Atlantic Monthly Contributors's Blog, page 946

Hawaii's Governor Calls a Special Session Just to Legalize Gay Marriage

Hawaii's governor Neil Abercrombie put a special legislative session on the schedule for next month in order to pass a bill that would legalize gay marriage. If the bill passes, Hawaii would become the 14th U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriages. The state already allows civil unions. 

Like a handful of other states, Hawaii saw a new push to legalize same-sex marriages after the Supreme Court struck down parts of the Defense of Marriage act in June. The bill on the table specifically frames itself in the context of that decision, arguing that the availability to federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples has applied some urgency to the issue:

This legislature has already extended to same-sex couples the right to enter into civil unions that provide the same rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities under state law as afforded to opposite-sex couples who marry. However, these civil unions are not recognized by federal law and will not receive equal treatment to a marriage under federal law. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to ensure that same-sex couples are able to take full advantage of federal  benefits and protections granted to married opposite-sex couples by allowing same-sex couples to marry under the laws of this State. It is the intent of the legislature that marriages solemnized in accordance with this Act be equal in all respects to the marriages of opposite-sex couples under the laws of this State. 

And now, Abercrombie would like that bill, proposed last month, to get a vote before the end of the calendar year — he asked lawmakers to "focus squarely" on the same-sex marriage measure during the session, before the regular session begins in January. While passage isn't a sure thing, the bill would allow same-sex marriages to begin in the state as early as November. 

Earlier this month, one count of potential House votes tallied 27 "yes" and 15 "no" votes out of the 51-person body (the rest were undecided). The bill would need 26 votes to pass. Senate Democrats believe they have enough votes to pass the bill, too, after a couple weeks of committee meetings. 

       

Crossfire Returns and Does Not Hurt America

In late 2004, Jon Stewart appeared on Crossfire, and, instead of telling jokes, sincerely said the political debate show was "hurting America." CNN killed it a few months later, ending its 23-year run. But this spring, in an effort to boost the network's ratings, CNN president Jeff Zucker decided to reanimate it. And so, while acknowledging that Stewart inadvertently set a pretty low bar — don't hurt America — we can confidently say that Crossfire managed to clear it. There were even moments when the debate over a military strike in Syria went a little deeper than the typical cable news segment allows. It was also a pleasant surprise to discover that Crossfire is only half an hour long. 

The original Crossfire usually featured journalists from the left and right — people with a point of view, but at least the pretense of independence and an aim for objectivity. CNN has partially done away with that, making the debate moderators Stephanie Cutter, the deputy campaign manager for President Obama's reelection effort, and Newt Gingrich, 2012 Republican presidential candidate. (The show's two other hosts, Van Jones and S.E. Cupp, will be on the air Tuesday night. Neither has run a presidential campaign within the last 18 months.) Gingrich was uncharacteristically shy, while Cutter was stilted.

This meant that Cutter had essentially the same talking points as New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the Democrat who argued for strikes against Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul. "The only reason the Russians are coming forward with this" — an offer to Syria's chemical weapons — "is because the president put the use of force on the table," Cutter said. This is exactly what the White House has been saying too. It makes sense, because Cutter as among a group of White House aides and former Obama staffers who met last week to discuss how to sell Syria to the public, according to The Washington Post. She reached near synchronicity with the debater she was supposed to be moderating. Menendez, too, said the Russian offer was only a result of Obama's threat of airstrikes. "I can say the only reason we are at this point is that the president said this [military force] is necessary," Menendez said.

Or, in another example, Cutter actually talked over Menendez as he made the White House's case that Obama didn't set a "red line" on Syria using chemical weapons — that line was set by the international community. "The red line was an international red line. It's not just that we said it--" Menendez said, before Cutter cut in. "You said you were a chemical weapons ban treaty!" she told to Paul. "So, that's a red line."

Nevertheless, Paul was able to repeatedly express his concerns about military action in Syria: whether a strike would make the Syrian government more weak, whether it would put more weapons in the hands of terrorists, etc. Unfortunately for Paul, he did not have as strong an ally in Gingrich as Menendez had in Cutter. Unlike Cutter, Gingrich doesn't have an informal gig advising the highest-ranking people in his party. Instead, he's been presenting himself as a new model for a Republican politician. Gingrich didn't address what Paul said, but twice noted John Kerry said strikes would be "unbelievably small," the smaller of Kerry's gaffes on Monday.

[image error]In the last minutes of the show, Crossfire offers a feel-good segment called "Ceasefire." It's supposed to show the hosts can find some common ground. This risks major cheesiness, so it was a relief to see the ceasefire was not a ceasefire at all. Both Gingrich and Cutter noted that polls showed Americans did not yet support the war. "I think we can both agree this is one of the most tumultuous periods of change I can remember," Gingrich said. Can't really disagree with that! "I think we can agree those polls numbers are not where the American public really is," Cutter said. They just showed Americans were tired of war in general — people are still mad about being "duped" into war in 2012, she said. Gingrich did not agree (micro-eyeroll above right.) "I love your confidence in the intelligence agencies you didn't trust," Gingrich said. "Fortunately we're double checking, and we have it on tape," Cutter responded. And so the show ended in the sarcastic catfight we'd been waiting eight years for.

       

President Obama Steps Back from Bombing Syria — Six Times

President Obama gave six interviews to six different networks on Monday in order to talk about Syria. While the interviews, scheduled last week, were originally framed as the president's chance to sell military action in Syria to Americans, Monday's evolving proposal suggesting Syria give up its chemical weapons to stave off an attack became the focus of discussion. Probably not by accident, given that an authorization for military strikes, is, well, less than sure to pass Congress. As the president's interviews ran, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid pulled his planned vote on Syria, set for Wednesday. 

Referring to the proposal that Syria turn over its chemical arms to be destroyed, the president called the plan a "modestly positive development." He added, speaking to CNN, "It's unlikely that we would have arrived at that point without a credible military threat." The president also indicated that his tone might change for tomorrow's big speech, but his response to questions on the proposal varies slightly from interviewer to interviewer.

Highlights Obama repeatedly referred to the proposal embraced by Russia as a "positive development," one which he (and the State Department) intend to "run to ground." Until that effort is completed, any strike is "absolutely" on hold, he said to ABC News. The proposal that Syria might exchange its chemical weapons for the United States' abandoning its strikes did come up in conversation between Obama and Russian president Vladimir Putin last week at the G20 summit. The president is comfortable with Congress delaying votes on the authorization for the use of force. Regardless, he consistently reinforced that it was the threat that the United States might strike which led Syria to accept this possible solution. Contrary to UN Ambassador Samantha Power's assertion last week that "we have exhausted the alternatives" to military strikes, Obama told PBS' Gwen Ifill that the one could still run its course. "If we can exhaust these diplomatic efforts and come up with a formula that gives the international community a verifiable enforceable mechanism to deal with these chemical weapons in Syria," he said, "then I'm all for it."

We'll add the videos and transcripts of each response as they come in. 

Jump to: CBS | CNN | Fox News | NBC | ABC | PBS

CBS: 
       

NBC Wants Katherine Heigl

Today in show business news: Katherine Heigl lands a TV deal, Demi Lovato is going to become an author, and Boardwalk Empire falls.

Last month we heard that Katherine Heigl, Grey's Anatomy star turned ascendant movie star turned actor looking for TV work again, was developing some kind of show about a CIA agent that isn't Homeland. She was just shopping it around, there was no deal or anything. But now it looks like NBC has taken the bait, committing to a pilot. The show is about, according to Deadline, "a key CIA analyst whose job it is to debrief and strategize with the president on the most pressing global and national matters. She balances this incredibly high-stakes job and trusted relationship with her complicated personal life." That sounds pretty Shonda Rhimes-y, doesn't it? Like Scandal except in the CIA. Thus it could be a good project for Heigl, exciting and political but also about personal stuff like romance. "Heart and smarts," a critic might say if it all works out. Will it work out? It's hard to say. What is the Katherine Heigl audience like these days? A while ago it was pretty big, people seemed pretty eager for more Katherine Heigl in their lives, but now? It's unclear. It's not that NBC is taking a gamble exactly, she's a tested TV star, but y'know. It's been a while. Knocked Up was six years ago. Should be interesting to watch Heigl 3.0 unfold. (Well, actually, 4.0 maybe, if you can't My Father the Hero/Roswell days.) [Deadline]

While on the topic of career change, kiddie TV star turned singer turned X-Factor judge Demi Lovato will now have to fit "author" somewhere into her Twitter bio. She has signed a multi-book deal with Feiwel and Friends, Macmillan's children and young adult imprint. Entertainment Weekly describes the deal: "The first book features tweets she had written about her life." Um. Oh. I. Dear. No. A book of tweets. The Book of Tweets. A new Bible. The book is called Staying Strong: 365 Days a Year. And it contains tweets. Tweets that Demi Lovato "had written about her life." Well that's terrific. "What a great book of tweets." "I've seen better books of tweets." "Have you?" "I have." After that Lovato plans to write a memoir, which, I dunno, will be transcripts of Vine videos she had made. Or whatever. Books. Sorry, #books. [Entertainment Weekly]

Well, rats. The under-appreciated Boardwalk Empire premiered its fourth season last night and ratings were down. A solid-enough 2.4 million people tuned in last night, but that's lower than season 3's 2.9 million. Significantly lower, you could say. And it's down from the season finale, too. So people were just less interested in this season. No two ways about it. That Gyp Rosetti ruins everything. He really does. [Deadline]

Actor Danny Huston will be playing Jessica Lange's boyfriend (well, "BF" according to Ryan Murphy) on the upcoming season of American Horror Story, subtitled Coven. It's unclear if Huston will be magic or evil or anything, but he'll be there, with J. Lange, doing something. Not a lot of guys on this season. It's Danny Huston, Evan Peters, and... I don't know. Denis O'Hare is on it, I think. Leslie Jordan? Is that right? The point is, there aren't many guys. So good luck, Huston. And whatever you do, don't let Taissa Farmiga's sister near your dressing room. Trust me. [Vulture]

       

Johns Hopkins University Falls Victim to the NSA Chilling Effect

What does a DIY t-shirt with a dumb joke on it have in common with a thoughtful article written by a noted researcher at Johns Hopkins University? Both were pulled offline out of fear that they crossed the government's hazy lines demarcating acceptable behavior.

The researcher's name is Matthew Green. On Monday afternoon, his dean at Johns Hopkins, where he works as an instructor on cryptography, asked that Green remove copies of a blog post he'd written from university servers. That post, which is still at his personal site, dealt with a conversation between Green and ProPublica, which was working on last week's report based on a leak from Edward Snowden. The news outlet asked Green to speculate on how and if the NSA might be able to decrypt network data. The ensuing reports, Green writes, indicate that "the worst possible hypothetical I discussed appear to be true."

As part of writing the post, Green added the NSA logo to his page and linked to several of the documents ProPublica cites. Those documents are still technically classified by the United States government. Green didn't acquire or publish them, of course — he just linked to them. Green explains what happened in a series of tweets, which begin here. (We've gathered them into one paragraph for legibility.) "APL" refers to the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, which does a lot of national security work under contract with the government.

So listen, I'm trying not to talk about this much because anything I say will make it worse. What I've been told is that someone on the APL side of JHU discovered my blog post and determined that it was hosting/linking to classified documents. This requires a human since I don't believe there's any automated scanner for this process. It's not clear to me whether this request originated at APL or if it came from elsewhere. All I know is that I received an email this morning from the Interim Dean of the Engineering school asking me to take down the post and to desist from using the NSA logo. He also suggested I should seek counsel if I continued.

In any case I made it clear that I would not shut down my non-JHU blog, but I did shut down a JHU-hosted mirror. I also removed the NSA logo. I did not remove any links or photos of NOW PUBLIC formerly classified material, because that would just be stupid.

Remove the logo, Green was told — presumably since it could be interpreted as some sort of endorsement from the agency — and don't link to classified documents. In a statement to Ars Technica, the school clarified its intent:

The university received information this morning that Matthew Green’s blog contained a link or links to classified material and also used the NSA logo. For that reason, we asked Professor Green to remove the Johns Hopkins-hosted mirror site for his blog.

Upon further review, we note that the NSA logo has been removed and that he appears to link to material that has been published in the news media.

Resolved. Miscommunication cleared up. The story ends well, but all is not well. Both of the school's concerns bring to mind other recent cases suggesting that the request to Green was less a mistake or aberration than another point in an uncomfortable trend.

First, the case of Chelsea Manning. The most serious charge Manning faced was that of "aiding the enemy," a charge predicated on her having shared classified documents with Wikileaks which she knew would be published online which she knew that al Qaeda would read. Ergo: Manning intended to aid the enemy.

It's an argument that seems specious on its face — but it was one taken seriously by the military judge trying Manning's case. She was eventually found not guilty of the charge, but as her attorney David Coombs suggested, the very concept that sharing information online that could be read by an enemy of America constituted a crime was a "very slippery slope, of basically punishing people for getting information out to the press."

The Green situation also brings to mind the case of Barrett Brown. On Sunday, The New York Times's David Carr presented the history of Brown's charges from the federal government. Largely for posting a link to a cache of documents stolen from Sratfor Global Intelligence in an online chat room, Brown faces over a century in prison. Carr writes:

Among the millions of Stratfor files were data containing credit cards and security codes, part of the vast trove of internal company documents. The credit card data was of no interest or use to Mr. Brown, but it was of great interest to the government. In December 2012 he was charged with 12 counts related to identity theft.

"By trying to criminalize linking," Carr continues, "the federal authorities in the Northern District of Texas … are suggesting that to share information online is the same as possessing it or even stealing it." As they did with Manning.

No wonder Johns Hopkins is skittish. This is an institution that has a partnership with the Department of Defense, a partnership that is itself what led to Green's blog post being removed (at least in his understanding). "It's not clear to me whether this request originated" with the Applied Physics Laboratory, he wrote in his clarification, "or if it came from elsewhere." The most likely explanation is that it came from someone at the APL. Someone nervous or annoyed or frustrated by reading a post which mentioned and linked to federal secrets. In the interest of smoothing things over, perhaps, Green was asked to take the post down. Not a big deal. Just pull the story.

That's what Zazzle did, too. Zazzle is the hyperactively-named company that played host to a t-shirt using the NSA logo in a parody design. We've reported on this before. The t-shirt showed the logo, then reading: "The NSA / The only part of the government that actually listens."

In short order, the shirt was removed, prompting excitable people online to suggest that the NSA was cracking down on dissidence. Nope. The NSA told the Daily Dot it wasn't them asking, just Zazzle pulling the shirts out of an abundance of caution. Just like Johns Hopkins asking Green to take the NSA logo off the blog on their servers.

Both institutions have every right to do so, of course; your right to free speech doesn't include my having to pay for you to express it. But it suggests that the chilling effect of situations like Brown's and Manning's is in full effect. Better to expunge the questionable material first, ask questions later. In that sense, we expect different things from a Johns Hopkins than a Zazzle, as Green notes. He continues his statement above:

I'm baffled by this entire thing. I hope to never receive an email like that again and I certainly believe JHU(APL) is on the wrong side of common sense and academic freedom, regardless of their obligations under the law.

More than that: we count on institutions powerful enough to host contrarian voices to do so. Especially when it makes the more-powerful unhappy.

Image: A parody image created by the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Correction: This article originally stated that publishing classified documents is illegal. Thanks to Daniel Ellsberg, only leaking them is.

       

Reading The Moth's Stories Is Almost as Good as Hearing Them

On Friday night, we stopped by Town Hall in New York City to hear a few stories. The Moth, a not-for-profit storytelling organization was opening its 17th season with stories from Simon Doonan, Eve Plumb, and others, and the house was packed. Adam Gopnik of The New Yorker hosted — he also wrote the preface to The Moth's just-published first print story collection, which guests were eagerly snapping up at the event. Aside from one awkward reference to the event's sponsor, Maker's Mark, the night's performances were just polished enough to be both believable and enjoyable.

[image error]Simon Doonan, creative ambassador at Barney's and talking head at VH1, got the crowd going with the tale of how once upon a time, he was asked to audition for the role of "gay fashionista" in The Devil Wears Prada. He confessed that when he first heard about the book, he felt he'd "rather have sex with a dead relative" than read it. But, of course, the promise of fame (and acting alongside Meryl Streep) convinced him that the book might not be so bad after all. His movie dreams didn't quite work out, but he has a great Anna Wintour impression all the same. 

The real standout performance of the night, though, came from playwright Kemp Powers. He talked about raising a son who's not like him — his performance actually made us laugh and well up with tears at various points. Powers has a different, even more gripping story in the print collection, about the time he accidentally shot his best friend when he was 14.

The collection includes 49 other stories, like Malcolm Gladwell's tale of a wedding toast gone wrong, and poker champ Annie Duke's recollection of her two-million-dollar hand. Most of the stories don't come from big names, but that doesn't make them any less compelling. 

As of Friday, over 10,000 stories had been performed through The Moth, which the poet and novelist George Dawes Green started in an attempt to recreate the Southern storytelling culture of his youth. The organization started on a porch in Georgia, moved to the East Village — and gradually achieved the cult status it enjoys today. 

Gopnik writes in the preface to the collection, "of all the alchemies of human connection — sex and childbirth and marriage and friendship — the strangest is this: You can stand up and tell a story that is made entirely, embarrassingly, of 'I's,' and a listening audience somehow turns each 'I' into a 'me.'" He's right. The Moth invites you to listen (or read) as much as it invites you to think about or share your own experiences. 

And at the very least, if you pick up the collection, you can learn why Darryl "DMC" McDaniels of Run-DMC thinks Sarah McLachlan's song "Angel" saved his life. That's in there, along with much more.

 

       

Capital New York Purchased By Politico Owner

Politico owner Robert Allbritton has purchased Capital New York and will expand the site significantly, according to an announcement on their website. Late Sunday night, Capital founders and co-editors Josh Benson and Tom McGeveran announced the sale, with which they intend to grow Capital as a "free-standing sibling publication" to the DC-based Politico.

The acquisition does come with some cross-pollination however. In addition to his work as executive editor of Politico, Jim VandeHei will now also serve as Capital's president, and Katherine Lehr and Cally Stolbach will join the New York publication of the business side.

Very excited to have the good folks at Capital New York in the fam: @tmcgev, @joepompeo, @Azi et al

— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) September 9, 2013

One of the key parts of the acquisition is that it will allow Capital to expand significantly, the co-editors wrote in a separate post outlining their plans for the next few months. According to Byers, that means at least two dozen more positions need to be filled, which would, in essence, triple the size of Capital's masthead.

And by the way, that's 24+ job openings in New York, journos...

— Dylan Byers (@DylanByers) September 9, 2013

In addition, the influx of funding from Allbritton will allow Capital to redesign their website and introduce new revenue streams: "We've always believed that journalism needs more than display advertising to support itself. With POLITICO, we'll have the strategic and organizational muscle to tap into other revenue streams," the announcement says. Exactly what those streams will be is not yet clear, although Politico is currently experimenting with a paywall section called Politico Pro.

       

107-Year-Old Man Dies In Shootout With SWAT Team

In Pine Bluff, Arkansas on Sunday, a 107-year-old man was shot and killed after exchanging gunfire with police officers. According to NPR, police responded to a domestic disturbance call of a man firing at two people and when they identified themselves to the resident, Monroe Isadore, they were shot at. Police then called in backup.

Officers then used a miniature camera to peer into the room where the elderly man was holed up and found that he had a handgun. While negotiations got the two other people out of the house, they proved otherwise unsuccessful at getting Isadore to surrender. The SWAT team released gas into the room and entered but according to a police statement, "When the gas was inserted into the room, Isadore fired rounds at the S.W.A.T. officers that had inserted the gas from outside a bedroom window." SWAT officers fired back, fatally wounding Isadore.

The Pine Bluff Commercial reports that officers involved in the incident have been placed on paid leave pending an investigation. Statistics from the 2010 US Census peg the US population over 100 at around 53,000 people, with only 8% (around 4240 people) of those over the age of 104.

       

Decade-Long USDA Inspection Program Deemed Inadequate

A pilot program for inspecting meat launched by the Department of Agriculture has repeatedly failed to prevent contaminated meat from being caught, according to a lengthy report in The Washington Post. Five US pork processing plants enrolled in the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-based Inspection Models Project (HIMP) in 1997, which both sped up processing lines by up to 20 percent and allowed companies to employ their own inspectors instead of ones employed by the government. So, to recap, a program that sped up production and reduced government oversight has somehow been inadequate in weeding out contaminated meat products.

Despite the program being in place for more that 15 years, the USDA still has yet to publish a report on whether or not the program has been working in increasing production and reducing cost to the federal government.

According to the new report, of the five hog plants enrolled in the pilot program, three were among the nation's top ten worst offenders in terms of health and safety violations. The Post cites reports from inspectors who say that attempts to slow the line or raise concerns have been ignored or met with anger.

The questionable procedures have also been implemented by plants abroad in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Australia is cited in the article as the worst offender by far. In June, at an emergency meeting, the USDA temporarily barred Australia from exporting meat products to the US.

Bill Bennett, a union representative for government inspectors who worked at the plant, said that government employees in Canada are no longer positioned at places along the line where they can spot contamination and that company employees are reluctant to slow or stop the lines when a problem arises. If they try, they can be overruled by plant supervisors, said Bennett, of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401.

Meat inspection problems have been plaguing the US for at least a century (see: The Jungle) but constant corner-cutting has resulted in more and more varied ways of spreading illness. Back in 2011, Mother Jones published an exposé of workers who became sick working on Hormel's pig brain machine.

 

       

Serena Williams Wins The US Open

Despite some slight setbacks, Serena Williams managed to pull out a victory in the womens' finals of the US Open on Sunday, besting Victoria Azarenka and earning her fifth US Open championship and 17th Grand Slam Title.

The match lasted more than three hours, with Williams defeated Azarenka 7-5, 6-7 (6-8), 6-1. Despite taking a lead 4-1 in the second set, Azarenka came back to force an then win the tiebreaker. Despite that setback and Williams' noticeable frustration at the windy weather conditions ("I can't play in this wind.") , she handily won the third set, securing her second US Open title in as many years.

Here's the match point:

Following her victory, Williams told ESPN, "It was just a great feeling. The difference is it hasn't settled in yet. I think because I was up so much in the second, and I didn't quite take my opportunities. So when I was 17 I remember I took my opportunity right then and there, and I made some shots and I wasn't making as many errors. Being older, it's always awesome and such a great honor, because I don't know if I'll ever win another Grand Slam."

Williams won her first US Open 14 years ago. When she won it this year, Prince's "1999" played over the stadium speakers.