Sunday, March 8, 2009

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Elizabeth Scharpf and Rachel Kauder Nalebuff: When a Period Ends More Than A Sentence Top
Thatcher Mweu is a high school sophomore at Choate Rosemary Hall, a prestigious New England boarding school. Two years ago, she was living in a rural Kenyan village. Introducing the new class of 2011, Choate's headmaster told the school of its deepening diversity--there was a girl who had never been in an elevator before. What he didn't know is that Thatcher had never seen a tampon before, either. Despite the fact that half the world menstruates, most people overlook the serious repercussions of a lack of affordable sanitary supplies in developing countries. The reason? Most people don't know that it is a problem. Others find the subject embarrassing. Even those who do understand think there are more pressing problems at hand. Why spend money on pads when AIDS remains to be solved, when countries desperately need infrastructure, when the economy is collapsing? Because it turns out that providing pads does much more than prevent embarrassing stains. It is a simple solution that can change the standing of a gender, and thus an economy, across a continent. In the US, sanitary pads first became widespread in 1921, tampons in 1936. As a result girls and women had the opportunity to fully participate in school, sports, and the workforce. These products equaled freedom. And this is why many women say tampons are one of the greatest inventions of all time. They effectively reduced the inconvenience, opportunity cost, and stigma of menstruation. But in developing countries, periods continue to be a serious handicap. According to UNICEF, ten percent of school-age African girls miss school because of a lack of access to affordable sanitary products. In Rwanda, it's much worse. According to on-the-ground research by Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE), half the girls are missing school due to menstruation and the main reason given is that sanitary pads are too expensive. For women, 24% miss work--up to 45 days per year--for the same reason. This not only limits girls' educational and women's professional achievement, but leads to a significant economic loss for nations. SHE estimates that a lack of affordable sanitary pads reduces GDP by $115 million per year in Rwanda alone. There are also serious health repercussions of not having pads. In Asia, many women still use rags; less fortunate ones use newspapers, banana leaves, even sand or ash. While rags were common before the pad was invented, the problem in developing countries is that often women don't have access to clean water to wash them. And the taboo of menstruation means that many women cannot hang their rags to dry in the open. So, instead, they hide them in dark, damp places where no one will find them. As one might imagine, infections are rampant. The first step is to destigmatize menstruation. Bringing periods into the open won't be easy. The taboo of menstruation is embedded in our religions, culture, and history. The Quran declares that menstruating women "are a hurt and a pollution." Indian women are exiled from their own homes. Orthodox Jewish women are forbidden to have sex. French housewives can't make mayonnaise. In ancient Rome, Pliny the Elder wrote that contact with menstrual blood "turns new wine sour, crops touched by it become barren, grafts die, ..., the edge of steel and the gleam of ivory are dulled." Today, Pliny seems ridiculous, but discrimination and ignorance remain. To change attitudes means breaking the silence. Our hope is that this article will help start a dialogue with the women and men around you. Almost every woman remembers her first period--where and when it happened, who, if anyone, she told, and even what she was wearing. Girls should know the stories of the women in their family. Sharing these stories will help mothers and daughters (and dads, too) talk more openly about this natural process. Equally important is to change the economy of menstruation. Sanitary pads should be affordable and safe. This is an investment not only in women, but economies. Thirty years ago, Gloria Steinem published one of her most famous essays, If Men Could Menstruate. There would be no taboos. Men would brag about how long and how much. And sanitary supplies would be federally funded and free. It's time we do a better job helping our sisters around the world. P&G is contributing $5 million over five years to provide sanity supplies in Africa. SHE is jump-starting local businesses to produce affordable sanitary supplies around the globe. Individually, we can all help end the taboo by talking. These are the ways to truly celebrate International Women's Day.
 
Joe Klein Defends Chas Freeman Against "Rabid" Jewish Opposition Top
I've been loathe to join the argument about whether the veteran diplomat Chas Freeman should be hired to lead the National Intelligence Council. I don't know the man, am only vaguely aware of his reputation--very smart but unothodox, a bit too close to the Saudis, a root canal 'realist' whose cold analysis of the Tiananmen uprising suggested that the Chinese government would have been better served to nip the student uprising 'in the bud.'
 
International Women's Day (SLIDESHOW) Top
Women around the world are pausing today to celebrate International Women's Day. Since the early 1900's , this has been a day to recognize and celebrate the important social, political and economic contributions women make to society. To mark the day, here is a slideshow of women around the world who have overcome sexism, stereotypes and sometimes violent oppression to become leaders and role models for the women in their communities. More on Photo Galleries
 
Lindsey Graham Contradicts Himself On Earmarks In Under A Minute Top
Moments after declaring that the country needs earmark reform, Sen. Lindsey Graham offered an arduous defense of his own, well, earmarking. Appearing on NBC's Meet the Press, the South Carolina Republican was asked about his good friend John McCain's pork-focused critique of the omnibus spending bill that was held up in the Senate on Friday. "We do need earmark reform," said Graham. "I wish [the president] would veto the bill, we'd get back together and come up with the earmark reform process." Seconds later, however, Graham was reminded that he himself had inserted 37 earmarks in the legislation, including $950,000 for "a convention center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina." After defending the transparency and necessity of such an expenditure, Graham finally finished the 180, saying of the Myrtle Beach funding: "I voted to take all earmarks out, but I will come back in the new process and put that back in." In other words: earmarking is terrible, but I should have the ability to earmark. To be fair, Graham -- like every other member of Congress who inserted pork into the omnibus -- had to do it publicly. Moreover, the number of earmarks has dropped significantly since Congress passed legislative changes to the process after Democrats regained control. "Senator McCain does not object to members of Congress designating money to be spent in their state," Graham explained, "as long as it has a federal purpose, is transparent and its easy to understand what the money is going to be spent for." More on John McCain
 
Karzai Welcomes Obama Call To Reach Out To Taliban Top
KABUL — President Hamid Karzai on Sunday welcomed President Barack Obama's call to identify moderate elements of the Taliban and encourage them to reconcile with the Afghan government. Obama's call "was good news because this has been the stand of the Afghan government," Karzai told a gymnasium full of Afghan women during a speech to commemorate International Women's Day. Obama said in an interview with The New York Times published Sunday that there may be opportunities to reach out to moderates in the Taliban, but the situation in Afghanistan is more complicated than the challenges the American military faced in Iraq. "There may be some comparable opportunities in Afghanistan and in the Pakistani region," Obama said, while cautioning that solutions in Afghanistan will be complicated. U.S. troops were able to persuade Sunni Muslim insurgents in Iraq to cooperate in some instances because they had been alienated by the tactics of al-Qaida terrorists. Karzai warned that there are Taliban fighters who are beyond reconciliation _ those who have joined with al-Qaida, for instance. But he said talks should go forward "with those who are afraid to come back to their country, or who feel they have no choice but to stay with the Taliban for various reasons. They are welcome." Obama cautioned that Afghanistan is a less-governed region than Iraq with a history of fierce independence among tribes, creating a tough set of circumstances for the United States to deal with. Obama last month ordered 17,000 more troops to Afghanistan to bolster the record 38,000 American forces already in the country. Obama has promised to increase the U.S. focus on Afghanistan and away from Iraq, as the U.S. begins to draw down its forces there. In the latest violence, a roadside blast killed a NATO service member and wounded two U.S. coalition members in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, the NATO-led force said. The alliance did not disclose the troops' nationalities or the exact location of the attack, but the majority of troops in eastern Afghanistan are American. Another roadside blast in central Ghazni province hit a police vehicle, killing three officers and wounding another three, said Ismail Jahangir, the spokesman for the provincial governor. A joint Afghan-coalition patrol, meanwhile, killed two Afghan police officers late Friday who opened fire on their team in northeastern Kapisa province, the coalition said in a statement Sunday. The joint patrol, which was on foot, attempted to identify themselves as friendly forces to the police without success, the statement said. "In self-defense, the patrol returned fire killing two individuals," it said. The string of deaths continues an upward spike in violence that has spread throughout Afghanistan the last three years even as Obama's administration is trying to come up with a new approach to dealing with the Afghan war. (This version CORRECTS that the blast in Ghazni killed three and wounded three instead of killed six and wounded six.)) More on Barack Obama
 
Illinois Church Shooting Leaves Several Injured, Including Pastor Top
MARYVILLE, Ill. — Media outlets in the St. Louis area say several people have been wounded in a shooting at an Illinois church near St. Louis. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and KDSK-TV in St. Louis say the shooting occurred at the First Baptist Church in the town of Maryville. The Post-Dispatch also says the suspected attacker is in custody. Maryville is about 20 miles northeast of St. Louis.
 
Orszag Calls Out GOP On Budget, Channels Inner Ronald Reagan Top
Asked on Sunday whether the Obama administration's budget proposal was, as posited by Sen. Lindsey Graham, a "scary" idea, OMB Director Peter Orszag did something unique for Democratic administrations: he cited Ronald Reagan. "Well, as Ronald Reagan once put it, there they go again," said the president's budget czar during an appearance on Face the Nation. "We've had eight years of one approach -- didn't work. We're offering a new approach. Let's look at what the Republicans are putting on the table. The senior Republican on the House Budget Committee has put forward a plan that includes $3 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations, a Medicare program -- when you turn 65, you'd be handed a check for 80 percent of the cost of health care and then you're on your own -- and a Social Security plan in which your Social Security funds would be invested in the stock market. I'm not making this stuff up. That is their alternative plan. I think they should come on this show, offer a detailed alternative to what we're talking about and I'll let the American people evaluate the two ways forward." The calling out of the GOP for a lack of substantive budget proposal is something that Orszag repeated during an appearance on CNN, also on Sunday. Later in the CBS segment, House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio replied to the OMB director's challenge, saying that "American families are tightening their belt, but they don't see government tightening its belt." A Newsweek poll released Friday found that Americans mostly agree with Orszag's charge , with 58 percent of Americans, including 42 percent of Republicans, saying that the GOP doesn't actually have an alternative economic plan. Ironically, around the same time Orszag was channeling the Gipper, conservative columnist David Brooks was appearing on ABC This Week, chastising Republicans in Congress for a damaging obsession with Reagan-era politics . More on Obama's Budget
 
Moshe Katsav Facing Rape, Sexual Assault Charges Top
Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav will be indicted on charges of rape and sexual assault of a number of his employees, the country's justice ministry said Sunday. More on Israel
 
Apple Faces Growing Threat To iPhone Bunsiness From Renegade Stores Top
Apple Inc. faces a growing threat to its iPhone business, as renegade stores spring up online to sell unauthorized software for the device. More on Apple
 
Gingrich Takes On Rush: Hoping For Prez's Failure Is "Irrational" Top
Newt Gingrich became the highest profile Republican yet to push back against Rush Limbaugh, saying on "Meet the Press" that it's "irrational" to hope for the President of the United States to fail. "You've got to want the president to succeed," said the former House Majority Leader. "You're irrational if you don't want the president to succeed. Because if he doesn't succeed the country doesn't succeed... I don't think anyone should want the president of the United States to fail. I want some of his policies to be stopped. But I don't want the president of the United States to fail. I want him to learn new policies." The remarks were an obvious shot at Limbaugh, even if the conservative talk show host wasn't named. There has been a brooding feud between Limbaugh and Gingrich over the future of the Republican Party that briefly erupted during the recent CPAC convention. Responding to remarks by Gingrich that "the era of Reagan is over," Limbaugh declared during his hour-long closing address : "Our own movement has members trying to throw Reagan out while the Democrats know they can't accomplish what they want unless they appeal to Reagan voters. We have got to stamp this out within this movement because it will tear us apart. It will guarantee we lose elections." That Gingrich would respond by pushing back against Limbaugh's now-infamous line rooting for Obama's failure suggests just how testy the relationship between the two has become. Gingrich was highly critical of nearly every other aspect of the current administration, from its economic policies to its political tactics. At one point, he called the Obama administration cynical for trying to make an issue out of Limbaugh. On Sunday's talk show circuit, Sen. Lindsey Graham was the only other person willing to put his head on the line with some anti-Rush rhetoric. "I think Rush Limbaugh's prominence in the Republican Party is not what we are talking about. I think his prominence in the radio world to gin up people for conservative causes is prominent. He doesn't play in the Republican Party. He is not an elected official," said the South Carolina Republican. "I'm Lindsey Graham. He has been on me for two or three or four years for different things and I take it for what it is worth. ... Stop talking about Rush Limbaugh at the White House."
 
Meghan McCain's Dating Woes Laughed At By Dad (VIDEO) Top
During an appearance on Fox News Sunday, Sen. John McCain laughed off his daughter Meghan's complaint that his campaign hurt her love life. In a blog post on The Daily Beast , Meghan McCain wrote about the troubles she's had finding romance post-November. "The election killed my personal life," she writes. "I am not only turned off by people who voted for Barack Obama, but I am also turned off by people that voted for my dad--or more so, obsessive supporters of my dad." Meghan McCain also complained of her mother's loyal fans: "One extreme fan of my mother's recently told me I could be 'his Cindy.' And then asked me if I ever wore pearls because they probably would look as good on me as they do on my mother. No, I'm not kidding. Any guy that has a fetish for older women in pantsuits and large pearls obviously only finds my last name attractive about me." Asked by host Chris Wallace to comment, McCain laughed and said: "I have to say, I have a beautiful daughter; I have very bright prospects for her professionally and socially." He added, after being questioned by Wallace, that he won't be arranging a "planned marriage." "I'm proud of all my children," he added. "From time to time they may do or say something that might be slightly not what I would do or say, but that's what young people are all about." Watch:
 
Sean L. McCarthy: The SNL FAQ: #34.18 (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) Top
It's Sunday morning. You have questions about last night's Saturday Night Live . We have answers. Did they open with a political sketch? Of course they did. They almost always seem to since the 2008 election campaign. Will Forte played Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, taking calls from Americans with ideas to solve the banking crisis and possibly win $420 billion for it. How did the host do, and did he/she do anything outrageously funny? Dwayne Johnson, formerly known as pro rassler "The Rock," is and always has been quite the ham sandwich, and though you might have (though should not have) been surprised to see and hear him sing, you'll likely remember most that he played "The Rock" Obama, the president's "Incredible Hulk" alter ego. Who played President Obama? Fred Armisen, still, but he ceded his scene mostly to Johnson. Was there a digital short? No. Was it funny? Not applicable. Was there a fake ad? Not exactly. Did the musical guest lip-sync or otherwise do something worth mentioning? Ray LaMontagne may be thought of as this generation's American version of Van Morrison, and I mean that only in all of the best ways. He performed new single "You Are The Best Thing," and also "Trouble" off of his debut record. Did my favorite character return? If you love MacGruber, he was back for a new trilogy, and this time, he made up for that whole Pepsi ad confusion by reuniting with his TV inspiration, MacGyver. The show also brought back "Jamie Lee Curtis" (Kristen Wiig) for another Activia commercial, in which the yogurt causes almost instantaneous reactions (read: pooping!). Were there any celebrity cameos? Richard Dean Anderson, TV's MacGyver, co-starred in the "MacGruber" sketches. And Justin Timberlake, who we knew was in New York City this week because we saw him on Jimmy Fallon's new Late Night show, made an appearance as comic strip Cathy's husband, Irving, only to get sidetracked by Jessica Rabbit (Timberlake's real-life girlfriend, Jessica Biel). Va. Va. Voom. Did any celebrities get impersonated? Aside from the aforementioned Jamie Lee Curtis (Kristen Wiig), we saw the return of Donald Trump (Darrell Hammond) and his Celebrity Apprentice stars Tom Green (Fred Armisen), Joan Rivers (Michaela Watkins) and Dennis Rodman (Dwayne Johnson). Did any politicians get impersonated? Aside from the aforementioned Timothy Geitner (Will Forte) and Obama (Fred Armisen, Dwayne Johnson), we also saw Sen. John McCain (Darrell Hammond), Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (Kristen Wiig), Sen. Tom Coburn (Will Forte), and RNC Chairman Michael Steele (Kenan Thompson). For the full recap and analysis of SNL, click here . More on Barack Obama
 
Dowd To Michelle Obama: Don't Cover Up Your Biceps Top
Let's face it: The only bracing symbol of American strength right now is the image of Michelle Obama's sculpted biceps. Her husband urges bold action, but it is Michelle who looks as though she could easily wind up and punch out Rush Limbaugh, Bernie Madoff and all the corporate creeps who ripped off America. In the taxi, when I asked David Brooks about her amazing arms, he indicated it was time for her to cover up. "She's made her point," he said. "Now she should put away Thunder and Lightning." More on Michelle Obama
 
Axelrod On Jon Favreau: "I Call Him Mozart" Top
The new president's first address to Congress loomed and Barack Obama had convened a few trusted advisers in the Oval Office. Seated in a chair beside the fireplace, Obama turned his attention to a 27-year-old with close-cropped hair among the aides perched on the office couch. His instructions were familiar.
 
Orszag: Give Stimulus Some Time To Work Top
WASHINGTON — The White House budget chief says he is giving the stimulus plan time to work before looking at revising predictions for the economy's future. Peter Orszag (OHR'-zag) says officials shouldn't be constantly changing their approach to dealing with the troubled economy based on every new report. That, he says, would be like chasing your tail. The economy has grown steadily worse since the administration put together its stimulus plan. Still, Orszag says no second stimulus or any changes are in the works. Stimulus money is just starting to flow into the economy, and Orszag is urging people to give it some time to work. Orszag appeared Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." More on Obama's Budget
 
Recession on track to be longest in postwar period Top
WASHINGTON — Factory jobs disappeared. Inflation soared. Unemployment climbed to alarming levels. The hungry lined up at soup kitchens. It wasn't the Great Depression. It was the 1981-82 recession, widely considered America's worst since the depression. That painful time during Ronald Reagan's presidency is a grim marker of how bad things can get. Yet the current recession could slice deeper into the U.S. economy. If it lasts into April _ as it almost surely will _ this one will go on record as the longest in the postwar era. The 1981-82 and 1973-75 recessions each lasted 16 months. Unemployment hasn't reached 1982 levels and the gross domestic product hasn't fallen quite as far. But the hurt from this recession is spread more widely and uncertainty about the country's economic health is worse today than it was in 1982. Back then, if someone asked if the nation was about to experience something as bad as the Great Depression, the answer was, "Quite clearly, `No,'" said Murray Weidenbaum, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Reagan White House. "You don't have that certainty today," he said. "It's not only that the downturn is sharp and widespread, but a lot of people worry that it's going to be a long-lasting, substantial downturn." For months, headlines have compared this recession with the one that began in July 1981 and ended in November 1982. _In January, reports showed 207,000 manufacturing jobs vanished in the largest one-month drop since October 1982. _Major automakers' U.S. sales extended their deep slump in February, putting the industry on track for its worst sales month in more than 27 years. _Struggling homebuilders have just completed the worst year for new home sales since 1982. _There are 12.5 million people out of work today, topping the number of jobless in 1982. "I think most people think it is worse than 1982," said John Steele Gordon, a financial historian. "I don't think many people think it will be 1932 again. Let us pray. But it's probably going to be the worst postwar recession, certainly." The 1982 downturn was driven primarily by the desire to rid the economy of inflation. To battle a decade-long bout of high inflation, then-Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, now an economic adviser to President Barack Obama, pushed interest rates up to levels not seen since the Civil War. The approach tamed inflation, but not without suffering. Hardest hit was the industrial Midwest; the Pacific Northwest, where the logging industry lagged from construction declines; and some states in the South, where the recession hit late. Frustrated workers fled to the Sunbelt to find work. In Michigan, which led the nation in jobless workers, newspapers offered idled auto workers free "job wanted" ads in the classified section. Mortgages carried double-digit interest rates. When the 1982 recession ended, the national jobless rate had hit 10.8 percent. Just like today, that recession led to political finger-pointing. When the government reported a 10.1 percent jobless rate for September 1982, organized labor rallied across the street from the White House. A few protesters chained themselves to an entrance at the Labor Department. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called it a national tragedy and blamed Democrats. Democrats called it a national tragedy and blamed Reagan. Even months after the recession officially ended, Reagan was greeted in Pittsburgh by signs that said: "We want jobs, Mr. Hoover" and "Reagan says his economic program is working _ are you?" President Herbert Hoover's term is forever linked in history with the Great Depression. Those not as badly hurt have fuzzy memories of the 1981-82 recession. Not Jim O'Connor of Pekin, Ill., who was president of United Auto Workers Local 974 when Caterpillar Tractor Co. was laying off workers in Peoria in the 1980s. Maybe time has soothed the sting O'Connor felt, but he contends the economic problems facing workers today are worse than during the recession he survived nearly three decades ago. "The days of walking out of one factory and walking into another one down the street are over," O'Connor said. He retired from Caterpillar in 2001 but thinks he might find part-time job to help pay his health insurance. "When I hired in at Caterpillar in 1968, we had numerous factories here. Almost all of that has left the country or moved South. The unions don't have any leverage anymore at the bargaining table. So these young people (today) aren't only out of work, you know. They weren't making a living wage when they lost their job," he said. Like Reagan did then, Obama is dishing up hope. Trouble is, people can't visualize any reward they might get from making it through this recession, said William Niskanen, an economic adviser to Reagan. There's little hope of any gain from the pain. Falling housing and stock prices have undermined household wealth. People are worried about losing their jobs, their homes and their retirement savings all at a time when health care is weighing down income. "In the 1980s, it was clear to people that the inflation rate was going to come way down and it did," Niskanen said. "There was a sense that we were going through a tough time for a while as a price of getting inflation down and that things would come back up. Today, they can't see any gain from what's going on." Consumer confidence is in free fall. Banks are in peril. The overall economy, as measured by the GDP, shrank at a 6.2 percent annual rate in final three months of last year, the worst drop since the first quarter of 1982. The unemployment rate, at 8.1 percent in February, hasn't reached the 10.8 percent reported in November 1982, but the recession is not over. It's not only blue-collar workers who are feeling the greatest anguish. Americans who are trapped in houses worth less than their mortgages are suffering. So, too, are people whose personal wealth is tied to the stock market. Personal wealth is dwindling in the U.S., and the effects of the financial meltdown have been felt around the world. "This recession is broader, deeper and more complicated than virtually anything we have ever seen," Wachovia Corp. economist Mark Vitner said. "The whole evolution of the credit markets resulted in all sorts of complex financial instruments that are difficult to unwind. It's like trying to unscramble scrambled eggs. It just can't be done that easily. I don't know if it can be done at all." He said he sees fear in the eyes of his clients. "I've had people come up and hug me after a presentation, which is unusual," he said. "I haven't told them anything about how it's going to be better, but they just feel better having a better understanding of what's happening." More on The Recession
 
Alexander Dresner: Obama Could Learn From Bush Top
At a Rock the Vote awards dinner in 2005, then-Senator Obama spoke to a packed house at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. He cut a presidential figure on the stage, beautifully mobilizing the English language to take the audience back to the era of the civil rights movement. As the speech neared its end he began weaving in and out of his prepared remarks. The result: Obama was humanized. His personality emerged from the crafted political veneer and his true character became apparent in its full appeal. This was one of the few times that I can remember when Obama displayed a willingness to speak extemporaneously -- albeit briefly. During the campaign, he avoided town-hall style events which would have forced him to speak off-the-cuff. He preferred instead to rely extensively on prepared remarks when out on the trail. In spite of this, the frequency with which he spoke and interacted with the public allowed them to get a good sense of the candidate. Here is Obama's new problem: firmly enclosed within the White House bubble, he runs the risk of losing his man-of-the-people appeal. Much of this stems from his continued dependence on the teleprompter. The young cadre of White House speechwriters has suggested that Obama's close involvement in writing and preparing speeches has helped make them his own. Implicit in this is the suggestion that despite Obama's propensity to read from prepared remarks, he still comes across as genuine. Yet the image of Obama standing behind a podium emblazoned with the presidential seal has a subtle and yet powerful effect: it distances him from the American public. Of all people, Obama could be well-served by following in his predecessor's foot-steps. When Bush was not confined by the limits imposed by prepared remarks, he had an innate ability to connect with his audience. He had a great sense for the mood in a room and he played to it. Without being told precisely what to say, his core beliefs and passion came through in the words he spoke. Frequent mis-deployment of his linguistic arsenal earned him a good deal of criticism, but it also helped endear him to many Americans. Even those who deplored his policies saw an honestly in what he was advocating. This allowed him bridge the gap between the oval office and the people he represented. The prescription, to be clear, does not involve descending into the depths of anti-intellectualism; far from it, in fact. By throwing out the script, Obama could benefit by presenting his sharp intellect in an unvarnished, imperfect fashion. Americans would appreciate the genuineness of this; and even in those rare moments where Obama would eventually stumble over his words, he would reinforce a fact everyone loves to hear: that even great men sometimes fall short. More on Barack Obama
 
Brooks: GOP Spending Freeze Idea Is "Insane," Party Too Stuck On Reagan Top
New York Times columnist David Brooks said on Sunday that it was "insane" for Republicans in Congress, including every GOP member of the House, to support a spending freeze in the middle of a recession. Tying such proposals to an intellectual simplicity exhibited by Rush Limbaugh, the conservative scribe also said the party was too obsessed with pursuing the legacy of Ronald Reagan in a drastically different time. "The problem with them and the problem with Limbaugh in terms of intellectual philosophy is they are stuck with Reagan," Brooks said during an appearance on "This Week with George Stephanopoulos." "They are stuck with the idea that government is always the problem. A lot of Republicans up in Capitol Hill right now are calling for a spending freeze in a middle of a recession/depression. That is insane. But they are thinking the way they thought in 1982, if we can only think that way again, that is just insane. And there are a lot of Republicans like David Frum ... who are trying to say Reagan was right for his era, but it is time to move on. And there are just not a lot of them on Capitol Hill right now, and I think the party is looking for that kind of Republican." Earlier in the week, House Minority Leader John Boehner urged President Barack Obama to work with Republicans to impose a spending freeze until the end of this fiscal year. Introduced as legislation, the measure failed when it came to a vote, with every Republican but only eight Democrats supporting its passage.
 
Charles Barkley Begins Jail Sentence At Tent City Top
PHOENIX — Former NBA star Charles Barkley has begun serving a three-day sentence on a drunken driving charge. Maricopa County sheriff's Deputy Lindsey Smith says Barkley reported to Tent City on Saturday morning. She did not respond to further requests for information. It's unclear whether Barkley is being housed separately from other inmates in the tents. The 45-year-old basketball great pleaded guilty last month to two misdemeanor DUI charges stemming from his Dec. 31 arrest shortly after leaving a Scottsdale nightclub and failing a field sobriety test. A message left with Barkley's attorney was not immediately returned Saturday morning. Barkley said last month that he made a mistake and just has "to take the beatdown." More on Sports
 

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