Nick's blog

Clinton Questions Democratic Party Principles

Wed, 21 May 2008 10:30:15 -0700

Holy Republican talking points, Batman. Hillary Clinton actually said this:

"I think that what's happened with Florida and Michigan raises serious questions about the principles of our party."

Short version: vote for McCain.

Remember what she said last year?

Possibly One of the Oddest Wire Stories Ever

Mon, 17 Oct 2005 17:25:10 -0700

Why, oh why:

Karl Rove's Garage Proves to Be Typical

Complete with inventory, as visible from street.

Barack Obama Gives A Commencement Address

Thu, 16 Jun 2005 10:58:56 -0700

Just a daily smattering of intelligent, optimistic rhetoric...

Barack Obama Gives A Commencement Address

Have we failed at times? Absolutely. Will you occasionally fail when you embark on your own American journey? You surely will. But the test is not perfection.

The true test of the American ideal is whether we're able to recognize our failings and then rise together to meet the challenges of our time. Whether we allow ourselves to be shaped by events and history, or whether we act to shape them. Whether chance of birth or circumstance decides life's big winners and losers, or whether we build a community where, at the very least, everyone has a chance to work hard, get ahead, and reach their dreams.

More.

Poignant

Thu, 05 May 2005 08:57:01 -0700

This is the type of stuff that always takes me aback. A broken child is a damned drill in the heart. Kudos to Human Rights Watch, but I wonder if they are going to be able to sell the drawings as a story package.

I know it's a month old, but...

Fri, 08 Apr 2005 16:25:36 -0700

A Salon investigation has found that flights carrying the wounded arrive in the United States only at night. And the military is hard-pressed to explain why. In a series of interviews, officials at the Pentagon's Air Mobility Command, which manages all the evacuations, refused to talk on the record to explain the nighttime flights, or to clarify discrepancies in their off-the-record explanations of why the flights arrive when they do.

A Powerful Paragraph

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 12:48:16 -0800

I rarely if ever read Tina Brown, but the last paragraph of her column, here, for some reason struck me as especially poignant. Even though it tells me nothing new, it struck me as powerful in the way it is worded.

The news cycle has evolved into a pattern that strobes between overkill and silence, but reality has not ceased to exist. As our eyes are exclusively focused on a hospice in Florida or an apartment in Atlanta, you wonder uneasily: What's going on beyond that wall of noise? The earthquake off Indonesia this week was like the sudden recriminating cry of the tsunami victims who lost our interest: "Remember me. I'm still here."

Frank Luntz Claims Not to Be Orwellian

Fri, 18 Mar 2005 13:28:36 -0800

Here.

Why do I like Ari Fleischer recently?

Mon, 14 Mar 2005 20:28:26 -0800

He's given some good, sane perspective since publishing his book. I saw him on the Daily Show a couple weeks ago and it reaffirmed my thoughts. Now he's been interviewed by CJR Daily. Read it with an open mind to his views and don't think as a partisan.

Art soothes prisoners' souls

Sat, 19 Feb 2005 22:14:25 -0800

elevated from the diaries
Art soothes prisoners' souls
Group sells works created behind bars

Nick Hoover | Washington | February 18

On a piece of standard-size white paper, in gray pencil, is drawn a masked, shackled man. A rectangular placard hung from his neck reads "incorrigible." Prison numbers read left to right on a patch sewn onto the chest of his prison-issue: 0282118. His body slumps, knees forced almost to the ground by the huge spherical cage he bears on his shoulders. In the cage, an angel sits in a fetal position, her wings tattered. A single tear has begun its journey down her left cheek.

"This work depicts the stereotyping and labeling placed upon society's outcasts and the burdens and knowledge of wasted potential harbored within the prisoner's heart," reads a note taped to the back of the piece of cardboard to which the art is affixed.

The drawing sits on an orange plastic stacking chair among other works by the same artist. It is one of hundreds of pieces crowding the chairs, tables and walls at this monthly show in which prisoners' art fills the basement of First Trinity Lutheran Church in Northwest.

The Prisons Foundation, the district-based nonprofit sponsoring the show, has been helping prisoners through art and education for two years.

Dennis Sobin, 61, the organization's director, spent 11 years in prison in Florida for a non-violent crime. While incarcerated, he used music to soothe his soul and began sending letters to people on the board of the Prisons Foundation. The group was then solely an educational venture, but Sobin wanted to solicit money for his vision. He foresaw a program to increase public awareness of prison artists' work while also lifting the spirits of the artists themselves.

The art show "humanizes people in prison," Sobin says. "It destigmatizes people. And for the prisoners, art is very important as an outlet, for helping them maintain their sanity. There's hope. `If I can do things here, I can do things when I get out.'"

Sobin relates a story from his time in prison. While there, he played the guitar between five and seven hours every day, perfecting such tunes as Scott Joplin's ragtime Heliotrope Bouquet, one of his favorites. But all his attention to music often got him in trouble. He was often placed in solitary confinement when he refused to stop playing despite guards' orders.

Even there, Sobin used music to keep his spirits up. "When I was in the hole, I still practiced, because I could practice mentally," he says. He would visualize the neck of the guitar and the sounds of the strings. When he was allowed back into the general prison population, he says, his fellow inmates told him he sounded better than before he went in.

Upon his release, Sobin began his mission by corresponding with prisoners. And since September, the organization has held monthly art shows, all but one at this location.

The creator of "Incorrigible," Russ Luncsford, is among 80 artists represented in this show. He is one of more than 130 inmates from around the country who have contributed art since the program began.

One picture, of a solitary finger, now framed and too small to have a full note affixed to the back, arrived at the Prisons Foundation with a letter that said the inmate, Richard Hinger, was "mailing myself out of here, one part at a time."

So the art gives prisoners a taste of freedom. That taste is extended to all prisoners who wish to send their art, because the foundation doesn't refuse any pieces.

"We're trying to help all inmates," explains Bandar. The art on display today varies widely, although themes emerge. Celebrities are a popular subject, with three paintings each of Oprah Winfrey and Tupac Shakur among a number of others. Also represented are religious paintings and drawings, with Christianity central to many. And women. Lots of women. A pair of lustful eyes here, an hourglass figure there, even a crocheted bikini bottom.

The materials vary, too. "You can really see the creativity, like when people do art on the back of Fed Ex boxes. They find really interesting ways to express themselves," says Abbie Somina, a volunteer.

Frederick Thompson, 72 and imprisoned since 1967, spends up to 80 hours on every piece of art he does and uses only a ballpoint pen, one of which he sent to the Prisons Foundation with a finished piece. Some of the works are done on canvas, others on drawing paper, and one notable rose is drawn in mostly pink ink on a piece of lined legal-sized paper.

On a recent Saturday morning in January, a slow stream of people -- perhaps one group every several minutes -- flows into the church basement to appreciate the art. "It's a mixed bag that comes in," says Omar Bandar, who spent nearly a year in jail after being arrested as a teenager for illegal possession of a firearm. Now, at age 26, he has found a place for himself as the foundation's art director.

Bandar estimates 50 percent of the visitors are curiosity seekers, 20 percent art collectors, another 20 percent work in the social services and the rest are ex-prisoners, although those numbers are, in his words, "totally ballpark."

This is the slowest month the show has witnessed, he says, but there are still people looking, asking questions and occasionally buying.

"I'm an artist myself and I like to see others' work," says Carl Tucker, one such visitor. "I just appreciate art."

The art Tucker is enjoying can also give prisoners a bit of money to spend in the prison store. The shows usually enable Sobin and his staff to sell more than 50 pieces of art each month, with prices ranging from $5 to $850. Forty percent of the proceeds from sales go directly to prisoners.

"When people buy their art, it gives them confidence, it gives [the prisoners] self esteem," says Aston McLaughlin, a former inmate who came to the show to network with the Prisons Foundation, as he runs an organization dedicated to helping prisoners get back on their feet.

Sometimes, however, that money doesn't make it back to the artists. Many prisons have regulations prohibiting inmates from receiving any outside income while they are incarcerated, Bandar says. These prisoners are forced to use alternative methods to get their art out.

"Some places don't allow prisoners to quote unquote `run a business,' so money will be sent back and the prisoner may be put in the hole," Bandar adds, making sure to note that it is up to the prisoners to know the rules of their own prison.

In these cases, which account for 30 percent or more of the art the foundation sells, the art might be sent by the chaplain or through surrogates such as family members, Bandar says. In return, the money is usually sent to loved ones, charity or a trust fund.

Many prisons have arts and education funds and classes. But in some prisons, even the limited art materials used to paint, draw or construct the art here themselves are taboo and will be thrown out if discovered, Bandar says.

Even so, he says, art from those prisons sometimes reach the Prisons Foundation.

The art show "pays for itself" and Sobin hopes he can keep funds coming to help it stay alive. Right now, the bulk of the foundation's money comes from the organization's several publications, including a statistical book on U.S. prisons, a bi-monthly news digest and a prisoners' guide to their rights. In addition, the group culled "generous" initial funding from a board of directors and continues to receive individual donations.

The group wants to spread its message far, relying on ads in prison publications to spread its word on the inside -- "once one inmate gets something, it gets passed around," Bandar says -- and a 50,000-name email list to reach those on the outside. And the foundation has recently produced a book of the prisoners' artwork, titled "Prison Artists and Their Work."

After today's show, the art will be packed up and stored in boxes, bubble wrap and large Rubbermaid bins in the group's offices and kept there until next month. Then they'll be unpacked and the whole process will begin anew.

"We'll keep this up for 50 years if the funding stays around," Sobin says.

Young Americans Don't Know Washington, Republicans Would Elect W. Over 1st Pres.

Wed, 16 Feb 2005 19:50:04 -0800

C.V. Starr Center - If George Washington returned from the dead and attempted to recapture the presidency of the United States, he would beat the incumbent President Bush by nearly 20 percentage points, according to a new national poll conducted for Washington College by the public affairs research firm of Schulman, Ronca & Bucuvalas, Inc.

One of the several kickers:

Asked to choose between George Washington and George W. Bush, Republicans in the survey supported Bush by a margin of more than 2 to 1, while Democrats and independents overwhelmingly favored Washington.

Is our children learning? jnh.

Fridays at the Washington Post

Fri, 28 Jan 2005 12:53:32 -0800

Every Friday this semester, I go to the Washington Post with several of my classmates and participate in a Q&A session with Post employees. Today, we talked to Tim Dwyer and Maureen Fan. Every week, if something interesting is said, I'm going to bullet point the salient points here. I know there are a few news fans who will find this stuff interesting.

What they said:

The White House initially wanted to totally close the post-inauguration Commander-in-Chief ball to reporters despite the ball's centerpiece role. When reporters were finally told they would be allowed in, they were allowed to speak with attendees at the ball only in the presence of Administration-appointed minders.

The Washington Post secured 196 credentials for the inauguration. And used all of them. It "had people reporting from both sides of streets in case security said they couldn't cross," Fan said.

It is not an enviable position in the WaPo newsroom to have to cover the inauguration.

This guy, who said he was "interviewed extensively by Post reporter Timothy Dwyer on 12/21 about the activities planned for 1/6" (a counter-inauguration) actually called Dwyer, who was assigned to cover the official inauguration proceedings on the 20th, and "ranted" for 45 minutes about a story that Dwyer wasn't working on or associated with and kept asking why Dwyer wasn't reporting about how the election was stolen and Ohio was a sham.

The Post reporters were asked why there wasn't any reporting about diversity along the parade route and during the inauguration, and they said there was no diversity along the parade route to note. "But how are you going to say in some feature-y story about the parade, 'oh, by the way, they were all white'?" Fan asked. I wondered why it wouldn't be included -- isn't that important? -- but by that time someone else had already asked another question.

The press does not yet know the actual cost of the inauguration. The Administration originally told the Post on background it would be $50 million, but after the Post and NYT both printed that figure, they re-estimated the cost at $35-$40 million, "so they could be closer to the last inauguration," Fan said.

That's about all I can print here, I don't want them to lose sources because of me.

This is Our President

Thu, 20 Jan 2005 12:05:57 -0800

From a Washington Times interview last week:

I fully understand that the job of the president is and must always be protecting the great right of people to worship or not worship as they see fit.

That's what distinguishes us from the Taliban. The greatest freedom we have -- or one of the greatest freedoms -- is the right to worship the way you see fit. And on the other hand, I don't see how you can be president -- at least from my perspective, how you can be president, without a -- without a relationship with the Lord.

Homeland Security Daily Reports

Thu, 20 Jan 2005 11:43:49 -0800

Daily incident reports from the department of Homeland Security from September through last week can be found here. Many if not most have gone unreported. All the documents are marked "for official use only."

"I Changed the Law"

Sun, 16 Jan 2005 19:17:05 -0800

Gabriel Allen fought for the right to sit during the Pledge of Allegiance. Meet the boy who stirred the patriotic pot.

Defining Bias Downward

Sun, 16 Jan 2005 13:08:03 -0800

A CJR editorial, from this month's issue:

In the wake of the election the bias symphony is reaching for a crescendo. The new refrain goes this way: aside from John Kerry, the election's other loser was mainstream media. George W. Bush, the theory goes, won despite the strenuous efforts of the press to bring him down. Here's an example of this view, from Tim Graham of National Review

Every anti-Bush angle ... was explored with great ferocity. Almost every week of 2004 was a bad media week for Bush. There was Paul O'Neill Book Week. There was 9/11 Ads in Bad Taste Week. There was Richard Clarke Book Week. There was Bob Woodward Book Week. There were two weeks of Alabama National Guard Whereabouts Hunt. There were four weeks of Abu Ghraib hype ...

What's disturbing is not the way that Graham is whining into his champagne but his little two-step away from reality. He and others are defining bias downward, as anything that challenges a GOP point of vieww.