Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey
By David Horowitz
Review by Anna Gould:
"My second thoughts had led me through a night of the soul that involved the condemnation of my own life."
Who once occupied the leading ranks of the Leftist movement in the United States, but now praises The Heritage Foundation as "the right's most important policy think tank"? David Horowitz has traveled from one side of the political spectrum to the other. He chronicles this most unusual journey from leader and defender of the far Left to proponent and activist of conservatism in Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey.
In this captivating autobiography, Horowitz writes of the people, places, and events which shaped his life and philosophy. Spanning over 400 pages, this "public story" enhances the reader's understanding of the man who wrote it and details a seemingly impossible political transformation. Horowitz offers a masterfully written story, which leaves the reader tied to the book until the last page is read. It is the story of a prominent Sixties Marxist who eventually would walk "into the voting booth and, without hesitation, punch the line marked 'Ronald Reagan.'"
The grandson of Russian Jewish immigrants, his childhood in a heavily Communist/Socialist neighborhood in New York City influenced his political associations. Receiving his "instruction" from The Daily Worker, a Communist Party publication, Horowitz says his parents' friends were Communists who "invariably used the term 'progressive.'" The Horowitz family was very passionate and political. Hence, this explains why Horowitz's relationship with his father would forever change when they had a disagreement over the accuracy of news in the New York Times.
Gradually building a case against a cause he formerly prized, he writes of the "second thoughts" that led to his ultimate conversion. The Black Panthers' senseless violence (and murder), the apparent intolerance of the Left, and the wrongheaded programs they advocated contributed to Horowitz's break from the movement.
The Khrushchev Report, which exposed Stalinist atrocities, was purposely ignored by many radicals in the United States who were interested in propagating "the Party." Horowitz writes that while his parents "remained faithful in their hearts to the radical cause, they were really never active in politics again." Horowitz confronted his own "Krushchev Reports," or the glaring and dangerous aspects of the Left, when he could no longer ignore the destructive effects of the Panthers, the Weathermen, or Marxism in general.
These "second thoughts" led to his battle with friends and colleagues who did not support the open questioning of the Marxist doctrine. Indeed, he writes that one man told him that "even [raising] such questions [was] counter-revolutionary."
"As far as they were concerned, I was a renegade who had betrayed them - who announced today what he had denounced yesterday- and that was enough," he writes. "I ... had to face the savage personal attacks ... that were designed to warn others to remain within the fold."
But Horowitz refused to blindly accept a movement which was increasingly defined by its many failures and tragedies. He writes that he could not ignore that Marxist governments "produced the bloodiest and most oppressive regimes in human history." Instead of finding a forum for a lively debate, however, he found chilling silence and finally, alienation.
"Despite the uniform disasters of socialist revolutions, the socialist goal remained unexamined and unquestioned," he writes.
A controversial speaker and writer, Horowitz has successfully employed the tactics of famous radical Saul Alinsky for both the Right and the Left. This unique achievement sets him apart from most public figures, and leaves a fascinating tale. Radical Son is the story of a man, his time, and his struggle. As Horowitz writes, it is "not the complete record of a life, but an effort to make sense of one."
Anna Marie Gould, a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, served as a 2002 summer intern for The Heritage Foundation and Townhall.com.
Friday, August 15, 2003
Okay, cigars were a govt monopoly in Cuba just like casinos are a monopoly in Monaco.
So the commies take over the business and some employees of the business run for their lives to Florida. Then the refugee former employees begin manufacturing cigars names Montecristo, Upmann, Romeo y Juliata etc.
Meanwhile around thew world Cuban cigars under those trademarks are marketing and sold and highly sought after. But you can't bring them into the US.
Now the guys who have been manufacturing these bogus trademarks in the US in violation of the rights of the true trademark holder (the govt of Cuba) are now suing some other guys (and getting the taxpayer funded POLICE! to arrest them) for diluting "their" trademark.
What fun to be the judge in this affair!
----------------------------------------------------------
From the Courts
Cigar giant fights counterfeit smokes
August 15, 2003 By: Matthew Haggman
Miami lawyers Steven I. Peretz, left, and Jorge Espinosa
Photo by
Aixa Montero
Fort Lauderdale company that ranks among the biggest cigar manufacturers in the world is cracking down on what it says is rampant cigar counterfeiting in South Florida.
Last week, Miami-Dade County police raided a Hialeah retail store called Cuba Habanos USA and arrested its owner. Detectives seized more than 2,000 cigar boxes with counterfeit labels and thousands of inserts and cigars bands, according to Miami-Dade police.
An expert from Altadis U.S.A., the cigar giant leading the anti-counterfeit campaign, accompanied detectives on the raid to confirm the labels were phony.
The move was part of a yearlong effort by Altadis, which makes the U.S. versions of well-known cigar brands like H. Upmann, Montecristo, and Romeo y Julieta, to combat cigar counterfeiting. The cigar maker says the manufacture and trade of illicit cigars is a multimillion-dollar business in South Florida, and that it has become a particularly acute problem in the last year.
According to attorneys for Altadis, more and more warehouses and backrooms of tobacco retailers in South Florida have become home to tobacco counterfeiters.
In the past 12 months, Altadis officials say the company has assisted in three federal convictions, a number of arrests, and sued purportedly illicit cigar distributors and retailers for trademark infringement. The company is promising more arrests and prosecutions and the filing of as many as a dozen trademark infringement lawsuits in the next few months.
“There has been a rash of cigar counterfeiting in South Florida that has come to our attention over the last year or so,” said Leora Herrmann, a partner at Grimes & Battersby in New York City who is heading Altadis’ anti-counterfeiting campaign. “There will be a lot more action both criminal and civil.”
Herrmann said Altadis sales representatives learned of a surge in counterfeiting by visiting retail stores more than a year ago. In response, Herrmann hired Steven I. Peretz and Jorge Espinosa, partners at Kluger Peretz Kaplan & Berlin in Miami, to fight the alleged phony cigar trade in South Florida.
U.S. and Cuban versions
Altadis, which is privately held, has revenues of more than $500 million annually, said company spokeswoman Janelle Rosenfeld. It sells primarily in the United States, but also exports cigars to distributors and retailers in Europe and Asia.
Its cigars are manufactured in the Dominican Republic and Honduras. Competitors include New York City-based General Cigar, which makes the U.S. versions of Macanudo, Partagas and Cohiba cigars.
Many of these brands previously were made in Cuba. But after Fidel Castro took power in 1959, a number of leading cigar makers fled to the United States. Meanwhile, the Cuban government continued producing cigars under the same brand name. So there is often a Cuban version and U.S. version of cigars with the same name.
General Cigar spokeswoman Victoria McKee agreed that South Florida is one of the “hot areas” for cigar counterfeiting.
South Florida is a center of cigar counterfeiting because they are quite popular — particularly among Hispanics — and because many people here understand the techniques of cigar making.
“Many worked in cigar industry before the Castro revolution and have knowledge and skills about cigars,” Herrmann said. “It would be hard to find someone in Wisconsin who could do this.”
Altadis’ lawyers maintain there is currently more cigar counterfeiting in South Florida than anywhere else in the country. In one single seizure recently at a Miami tobacco store, more than $500,000 worth of counterfeits were seized, Espinosa said.
And lucrative frauds generally proliferate. “There is a lot of copy-catting in this type of illegal activity,” Herrmann said.
But fake cigars aren’t high on the list of priorities for law enforcement.
Ed Griffith, a spokesman for Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, suggested that cigar counterfeiting is not a top priority for law enforcement authorities.
“The whole area of trademark counterfeiting has been a substantial concern and we have worked a number of cases on that,” Griffith said. “But that covers a broad area, from fake Louis Vuitton pocketbooks to counterfeit brand name jeans and CDs. Cigar counterfeiting is an area of concern but it is not as though we have a cigar task force.”
Yet, it appears that police are beginning to take notice of the illegal trade.
“This is something new we are coming up against,” said Miami-Dade Detective A. Ugarte, who headed the investigation that led to the Cuba Habanos USA raid in Hialeah last week. “This is the third or fourth raid this year. It is kind of opening up our eyes.”
Levels of counterfeiting
The cigar counterfeiting industry has a number of levels, Espinosa said. There are the printers of the fake cigar bands and labels that mimic the logo of well-known brands. There are individuals who sell the fake bands, labels and cigar boxes to cigar makers. And then there are cigar makers who market the bogus product. In some cases, there are financiers.
Espinosa declined to discuss the methods Altadis is employing to root out fraud. But he said legitimate cigar makers generally use private investigators, confidential informants and physically inspect tobacco products on store shelves to spot fakes. Once fraud is spotted, the company follows a two-pronged approach of assisting police and local prosecutors while also suing in civil court for trademark infringement.
In the Cuba Habanos USA case, after being tipped off by Altadis, Miami-Dade police detectives went to the Hialeah store on July 30 and purchased cigars that had bands and labels appearing to be authentic Romeo y Julieta cigars but were believed to be fakes. A search warrant was obtained and the raid was conducted August 7.
Rodolfo Morejon, the owner of the store who was arrested, has another store in Broward County and an Internet site through which he does most of his business, Ugarte said.
The Miami-Dade state attorney’s office has charged Morejon in Miami-Dade Circuit Court with organized fraud and vending counterfeit goods — which carry penalties of up to five years in prison. He currently is out on bond and his retail outlets and Internet site remain open for business, Ugarte said. Morejon could not be reached for comment.
Other cases pending
Last October, in another case involving Altadis cigars, three South Florida men were convicted of felony trademark counterfeiting in U.S. District Court in Miami. One of the three, Louis Ordonez, was found to have trafficked in bogus Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta cigars. The two others, Cesar Tellez and Jorge Guerra, were found guilty of supplying Ordonez with counterfeit packaging materials. Each was sentenced to 180 days in prison, 100 hours of community service and two years probation.
Also that month, Altidas filed a civil suit in U.S. District Court in Miami for trademark infringement against several South Florida companies and their owner. That case, before U.S District Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages, is pending.
Next month, the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office is slated to try Margie Martinez and Nelson Mena in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on charges of selling counterfeit cigars, Griffith said.
In some of these cases, according to Altadis lawyers, defendants have argued that they were not copying Montecristo or Romeo y Julieta cigars made by U.S. companies. They argued they were instead copying the cigars of the same name produced by the Cuban government.
Thus far, however, that defense has not succeeded in court, he said
So the commies take over the business and some employees of the business run for their lives to Florida. Then the refugee former employees begin manufacturing cigars names Montecristo, Upmann, Romeo y Juliata etc.
Meanwhile around thew world Cuban cigars under those trademarks are marketing and sold and highly sought after. But you can't bring them into the US.
Now the guys who have been manufacturing these bogus trademarks in the US in violation of the rights of the true trademark holder (the govt of Cuba) are now suing some other guys (and getting the taxpayer funded POLICE! to arrest them) for diluting "their" trademark.
What fun to be the judge in this affair!
----------------------------------------------------------
From the Courts
Cigar giant fights counterfeit smokes
August 15, 2003 By: Matthew Haggman
Miami lawyers Steven I. Peretz, left, and Jorge Espinosa
Photo by
Aixa Montero
Fort Lauderdale company that ranks among the biggest cigar manufacturers in the world is cracking down on what it says is rampant cigar counterfeiting in South Florida.
Last week, Miami-Dade County police raided a Hialeah retail store called Cuba Habanos USA and arrested its owner. Detectives seized more than 2,000 cigar boxes with counterfeit labels and thousands of inserts and cigars bands, according to Miami-Dade police.
An expert from Altadis U.S.A., the cigar giant leading the anti-counterfeit campaign, accompanied detectives on the raid to confirm the labels were phony.
The move was part of a yearlong effort by Altadis, which makes the U.S. versions of well-known cigar brands like H. Upmann, Montecristo, and Romeo y Julieta, to combat cigar counterfeiting. The cigar maker says the manufacture and trade of illicit cigars is a multimillion-dollar business in South Florida, and that it has become a particularly acute problem in the last year.
According to attorneys for Altadis, more and more warehouses and backrooms of tobacco retailers in South Florida have become home to tobacco counterfeiters.
In the past 12 months, Altadis officials say the company has assisted in three federal convictions, a number of arrests, and sued purportedly illicit cigar distributors and retailers for trademark infringement. The company is promising more arrests and prosecutions and the filing of as many as a dozen trademark infringement lawsuits in the next few months.
“There has been a rash of cigar counterfeiting in South Florida that has come to our attention over the last year or so,” said Leora Herrmann, a partner at Grimes & Battersby in New York City who is heading Altadis’ anti-counterfeiting campaign. “There will be a lot more action both criminal and civil.”
Herrmann said Altadis sales representatives learned of a surge in counterfeiting by visiting retail stores more than a year ago. In response, Herrmann hired Steven I. Peretz and Jorge Espinosa, partners at Kluger Peretz Kaplan & Berlin in Miami, to fight the alleged phony cigar trade in South Florida.
U.S. and Cuban versions
Altadis, which is privately held, has revenues of more than $500 million annually, said company spokeswoman Janelle Rosenfeld. It sells primarily in the United States, but also exports cigars to distributors and retailers in Europe and Asia.
Its cigars are manufactured in the Dominican Republic and Honduras. Competitors include New York City-based General Cigar, which makes the U.S. versions of Macanudo, Partagas and Cohiba cigars.
Many of these brands previously were made in Cuba. But after Fidel Castro took power in 1959, a number of leading cigar makers fled to the United States. Meanwhile, the Cuban government continued producing cigars under the same brand name. So there is often a Cuban version and U.S. version of cigars with the same name.
General Cigar spokeswoman Victoria McKee agreed that South Florida is one of the “hot areas” for cigar counterfeiting.
South Florida is a center of cigar counterfeiting because they are quite popular — particularly among Hispanics — and because many people here understand the techniques of cigar making.
“Many worked in cigar industry before the Castro revolution and have knowledge and skills about cigars,” Herrmann said. “It would be hard to find someone in Wisconsin who could do this.”
Altadis’ lawyers maintain there is currently more cigar counterfeiting in South Florida than anywhere else in the country. In one single seizure recently at a Miami tobacco store, more than $500,000 worth of counterfeits were seized, Espinosa said.
And lucrative frauds generally proliferate. “There is a lot of copy-catting in this type of illegal activity,” Herrmann said.
But fake cigars aren’t high on the list of priorities for law enforcement.
Ed Griffith, a spokesman for Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, suggested that cigar counterfeiting is not a top priority for law enforcement authorities.
“The whole area of trademark counterfeiting has been a substantial concern and we have worked a number of cases on that,” Griffith said. “But that covers a broad area, from fake Louis Vuitton pocketbooks to counterfeit brand name jeans and CDs. Cigar counterfeiting is an area of concern but it is not as though we have a cigar task force.”
Yet, it appears that police are beginning to take notice of the illegal trade.
“This is something new we are coming up against,” said Miami-Dade Detective A. Ugarte, who headed the investigation that led to the Cuba Habanos USA raid in Hialeah last week. “This is the third or fourth raid this year. It is kind of opening up our eyes.”
Levels of counterfeiting
The cigar counterfeiting industry has a number of levels, Espinosa said. There are the printers of the fake cigar bands and labels that mimic the logo of well-known brands. There are individuals who sell the fake bands, labels and cigar boxes to cigar makers. And then there are cigar makers who market the bogus product. In some cases, there are financiers.
Espinosa declined to discuss the methods Altadis is employing to root out fraud. But he said legitimate cigar makers generally use private investigators, confidential informants and physically inspect tobacco products on store shelves to spot fakes. Once fraud is spotted, the company follows a two-pronged approach of assisting police and local prosecutors while also suing in civil court for trademark infringement.
In the Cuba Habanos USA case, after being tipped off by Altadis, Miami-Dade police detectives went to the Hialeah store on July 30 and purchased cigars that had bands and labels appearing to be authentic Romeo y Julieta cigars but were believed to be fakes. A search warrant was obtained and the raid was conducted August 7.
Rodolfo Morejon, the owner of the store who was arrested, has another store in Broward County and an Internet site through which he does most of his business, Ugarte said.
The Miami-Dade state attorney’s office has charged Morejon in Miami-Dade Circuit Court with organized fraud and vending counterfeit goods — which carry penalties of up to five years in prison. He currently is out on bond and his retail outlets and Internet site remain open for business, Ugarte said. Morejon could not be reached for comment.
Other cases pending
Last October, in another case involving Altadis cigars, three South Florida men were convicted of felony trademark counterfeiting in U.S. District Court in Miami. One of the three, Louis Ordonez, was found to have trafficked in bogus Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta cigars. The two others, Cesar Tellez and Jorge Guerra, were found guilty of supplying Ordonez with counterfeit packaging materials. Each was sentenced to 180 days in prison, 100 hours of community service and two years probation.
Also that month, Altidas filed a civil suit in U.S. District Court in Miami for trademark infringement against several South Florida companies and their owner. That case, before U.S District Judge Ursula Ungaro-Benages, is pending.
Next month, the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office is slated to try Margie Martinez and Nelson Mena in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on charges of selling counterfeit cigars, Griffith said.
In some of these cases, according to Altadis lawyers, defendants have argued that they were not copying Montecristo or Romeo y Julieta cigars made by U.S. companies. They argued they were instead copying the cigars of the same name produced by the Cuban government.
Thus far, however, that defense has not succeeded in court, he said
Monday, August 11, 2003
On the Record: Managing Your Sound Bites
August 11, 2003
Many leaders will be called upon to speak with the media. Are you ready when the lights go on and the microphone is in your face? Here are four secrets to making a compelling case.
August 11, 2003 Issue
Cheap, Fast, and In Control: How Tech Aids Innovation
Why Budgeting Kills Your Company
What Do YOU Think:
Are We Facing an Attitude Shortage?
by Gary Genard
In today's media-saturated environment, managers and other company personnel not normally considered spokespersons sometimes find it necessary to speak on the record. So it makes sense to be prepared. In fact, careful preparation spells the difference between an excruciating experience and one that lets your reputation, along with the credibility of your company, soar.
Whether you're being interviewed for a newspaper article, a radio talk show, or a television appearance, following this four-step, quick-study guide can make the interview a success.
Control the agenda
One of the most common mistakes made by executives interviewed in the media is that they allow themselves to remain in a responsive mode throughout the interview. This is virtually an invitation to failure. Allowing the interviewer to set the agenda of topics, to which you simply respond, is akin to playing defense all the time. It's far more profitable to play for the win, with a game plan to get you there.
To do that, you must control the agenda of the interview at all times. Interviewers can ask whatever questions they like—there simply isn't any rule that says you are required to answer those questions. During an interview, savvy interviewees know how to speak to issues of importance to stakeholders, while giving the impression that they are responding directly to the questions asked. Know ahead of time the three critical points you want to make in the interview and use your conversation with your interviewer to make them.
Speak in ways that create visual images in listeners’ minds.
In other words, advocate rather than respond, and answer topics, not questions. Learn how to "bridge" from the question you are asked to the response you want to give. It can help to think of the bridge as a pathway from the boggy terrain the interviewer has prepared for you to the firmer ground where you would like to stand.
In your practice sessions, have colleagues pose the questions you are hoping you won't be asked, then practice bridging to the points you want to make on those issues. The more skilled you become at bridging, the less related the question and answer will have to be, and the quicker you will be able to get to your safe haven. The best practitioners of this art are politicians and government spokespersons, and you can learn a lot from them. Here's a case in point.
In June of 2001, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was asked on Meet the Press about President Bush's decision to end live-fire training exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. Members of the president's own party were accusing him of playing politics with the decision. Rice was asked about this charge, and this is how she responded:
The secretary of the Navy, in a press conference about this, I think, made the case best. And let me just note that he said that effective training on Vieques is more and more difficult to do. He said that it is time to look for a feasible alternative, and the Navy will have time, in the time between now and 2003, to look for that feasible alternative.
If you slowly lead up to the point you want to make, the listener or viewer may never hear it at all.
Notice how Rice finesses the issue of live fire by hinting that the Navy was ready to find other alternatives. By focusing on the future, she effectively ends the discussion about playing politics now. Little time is spent on the "unsafe side of the bridge"—the interviewee's response immediately begins giving information consistent with her objective for the interview.
Use stories, visual images, and personal examples
Reporters and other media representatives need to make their interviews interesting for their readers, listeners, and viewers. You can help. In the process, of course, you'll be increasing three of your own critical "-abilities": Your likeability, credibility, and believability.
Claims and assertions made without evidence are, at best, only opinions. At worst, they may make the speaker come across as pontificating. Enliven your point of view—and enhance your credibility—with anecdotes, personal experiences, and statistics that prove your point (although you must remember to present the statistics in human terms). Speak in ways that create visual images in listeners' minds, using simple, concrete language and, where possible, similes, metaphors, and analogies.
Employing these techniques will not only humanize you, but they will also imbue you with both authority and interest. They will help your important points stay in people's minds by making those points memorable.
Like it or not, in the world of media, perception is stronger than reality.
Listen to these two spokespersons, both commenting in the New York Times on a snowstorm last February that blanketed the East Coast. The first is Paul V. Sullivan, the deputy commissioner of Buffalo's Street Sanitation Department. Sullivan manages snow removal for the city, and he was asked about Buffalo's reputation for being the butt of snow jokes. His response, incidentally, is a marvelous example of putting a positive spin on a negative situation for one's organization:
We do get snow, but we can handle it. A lot of people are negative about the snow. They say Buffalo is the snow capital of the world and that we lost four Super Bowls. But the snow can be a lot of fun.
That's much more memorable than typical bureaucratese, such as:
This city has 112 snowplows, and I'm confident that we do our job efficiently and well.
And here is Todd Miner, a meteorologist at Pennsylvania State University, a primary source of good weather data in the U.S.; because of Penn State's status in the weather world, its meteorologists often are asked to speak to the press. Miner grew up in Buffalo and recalled twenty-five-foot snowdrifts during a blizzard in 1977:
I was six years old, and we were off from school for two weeks. It completely shut the city down. Those images made the top of the national news, and people were seeing these pictures of two-story homes completely buried by snowdrifts. Johnny Carson came out with jokes that Buffalo still had snow in July.
Is it any wonder that particular quote made it into the article?
Reprinted with permission from “The Four Secrets to Delivering the Right Sound Bites,” Harvard Management Communication Letter, July 2003.
See the latest issue of Harvard Management Communication Letter.
Gary Genard is president of Genard & Associates, an Arlington, Mass.-based coaching and consulting film specializing in public speaking and media training. He can be reached at hmcl@hbsp.harvard.edu.
Related Stories in HBS Working Knowledge:
Getting the Media to Notice You
The Power of Posture
Making the Perfect Pitch to VCs
Loosen Up Your Communication Style
Related HBS departments:
Marketing
August 11, 2003
Many leaders will be called upon to speak with the media. Are you ready when the lights go on and the microphone is in your face? Here are four secrets to making a compelling case.
August 11, 2003 Issue
Cheap, Fast, and In Control: How Tech Aids Innovation
On the Record: Managing Your Sound Bites
Why Budgeting Kills Your Company
What Do YOU Think:
Are We Facing an Attitude Shortage?
by Gary Genard
In today's media-saturated environment, managers and other company personnel not normally considered spokespersons sometimes find it necessary to speak on the record. So it makes sense to be prepared. In fact, careful preparation spells the difference between an excruciating experience and one that lets your reputation, along with the credibility of your company, soar.
Whether you're being interviewed for a newspaper article, a radio talk show, or a television appearance, following this four-step, quick-study guide can make the interview a success.
Control the agenda
One of the most common mistakes made by executives interviewed in the media is that they allow themselves to remain in a responsive mode throughout the interview. This is virtually an invitation to failure. Allowing the interviewer to set the agenda of topics, to which you simply respond, is akin to playing defense all the time. It's far more profitable to play for the win, with a game plan to get you there.
To do that, you must control the agenda of the interview at all times. Interviewers can ask whatever questions they like—there simply isn't any rule that says you are required to answer those questions. During an interview, savvy interviewees know how to speak to issues of importance to stakeholders, while giving the impression that they are responding directly to the questions asked. Know ahead of time the three critical points you want to make in the interview and use your conversation with your interviewer to make them.
Speak in ways that create visual images in listeners’ minds.
In other words, advocate rather than respond, and answer topics, not questions. Learn how to "bridge" from the question you are asked to the response you want to give. It can help to think of the bridge as a pathway from the boggy terrain the interviewer has prepared for you to the firmer ground where you would like to stand.
In your practice sessions, have colleagues pose the questions you are hoping you won't be asked, then practice bridging to the points you want to make on those issues. The more skilled you become at bridging, the less related the question and answer will have to be, and the quicker you will be able to get to your safe haven. The best practitioners of this art are politicians and government spokespersons, and you can learn a lot from them. Here's a case in point.
In June of 2001, National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was asked on Meet the Press about President Bush's decision to end live-fire training exercises on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. Members of the president's own party were accusing him of playing politics with the decision. Rice was asked about this charge, and this is how she responded:
The secretary of the Navy, in a press conference about this, I think, made the case best. And let me just note that he said that effective training on Vieques is more and more difficult to do. He said that it is time to look for a feasible alternative, and the Navy will have time, in the time between now and 2003, to look for that feasible alternative.
If you slowly lead up to the point you want to make, the listener or viewer may never hear it at all.
Notice how Rice finesses the issue of live fire by hinting that the Navy was ready to find other alternatives. By focusing on the future, she effectively ends the discussion about playing politics now. Little time is spent on the "unsafe side of the bridge"—the interviewee's response immediately begins giving information consistent with her objective for the interview.
Use stories, visual images, and personal examples
Reporters and other media representatives need to make their interviews interesting for their readers, listeners, and viewers. You can help. In the process, of course, you'll be increasing three of your own critical "-abilities": Your likeability, credibility, and believability.
Claims and assertions made without evidence are, at best, only opinions. At worst, they may make the speaker come across as pontificating. Enliven your point of view—and enhance your credibility—with anecdotes, personal experiences, and statistics that prove your point (although you must remember to present the statistics in human terms). Speak in ways that create visual images in listeners' minds, using simple, concrete language and, where possible, similes, metaphors, and analogies.
Employing these techniques will not only humanize you, but they will also imbue you with both authority and interest. They will help your important points stay in people's minds by making those points memorable.
Like it or not, in the world of media, perception is stronger than reality.
Listen to these two spokespersons, both commenting in the New York Times on a snowstorm last February that blanketed the East Coast. The first is Paul V. Sullivan, the deputy commissioner of Buffalo's Street Sanitation Department. Sullivan manages snow removal for the city, and he was asked about Buffalo's reputation for being the butt of snow jokes. His response, incidentally, is a marvelous example of putting a positive spin on a negative situation for one's organization:
We do get snow, but we can handle it. A lot of people are negative about the snow. They say Buffalo is the snow capital of the world and that we lost four Super Bowls. But the snow can be a lot of fun.
That's much more memorable than typical bureaucratese, such as:
This city has 112 snowplows, and I'm confident that we do our job efficiently and well.
And here is Todd Miner, a meteorologist at Pennsylvania State University, a primary source of good weather data in the U.S.; because of Penn State's status in the weather world, its meteorologists often are asked to speak to the press. Miner grew up in Buffalo and recalled twenty-five-foot snowdrifts during a blizzard in 1977:
I was six years old, and we were off from school for two weeks. It completely shut the city down. Those images made the top of the national news, and people were seeing these pictures of two-story homes completely buried by snowdrifts. Johnny Carson came out with jokes that Buffalo still had snow in July.
Is it any wonder that particular quote made it into the article?
Reprinted with permission from “The Four Secrets to Delivering the Right Sound Bites,” Harvard Management Communication Letter, July 2003.
See the latest issue of Harvard Management Communication Letter.
Gary Genard is president of Genard & Associates, an Arlington, Mass.-based coaching and consulting film specializing in public speaking and media training. He can be reached at hmcl@hbsp.harvard.edu.
Related Stories in HBS Working Knowledge:
Getting the Media to Notice You
The Power of Posture
Making the Perfect Pitch to VCs
Loosen Up Your Communication Style
Related HBS departments:
Marketing
Saturday, August 09, 2003
In the Know
:A Slow Turning
Law firm Winston & Strawn turns to CRM for knowledge management, because who you know is as important as what you know.
Today's large, multinational law firm is the epitome of a knowledge organization. Lawyers, located in far-flung offices around the globe, specialize in various and often distinct practice areas ranging from litigation and antitrust to trades and estates and intellectual property.
Much of the knowledge they have acquired is tacit in nature, based on relationships with clients as much as on legal code. Yet even with different focus areas, lawyers within a large firm may have clients or other contacts such as expert witnesses in common. Identifying those common connections and making them readily available to its lawyers is something that Chicago-based firm Winston & Strawn is after with the implementation a CRM system from Interface Software.
With 900 lawyers and eight offices located in the United States and Europe, Winston & Strawn has plenty of relationships to uncover and mine. Traditionally, the firm's lawyers have relied on a hodgepodge of tools such as spreadsheets, e-mail and Word documents to track contacts and maintain client information, according to Mary Pickett, lead project engineer. "We always had client data available on an AS/400 or in an Excel spreadsheet or database, but it just wasn't consistent," Pickett says. Without a uniform knowledge base of client information, cross-selling, just to name one activity, was a challenge because lawyers in one practice area would often be unaware a prospective client was already working with Winston & Strawn lawyers in another practice area. Another problem with having pockets of information distributed throughout the firm was overlap. If six lawyers are working with a client, it makes economic sense (as well as good customer service and marketing practices) to send that client a single communication rather than six separate ones.
"Lawyers here have a fairly complex web of contacts," says Dave Hambourger, the firm's director of practice support. "One person here has to know what another person down the hall has or hasn't done in relation to a particular client." By implementing CRM software, Winston & Strawn is attempting to get a handle on who its attorneys know rather than what they know. The goal, says Hambourger has as much to do with client identification as it does with business development. "We want to exploit our networks across the firm and drive new business," he says.
Despite the worthy goals for the software, which enables lawyers to maintain their own contact information while supporting a centralized database of contacts, and even though Winston & Strawn has been using various iterations of Interface's product for several years, only about 10 percent of the firm's lawyers currently use the system. By design, says Hambourger, the rollout is gradual, relying on word of mouth among lawyers within the same practice group. Pickett concedes that many lawyers are reluctant to embrace the software because they don't have any personal issues with the way they've been maintaining their own contact information.
It's certainly not unusual for knowledge workers such as lawyers to cling to their own tried and true ways of doing things. So while Winston & Strawn's laissez-faire approach may not be the fastest path to achieving seamless client contact information, chances are it's the most practical way of gaining acceptance among the lawyers. In a perfect world, it would be great to mandate productivity—enhancing KM tools, but invariably such a heavy-handed approach will fail.
Opinion Editor Megan Santosus can be reached at santosus@cio.com.
Friday, August 08, 2003
Order Reprints Print
The Courts
A fine(s) mess
Cities face prospect of paying $200-plus to have courts help collect $50 fine
August 08, 2003 By: Tony Doris
Edward Fine
Photo by
Fred Mullane
he ability of Florida’s cities to enforce their local ordinances in the courts may be severely hindered by a new state law that requires them to pay the bills for prosecuting drunks, zoning violators and even graffiti artists.
A $200 courthouse filing fee and requirements that cities pay for attorneys’ fees are among the provisions that cities across the state insist will threaten their access to the courts as they seek to enforce some of their most common ordinances.
Thus, a city seeking to fine a drunken bar patron $50 for public intoxication might well face a bill for the $200 filing fee, as well as additional costs for a special prosecutor and even a public defender for indigents.
“The law as written would have a devastating effect on the way municipalities enforce their ordinances,” said Keith Poliakoff, a lawyer with Becker & Poliakoff in Fort Lauderdale.
Currently, the counties pick up much of the costs for the statewide court system. Under a massive restructuring to be fully implemented next year, the state would take most of the bills but would levy a series of fees on counties and cities to cover its added financial burden.
County officials in South Florida say the legislative rebalancing act — an effort to apportion costs as mandated by a 1998 revision in Florida’s constitution — also threatens to hurt them. They say it may spell the end of innovative programs designed to reduce crime and take pressure off the court system. The impact, they say, would be especially severe in South Florida’s fast-growing urban counties, which rely on teen courts and other pro-active programs more heavily than rural counterparts elsewhere in the state.
At issue are provisions in HB113A, a 208-page bill approved overwhelmingly by the state House and Senate on May 27 and signed into law by Gov. Bush on June 25. The state, while picking up the cost of what the Legislature considers core functions of the court system, is offsetting that burden through increased fees and by leaving it to the counties to pay for what it considers nonessential programs.
Sponsors say they intended the bill, a massive restructuring of finances of the judicial branch, to be “a wash,” in which Florida’s 67 counties get back as much in savings as the state charges through fees and other measures for taking over financial responsibilities that previously fell to the counties. The sponsors say that in any undertaking this ambitious, glitches are bound to arise and that they’re open to rewriting problematic sections to head off any undue hardship before the provisions take effect on July 1, 2004.
But South Florida officials and lawyers who represent them say it’s not clear a balance has been struck or that quick fixes are inevitable. They’re lobbying, through the Florida League of Cities and Florida Association of Counties, to undo what they see as provisions that put an unfair burden on local taxpayers.
“Right now, as it stands, July 1, 2004, that law goes into effect,” said Poliakoff, who serves as deputy town attorney for Southwest Ranches in Broward County.
Kenneth C. Hebert, Orlando city prosecutor, estimates that the $200 per case fee would cost Orlando $300,000 a year to seek $88,000 in fines.
“Is a city going to pay a $200 fee for something it might get $30 for?” asked Doug Gonzales, an associate at Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Guedes Cole & Boniske in Fort Lauderdale, who serves as prosecutor for Weston.
He noted that the $200 comes in addition to new expenses, such as a city having to hire a full-time prosecutor, and having to pay for a public defender for indigent defendants that face jail time. And when a court awards a city a fine, the court first takes out a series of fees before handing what’s left back to the city, Gonzales added. From citations for parking in handicapped-only zones to loitering and public consumption of alcohol, he said, “it will have a horrible effect on the enforcement of code.”
Cities can pass the extra fees and charges on to guilty defendants, but that’s unrealistic, Gonzales said. In practical terms, he said, many defendants won’t pay, or won’t be able to, putting the burden back on the city. “They just walk out of the courthouse.”
The changes stem from the Legislature’s effort to implement Revision 7 to Article V of the Florida Constitution, as approved by voters in November 1998. The idea was to have the state take overall financial responsibility for its court system, absorbing as much as $320 million in annual court costs. The implementation has been taking place gradually, through a series of laws passed in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, as the final 2004 deadline approaches.
Sen. Rod Smith, a Democrat from Gainesville, chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Article V Implementation and Judiciary. He said he’s proud that, considering the amount of ground that this year’s bill covered, criticisms have been small and the problems cited appear to be fixable, from the $200 fee to teen court funding.
But he cautioned that the money has to come from somewhere and said that voters never intended Revision 7 as a windfall for counties. As he traveled the state seeking input on the bill in recent months, he said, some county officials had in their minds that the state was going to take over court system expenses but continue paying the counties the same amount of money they’d been getting. My answer was, ‘We’re not going to take away the debt from you and send the money back to you. State taxpayers hope I’m smarter than that.’ ”
“We didn’t hear from the Florida League of Cities during the course of the session,” said Rep. Holly Benson, a Pensacola Republican who sponsored the bill in the House. She added that she’s meeting with representatives of the city and county statewide associations this week to talk about alternatives to fees and other concerns.
Some question whether the fees are being dumped on cities by state lawmakers unwilling to take responsibility for needed services. “It’s another way of increasing taxes by a Republican, conservative Legislature, disguised as a fee,” Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez said in an interview Tuesday.
But sponsors like Benson and Smith deny that party politics played a role in enacting the bill, which passed by a vote of 110-6 in the House and 40-0 in the Senate, in May.
“Really, what we were looking for in the way we structured the reorganization in the Legislature was a way to make sure funding responsibilities were allocated logically between the state, counties and system users,” Benson said. “In the rush to get through a 60-day session, there are going to be things you don’t anticipate. Our staffs are working together to compile a list of these questions, to make sure next year’s bill fills in some of these gaps.”
It’s the conciliatory sentiment of Smith, Benson and other sponsors, and the year-off effective date, that have representatives of the associations of Florida cities and counties sounding concerned rather than alarmed thus far.
The Florida League of Cities is in the process of informing its members about the potential impact and soliciting input. The league has been sending out a three-page analysis by Orlando prosecutor Hebert. In addition to the ramifications of the $200 fee, the analysis points out provisions that would prohibit cities from hiring state attorney’s offices to handle municipal prosecutions. In cases where alleged city code violators are indigent, the cities will have to pick up the cost of private defense counsel to serve as public defenders.
“I guess you’re going to have to get your own municipal court system,” Hebert concluded in an interview. “It appears as though, from a larger perspective, that the Legislature is going backward,” he added. “We used to say, ‘All these multiple court systems are not good, not economical, there’s a different kind of justice being done in different kinds of courts, so why not put all this together under one court system?’ ”
As a result of those concerns, the Legislature moved toward a statewide court system, he said. “We did well under that system for 20 years now. The Legislature is in effect dismantling that system, because it’s saying, ‘Cities can no longer use the state attorney and public defender, and if you want to use the court system you’re going to have to pay $200 a case.’ ”
What he’s referring to is a move by the Legislature in the early 1970s that replaced a hodgepodge of local courts, with state courts. “The state system came into place, but state funding did not,” said John Ricco, lobbyist for the Florida Association of Counties in Tallahassee. By the mid-’80s, he added, the counties were funding more of the costs of the state system than the state.
Sen. Smith, for his part, said Hebert “raises a good point” and that his subcommittee will have to restudy the issue of allowing cities and counties to contract with state attorneys for code enforcement.
Broward County, for one, would have to stop contracting with the state attorney’s office to prosecute county ordinance violations. The most common violations they currently handle for Broward: drinking near a licensed establishment, such as in a bar parking lot; disorderly conduct, particularly in buses or bus terminals; and operating a commercial vehicle without descriptive lettering.
Under the new rules, Broward would have to hire its own prosecutor and not use the state attorney, said Monica Hofheinz, assistant state attorney and executive director of the Broward state attorney’s office. There could be a constitutional problem with that, she said: The state constitution doesn’t say anything about counties having a right to employ their own prosecuting attorneys, though cities can. “This is one of the reasons why we’ve absorbed this function” for the county, she said. “I think this is a simple correction.”
Other looming problems cause greater concern for county officials. The Article V revisions threaten the loss of effective, innovative programs, said veteran Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer.
Krischer said the potentially rocky transition is a major reason he has decided to run for one more term. He said he didn’t want there to be a transition in the state attorney’s office at the same time as a transition in funding.
The constitutional amendment that instructed the state to take over the court system didn’t specify that funding levels should remain unchanged, he said. “The end result is, the state, with all due respect, is trying to do it on the cheap and they’re not expending the same dollars that the counties are.”
Accurate dollar figures are hard to come by, as far as how much financial burden the state is lifting from counties for court system operations, and how much it’s adding back in fees and reductions in revenue sharing. Rep. Benson noted that HB113A calls for a comprehensive, six-month-long audit of court costs around the state, to ensure a fair restructuring. That audit is in the works, she said.
But South Florida county officials say that several progressive programs they’ve implemented in recent years will be left without state funding, because they go beyond what the state considers essential court services. Palm Beach County, for example could come out as much as $3 million short for such local option programs, said Chief Judge Edward Fine. “It’s like ordering a car with no equipment,” he said. “You want to add anything, you have to pay for it yourself.”
Among these programs: the county has a Teen Court, which keeps many from going to harsher Juvenile Court. The program was funded by a $3 charge tacked on to all traffic tickets in the county; now that money will go toward funding court clerks’ offices instead.
The county also has a drug court, which also is like a “pre-court,” as Fine describes it; it lowers the repeater rate and seeks to help people with drug problems without their having to be dragged into Juvenile Court. Another court-system program, called Tips, picks up truant high school students and takes them to a central location where school authorities can get them. The program enforces truancy laws, keeps kids in school and keeps the crime rate down by preventing daytime burglaries, Judge Fine said.
Shortfalls in state funding put pressure on these programs and throughout the system, he said. Palm Beach has 51 judges, about 10 fewer than it needs. As the county grows, without diversion programs the county will need more prosecutors and more judges, he said. When push comes to shove, busy civil court judges must be shifted to cover the heavier criminal load instead, causing the civil system to bog down, Fine said.
Karen Marcus, chair of the Palm Beach County Commission and a past chair of the Florida Association of Counties, said her county and the association intends to press its legislators to roll back the $200 fees and get funding for important programs. Past efforts didn’t help, she said. “We tried to express to them [the bill sponsors], when they wanted to take away Teen Court programs, that they really needed the programs because they helped the state in the long run to not have to hire judges. They see it as a frill.”
Tony Doris can be reached at tdoris@floridabiz.com or at (305) 347-6657.
Back To:
Today's top stories.
More business stories.
More legal stories.
American Lawyer Media, Inc. takes copyright infringement seriously. YOU MAY NOT DISTRIBUTE THIS STORY, ELECTRONIC OR OTHERWISE, WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION. You may print or purchase this story from our archives for your personal use only. In order to obtain reprint permission rights, please contact Sue Viera at 305-347-6621 or 800-777-7300 ext. 6621. If you need a subscription, please call 1--877-347-6682.
The Courts
A fine(s) mess
Cities face prospect of paying $200-plus to have courts help collect $50 fine
August 08, 2003 By: Tony Doris
Edward Fine
Photo by
Fred Mullane
he ability of Florida’s cities to enforce their local ordinances in the courts may be severely hindered by a new state law that requires them to pay the bills for prosecuting drunks, zoning violators and even graffiti artists.
A $200 courthouse filing fee and requirements that cities pay for attorneys’ fees are among the provisions that cities across the state insist will threaten their access to the courts as they seek to enforce some of their most common ordinances.
Thus, a city seeking to fine a drunken bar patron $50 for public intoxication might well face a bill for the $200 filing fee, as well as additional costs for a special prosecutor and even a public defender for indigents.
“The law as written would have a devastating effect on the way municipalities enforce their ordinances,” said Keith Poliakoff, a lawyer with Becker & Poliakoff in Fort Lauderdale.
Currently, the counties pick up much of the costs for the statewide court system. Under a massive restructuring to be fully implemented next year, the state would take most of the bills but would levy a series of fees on counties and cities to cover its added financial burden.
County officials in South Florida say the legislative rebalancing act — an effort to apportion costs as mandated by a 1998 revision in Florida’s constitution — also threatens to hurt them. They say it may spell the end of innovative programs designed to reduce crime and take pressure off the court system. The impact, they say, would be especially severe in South Florida’s fast-growing urban counties, which rely on teen courts and other pro-active programs more heavily than rural counterparts elsewhere in the state.
At issue are provisions in HB113A, a 208-page bill approved overwhelmingly by the state House and Senate on May 27 and signed into law by Gov. Bush on June 25. The state, while picking up the cost of what the Legislature considers core functions of the court system, is offsetting that burden through increased fees and by leaving it to the counties to pay for what it considers nonessential programs.
Sponsors say they intended the bill, a massive restructuring of finances of the judicial branch, to be “a wash,” in which Florida’s 67 counties get back as much in savings as the state charges through fees and other measures for taking over financial responsibilities that previously fell to the counties. The sponsors say that in any undertaking this ambitious, glitches are bound to arise and that they’re open to rewriting problematic sections to head off any undue hardship before the provisions take effect on July 1, 2004.
But South Florida officials and lawyers who represent them say it’s not clear a balance has been struck or that quick fixes are inevitable. They’re lobbying, through the Florida League of Cities and Florida Association of Counties, to undo what they see as provisions that put an unfair burden on local taxpayers.
“Right now, as it stands, July 1, 2004, that law goes into effect,” said Poliakoff, who serves as deputy town attorney for Southwest Ranches in Broward County.
Kenneth C. Hebert, Orlando city prosecutor, estimates that the $200 per case fee would cost Orlando $300,000 a year to seek $88,000 in fines.
“Is a city going to pay a $200 fee for something it might get $30 for?” asked Doug Gonzales, an associate at Weiss Serota Helfman Pastoriza Guedes Cole & Boniske in Fort Lauderdale, who serves as prosecutor for Weston.
He noted that the $200 comes in addition to new expenses, such as a city having to hire a full-time prosecutor, and having to pay for a public defender for indigent defendants that face jail time. And when a court awards a city a fine, the court first takes out a series of fees before handing what’s left back to the city, Gonzales added. From citations for parking in handicapped-only zones to loitering and public consumption of alcohol, he said, “it will have a horrible effect on the enforcement of code.”
Cities can pass the extra fees and charges on to guilty defendants, but that’s unrealistic, Gonzales said. In practical terms, he said, many defendants won’t pay, or won’t be able to, putting the burden back on the city. “They just walk out of the courthouse.”
The changes stem from the Legislature’s effort to implement Revision 7 to Article V of the Florida Constitution, as approved by voters in November 1998. The idea was to have the state take overall financial responsibility for its court system, absorbing as much as $320 million in annual court costs. The implementation has been taking place gradually, through a series of laws passed in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, as the final 2004 deadline approaches.
Sen. Rod Smith, a Democrat from Gainesville, chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Article V Implementation and Judiciary. He said he’s proud that, considering the amount of ground that this year’s bill covered, criticisms have been small and the problems cited appear to be fixable, from the $200 fee to teen court funding.
But he cautioned that the money has to come from somewhere and said that voters never intended Revision 7 as a windfall for counties. As he traveled the state seeking input on the bill in recent months, he said, some county officials had in their minds that the state was going to take over court system expenses but continue paying the counties the same amount of money they’d been getting. My answer was, ‘We’re not going to take away the debt from you and send the money back to you. State taxpayers hope I’m smarter than that.’ ”
“We didn’t hear from the Florida League of Cities during the course of the session,” said Rep. Holly Benson, a Pensacola Republican who sponsored the bill in the House. She added that she’s meeting with representatives of the city and county statewide associations this week to talk about alternatives to fees and other concerns.
Some question whether the fees are being dumped on cities by state lawmakers unwilling to take responsibility for needed services. “It’s another way of increasing taxes by a Republican, conservative Legislature, disguised as a fee,” Hialeah Mayor Raul Martinez said in an interview Tuesday.
But sponsors like Benson and Smith deny that party politics played a role in enacting the bill, which passed by a vote of 110-6 in the House and 40-0 in the Senate, in May.
“Really, what we were looking for in the way we structured the reorganization in the Legislature was a way to make sure funding responsibilities were allocated logically between the state, counties and system users,” Benson said. “In the rush to get through a 60-day session, there are going to be things you don’t anticipate. Our staffs are working together to compile a list of these questions, to make sure next year’s bill fills in some of these gaps.”
It’s the conciliatory sentiment of Smith, Benson and other sponsors, and the year-off effective date, that have representatives of the associations of Florida cities and counties sounding concerned rather than alarmed thus far.
The Florida League of Cities is in the process of informing its members about the potential impact and soliciting input. The league has been sending out a three-page analysis by Orlando prosecutor Hebert. In addition to the ramifications of the $200 fee, the analysis points out provisions that would prohibit cities from hiring state attorney’s offices to handle municipal prosecutions. In cases where alleged city code violators are indigent, the cities will have to pick up the cost of private defense counsel to serve as public defenders.
“I guess you’re going to have to get your own municipal court system,” Hebert concluded in an interview. “It appears as though, from a larger perspective, that the Legislature is going backward,” he added. “We used to say, ‘All these multiple court systems are not good, not economical, there’s a different kind of justice being done in different kinds of courts, so why not put all this together under one court system?’ ”
As a result of those concerns, the Legislature moved toward a statewide court system, he said. “We did well under that system for 20 years now. The Legislature is in effect dismantling that system, because it’s saying, ‘Cities can no longer use the state attorney and public defender, and if you want to use the court system you’re going to have to pay $200 a case.’ ”
What he’s referring to is a move by the Legislature in the early 1970s that replaced a hodgepodge of local courts, with state courts. “The state system came into place, but state funding did not,” said John Ricco, lobbyist for the Florida Association of Counties in Tallahassee. By the mid-’80s, he added, the counties were funding more of the costs of the state system than the state.
Sen. Smith, for his part, said Hebert “raises a good point” and that his subcommittee will have to restudy the issue of allowing cities and counties to contract with state attorneys for code enforcement.
Broward County, for one, would have to stop contracting with the state attorney’s office to prosecute county ordinance violations. The most common violations they currently handle for Broward: drinking near a licensed establishment, such as in a bar parking lot; disorderly conduct, particularly in buses or bus terminals; and operating a commercial vehicle without descriptive lettering.
Under the new rules, Broward would have to hire its own prosecutor and not use the state attorney, said Monica Hofheinz, assistant state attorney and executive director of the Broward state attorney’s office. There could be a constitutional problem with that, she said: The state constitution doesn’t say anything about counties having a right to employ their own prosecuting attorneys, though cities can. “This is one of the reasons why we’ve absorbed this function” for the county, she said. “I think this is a simple correction.”
Other looming problems cause greater concern for county officials. The Article V revisions threaten the loss of effective, innovative programs, said veteran Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer.
Krischer said the potentially rocky transition is a major reason he has decided to run for one more term. He said he didn’t want there to be a transition in the state attorney’s office at the same time as a transition in funding.
The constitutional amendment that instructed the state to take over the court system didn’t specify that funding levels should remain unchanged, he said. “The end result is, the state, with all due respect, is trying to do it on the cheap and they’re not expending the same dollars that the counties are.”
Accurate dollar figures are hard to come by, as far as how much financial burden the state is lifting from counties for court system operations, and how much it’s adding back in fees and reductions in revenue sharing. Rep. Benson noted that HB113A calls for a comprehensive, six-month-long audit of court costs around the state, to ensure a fair restructuring. That audit is in the works, she said.
But South Florida county officials say that several progressive programs they’ve implemented in recent years will be left without state funding, because they go beyond what the state considers essential court services. Palm Beach County, for example could come out as much as $3 million short for such local option programs, said Chief Judge Edward Fine. “It’s like ordering a car with no equipment,” he said. “You want to add anything, you have to pay for it yourself.”
Among these programs: the county has a Teen Court, which keeps many from going to harsher Juvenile Court. The program was funded by a $3 charge tacked on to all traffic tickets in the county; now that money will go toward funding court clerks’ offices instead.
The county also has a drug court, which also is like a “pre-court,” as Fine describes it; it lowers the repeater rate and seeks to help people with drug problems without their having to be dragged into Juvenile Court. Another court-system program, called Tips, picks up truant high school students and takes them to a central location where school authorities can get them. The program enforces truancy laws, keeps kids in school and keeps the crime rate down by preventing daytime burglaries, Judge Fine said.
Shortfalls in state funding put pressure on these programs and throughout the system, he said. Palm Beach has 51 judges, about 10 fewer than it needs. As the county grows, without diversion programs the county will need more prosecutors and more judges, he said. When push comes to shove, busy civil court judges must be shifted to cover the heavier criminal load instead, causing the civil system to bog down, Fine said.
Karen Marcus, chair of the Palm Beach County Commission and a past chair of the Florida Association of Counties, said her county and the association intends to press its legislators to roll back the $200 fees and get funding for important programs. Past efforts didn’t help, she said. “We tried to express to them [the bill sponsors], when they wanted to take away Teen Court programs, that they really needed the programs because they helped the state in the long run to not have to hire judges. They see it as a frill.”
Tony Doris can be reached at tdoris@floridabiz.com or at (305) 347-6657.
Back To:
Today's top stories.
More business stories.
More legal stories.
American Lawyer Media, Inc. takes copyright infringement seriously. YOU MAY NOT DISTRIBUTE THIS STORY, ELECTRONIC OR OTHERWISE, WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION. You may print or purchase this story from our archives for your personal use only. In order to obtain reprint permission rights, please contact Sue Viera at 305-347-6621 or 800-777-7300 ext. 6621. If you need a subscription, please call 1--877-347-6682.
From the National Journal online edition:
Reviews
This Week: The Politics Of Personal Protection
This Week's Picks
Archives · Events
Literary Links
Books By NJG Authors
Search Archives
Welcome to NationalJournal.com's Reviews section -- a growing guide to the books, studies and other information that so often overload political professionals.
Central to the section is The Well-Read Wonk, a weekly review of books worth reading (or at least worth keeping close at hand). This is not a source for literary criticism (although you can find links to that sort of thing below). Instead, the focus is on the information itself. The books featured below offer history, analysis and plain old data that can help readers do their job -- and look smarter in the process.
Also available is a constantly updated guide to book-related events in Washington, as well as an at-a-glance guide to the many titles out there that were penned by National Journal Group authors. And there's more to come; look for additional abstracts, analysis and reviews in the near future. If you have questions or comments, please let us know at books@nationaljournal.com
The Well-Read Wonk: This Week's Picks
Click cover to read review.
Since Sept. 11, the issue of national security has dominated the political dialogue. But what about the smaller, yet still important, issues of local policing and personal protection? In "The Politics of Community Policing," William Lyons refutes the notion that community-police partnerships work for the benefit of all, while John R. Lott Jr. argues in "The Bias Against Guns" that relaxed firearm laws will make for a safer society.
Looking for more on this topic? Click here for additional reviews from the Well-Read Wonk archives, or use our subject-specific searches.
Book Events Around Town
NationalJournal.com's Daybook keeps track of area book readings, signings, lectures and other events. Click here for a rundown of this week's happenings.
Literary Links
The following is a (very) abridged list of other sites on the Web that offer regular reviews of books relevant to official Washington:
The Atlantic Monthly
Foreign Affairs
National Journal
The New Republic
New York Review of Books
The New York Times
The New Yorker
Salon
Slate
The Washington Post
641847gtlaw
Need A Reprint Of This Review?
National Journal Group offers both print and electronic reprint services, as well as permissions for academic use, photocopying and republication. Click here to order, or call us at 202-266-7230.
Reviews
This Week: The Politics Of Personal Protection
This Week's Picks
Archives · Events
Literary Links
Books By NJG Authors
Search Archives
Welcome to NationalJournal.com's Reviews section -- a growing guide to the books, studies and other information that so often overload political professionals.
Central to the section is The Well-Read Wonk, a weekly review of books worth reading (or at least worth keeping close at hand). This is not a source for literary criticism (although you can find links to that sort of thing below). Instead, the focus is on the information itself. The books featured below offer history, analysis and plain old data that can help readers do their job -- and look smarter in the process.
Also available is a constantly updated guide to book-related events in Washington, as well as an at-a-glance guide to the many titles out there that were penned by National Journal Group authors. And there's more to come; look for additional abstracts, analysis and reviews in the near future. If you have questions or comments, please let us know at books@nationaljournal.com
The Well-Read Wonk: This Week's Picks
Click cover to read review.
Since Sept. 11, the issue of national security has dominated the political dialogue. But what about the smaller, yet still important, issues of local policing and personal protection? In "The Politics of Community Policing," William Lyons refutes the notion that community-police partnerships work for the benefit of all, while John R. Lott Jr. argues in "The Bias Against Guns" that relaxed firearm laws will make for a safer society.
Looking for more on this topic? Click here for additional reviews from the Well-Read Wonk archives, or use our subject-specific searches.
Book Events Around Town
NationalJournal.com's Daybook keeps track of area book readings, signings, lectures and other events. Click here for a rundown of this week's happenings.
Literary Links
The following is a (very) abridged list of other sites on the Web that offer regular reviews of books relevant to official Washington:
The Atlantic Monthly
Foreign Affairs
National Journal
The New Republic
New York Review of Books
The New York Times
The New Yorker
Salon
Slate
The Washington Post
641847gtlaw
Need A Reprint Of This Review?
National Journal Group offers both print and electronic reprint services, as well as permissions for academic use, photocopying and republication. Click here to order, or call us at 202-266-7230.
legislative history
Some files of this sort are not so widely available. In Virginia, "legislative draft files" prepared by staff members who draft bills are available in the Division of Legislative Services library but have not been published or microfilmed. Files for bills introduced since 1989 are open to inspection, but earlier files can be seen only with the permission of the bill's sponsor. If the sponsor has died, the files are permanently closed. There are no files before 1960, and those for 1980-81 were accidentally discarded.
Some files of this sort are not so widely available. In Virginia, "legislative draft files" prepared by staff members who draft bills are available in the Division of Legislative Services library but have not been published or microfilmed. Files for bills introduced since 1989 are open to inspection, but earlier files can be seen only with the permission of the bill's sponsor. If the sponsor has died, the files are permanently closed. There are no files before 1960, and those for 1980-81 were accidentally discarded.
Hotline Weekly (08/07/2003)
Thursday, Aug. 7, 2003
But Can He Win?
Celebrity candidates fall into two groups -- one includes Ronald Reagan and Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the other is composed of folks like Nolan Ryan and Richard Petty. The former were more successful than imagined, and the latter were spectacular disappointments. So where will Arnold Schwarzenegger wind up?
-- Is He Reagan? We'll learn a lot about Schwarzenegger's political potential when he decides to campaign. Does he do it via press releases of tired cliches and TV shows, or does he do a Hillary-style listening tour and blanket the press with position papers? What about debates? No doubt this election is more appealing to Schwarzenegger because he probably won't have to debate.
-- Or Is He Petty? Could Schwarzenegger's candidacy and celebrity actually overwhelm the more important issue on the ballot -- recalling Gray Davis? If the actor does overshadow everything and everyone else, it could be the best thing to happen to Davis, who always seems to do his best in elections when he's not the focus. Then again, Schwarzenegger could follow the Ventura model and expand the electorate to a size that's impossible for Davis to overcome. (#22)
---------
Governor 2003
22 CALIFORNIA: Just Try To Keep This All Straight
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
More On This Race
[ Polls | Ads | Candidates | Almanac ]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) "jumped into his most demanding role ever" on Wednesday, telling "The Tonight Show" host Jay Leno "and a nationwide audience" that he will be on the ballot for the Oct. 7 recall election of Gov. Gray Davis (D). Schwarzenegger "made his announcement in true Hollywood fashion, joking with Leno, poking fun at himself, then dropping a bombshell that stunned even his close associates."
But if the "setup was relaxed, the message was deadly serious." Schwarzenegger: "The politicians are fiddling, fumbling and failing. The man that is failing the people more than anyone else is Gray Davis. He is failing them terribly, and this is why he needs to be recalled, and this is why I'm going to run for governor."
Schwarzenegger "declined to say when he had made the decision, only that it had been a very long and difficult process," one that "finally came down to discussions" with his wife, Maria Shriver.
"If she had been against me campaigning and me going for the governorship, I would not have done it," Schwarzenegger said (San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 7).
Riordan Jilted -- But Still Might Run
"Among the many Californians amazed" at Schwarzenegger's decision "was the actor's Brentwood neighbor and friend," former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan (R). Riordan was "stunned" when he learned from a TV newscast that Schwarzenegger would run. As of Wednesday morning, Riordan "had spoken to Schwarzenegger and gotten no inkling that the movie hero was about to announce his first run for public office." The two "had been saying for weeks that they were working closely together and that only one would enter the race for governor."
Said one Riordan aide, "So this is what it feels like to be mugged." The aide said Riordan "might still decide to enter the race" (Los Angeles Times, Aug. 7).
Democrats Nervous? What Gives You That Impression?
There was no official reaction to Schwarzenegger's announcement from the Democratic National Committee's headquarters in Washington. But one top Democratic aide on Capitol Hill said: "Everyone will be focused on this. Just like Clinton and impeachment, this will suck the oxygen out of everything else" (San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 7).
Big Court Day
The California Supreme Court has announced "that it will act on all five cases pending on the recall before the close of business" today. Specifically, Court spokeswoman Lynn Holton said that "the court will issue orders either denying review or taking up the cases. If the court decides to take up one or more of the cases, the justices will call for additional briefings and hold oral arguments before issuing an opinion" (California Insider blog, Aug. 6).
Davis filed suit with the California Supreme Court on Monday, making "three separate requests: stop the process of preparing for" a Oct. 7 recall vote "while the state court reviews the constitutional issues, reset that vote" for March 2 and "strike down the existing procedures as a violation of equal voting principles and as a violation of the Constitution's guarantee that each state will have a representative government" (Boston Globe, Aug. 5).
Davis claims that "holding the election just five months before" the state's presidential primary "would violate his rights and disenfranchise many voters" because "some counties wouldn't have time to comply with current court orders to replace error-prone voting machines." This argument is "a variation of one used successfully" by then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R) in 2000's Bush vs. Gore. Davis also wants "to give voters the option of choosing him as his own successor" (AP, Aug. 5).
Here Comes An "Establishment" Dem
Late Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D), announced that he will be "taking out candidacy papers" today. Bustamante is "abandoning what had sounded like an unequivocal pledge" in June "not to get into the race." He said then: "I will not participate in any other way than to urge voter to reject this expensive perversion of the recall process... I do not intend to put my name on the ballot" (AP, Aug. 6).
Darling Of The Left Takes On The Field
Calling herself an "independent progressive," columnist Arianna Huffington launched her campaign for governor on Wednesday. Huffington "has walked a road of political bombast and prolific self-promotion that has taken her from conservative firebrand to the unlikely champion of the left." The "53-year-old Greek immigrant has no political experience and only offered a glimpse of her plans to free" California "from its economic quagmire." She "pledged to close corporate tax loopholes and roll back tuition increases at state universities and community colleges" (Los Angeles Times, Aug. 7).
Flynt To Hustle For California State House
Porn king Larry Flynt (D) "wants to rule California." Flynt, a "civil libertarian and free speech advocate," said he would solve the state's "budget woes by expanding slot machine gambling."
"California is the most progressive state in the union," Flynt said. "I don't think anyone here will have a problem with a smut peddler as governor" (AP, Aug. 1).
Seems Like Everyone's Running...
Silicon valley entrepreneur Stuart Vance launched a campaign Sunday at www.run-for-governor.org "to derail the recall by encouraging as many Californians as possible to run for governor." Vance describes it as a "denial-of-service attack on the recall," aiming to "overwhelm election officials with up to 1,000 names. That could exceed the number that fits on the ballots and force" the election to be delayed.
Vance criticized Rep. Darrell Issa's (R) $1.7 million contribution to the recall effort, calling it "a corruption of the democratic process."
"I want to tell the Darrell Issas of the world that if they twist the system for their purposes, we the people will untwist it to stop them" (San Jose Mercury News, Aug. 4).
... Except Feinstein
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) announced Wednesday that she will not be a candidate in the recall. "After thinking a great deal about this recall, its implications for the future, and its misguided nature, I have decided that I will not place my name on the ballot," Feinstein said in a statement that also urged voters to vote against the recall (release, Aug. 6).
Don't Make Us Endorse Republicans, You Hear?
Davis got a boost Tuesday from California's AFL-CIO on Tuesday with the release of a three-paragraph letter to elected Democrats "urging them not to run" in the recall. From the letter: "We are united against the recall of Gov. Davis and urge all potential Democratic candidates to stay off the recall ballot and join with us in support of the governor.... United we will defeat this ultraconservative coup attempt" (AP, Aug. 5).
Also Tuesday, at the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting in Chicago, members unanimously "vowed to mobilize" California members "and seek contributions from individual unions" but "stopped short of pledging money to Davis" themselves (Contra Costa Times, Aug. 6). On Monday, Davis had asked the union leaders at the organization's national meeting to pledge $10 million to his campaign, half of the $20 million "he told them he would need to fight the recall" (Los Angeles Times, Aug. 5).
Thursday, Aug. 7, 2003
But Can He Win?
Celebrity candidates fall into two groups -- one includes Ronald Reagan and Hillary Rodham Clinton, and the other is composed of folks like Nolan Ryan and Richard Petty. The former were more successful than imagined, and the latter were spectacular disappointments. So where will Arnold Schwarzenegger wind up?
-- Is He Reagan? We'll learn a lot about Schwarzenegger's political potential when he decides to campaign. Does he do it via press releases of tired cliches and TV shows, or does he do a Hillary-style listening tour and blanket the press with position papers? What about debates? No doubt this election is more appealing to Schwarzenegger because he probably won't have to debate.
-- Or Is He Petty? Could Schwarzenegger's candidacy and celebrity actually overwhelm the more important issue on the ballot -- recalling Gray Davis? If the actor does overshadow everything and everyone else, it could be the best thing to happen to Davis, who always seems to do his best in elections when he's not the focus. Then again, Schwarzenegger could follow the Ventura model and expand the electorate to a size that's impossible for Davis to overcome. (#22)
---------
Governor 2003
22 CALIFORNIA: Just Try To Keep This All Straight
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[ Polls | Ads | Candidates | Almanac ]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) "jumped into his most demanding role ever" on Wednesday, telling "The Tonight Show" host Jay Leno "and a nationwide audience" that he will be on the ballot for the Oct. 7 recall election of Gov. Gray Davis (D). Schwarzenegger "made his announcement in true Hollywood fashion, joking with Leno, poking fun at himself, then dropping a bombshell that stunned even his close associates."
But if the "setup was relaxed, the message was deadly serious." Schwarzenegger: "The politicians are fiddling, fumbling and failing. The man that is failing the people more than anyone else is Gray Davis. He is failing them terribly, and this is why he needs to be recalled, and this is why I'm going to run for governor."
Schwarzenegger "declined to say when he had made the decision, only that it had been a very long and difficult process," one that "finally came down to discussions" with his wife, Maria Shriver.
"If she had been against me campaigning and me going for the governorship, I would not have done it," Schwarzenegger said (San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 7).
Riordan Jilted -- But Still Might Run
"Among the many Californians amazed" at Schwarzenegger's decision "was the actor's Brentwood neighbor and friend," former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan (R). Riordan was "stunned" when he learned from a TV newscast that Schwarzenegger would run. As of Wednesday morning, Riordan "had spoken to Schwarzenegger and gotten no inkling that the movie hero was about to announce his first run for public office." The two "had been saying for weeks that they were working closely together and that only one would enter the race for governor."
Said one Riordan aide, "So this is what it feels like to be mugged." The aide said Riordan "might still decide to enter the race" (Los Angeles Times, Aug. 7).
Democrats Nervous? What Gives You That Impression?
There was no official reaction to Schwarzenegger's announcement from the Democratic National Committee's headquarters in Washington. But one top Democratic aide on Capitol Hill said: "Everyone will be focused on this. Just like Clinton and impeachment, this will suck the oxygen out of everything else" (San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 7).
Big Court Day
The California Supreme Court has announced "that it will act on all five cases pending on the recall before the close of business" today. Specifically, Court spokeswoman Lynn Holton said that "the court will issue orders either denying review or taking up the cases. If the court decides to take up one or more of the cases, the justices will call for additional briefings and hold oral arguments before issuing an opinion" (California Insider blog, Aug. 6).
Davis filed suit with the California Supreme Court on Monday, making "three separate requests: stop the process of preparing for" a Oct. 7 recall vote "while the state court reviews the constitutional issues, reset that vote" for March 2 and "strike down the existing procedures as a violation of equal voting principles and as a violation of the Constitution's guarantee that each state will have a representative government" (Boston Globe, Aug. 5).
Davis claims that "holding the election just five months before" the state's presidential primary "would violate his rights and disenfranchise many voters" because "some counties wouldn't have time to comply with current court orders to replace error-prone voting machines." This argument is "a variation of one used successfully" by then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R) in 2000's Bush vs. Gore. Davis also wants "to give voters the option of choosing him as his own successor" (AP, Aug. 5).
Here Comes An "Establishment" Dem
Late Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante (D), announced that he will be "taking out candidacy papers" today. Bustamante is "abandoning what had sounded like an unequivocal pledge" in June "not to get into the race." He said then: "I will not participate in any other way than to urge voter to reject this expensive perversion of the recall process... I do not intend to put my name on the ballot" (AP, Aug. 6).
Darling Of The Left Takes On The Field
Calling herself an "independent progressive," columnist Arianna Huffington launched her campaign for governor on Wednesday. Huffington "has walked a road of political bombast and prolific self-promotion that has taken her from conservative firebrand to the unlikely champion of the left." The "53-year-old Greek immigrant has no political experience and only offered a glimpse of her plans to free" California "from its economic quagmire." She "pledged to close corporate tax loopholes and roll back tuition increases at state universities and community colleges" (Los Angeles Times, Aug. 7).
Flynt To Hustle For California State House
Porn king Larry Flynt (D) "wants to rule California." Flynt, a "civil libertarian and free speech advocate," said he would solve the state's "budget woes by expanding slot machine gambling."
"California is the most progressive state in the union," Flynt said. "I don't think anyone here will have a problem with a smut peddler as governor" (AP, Aug. 1).
Seems Like Everyone's Running...
Silicon valley entrepreneur Stuart Vance launched a campaign Sunday at www.run-for-governor.org "to derail the recall by encouraging as many Californians as possible to run for governor." Vance describes it as a "denial-of-service attack on the recall," aiming to "overwhelm election officials with up to 1,000 names. That could exceed the number that fits on the ballots and force" the election to be delayed.
Vance criticized Rep. Darrell Issa's (R) $1.7 million contribution to the recall effort, calling it "a corruption of the democratic process."
"I want to tell the Darrell Issas of the world that if they twist the system for their purposes, we the people will untwist it to stop them" (San Jose Mercury News, Aug. 4).
... Except Feinstein
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D) announced Wednesday that she will not be a candidate in the recall. "After thinking a great deal about this recall, its implications for the future, and its misguided nature, I have decided that I will not place my name on the ballot," Feinstein said in a statement that also urged voters to vote against the recall (release, Aug. 6).
Don't Make Us Endorse Republicans, You Hear?
Davis got a boost Tuesday from California's AFL-CIO on Tuesday with the release of a three-paragraph letter to elected Democrats "urging them not to run" in the recall. From the letter: "We are united against the recall of Gov. Davis and urge all potential Democratic candidates to stay off the recall ballot and join with us in support of the governor.... United we will defeat this ultraconservative coup attempt" (AP, Aug. 5).
Also Tuesday, at the AFL-CIO Executive Council meeting in Chicago, members unanimously "vowed to mobilize" California members "and seek contributions from individual unions" but "stopped short of pledging money to Davis" themselves (Contra Costa Times, Aug. 6). On Monday, Davis had asked the union leaders at the organization's national meeting to pledge $10 million to his campaign, half of the $20 million "he told them he would need to fight the recall" (Los Angeles Times, Aug. 5).
Jury Verdict Research
Would you take this case to trial?
Davis vs. Ackerman
A 35-year-old female homemaker (Davis) suffered lacerations and abrasions on her face and head, resulting in permanent scarring, when she was bitten by her neighbor's dog. The plaintiff claimed the defendants were negligent for failing to properly restrain the animal. The defendants contended the plaintiff fed and welcomed the dog until the time of the attack.
Past Medical Expense Claimed: $2,200
Future Medical Expense Claimed: $3,000
State: PA
County: Bucks
Would you take this case to trial?
Davis vs. Ackerman
A 35-year-old female homemaker (Davis) suffered lacerations and abrasions on her face and head, resulting in permanent scarring, when she was bitten by her neighbor's dog. The plaintiff claimed the defendants were negligent for failing to properly restrain the animal. The defendants contended the plaintiff fed and welcomed the dog until the time of the attack.
Past Medical Expense Claimed: $2,200
Future Medical Expense Claimed: $3,000
State: PA
County: Bucks
Thursday, August 07, 2003
Knowledge managment comes to philanthropy
Foundations are endowed with intellectual as well as financial capital. Now is the time to use it.
Marla M. Capozzi, Stephanie M. Lowell, and Les Silverman
The McKinsey Quarterly, 2003 Number 2 Organization
Philanthropic foundations are knowledge-intensive bodies. Almost everything they do, from identifying innovative nonprofit organizations to evaluating grants and publishing policy-shaping reports, depends on the use of human and intellectual capital. But many philanthropies, fearing that a dollar spent internally is a dollar wasted, have neither the organization nor the systems to manage their knowledge properly. What they fail to understand is that knowledge is a cornerstone of effective philanthropy.
The organizational changes that many foundations are undergoing to improve their performance highlight the need for better knowledge management. Some of them are responding to pressure from donors and the media to demonstrate their impact more clearly. But many must now cope with tighter finances, for over the past few years, falling stock markets have cut the value of many US endowments by an average of 20 to 30 percent, inevitably leading to shrinking grant portfolios or increasing staff cutbacks. In short, foundations are searching for ways to do more with less.
If they follow the right approach, they can tap into their knowledge to improve the long-term effectiveness of their grants, to lower the cost of administration, and to invest in more effective strategies for social change. Just as important to bear in mind, however, is the fact that reorganizing a foundation without thinking clearly about knowledge management will probably bring problems up to the surface. The experience of the Annie E. Casey Foundation demonstrates these points.
With more than $2.5 billion in assets and 150 employees, the Baltimore-based Casey Foundation has for over 50 years been a leader in improving the lives and opportunities of disadvantaged children and their families by financing programs, conducting research, and promoting the reform of public-service systems. In 1999, the foundation concentrated some of its grants to launch Making Connections, an initiative to develop comprehensive and integrated social strategies in a few impoverished urban centers. It also set up a strategic-consulting arm to help states and localities make their public-service systems work better for children, families, and communities. These decisions reflected the belief that children thrive when families and communities are strong.
The transformation meant that Casey had to hire about 20 new staff members. In addition, the role of its program officers, known as senior associates, changed: from being national, single-issue experts on subjects such as child welfare and juvenile justice, several became generalists leading cross-functional teams in one or two cities. Two problems, both relating to knowledge challenges, emerged as a result of these organizational moves.
First, since the cross-functional approach meant that senior associates were now working in areas beyond their expertise, they needed more information from colleagues to do their work successfully. Moreover, many new staff members had a limited understanding of the history of the foundation or the best practice it had learned over time. More often than not, they could get this information only by asking their longer-serving colleagues for it. What they needed to know wasn’t written down; it had remained in people’s heads.
Second, what knowledge management there had been at the foundation was in danger of diminishing. With the experts’ time fragmented, no one took responsibility for managing the organization’s knowledge in any single area. Meanwhile, senior associates, already busy in their cross-functional roles, were too distracted by requests for information from colleagues to begin generating and applying new knowledge to their grant-making and policy work.
Casey soon realized that if it was failing to share its expertise adequately with its own staff, it must be failing to do so with the recipients of grants and with external policy makers. And if the foundation couldn’t readily share its expertise, neither could it fulfill its mission. So in 2001 Casey, well aware that its new approach and organizational structure would require unprecedented levels of knowledge sharing, set out to manage its knowledge better. To this end, a small team went to work classifying everything that Casey had learned, so that people could find what they needed more easily. It became clear that only a fraction of the foundation’s intellectual capital had been captured in an accessible form. Staff members were spending endless time looking for information, and experts were constantly answering the same basic questions, such as "What are best practices in early-childhood education?"
As a result, Casey began to develop processes that would help senior associates set down their knowledge quickly and efficiently. Visits to the sites of grant recipients had long been a rich source of insights, for instance, but too often what was learned there had been shared only verbally. So the foundation created simple templates its associates could use to identify and record findings that might shape its ideas in other program areas.
Developing a comprehensive knowledge strategy and thinking through knowledge management in detail are essential. Casey’s program defined the entire process: what knowledge should be harnessed, who should codify it, how it should be maintained and disseminated, and who should receive it. Yet in our interviews at 20 leading foundations, we discovered that although most of their executives believe that knowledge management is vital, few had considered it strategically. As a result, many foundations have pursued knowledge management piecemeal: they might invest in a new technology (such as a searchable database for grant reports) without reflecting on the process (how to catalog a document, who should post it) or the strategy (how to use the database to benefit the whole program).
Casey’s comprehensive approach enabled it to implement its strategy more productively. There were other important bonuses as well. By thinking carefully about knowledge management, Casey streamlined its technology spending and reduced duplication, thereby saving thousands of dollars across the organization. Moreover, it had started to build the institutional memory that would support its future works. So Casey’s investment in knowledge management, far from detracting from the organization’s philanthropic endeavors, has enhanced them. And because the foundation’s core value—improving the lives of disadvantaged children and their families—propelled the program, staff members welcomed rather than resisted it.
The Casey Foundation isn’t an isolated example. As pressure on foundations to improve their performance grows, so too does the potential impact of knowledge management and sectorwide learning. Philanthropic organizations must start managing their knowledge more effectively to put themselves in a stronger position to do more with less.
Notes:
Marla Capozzi and Stephanie Lowell are consultants in McKinsey’s Boston office, and Les Silverman is a director in the Washington, DC, office.
Subject: British courtesy
An American tourist in London found himself needing to take a leak something terrible. After a long search he just couldn't find any public bathroom to relieve himself. So he went down one of the side streets to take care of business. Just as he was unzipping, a London police officer showed up.
"Look here, old chap, what are you doing?" the officer asked.
"I'm sorry," the American replied, "but I really gotta take a leak."
"You can't do that here," the officer told him. "Look, follow me."
The police officer led him to a beautiful garden with lots of grass, pretty flowers, and manicured hedges. "Here," said the policeman, "whiz away."
The American tourist shrugged, turned, unzipped, and started relieving himself on the flowers. "Ahhh," he said, feeling much better. Then turning toward the officer, he said, "This is very nice of
you. Is this British courtesy?"
"No," replied the policeman. "It's the French Embassy."
An American tourist in London found himself needing to take a leak something terrible. After a long search he just couldn't find any public bathroom to relieve himself. So he went down one of the side streets to take care of business. Just as he was unzipping, a London police officer showed up.
"Look here, old chap, what are you doing?" the officer asked.
"I'm sorry," the American replied, "but I really gotta take a leak."
"You can't do that here," the officer told him. "Look, follow me."
The police officer led him to a beautiful garden with lots of grass, pretty flowers, and manicured hedges. "Here," said the policeman, "whiz away."
The American tourist shrugged, turned, unzipped, and started relieving himself on the flowers. "Ahhh," he said, feeling much better. Then turning toward the officer, he said, "This is very nice of
you. Is this British courtesy?"
"No," replied the policeman. "It's the French Embassy."
Wednesday, August 06, 2003
Livaudais Christmas Collection: "Calling Cards
The custom of using calling cards began in France sometime in the early 1800's. This practice spread throughout Europe and came to the United States in the mid 1800's. Callings cards, also known as Visiting Cards, were carried by the well-to-do of society and were presented at the time of a social visit. They were often left in special calling card receivers (trays) which was set on an entry table or parlor center table. The cards were smaller than today's business cards, frequently consisting of a name engraved and printed on glossy stock. In later years designs became more elaborate incorporating hearts, doves, scrolls, and forget-me-nots. The receiver of such splendid cards would often paste them in the family scrap book. Again, a tradition of exchanging cards was leading up to what would one day be the exchanging of Christmas cards. I'm sure Sir Henry Cole had received his share of Calling cards.
View a few examples of Calling Cards BY CLICKING HERE "
The custom of using calling cards began in France sometime in the early 1800's. This practice spread throughout Europe and came to the United States in the mid 1800's. Callings cards, also known as Visiting Cards, were carried by the well-to-do of society and were presented at the time of a social visit. They were often left in special calling card receivers (trays) which was set on an entry table or parlor center table. The cards were smaller than today's business cards, frequently consisting of a name engraved and printed on glossy stock. In later years designs became more elaborate incorporating hearts, doves, scrolls, and forget-me-nots. The receiver of such splendid cards would often paste them in the family scrap book. Again, a tradition of exchanging cards was leading up to what would one day be the exchanging of Christmas cards. I'm sure Sir Henry Cole had received his share of Calling cards.
View a few examples of Calling Cards BY CLICKING HERE "
-----Original Message-----
From: xxxxxx@earthlink.net [mailto:xxxxxxx@earthlink.net]
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2003 4:51 PM
To: xxxxx@GMU.EDU
Subject: RE: Legislation to Restore Public Access to Presidential Documents
Hi All,
FYI,
My August 5, 2003 posting on beSpacific (http://www.bespacific.com) concerning S. 1517 has been updated today, so here is the permanent link:
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/003545.html#3545
I welcome your comments and suggestions, and links, for this resource, updated daily, on law and technology related news.
Regards,
Sabrina
Sabrina I. Pacifici
beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news
http://www.bespacific.com
Subscribe to beSpacific Free Weekday Coverage on Current Issues
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html
From: xxxxxx@earthlink.net [mailto:xxxxxxx@earthlink.net]
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2003 4:51 PM
To: xxxxx@GMU.EDU
Subject: RE: Legislation to Restore Public Access to Presidential Documents
Hi All,
FYI,
My August 5, 2003 posting on beSpacific (http://www.bespacific.com) concerning S. 1517 has been updated today, so here is the permanent link:
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/003545.html#3545
I welcome your comments and suggestions, and links, for this resource, updated daily, on law and technology related news.
Regards,
Sabrina
Sabrina I. Pacifici
beSpacific - Accurate, focused law and technology news
http://www.bespacific.com
Subscribe to beSpacific Free Weekday Coverage on Current Issues
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/subscribe.html
Tuesday, August 05, 2003
>Subject: 100 milestone US Documents....
Hello. This is a pretty nice page to know about. Its one of the links on Thomas.
http://ourdocuments.gov/content.php?page=milestone_documents It lists the top most important US docs from 1789 to 1965. The reason they stopped at 1965?
Quote:
The decision not to include milestone documents since 1965 was a deliberate acknowledgement of the difficulty in examining more recent history. As stated in the guidelines for the National History Standards, developed by the National Center for History in the Schools, "Historians can never attain complete objectivity, but they tend to fall shortest of the goal when they deal with current or very recent events."
Babe Kylie's simply botiful
Bum's the word ... Kylie in today's Sun
Click picture to enlarge
By DOMINIC MOHAN
The man who's touched it
THIS must rank as one of the wonders of the world ... Kylie Minogue’s bottom.
I should know — I’ve touched it. And I can confirm her bum is the most sumptuous in showbusiness.
Now I don’t want you thinking I’m some kind of perv. It was an accident, honest.
Kylie was dancing at a party after a gig at London’s Hammersmith Apollo when my hand connected with her rear.
Much booze had been consumed by both of us and as I stumbled across the dancefloor she backed into me.
It all happened very quickly but my hand rested there long enough to make an assessment. I had expected her bum to be bony. But it was soft like a ripened fruit.
I apologised profusely and walked off. Later I looked down at my right mitt. Raising it skyward. I screamed: “Yesssss.”
Several months later, I was interviewing Jennifer Lopez. As we rose from the sofa at the end of our chat, my hand brushed against America’s most famous butt. J-Lo’s cheeks are larger, like a pumped up version of her Aussie rival’s. ims could not manifest warmth in the dungeon that was my soul. And thus I conclude, "for every up there is a down, for every smile there is a frown, and thats what makes the world go round!" (an excerpt of the song from Disney's 'Sword in the Stone'). Maybe for people with more internal pressure, the homeostasis never really hits neutrality. This is especially true for younger people.
Children have alot of passion. Passion creates energy. Energy builds internal pressure, and that is why children are never quite what we percieve as "normal". They always do things in extremes....when they play, when they talk/scream, when they eat....even their thinking is rather eccentric and is inevitably cherished by society these days. However their passion is blind passion. Its an instinctive passion. When they h
Monday, August 04, 2003
PRIVACY & SECURITY LAW REPORT
Volume 2 Number 31
August 4, 2003 Page 860
ISSN 1538-3431
News
Burns Expects Anti-Spam Legislation
To Move to Senate Floor in September
Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) told reporters July 30 that he expects his anti-spam bill (S. 877) to go to the Senate floor in September without substantial changes.
Burns said the main hurdle will be completing negotiations with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) to strengthen criminal penalties in the bill.
"That's about the only obstacle we have," he said during a telephone conference with reporters.
Still, Burns said he did not expect many changes in the bill, and he looked forward to seeing it move as soon as the Senate returns from summer recess.
"We've got to take it to the floor," said Burns, who chairs a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. "It's got to be passed in September."
A bill introduced by Hatch (S. 1293) would subject violators to up to five years imprisonment. Burns' measure, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), currently provides up to one year of jail time.
Hatch has yet to act on his bill, which is focused mainly on setting criminal penalties for egregious spammers. The Burns-Wyden bill, which includes rules for legitimate e-mail marketers, is much closer to a Senate vote. The Commerce Committee approved the bill June 19 (2 PVLR 682, 6/23/03 ). During markup, Burns and Wyden promised to toughen the bill as it reached the Senate floor, but they have not yet offered details on how they would do that.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is among those on the committee who are pushing for a stronger bill. Nelson has introduced a measure (S. 1052) that would make spamming a felony crime under existing federal racketeering legislation.
Burns Rejects 'Do-Not-Spam List.'
A proposal by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) could be another focus of debate.
Schumer has introduced a bill (S. 1231) that would create a do-not-spam registry, similar to the do-not-call list for telemarketers that was launched by the Federal Trade Commission in June.
While Schumer's bill appears to be gaining support among consumers, it has only one Senate backer. Despite that, Schumer has said he plans to introduce the legislation as a floor amendment.
Burns flatly rejected the proposal during his phone conference with reporters.
"Right now, we can't accept that," he said.
The Burns-Wyden bill, as approved by the Commerce Committee, would direct the FTC to study the effectiveness of a do-not-spam list.
So far, members of the commission, including FTC Chairman Timothy Muris, have raised concerns about the idea of creating such a list (see related report in this section ).
The Burns-Wyden bill would allow individuals to send unsolicited commercial e-mail messages as long as they follow certain rules, such as providing a mechanism for individuals to opt out of receiving future messages. The legislation is supported by a number of industry groups, including the Direct Marketing Association.
Besides creating a do-not-spam list, Schumer's bill would provide a private right of action for individuals, another feature that has made it popular with consumers. The Burns-Wyden bill would only allow the government and Internet service providers to go after spammers.
Copyright © 2003 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington D.C.
Volume 2 Number 31
August 4, 2003 Page 860
ISSN 1538-3431
News
Spam
Burns Expects Anti-Spam Legislation
To Move to Senate Floor in September
Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) told reporters July 30 that he expects his anti-spam bill (S. 877) to go to the Senate floor in September without substantial changes.
Burns said the main hurdle will be completing negotiations with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) to strengthen criminal penalties in the bill.
"That's about the only obstacle we have," he said during a telephone conference with reporters.
Still, Burns said he did not expect many changes in the bill, and he looked forward to seeing it move as soon as the Senate returns from summer recess.
"We've got to take it to the floor," said Burns, who chairs a subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. "It's got to be passed in September."
A bill introduced by Hatch (S. 1293) would subject violators to up to five years imprisonment. Burns' measure, which is co-sponsored by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), currently provides up to one year of jail time.
Hatch has yet to act on his bill, which is focused mainly on setting criminal penalties for egregious spammers. The Burns-Wyden bill, which includes rules for legitimate e-mail marketers, is much closer to a Senate vote. The Commerce Committee approved the bill June 19 (2 PVLR 682, 6/23/03 ). During markup, Burns and Wyden promised to toughen the bill as it reached the Senate floor, but they have not yet offered details on how they would do that.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) is among those on the committee who are pushing for a stronger bill. Nelson has introduced a measure (S. 1052) that would make spamming a felony crime under existing federal racketeering legislation.
Burns Rejects 'Do-Not-Spam List.'
A proposal by Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) could be another focus of debate.
Schumer has introduced a bill (S. 1231) that would create a do-not-spam registry, similar to the do-not-call list for telemarketers that was launched by the Federal Trade Commission in June.
While Schumer's bill appears to be gaining support among consumers, it has only one Senate backer. Despite that, Schumer has said he plans to introduce the legislation as a floor amendment.
Burns flatly rejected the proposal during his phone conference with reporters.
"Right now, we can't accept that," he said.
The Burns-Wyden bill, as approved by the Commerce Committee, would direct the FTC to study the effectiveness of a do-not-spam list.
So far, members of the commission, including FTC Chairman Timothy Muris, have raised concerns about the idea of creating such a list (see related report in this section ).
The Burns-Wyden bill would allow individuals to send unsolicited commercial e-mail messages as long as they follow certain rules, such as providing a mechanism for individuals to opt out of receiving future messages. The legislation is supported by a number of industry groups, including the Direct Marketing Association.
Besides creating a do-not-spam list, Schumer's bill would provide a private right of action for individuals, another feature that has made it popular with consumers. The Burns-Wyden bill would only allow the government and Internet service providers to go after spammers.
Copyright © 2003 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington D.C.
Commentary
Stemming the e-mail flood
August 04, 2003 By: Peter A. Steinmeyer
A sharply divided California Supreme Court recently entered the fray over unwanted and unsolicited e-mails, and in the process issued a nearly unlimited license to send unsolicited and unwanted noncommercial e-mails.
In Intel Corp. v. Hamidi, the court held that even when the owner of an e-mail system has expressly told a sender of unwanted, noncommercial e-mails to knock it off, and even when the unwanted e-mails indisputably caused economic harm to the property owner (albeit not physical harm to the e-mail system itself), the e-mail sender did not commit an unlawful trespass by continuing the bombardment. This decision has potentially broad-ranging ramifications, and may further magnify the problem of unwanted and unsolicited e-mails.
What to do about such e-mails is one of the unresolved issues on the cyberspace frontier. Although most states have adopted legislation providing at least some restrictions on unsolicited commercial e-mails, these state statutes generally ignore noncommercial e-mails, even though such e-mails can be very problematic (e.g., racially or sexually offensive jokes), particularly in the workplace setting, where employers strive to provide a harassment-free environment.
One potential remedy for unwanted e-mails is the old common law tort of trespass to chattels, and some courts have applied this tort in the context of unwanted e-mails. After all, most people would assume that if the owner of an e-mail system tells a sender of unwanted e-mails to stop and the instruction is ignored, the owner ought to have a remedy.
The court in Intel, however, held that trespass to chattels is not the appropriate remedy in this circumstance. A former Intel employee had sent mass e-mails to as many as 35,000 Intel employees at their workplace e-mail addresses, even after Intel told him to stop. Intel turned to the judicial system for relief, ultimately proceeding on a trespass-to-chattels claim. To establish harm and a basis for injunctive relief, Intel stressed the loss of employee productivity it suffered resulting from 48,000 to 210,000 e-mails.
Although one of the concurring justices expressed sympathy for Intel, by a 4-3 vote the court concluded that Intel did not have a claim for trespass to chattels because it did not show that the e-mails caused physical damage or functional disruption to Intel's e-mail system, or somehow deprived Intel of its use.
In so ruling, the court set the burden too high. As one of the dissenting justices, Janice R. Brown noted, the majority’s decision seemingly provides a right to spray-paint political graffiti on the bumper of an opposing candidate’s vehicle, so long as the spray paint is water-soluble.
The majority concluded that no harm was done to Intel’s computer system. But this ignored the negative economic consequences of mass unwanted e-mails. Such a harm ought to be sufficient to support a trespass-to-chattels claim, as well as a means of distinguishing the Intel scenario from a few unwanted phone calls. As discussed in the Second Restatement of Torts, “there may ... be situations in which the value to the owner of a particular type of chattel may be impaired by dealing with it in a manner that does not affect its physical condition. … In such a case, the intermeddling is actionable even though the physical condition of the chattel is not impaired.” As an example, the restatement mentions the value of one’s toothbrush after it has been used by another. It has suffered no physical harm, but it will never again have the same value. So, too, with an e-mail system vulnerable to repeated waves of mass unwanted e-mails.
The restatement also points out that a person commits an actionable trespass to chattels if, by his trespass, he “causes harm to any person in whom the possessor of the chattel has a legally protected interest.” Employers have a legally protected interest in their relations with their employees; for example, one cannot tortiously interfere with that relationship. An unwanted e-mail sent to an employee’s workplace e-mail address that causes harm to that employee (e.g., by wasting the employee’s time) or causing anger or fear (in the case of a harassing e-mail) should satisfy the restatement’s definition of harm.
Even if the existing common law tort of trespass to chattels is not broad enough to encompass the wrong suffered by Intel, then perhaps this is one of those situations where the common law needs to evolve to meet the challenge of a new technology.
One justice in the majority, Joyce L. Kennard, invited a legislative solution that would balance the competing interests at stake. But in the meantime, an otherwise viable common law remedy has been declawed in California.
— Peter A. Steinmeyer
American Lawyer Media, Inc. takes copyright infringement seriously. YOU MAY NOT DISTRIBUTE THIS STORY, ELECTRONIC OR OTHERWISE, WITHOUT OUR PERMISSION. You may print or purchase this story from our archives for your personal use only. In order to obtain reprint permission rights, please contact Sue Viera at 305-347-6621 or 800-777-7300 ext. 6621. If you need a subscription, please call 1--877-347-6682.
Misguided Libertarians Are Hindering War On Terrorism
By Stuart Taylor Jr., National Journal
© National Journal Group Inc.
Monday, Aug. 4, 2003
A civil-libertarian backlash against the USA PATRIOT Act is gathering steam. More than 140 cities and communities in 27 states have passed resolutions opposing it, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU itself has intensified its nonstop barrage, filing a lawsuit on July 30 challenging the constitutionality of one of the act's most far-reaching provisions, and airing TV ads that warn of government spies secretly searching homes. Some librarians say they are destroying records to prevent the feds from tracking patrons' book borrowing and Internet browsing.
We should be making it easier, not harder, for intelligence agencies to protect us.
Even Congress, which overwhelmingly adopted the 156-section counter-terrorism statute six weeks after the September 11 attacks, without most members having read it, is showing signs of buyer's remorse. On July 22, the House in a 309-118 vote adopted an appropriations rider to bar the government from invoking the PATRIOT Act to search a home or business without immediately notifying the occupants. Conservative Republicans, including the sponsor, Rep. Butch Otter of Idaho, joined by the ACLU, cheered this vote as a mighty blow against "sneak-and-peek" searches. The Justice Department denounced it as a "terrorist tip-off amendment."
Do 309 House members really want to require the FBI to leave a nice note for the next Mohamed Atta, if and when agents have a chance to sneak into his motel room and copy computer files detailing the identities of his co-conspirators? It's not easy to tell: The platitudinous floor debate left unclear whether the purpose is to bar all delayed-notice searches, despite decades of judicial precedent upholding such searches under some circumstances, or just to roll the clock back to before the PATRIOT Act. Otter demonstrated his own command of the subject by claiming that Section 213 "allows the CIA and the NSA to operate domestically." Wrong.
The Senate has also been doing its part to make it harder for the government to find suspected terrorists. On July 17, it voted to cut off all funding for the Pentagon's Terrorism Information Awareness program. Formerly named Total Information Awareness (and unrelated to the PATRIOT Act), this nascent research project into possible uses of "data-mining" and other sophisticated computer technology to find terrorists before they strike has been the focus of a storm of ill-informed Big-Brother-is-about-to-be-watching-you hype. But the most immediate impact of a funding cutoff would be to curtail development of software that would link counter-terrorism agencies' databases to facilitate information-sharing and the like.
This at a time when the congressional Intelligence committees are slamming those same agencies for failing to share information that might have enabled them to prevent the 9/11 attacks! In their 850-page report (PDF), released on July 24, the committees complained of intelligence agencies' "reluctance to develop and implement new technical capabilities aggressively." How are the agencies supposed to do that if Congress kills TIA?
Are Congress and the American people at least waking up to the most insidious Bush administration threats to our freedoms? Not really. Congress has virtually ignored the biggest danger: the administration's incarceration of suspected "enemy combatants" without charges, access to lawyers, or meaningful judicial review. Instead, Congress and many civil libertarians have misdirected their zeal by mischaracterizing the PATRIOT Act's largely reasonable and incremental expansions of the investigative powers that are the government's main hope of catching would-be mass murderers before it's too late.
A recent ACLU fundraising letter, for example, claims that the PATRIOT Act includes "a provision that might allow the actions of peaceful groups that dissent from government policy, such as Greenpeace, to be treated as 'domestic terrorism.' " This is flat-out false. The act's definition of domestic terrorism (Section 802) covers only criminal activities that are, among other things, "dangerous to human life."
Such scare tactics appear to have succeeded, for now, in preventing Congress from granting the administration additional new powers, such as a much-needed proposal to make clear the FBI's authority to search the possessions of the next Zacarias Moussaoui, the suspected "20th hijacker," who was in custody (but unsearched) for weeks before 9/11. Libertarians are also intent on blocking re-enactment of the many important PATRIOT Act provisions that will sunset in 2005.
This is not to deny that some sections of the law authorize significant invasions of privacy for the sake of difficult-to-gauge benefits in preventing terrorist attacks. The most problematic is Section 215, the one challenged in the new ACLU lawsuit. It expands FBI agents' powers, in the course of authorized foreign-intelligence investigations, to inspect without notice and copy records about innocent individuals (as well as suspected terrorists) held by colleges, libraries, hospitals, nonprofits, mosques, Web sites, businesses, banks, and other organizations, and to use gag orders to prevent anyone from telling the targets. Other arguably overbroad provisions are Section 218, which allows investigators to use the search powers provided by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, even when their primary goal is to find evidence of ordinary crimes, and Section 411, which can be read as authorizing deportation of aliens for innocent associations with terrorist groups.
Even these broad new powers may well be justified by the unprecedented threats we now face. Many libertarians draw exactly the wrong lesson from the Intelligence committees' account of the government's failure to prevent the 9/11 attacks. The report's catalog of human errors, the ACLU asserts, shows that "the government does not need additional new law enforcement powers."
The opposite is true. Intelligence agencies will never be infallible. We should be making it easier, not harder, for their imperfect agents to protect us. Misguided and outdated rules imposed on the intelligence agencies in the name of civil liberties before 9/11 contributed to their failure to prevent the attacks. In particular, the so-called legal "wall" between intelligence and law enforcement agencies helped foster the notorious reluctance of the CIA and FBI to share information.
The PATRIOT Act opened the way for better information-sharing by largely dismantling this wall -- with the help of a decision last November by the special Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review. The statute also extended to terrorism investigations some powers that prosecutors had long used in drug and organized-crime cases and updated anachronistic electronic surveillance rules to catch up with new communications technologies.
As for the dreaded "sneak-and-peek" provision (Section 213), the claims that it trashes the Fourth Amendment are far-fetched. Federal courts, including the Supreme Court, have authorized such searches for decades in circumstances in which immediate notification might defeat the purpose of the surveillance, including all wiretaps. Section 213 codified a legal standard similar to that used by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, in Manhattan. While the Section 213 standard is more favorable to prosecutors than those used by some other courts, it is hardly a blank check: Notice may be delayed only for as long as "reasonable," and only when necessary to avoid endangering "life or physical safety," intimidation of witnesses, tampering with evidence, flight from prosecution, or "otherwise seriously jeopardizing an investigation or unduly delaying a trial."
The PATRIOT Act has also been blamed for detentions and other possible abuses that are completely unrelated to it. Consider the front-page New York Times article on July 21 hyping a leaked report to Congress by the Justice Department's inspector general. The article trumpeted (unproven) complaints by Arab and Muslim prisoners of "serious civil-rights and civil-liberties violations involving enforcement of... the USA PATRIOT Act." But these complaints -- mainly of beatings and verbal abuse by guards -- had nothing to do with enforcement of the PATRIOT Act. Its only relevance was that this report would not have been written at all but for Section 1001, which requires periodic reports to Congress of any and all civil-liberties complaints about Justice Department employees.
We need less media misinformation, less libertarian hysteria, and more judicious congressional oversight of the (unfortunately uncooperative) Justice Department. The PATRIOT Act's critics have pointed to precious little evidence that it is anything like the engine of McCarthyite witch-hunts they depict it to be. And while a few sections do pose some risk of overly intrusive FBI spying, there are worse things than that. One of them is being murdered by terrorists.
Stuart Taylor Jr. is a senior writer for National Journal magazine, where "Opening Argument" appears.
REVIEW & OUTLOOK
[from the online WallStreet Journal]
MiGs in the Sand
They didn't get much attention, but two events last week shed light on the continuing search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. David Kay, the former chief U.N. weapons inspector now leading the WMD search, told a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill that "solid progress" is being made. "We're building a solid case that will stand," he said after the briefing, "and we welcome international scrutiny of that case after we have the evidence assembled."
At about the same time, coalition teams looking for WMD found dozens of Iraqi air force fighter jets buried beneath the sands at an airfield west of Baghdad. AP cites a Pentagon official who said the searchers noticed a pair of tail fins poking up in the sand. They turned out to belong to a Cold War-era MiG-25.
If it's possible to hide 30-plus aircraft for several months with 150,000 troops on the lookout, secreting vials of poison gas or anthrax has to be a cinch. Search teams are unlikely to stumble upon BW or CW by chance. Mr. Kay's comment that Iraqi scientists are "collaborating and cooperating" is encouraging, because such intelligence is the way we are likely to discover what Saddam Hussein was really up to.
One question, however, is whether some war critics will even believe such proof when they see it. After hearing Mr. Kay's testimony, Senator Ted Kennedy rushed out to say that, "It's looking more and more like a case of mass deception." He was referring to President Bush, not Saddam. So much for waiting for the evidence.
Updated August 4, 2003
[from the online WallStreet Journal]
MiGs in the Sand
They didn't get much attention, but two events last week shed light on the continuing search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. David Kay, the former chief U.N. weapons inspector now leading the WMD search, told a closed-door briefing on Capitol Hill that "solid progress" is being made. "We're building a solid case that will stand," he said after the briefing, "and we welcome international scrutiny of that case after we have the evidence assembled."
At about the same time, coalition teams looking for WMD found dozens of Iraqi air force fighter jets buried beneath the sands at an airfield west of Baghdad. AP cites a Pentagon official who said the searchers noticed a pair of tail fins poking up in the sand. They turned out to belong to a Cold War-era MiG-25.
If it's possible to hide 30-plus aircraft for several months with 150,000 troops on the lookout, secreting vials of poison gas or anthrax has to be a cinch. Search teams are unlikely to stumble upon BW or CW by chance. Mr. Kay's comment that Iraqi scientists are "collaborating and cooperating" is encouraging, because such intelligence is the way we are likely to discover what Saddam Hussein was really up to.
One question, however, is whether some war critics will even believe such proof when they see it. After hearing Mr. Kay's testimony, Senator Ted Kennedy rushed out to say that, "It's looking more and more like a case of mass deception." He was referring to President Bush, not Saddam. So much for waiting for the evidence.
Updated August 4, 2003
Sunday, August 03, 2003
Saturday, August 02, 2003
Mr. and Mrs. Clinton were in the front row at a Yankees game. The row behind them was taken up with Secret Service agents. One of them leaned over and whispered in the President's ear. Mr. Clinton paused, then grabbed Hillary by the scruff of the neck and heaved her over the railing. She fell 10 feet to the top of the dugout, screaming obscenities.
The President shook the hands of those near him and got high fives all around.
The Secret Service agent leaned over again and whispered, "Mr. President, I
said it's time to throw out the first pitch."
Friday, August 01, 2003
Kylie so happy with Olivier
By VICTORIA NEWTON
KYLIE Minogue yesterday dismissed rumours her lover has fallen for movie babe Angelina Jolie — and said: “I’m so happy with him.”
The Aussie pop princess admitted she had read reports linking hunky Olivier Martinez and Tomb Raider star Angelina, with whom he is shooting a film.
But after jetting out to Canada to see the handsome French actor, Kylie spent two nights with her man.
Olivier wined and dined her at cosy tables for two. And Kylie, 34, declared she had “no worries” about their future.
The singer — arriving home in West London yesterday — said: “I’m so happy right now.
“I love every minute I spend with Olivier. I had a couple of days off so I packed an overnight bag and flew to Montreal.
“Of course I am aware of what had been written in the Press, but this trip was like the previous three I’ve made to Montreal to visit my boyfriend while he’s filming.”
She added: “We’re both busy but make time to be together. Things couldn’t be better.”
Kylie met Olivier in the lobby of a Los Angeles hotel in March. Their relationship began shortly after Kylie’s ex, model James Gooding, sold secrets of his romance with her to a newspaper.
Olivier, 37, is currently filming Taking Lives with 28-year-old divorcee Angelina. The pair were spotted watching baseball with Angelina’s adopted son Maddox.
Click here for bigger pix
Mike Keefe, The Denver Post -- -- Mike's award winning work has appeared in the Post for more than 20 years --visit Mike's web site.
Thursday, July 31, 2003
A Gay High School in New York:
rambling comments:
What is the entrance exam like?
Can you be bisexual, sexually confused, a straight transvestite? And besides I have seen plenty of homosexuals who are bullies and live thier lives insulting and trying to make others feel ashamed or uncomfortable. Rex Reed, Roy Cohn, Naughty Norton, virtually every movie critic. In fact they'll be all picking on the fat, messy kid with poor taste in clothes that like country music.
This will never fly. If it flies for one year like the Bring Your Daughter to Work Day did, it will be defeated when a group forms a Puerto Rican school, a Catholic school, a Arab-American school, or a Children of Broken Homes School. True it wil take the courts two or three years to shut it down and they will have a run for that long, but how dumb!
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" but he came from Harvey Milk High School, Sergeant!
I wonder which health insurance carrier is going to be rushing over there to set up the Group Policy, solid as the rock? Good hands? The Firestone Rubber Company?
Who wants to be the guidance counseller at Harvey Milk High School? Dairy Queen?
We put the seconds into Secondary Education.
We put the tension in detention.
We put the dick in valedictorian!
We got more cum in magna cum laude.
Summa cum lauder than others.
"Help? My mother made me a queer!"
'If I give her the wool, will she make me one?'
Please someone stop me, I can't control myself!!!!
---- Original Message -----
From: Richard
To: redacted
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 6:44 PM
From the NY Daily News....
Mike Hails Gay H.S As A Shelter From Bullies
"Mayor Bloomberg is defending a plan to open the city's first entire high school for gay students, touting it yesterday as a haven from bullies. The Harvey Milk High School is scheduled to open in the fall at 2 Astor Place in the East Village with an initial enrollment of about 100 students after a $3.2 million renovation."
Mike Hails Gay H.S As A Shelter From Bullies
Of course, for $3.2 million, you could hire personal body guards for every one of those kids at 32 large a pop. Or, you could round up the bullies and throw them out of school --- that would be free.
Didn't the ACLU sue the city when they tried to open a school for girls in Harlem after studies showed that girls did better academically in an all girl environment? Does anyone remember if that school ever got opened? Because if it didn't, this new school sure as hell shouldn't be opened.
The future possibilities are endless......
Fat Albert High
Bad Complexion High
Speech Impediment High
Yo Mama is Ugly High
You KNOW that the only reason Bloomberg is behind this is because, when he was a kid, he probably got pounded like a Narc at a bikers' rally!
You can't make this stuff up!
******************************************
Richard ...
rambling comments:
What is the entrance exam like?
Can you be bisexual, sexually confused, a straight transvestite? And besides I have seen plenty of homosexuals who are bullies and live thier lives insulting and trying to make others feel ashamed or uncomfortable. Rex Reed, Roy Cohn, Naughty Norton, virtually every movie critic. In fact they'll be all picking on the fat, messy kid with poor taste in clothes that like country music.
This will never fly. If it flies for one year like the Bring Your Daughter to Work Day did, it will be defeated when a group forms a Puerto Rican school, a Catholic school, a Arab-American school, or a Children of Broken Homes School. True it wil take the courts two or three years to shut it down and they will have a run for that long, but how dumb!
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" but he came from Harvey Milk High School, Sergeant!
I wonder which health insurance carrier is going to be rushing over there to set up the Group Policy, solid as the rock? Good hands? The Firestone Rubber Company?
Who wants to be the guidance counseller at Harvey Milk High School? Dairy Queen?
We put the seconds into Secondary Education.
We put the tension in detention.
We put the dick in valedictorian!
We got more cum in magna cum laude.
Summa cum lauder than others.
"Help? My mother made me a queer!"
'If I give her the wool, will she make me one?'
Please someone stop me, I can't control myself!!!!
---- Original Message -----
From: Richard
To: redacted
Sent: Tuesday, July 29, 2003 6:44 PM
From the NY Daily News....
Mike Hails Gay H.S As A Shelter From Bullies
"Mayor Bloomberg is defending a plan to open the city's first entire high school for gay students, touting it yesterday as a haven from bullies. The Harvey Milk High School is scheduled to open in the fall at 2 Astor Place in the East Village with an initial enrollment of about 100 students after a $3.2 million renovation."
Mike Hails Gay H.S As A Shelter From Bullies
Of course, for $3.2 million, you could hire personal body guards for every one of those kids at 32 large a pop. Or, you could round up the bullies and throw them out of school --- that would be free.
Didn't the ACLU sue the city when they tried to open a school for girls in Harlem after studies showed that girls did better academically in an all girl environment? Does anyone remember if that school ever got opened? Because if it didn't, this new school sure as hell shouldn't be opened.
The future possibilities are endless......
Fat Albert High
Bad Complexion High
Speech Impediment High
Yo Mama is Ugly High
You KNOW that the only reason Bloomberg is behind this is because, when he was a kid, he probably got pounded like a Narc at a bikers' rally!
You can't make this stuff up!
******************************************
Richard ...
Wednesday, July 30, 2003
Crimson Trace Lasergrips - Laser gun sights for small arms.
A Letter from Iraq
Crimson Trace -
My name is SSG Sieler. I am currently deployed in Tikrit Northern Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with B Company 2-4 Aviation Regiment 4th Infantry Division.
I purchased one of your outstanding sighting systems to go with my Aviation Life Support Equipment. I use it everyday and must say that it is one of the best combat multipliers I have in this combat theater. I must honestly say it has saved lives over here. Not only those of U.S. services members but also the lives of Iraqis.
Often we are faced with tense situations where the "little red dot" makes the difference between the use of deadly force or the power of intimidation. Even with the language barrier the little red dot speaks volumes for us.
I'm sure you have had soldiers here try to contact you to purchase ones for themselves, as everyone I run into loves mine. The environment here is extremely inhospitable and my M-9 takes a beating on a daily basis. The OPTEMPO in Army Aviation here is staggering and all the aircrews carry the Berretta 9mm. Many soldiers here have bolt-on personal sighting devices but none are as transparent in use, (your grips fit just like the original equipment and never hinder operations as others do) or nearly as durable. Mine has outlasted all the others.
Once again I would like to thank you for an outstanding product. It has made my job that much easier. I have no idea how I ever got along without it.
SSG SIELER
US ARMY
A Letter from Iraq
Crimson Trace -
My name is SSG Sieler. I am currently deployed in Tikrit Northern Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom with B Company 2-4 Aviation Regiment 4th Infantry Division.
I purchased one of your outstanding sighting systems to go with my Aviation Life Support Equipment. I use it everyday and must say that it is one of the best combat multipliers I have in this combat theater. I must honestly say it has saved lives over here. Not only those of U.S. services members but also the lives of Iraqis.
Often we are faced with tense situations where the "little red dot" makes the difference between the use of deadly force or the power of intimidation. Even with the language barrier the little red dot speaks volumes for us.
I'm sure you have had soldiers here try to contact you to purchase ones for themselves, as everyone I run into loves mine. The environment here is extremely inhospitable and my M-9 takes a beating on a daily basis. The OPTEMPO in Army Aviation here is staggering and all the aircrews carry the Berretta 9mm. Many soldiers here have bolt-on personal sighting devices but none are as transparent in use, (your grips fit just like the original equipment and never hinder operations as others do) or nearly as durable. Mine has outlasted all the others.
Once again I would like to thank you for an outstanding product. It has made my job that much easier. I have no idea how I ever got along without it.
SSG SIELER
US ARMY
West Group - Password Management Registration: "Password Management allows you to;
Order passwords for new Westlaw users
Deactivate existing passwords
Request replacement password cards by mail
Change the endings of passwords
Print lists of Westlaw passwords for your organization "
Order passwords for new Westlaw users
Deactivate existing passwords
Request replacement password cards by mail
Change the endings of passwords
Print lists of Westlaw passwords for your organization "
Tax Quotes - TaxGaga: "
There is no art which one government sooner learns from another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people.
Adam Smith
--------------------------------------
There are two distinct classes of men... those who pay taxes and those who receive and live upon taxes.
Thomas Paine "
---------------------------------------
There is no art which one government sooner learns from another than that of draining money from the pockets of the people.
Adam Smith
--------------------------------------
There are two distinct classes of men... those who pay taxes and those who receive and live upon taxes.
Thomas Paine "
---------------------------------------
MBA Admissions Wire: "MBA Admissions Wire by 'Tad Holbie'
'Tad Holbie's' weblog of his 2002-03 business school application experience. "
'Tad Holbie's' weblog of his 2002-03 business school application experience. "
Tuesday, July 29, 2003
The life of an ordinary man:
When I was 14, I hoped that one day I would have a girlfriend.
When I was 16, I got a girlfriend, but there was no passion. So I decided I needed a passionate girl with a zest for life.
In college, I dated a passionate girl, but she was too emotional. Everything was an emergency; she was a drama queen, cried all the time and threatened suicide. So, I decided I needed a girl with stability.
When I was 25, I found a very stable girl, but she was boring. She was totally predictable and never got excited about anything. Life became so dull that I decided that I needed a girl with some excitement.
When I was 28, I found an exciting girl, but I couldn't keep up with her. She rushed from one thing to another, never settling on anything. She did mad, impetuous things and made me miserable as often as happy. She was great fun initially and very energetic, but directionless. So I decided to find a girl with some real ambition.
When I turned 31, I found a smart, ambitious girl with her feet planted firmly on the ground and married her. She was so ambitious that she divorced me and took everything I owned.
I am now 44 and looking for a girl with really big tits.
When I was 14, I hoped that one day I would have a girlfriend.
When I was 16, I got a girlfriend, but there was no passion. So I decided I needed a passionate girl with a zest for life.
In college, I dated a passionate girl, but she was too emotional. Everything was an emergency; she was a drama queen, cried all the time and threatened suicide. So, I decided I needed a girl with stability.
When I was 25, I found a very stable girl, but she was boring. She was totally predictable and never got excited about anything. Life became so dull that I decided that I needed a girl with some excitement.
When I was 28, I found an exciting girl, but I couldn't keep up with her. She rushed from one thing to another, never settling on anything. She did mad, impetuous things and made me miserable as often as happy. She was great fun initially and very energetic, but directionless. So I decided to find a girl with some real ambition.
When I turned 31, I found a smart, ambitious girl with her feet planted firmly on the ground and married her. She was so ambitious that she divorced me and took everything I owned.
I am now 44 and looking for a girl with really big tits.
Sunday, July 27, 2003
Saturday, July 26, 2003
3630113
ATKINSON, ROWAN
British Actor
By the mid-1990s Rowan Atkinson had achieved a certain ubiquity in British popular-cultural life, with comedy series (and their reruns) on television, character roles in leading films, and even life-size cutouts placed in branches of a major bank--a consequence of his advertisments for the bank. Yet, despite Atkinson's high profile, his career has been one of cautious progressions, refining and modestly extending his repertoire of comic personae. As one of his regular writers, Ben Elton, has commented, Atkinson is content to await the roles and vehicles that will suit him rather than constantly seek the limelight.
more...
ATKINSON, ROWAN
British Actor
By the mid-1990s Rowan Atkinson had achieved a certain ubiquity in British popular-cultural life, with comedy series (and their reruns) on television, character roles in leading films, and even life-size cutouts placed in branches of a major bank--a consequence of his advertisments for the bank. Yet, despite Atkinson's high profile, his career has been one of cautious progressions, refining and modestly extending his repertoire of comic personae. As one of his regular writers, Ben Elton, has commented, Atkinson is content to await the roles and vehicles that will suit him rather than constantly seek the limelight.
more...
http://www.crissywild.com/pharmacynetwork/pharm1.html#all
another one...no prescription needed...more of a
selection.
from BXK 007
another one...no prescription needed...more of a
selection.
from BXK 007
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)