow astronauts. That desire for fame can take the form of Alan Shepard's lunar golf swing back in 1971, or, as Universe Today found, much more simple messages around the space station.

One particularly memorable object, according to Marshburn, was a toy Gort, the robot character from The Day the Earth Stood Still (left). In another discovery, a message above the funnel that functions as a bathroom reads "Blessed are those who wipe the funnel." A little inspiring potty humor never hurt anyone, even in the dangers of the great beyond.

Even the Mars Curiosity rover got in the act with a message of its own back in March. Intentionally or not, its tracks were shaped oddly like, well, something that would go into one of those toilet funnels.