Big Can Be Beautiful

Smart government is better than small government.

 By DONALD KAUL

I have a question: If this is the greatest country in the world, why do we keep acting so dumb?

I suppose the sequestration of the federal budget isn’t as dumb as deliberately going over the fiscal cliff, but it’s plenty dumb. Just as the economy was showing signs of climbing out of the hole it’s been in for four years, along come the Republicans to stomp on its fingers.

The best you can say is that it won’t be as quick a demise as a trip over the cliff — it’s more like waterboarding. Some people will hardly notice it at first — the exceptions being the poor, the young, the sick, and furloughed government workers — but it will eventually send unemployment back up and tax revenue down.

And, curiously enough, it will do virtually nothing to address our long-term budget deficit. And that’s what all of this brouhaha is supposed to be about.

The good news is that Mitt Romney will now be able to afford Muzak for his car elevator.

Which apparently pleases Republicans just fine. So long as taxes don’t go up, everything is good.

Conservatives in general, and Republicans in particular, worship at the altar of small government. A government that governs least governs best, they say. Oh, and government isn’t the solution, it’s part of the problem. They’re wrong.

We are a large, wealthy country, home to scores of giant multinational corporations. We live in a global economy. What makes you think we can get by with a small government?

Big government, far from being a terrible thing, is a necessity if we’re to compete in the global marketplace and take care of our responsibilities at home.

Without big government, who will protect the public from the rapacious instincts of capitalistic forces? Who will work to make our air clean, our water pure, and our drugs safe? Who will try to see that the average working stiff gets a fair shake?

I’ll save you the trouble of trying to think of an answer — it’s nobody.

It’s not as though we haven’t tried small government laissez-faire capitalism before. The industrial revolution of the 19th century was the very model for it. Companies did pretty much as they pleased.

The result: company towns that enforced a form of serfdom on their workers, child labor, open and sometimes brutal discrimination against women, blacks, and other ethnic minorities. We had fraudulently promoted unsafe drug supplies, unchecked pollution, and hellish working conditions in mines and factories — all in the name of making a buck for the privileged few.

That’s your small government.

We slowly crawled out from under that oppressive system through government action fueled by the progressive movement of the early 20th century, the New Deal of the 1930s, and many vibrant social movements.

And now Republicans want to take us back to that Hobbesian, all-against-all society? Count me out.
You’ll notice that I’m blaming Republicans exclusively for this mess we’re in. That’s because it’s all their fault.

There are those who claim that Republicans and Democrats share equal blame, or that President Barack Obama has refused to compromise. Don’t believe it.

Obama wore out two sets of trousers during his first term going on his knees to Congress and pleading for cooperation. He got none.

Republicans are still playing that game. They think they can solve our deficit problems by cutting government alone. They can’t. That’s the path Europe has taken.

How’s that working out for them anyway?

I don’t want to sound as though big government is the answer to every problem or that it’s an unadulterated good. It’s not. It too can be oppressive, wasteful, and stupid. You have to watch it like a hawk.

But the solution to bad government isn’t small government. It’s smart government.

OtherWords columnist Donald Kaul lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan. OtherWords.org

Head of FOX News expects to talk from the dead to his kid

Fox News boss Roger Ailes is thinking a lot about mortality these days, according to excerpts Vanity Fair published of a biography soon to be released.

Ailes, 72, is putting together a memory box for his 12-year-old son including quotes from Sun Tzu's "The Art Of War."

Ailes also thinks he'll be able to give advice from the grave to his kid.

“This is advice Zac might need to hear from me in 10 years and I won’t be here to give it to him,” Ailes said as he closed the box. “I’ve told him, if he has a problem or he feels he needs me, to go off to a quiet place and listen, and he will hear my voice.” 

Ladbrokes odds on the 2016 presidential race

The British gambling operation has the following odds for the winner of the 2016 presidential race:

		Hillary Clinton          4/1
		Marco Rubio	10/1
		Paul Ryan	12/1
		Jeb Bush	16/1
		Chris Christie	16/1
		Joe Biden	20/1
		Bobby Jindal	20/1
		Andrew Cuomo	25/1
		Martin O'Malley	25/1
		Condoleeza Rice	25/1
		Elizabeth Warren	33/1
		Scott Walker	33/1
		Michael Bloomberg	40/1
		Kirsten Gillibrand	40/1
		Rand Paul	50/1
		Rick Santorum	50/1
		Eric Cantor	50/1
		Deval Patrick	50/1
		John Hickenlooper	50/1
		Mark Warner	50/1
		Brian Schweitzer	50/1
		Bob McDonnell	50/1
		Sarah Palin	66/1
		Rahm Emmanuel	66/1
		Jon Huntsman	66/1
		Mike Huckabee	66/1
		Amy Klobuchar	66/1
		Janet Napolitano	66/1
		Nikki Haley	66/1
		Cory Booker	80/1
		Ron Paul	100/1
		Mitt Romney	100/1
		David Petraeus	100/1
		Donald Trump	100/1
		Julian Castro	100/1
		Michele Bachmann	100/1
		Rick Perry	100/1
		John Kerry	100/1

What is Businessweek thinking?

Really, this latest Businessweek cover -- from 2013 -- would have been considered racist in the 1970s. Wow.

Statement from President Obama on economic issues

Statement from the President

Today, Republicans in the Senate faced a choice about how to grow our economy and reduce our deficit.  And instead of closing a single tax loophole that benefits the well-off and well-connected, they chose to cut vital services for children, seniors, our men and women in uniform and their families.  They voted to let the entire burden of deficit reduction fall squarely on the middle class.

I believe we should do better.  We should work together to reduce our deficit in a balanced way – by making smart spending cuts and closing special interest tax loopholes.  That’s exactly the kind of plan Democrats in the Senate have proposed.  But even though a majority of Senators support this approach, Republicans have refused to allow it an up-or-down vote – threatening our economy with a series of arbitrary, automatic budget cuts that will cost us jobs and slow our recovery.

Tomorrow I will bring together leaders from both parties to discuss a path forward.  As a nation, we can’t keep lurching from one manufactured crisis to another.  Middle-class families can’t keep paying the price for dysfunction in Washington.  We can build on the over $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction we’ve already achieved, but doing so will require Republicans to compromise.  That’s how our democracy works, and that’s what the American people deserve.

Bicameral, Bipartisan Legislation Introduced to Bring More Transparency to Federal Courtrooms

            WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley and Congressman Steve King, both of Iowa, are leading an effort to bring more transparency into federal courtrooms by introducing the “Sunshine in the Courtroom Act.”  The legislation allows judges at all federal court levels to open their courtrooms to television cameras and radio broadcasts.

            “The federal court system is unknown to many Americans.  C-SPAN’s coverage of the House and Senate has led to greater transparency of the legislative branch of government, and transparency leads to accountability.  Video coverage of our courts can be a great learning tool for the American people and will contribute to a better understanding of the American judicial system,” Grassley said.

            "The responsible televising of courtroom proceedings will allow Americans to better understand the important decisions that are made in the federal judiciary every day, that affect all of our lives," said King. "The Sunshine in the Courtroom Act will provide that much needed transparency by allowing Federal judges to televise coverage of proceedings in their courtrooms. This is a common sense step towards matching the overwhelming number of states that allow televising of at least some trial court proceedings, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate and the House to make this a reality."

The bicameral, bipartisan bill includes a 3-year sunset to provide Congress the opportunity to study the effects of the legislation before making any permanent changes.  The bill protects the privacy and safety of non-party witnesses by giving them the right to have their faces and voices obscured, and it prohibits the televising of jurors.  The bill also includes a provision to protect the due process rights of each party.

            The Senate bill is being introduced with Senator Chuck Schumer, who has joined with Grassley in introducing the bill since 1999.  King is joined in the House by Representatives Jason Chaffetz, Ted Deutch and Zoe Lofgren.

Since Grassley and Schumer first introduced legislation, the Chief Justice has immediately released audio of oral arguments of compelling cases.  The first release came when then Chief Justice William Rehnquist allowed for the release of audio immediately following oral arguments in the Florida election matter in 2000.  Since then, Chief Justice John Roberts has released audio recordings the same day of the oral arguments for more than 20 cases, including Grutter v. Bollinger, D.C. v. Heller, the Guantanamo Cases and the Citizens United Case.

Studies and surveys conducted in many states which permit some form of audio-video coverage in their courtrooms have confirmed that electronic media coverage of trials boosts public understanding of the court system without interfering with court proceedings.

Senator Charles Grassley on sequestration

Reps. Braley and Terry Object to Russian Ban of US Meat

Urge US Trade Representative to enforce Russia’s compliance with WTO agriculture trade standards

Washington, D.C. – Reps. Bruce Braley (D-IA) and Lee Terry (R-NE) today are urging U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk to take aggressive action to enforce Russia’s compliance with World Trade Organization (WTO) agriculture trade standards in the wake of a recent ban on American meat imports.

In December, Russia announced that it would begin enforcing a zero-tolerance standard on imported meat for trace amounts of ractopamine, a feed additive used extensively in the United States and other countries.  Because of its severity, the new policy effectively bans American beef, pork, and turkey from Russia.

Braley said, “Russia is using ractopamine as nothing more than an excuse to ban US meat imports and shield their own producers from competition.  Russia’s actions clearly violate international trade agreements and the United States needs to take a more aggressive stance to reverse this egregiously unfair policy.  In the interest of free and fair trade, Russia needs to immediately reverse their policy.”

Terry said, "With 27 other countries safely importing American meat, the decision by Russia to ban American meat products clearly isn't based on sound science. Whatever their reason, they must reverse this unfair trade practice.  I urge Representative Kirk to do everything he can to ensure that America's farmers and ranchers have access to fair and open international trade markets."

If the Russian sanctions stand, United States livestock producers stand to lose an estimated $600 million in annual sales.

The United States Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of ractopamine in livestock for more than a decade.  Today, 27 countries – including Japan, South Korea, Australia, and Canada – allow ractopamine and agree that it is safe for human consumption.

Survey: Community papers still tops for local news

By The National Newspaper Association

COLUMBIA, MO—Community newspaper readers, surveyed recently, still say they prefer their local papers for getting their news and information. The survey was conducted in small U.S. towns and cities where the circulation size of the local newspaper was 15,000 or less.

The survey was conducted for the National Newspaper Association by the research arm of the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. This is the survey’s seventh year.

NNA President Merle Baranczyk, publisher of the Mountain Mail in Salida, CO, said the survey shows that without a doubt, people read their community newspapers.

“The numbers are self-evident. They indicate the level of connectedness people have with their community newspaper,” Baranczyk said. “From year to year, the studies have shown that people believe in their local papers, for the news they need and the advertising they rely on.”

Since 2005, NNA has done research on how people read and what they think about their local newspaper. Results have been consistent over the years, even as sample and community sizes have been adjusted slightly.

Of those who participated in the survey, 52 percent were daily newspaper readers, and 48 percent were non-daily readers. The circulation sizes of the newspapers ranged from 309 to 14,943.

The trend for readership of community newspapers is consistent with earlier surveys. The study showed that 71 percent of the respondents read a community newspaper at least once a week. Analysis showed that readership of local newspapers was significantly and positively associated with age, suggesting that older adults read local newspapers significantly more than younger adults. This finding is consistent with those of the NNA surveys in 2010 and 2011, and those reported by the Pew Research Center in 2012.

The pass-along rate in the 2012 survey was 2.18 people, compared to 2.33 in 2011.

On average, readers of the 2012 survey spent 39.92 minutes reading local newspapers, up slightly more than the 38.95 minutes in 2011 and 37.5 minutes in 2010.

Similar to previous research, 96 percent of readers paid for their newspaper.

75% read all or most of their newspaper. Compared to 73 percent in 2011 and 78 percent in 2010.
43.8% keep their paper for more than 10 days.
77.4% read the paper for local news and information.
Respondents who had children were also asked whether those children—between the ages of 11 and 21—would read local newspapers. Of the households where there were children in the age group, 18 percent read a local newspaper at least once a week.

Local news content is important, the study showed. More than half of readers (56 percent) had either clipped a story from the print newspaper or provided a link from the newspaper’s website to save or send to a friend or family member in the past 12 months.

The majority of local readers continued to regard community newspapers as highly valuable and important sources information about their communities.

92% of readers thought local newspapers were informative.
83% agreed that they and their families relied on the newspapers for local news and information.
84% of readers (and their families) would look forward to reading the newspapers.
69% thought the newspapers provided valuable local shopping and advertising information.
75% agreed that local newspapers entertained them.
Nearly half of readers (46 percent) used the newspapers for their political and voting decisions.
Of those who had access to the Internet, 49 percent reported that they had “never” read local news online, compared to 48 percent in 2011, suggesting that residents in small towns and cities still rely on print newspapers for local news more than through online platforms.

Of those who used online sources for local news, 59 percent “sought out” specific local news, higher than in 2011 (52 percent). In addition, 30 percent “happened to come across it,” and 11 percent answered “both.”

The survey shows that 47 percent of online users would choose a newspaper’s website as their favored source of information for local news. Twenty-four percent said they would select a local TV website. And 21 percent said they would use an independent site such as Yahoo, MSN, Google, etc. It should be noted that 2 percent of online users said they would rely on social networking sites, and 5 percent would use a radio stations’ site for local news.

Consistent with previous NNA research, readership of public notices in local newspapers continued to be solid, as a combined 51 percent “often” read the content. This number is up from previous years: 46 percent in 2011, 48 percent in 2010 and 40 percent in 2009.

When asked “Do you think governments should be required to publish public notices in newspapers?” 78 percent said “yes,” which is consistent with past survey results: 80 percent in 2011 and 75 percent in 2010.

When asked how often they visited the website of their local Chamber of Commerce, 85 percent said they had never visited the website.

71% believe the accuracy of their local paper is either “good” or “excellent.”
70% believe the coverage is either “good” or “excellent.”
59% believe the fairness of their local paper is either “good” or “excellent.”
This showed that the majority of respondents said they trust their local newspaper over other media sources.

When asked about their preference for the source of information about local communities, 53 percent of residents preferred “newspaper” over other local media outlets such as TV, radio, etc. The local newspaper was preferred in a 3-1 margin over TV, showing consistency from previous research.

As a result of the rising popularity of mobile devices such as smartphones, the 2012 survey asked respondents about their ownership of mobile phones, use of mobile devices for news and shopping information, credibility of mobile devices in comparison to that of print newspaper, and the likelihood of using mobile phones for news and shopping information in the future.

60% own a simple cell phone.
24% own a smart phone.
16% don’t own a cell phone.
Of those who had cell phones, 69 percent said they accessed local news on the device within the last 30 days. Sixty-three percent of those who used their mobile devices for local news thought the news was either “very credible” or “somewhat credible,” compared to 71 percent in 2011. The sample size of this group, however, was small—43. Forty-nine percent said they accessed shopping information on their phones within the last 30 days.

NNA members use the readership information for local marketing and promotion.

The survey summary is available at www.nnaweb.org.

The full survey and promotional material is available to NNA members at www.nnaweb.org. To join NNA and receive a complimentary copy of the survey, go to http://nnaweb.org/membership-apps.

NNA’s industry partners promote quality content and sound business practices in the industry. The continued encouraging readership data are expected, they say.

“Walterry Insurance Brokers is proud to partner with and support the member publications of NNA,” said Walter Coady. “We concur that they deliver a valuable message to communities across the country.”

“We believe in newspapers,” said Steve Smith, senior vice president of publisher relations at Publishers Group of America, publishers of ‘American Profile,’ ‘Relish’ and ‘Spry’ magazines. “Local newspapers provide pertinent information that tie communities and families together.”

“We here at Athlon Sports have always known community papers are prized by the people in their communities,” said Jerry Lyles, senior vice president publisher relations. “We believe in them as much as their readers do.”

“As a company serving the community-newspaper industry, we are not at all surprised that the survey found that residents of small towns and communities remain avid readers and supporters of their local newspapers,” said Bill Garber, Interlink founder and owner.

“Neither are we surprised that a sample of more than 1,200 of our customers’ newspapers showed that 20 percent had increases in their mailed circulation last year,” he added. “Not only are people still reading their community newspaper, in many cases more people are reading that newspaper.”

“We continue to invest in and grow our company on our belief in the strength of community newspapers. Nothing connects the people of a small community like their local newspaper,” Garber said.

Baranczyk said that often local surveys confirm NNA survey findings. “In Salida, a recent city survey asked where residents get their news of the city and events. About 86.9 percent said the newspaper.

“I believe that in small towns and cities across the country, these percentages are the norm rather than the exception.

“We at NNA believe in newspapers and, according to these surveys, our readers believe in newspapers as well.”

Saturday mail loss stings worst in small towns

By The National Newspaper Association

Why do small town newspapers publish on Saturdays?

The Saturday paper isn’t only for football as it is in many Texas towns, said Mary Judson, publisher of the Port Aransas South Jetty in Texas. It provides coupons for the sales, announcements for Sunday church events and breaking news stories of small towns.

But it was sports that led the Times-Leader, a 6,900-circulation twice-weekly in the southwestern Kentucky town of Princeton, to start its Saturday paper. Princeton is nestled in the flat farmlands of the state; a community steeped in history, having a downtown where there are few vacant buildings, with strategic highways I-69 and I-24 running through the country. It is home to the University of Kentucky Research and Education Center, a hotbed for agriculture research through the state’s land-grant university.

Until 1992, two weeklies competed head to head. When they merged, a Saturday paper was created and the weekly became a twice weekly, publishing Wednesdays and Saturdays.

It is mailed through seven post offices in five counties. The publisher trucks bundles of newspapers to those post offices between the Friday night printing and Saturday’s dawn to get into mailboxes.

For Princeton, like most towns, the mailed newspaper has no substitute.

“Although there are four dailies with circulation in the area, none has more than a few hundred readers in Princeton,” according to Publisher John S. (Chip) Hutcheson III. “The Times Leader circulates 5,400 papers each issue in Princeton, providing strong coverage of local government, schools, churches, civic clubs and police activity. Churches often use the Saturday paper to promote activities on Sunday. In this rural community, it is viewed as a major community-builder. It has a locally written opinion page both Wednesday and Saturday. Each issue of the paper ranges from a minimum of 24 pages to 36 pages. With a struggling radio station (in town), the newspaper is the only comprehensive news agent for the community.”

It will be newspapers like the Times Leader and the South Jetty that will be most hurt by the Postal Service’s announcement that it wants to end Saturday mail delivery. Although Congress has not yet agreed with that decision, the U.S. Postal Service wants to provide the opportunity for some industries to mail on Saturdays, but not others. Newspapers would either have to find a new way to reach readers or change to a different delivery day.

But for a newspaper like the Times-Leader, picking a different day isn’t easy. A Friday paper would miss the sports scores from those Friday-night games. Mondays would miss the church news and the sales. And killing that Saturday issue would deprive readers and eliminate Saturday advertising revenue.

“Newspaper personnel have been flooded with questions from family, friends and readers about what the paper would do (if Saturday mail stopped),” Hutcheson said. “Frankly, there is no good answer.”

The Postal Service has blamed its service reductions on the Internet. It is losing $25 million a day but much of that is because Congress makes it aggressively sock away money into the federal Treasury for future health care plans. It has lost nearly 40 percent of its First-Class Mail in the past five years.

One question is whether reducing service will stop the bleeding or accelerate it. In 2010, USPS said it could save more than $3 billion with five-day delivery. Now it says the cost savings are closer to $2 billion. Its regulator, the Postal Regulatory Commission, disagreed with the cost savings in 2010, and found the potential savings much less.

The PRC questioned whether USPS could handle delivery of all the held-back mail on Monday. In 2010, slowing delivery because of Monday holidays increased the Tuesday load by 64 percent, causing delays of that mail in the system throughout the rest of the week. Consistent Saturday closings could create the same waves of delay. USPS estimated that up to 25 percent of First-Class Mail would be delayed in a five-day delivery environment, and some of it could be delayed up to five days.

In that mail are small business invoices, checks and credit card authorizations—another worry of Hutcheson’s and Judson’s. Small newspapers, like most small businesses, run on tight cash flows. Today’s checks from yesterday’s advertising and subscriptions pay for tomorrow’s printing. As they are affected, so will their small-business advertisers be affected, which could create a downward spiral in a barely-recovering economy in many parts of America.

The bigger question is: what sort of Postal Service does America need? The Postal Service says the public supports dropping Saturday delivery. But whether the public is aware of the risks to the economy, particularly in small towns, is debatable. For most, the mail is taken for granted, even in a world where texts and e-mails have long since overtaken mail’s immediacy. Mail still supports more than $1 trillion in economic activity, according to a biennial study of the Envelope Manufacturers Association. And mailers pay for USPS, not the general public.

To some the Saturday football scores may seem trivial next to all of that. But if you’ve ever lived in a small town, you know that Saturday paper and its game news is anything but trivial.

Inside talk with Braley and Siepker

Thoughts on shame in the school lunch line

By DOUGLAS BURNS

The brilliant actress Maggie Smith of “Downton Abbey” quoted the playwright Noel Coward on “60 Minutes” Sunday night in talking about her advancing age. She’s 78.

“It seems like you eat breakfast every 30 minutes,” Smith said, referring to how days go racing by as one matures.

Fair enough.

For many Iowa kids, though, it is all about the food. Breakfast isn’t a metaphor. It’s something they apparently skip — or maybe get once every 30 days.

According to the most recent Iowa Kids Count report, in 2011, 38.2 percent of students in Iowa’s public schools were eligible for free-and-reduced lunches.

According to the U.S. Census, the 2011 poverty level for a family of three with two members under the age of 18 was $18,123. For family of four with three members under 18 the poverty level stood at $22,891 in 2011. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s guidelines for this school year make a student eligible for free lunches if his family is at 130 percent of poverty and reduced lunches if her family is at 185 percent of poverty.

Back in the 1970s and 1980s, when I was in grade school, we all seemed to know at least some of the kids who were on the free-or-reduced program as we went through the lunch lines. We used punch cards then, and students, when theirs ran out, often purchased new ones in the open, making it easy to tell who was getting a better deal than others. The colors of the cards were different, too. And if you wanted an extra milk or slice of pizza you’d see some people paying a dime or two less.

Today, that’s not possible as students key in pin numbers, like at an ATM machine, at higher grade levels, and staff scan rosters for the younger kids.

In the end, no one wants a kid to go hungry because his parents can’t make enough money to pay for the school lunch. Few things in life are more heart-breaking than a hungry kid.

Then again, there are many people buying things they don’t need — and not giving a second thought to filling out the paperwork for the free-and-reduced lunches.

What’s more, in the days when we seemed to know who was on the dole, the element of shame perhaps served as a motivator for those kids to work a little harder in class after lunch so they could improve their own stations in life. I’ve interviewed successful people from humble means who have told me as much.

Having just seen the tragic documentary film “Bully” — which doesn’t exactly portray the Sioux City public schools in a positive way — showcasing class divisions, income inequality, among children, is fraught with all sorts of potential for trouble.

But conservatives have fertile and fair ground here. The blind assistance of today’s program shields youngsters from the reality of capitalism. But some day they will face The Big Sort — between the winners and losers in our system.

This sounds harsh. But there are other options. Those eligible for the free-and-reduced lunches can slap away the helping hand. With thrifty shopping, families can send kids to school with healthy affordable sack lunches instead.

School officials tell me this happens as many of the families eligible for the break on lunch just don’t take it.

Braley Statement on Possible Closure of Iowa Airport Control Towers

FAA lists Waterloo, Dubuque, & Sioux City airport control towers for possible closure as part of “sequestration” cuts

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today released the following statement after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that the Waterloo, Dubuque, and Sioux City airport control towers could be closed as part of the agency’s efforts to cut $600 million from its fiscal year 2013 budget if Congress fails to avert so-called “sequestration” before next Friday, March 1st.

“This is just the latest example of the wide-ranging consequences of Congress failing to act to prevent sequestration. In this case, it’s not only a negative economic impact but an impact on public safety. It shows how reckless and irresponsible sequestration is, which is why I voted against it in the first place. Congress needs to put aside its ideological differences and work together to avert these dangerous cuts immediately.”

Earlier today, the FAA announced it could furlough tens of thousands of employees, eliminate overnight shifts at large airport control towers, and close control towers at smaller airports altogether if so-called “sequestration” is not avoided. More information on the FAA’s announcement can be found on their website, http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsId=71078

Nuclear shelter chief passes, interesting issues associated with his job

“I hate to hear people say that they would prefer to die in a nuclear attack rather than face the horrors of survival,” Steuart Pittman U.P.I. in 1961. “This nation was built by people who left Europe to face the unknown hazards of a wilderness continent. Do we no longer have the courage to face an unknown challenge?”


The New York Times today has a fascinating story about the former head of the organization charged in the early 1960s with developing a national system of nuclear attack shelters.

Moat fascinating question -- Is is legitimate to use violence when a neighbor is trying to get into your shelter?

Here is the Times:

Steuart Pittman, a Washington lawyer who was appointed by President John F. Kennedy in 1961 to create enough fallout shelters to protect every American in the event of a nuclear attack, and who resigned in frustration three years later amid heated debates over the feasibility, the cost and even the ethics of such a program, died on Feb. 10 at his family farm in Davidsonville, Md. He was 93. The apparent cause was a stroke, said his wife, Barbara.

And a discussion of some of the issues:

There were also ethical debates about whether it would be justified to use violence to stop a neighbor from forcing his way into someone’s shelter. Peace activists warned that building too many fallout shelters would hurt the cause of disarmament.

Roberts: Senate race would be challenge, but not dismissing it

By DOUGLAS BURNS

Carroll Republican Rod Roberts, the Iowa Department of Inspections & Appeals director and a former state legislator and candidate for governor, says he views a potential bid for the U.S. Senate as an uphill battle but would not rule out a campaign.

“In politics, you never say never,” Roberts said.\

After spending nearly a year on the gubernatorial campaign trail in the 2010 election cycle, Roberts closed his Terrace Hill pursuit with a third-place Republican primary finish. But Roberts developed a statewide brand and earned praise as a consensus-building politician who could bring conservatives and moderates together in his party.

Roberts earned significant goodwill with a state party convention speech in which he supported Gov. Terry Branstad’s choice of a running mate, Lt. Kim Reynolds, amid a spirited challenge from conservative Bob Vander Plaats. Many saw Vander Plaats’ attempt to hijack the second slot for himself as vain and destructive — a marked contrast with Roberts’ selfless approach — which Republican insiders have not forgotten.


The Iowa political world is jumping with speculation about possible successors to U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, the liberal lion who announced he will not seek re-election to a sixth term in 2014. Topping the list on the Republican side are U.S. Reps. Tom Latham and Steve King.

“Then maybe a couple of others,” Roberts said.

Reynolds’ is being floated by pundits and some Republicans as a possible candidate for the Senate. On the Democratic side, the conversation at this point hinges on the decision of U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, a four-term Democrat from Waterloo.

Roberts said Republicans started reaching out to him and suggested he consider running for the Senate seat after the Harkin press release went national.

“You don’t just dismiss that,” said Roberts, a former state legislator who consistently ran up commanding numbers at the polls in the Carroll area.

Roberts, even with statewide experience, said his challenge clearly would be fund-raising in what will undoubtedly be an expensive campaign.

“Realistically, I don’t know how it (major fund-raising) is even in the realm of possibility for somebody like me,” Roberts said.

One other possibility for Roberts is a bid for the 4th Congressional District seat should King, a Kiron Republican, run for the Senate.

“I think that becomes another interesting question,” Roberts said.

Former Iowa Republican Party Co-Chairman David Oman, a party insider with ties to Branstad and former Gov. Robert Ray, said Roberts has earned consideration as a Senate candidate, that he clearly belongs in the pool of prospective candidates should Iowa’s two current Republican members of Congress decide not to run.

“I’ve always been one who thinks highly of Rod Roberts,” Oman said. “His word is good. He wears well.”

Guest list for First Lady's box at State Of The Union

From the White House press office ....

GUEST LIST FOR THE FIRST LADY’S BOX

STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

FEBRUARY 12, 2013



First Lady Michelle Obama



Dr. Jill Biden



Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President



The following individuals will be seated in the box with the First Lady and Dr. Biden at the State of the Union Address:



Sergeant Sheena Adams (Vista, CA)

Team Advisor & Lead Instructor, Female Engagement Team

A native of Kauai, Hawaii, Sergeant Adams joined the Marine Corps in 2003 and attended recruit training in Parris Island, S.C. In 2010, Sergeant Adams joined the Female Engagement Team (FET) and was deployed to Helmand Province, Afghanistan from September 2010 to April 2011 in direct support of 1st Battalion 8th Marines in Musa Qal’eh District. Sergeant Adams received her Combat Action Ribbon and Navy and Marine Corp Achievement Medal (second award) after successful completion of the deployment. In September 2011, Sergeant Adams returned to 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Advisor Training Cell, as Team Advisor/Liaison and lead FET instructor, where she re-engineered the Period of Instruction for future FETs.



Alan Aleman (Las Vegas, NV)

DREAM Student

Alan Aleman was born in Mexico City, Mexico. In high school, Alan watched his friends come of age – driving around town with their new licenses and earning some extra cash from their summer jobs at the mall. Although Alan knew he could not do those things because of his immigration status, he was determined to get a good education. Last year, when Alan heard the news that the Obama Administration was going to provide Deferred Action for undocumented youth like him to emerge from the shadows, he was one of the first to sign up. Alan was among the first people in Nevada to get approved. In that moment, Alan said, “I felt the fear vanish. I felt accepted.” Today, Alan is in his second year at the College of Southern Nevada. He’s studying to become a doctor and he hopes to join the Air Force. Alan is currently working at Hermandad Mexicana, where he is in charge of final review for DACA applications.

Jack Andraka (Crownsville, MD)

Winner of the 2012 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair

Jack Andraka, 16, of North County High School, was awarded first place for his new method to detect pancreatic cancer at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair 2012, a program of Society for Science & the Public. Motivated by the death of his uncle due to pancreatic cancer, Jack created a simple dip-stick sensor based on diabetic test paper to test blood or urine to determine whether or not a patient has early-stage pancreatic cancer. His study resulted in over 90 percent accuracy and showed his patent-pending sensor to be 28 times faster, 28 times less expensive and over 100 times more sensitive than current tests. President Obama strongly believes that we need more students like Jack who are passionate about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and has hosted two White House Science Fairs to celebrate students participating in such competitions.

Susan Bumgarner (Norman, OK)

Early Childhood Educator

Susan Bumgarner's home state of Oklahoma is a national leader in providing access to high quality preschool for all children, and she has been an early educator in the Oklahoma system for more than twenty years. Susan was educated at the University of Oklahoma and influenced by family members who taught and studied there. Susan has written curriculum, trained Head Start teachers, taught infants and toddlers, and prepared parents by teaching Early Birds readiness class. In 1992 Susan began teaching pre-kindergarten at what is now Wilson Arts Integration Elementary School, a public school. “My work is enthralling and my students are amazing, creative, intelligent people,” she said. “It is an honor to facilitate their playful transition into the formal world of learning.”



Deb Carey (New Glarus, WI)

Small Business Owner, New Glarus Brewing Company

Deborah Carey’s decision to start New Glarus Brewing Company was rooted in doing what was best for her family. As she worked on a business plan, her husband Dan, a master brewer, gathered the materials, grains and equipment needed for start-up. In 1993 they negotiated to rent a warehouse in New Glarus, exchanging the lease for stock in the New Glarus Brewing Company. They sold their home and raised $40,000 in seed money, but still needed more funding. Deborah pitched her story to local newspapers, and the media attention brought $200,000 from investors. In the early days, the couple worked hard to establish the brewery’s reputation for consistent quality beers and developed a very loyal customer base. Today, New Glarus Brewing Company has grown to 50 full-time employees, and registered growth in profits of 123 percent from 2007 to 2009, becoming Wisconsin’s number one micro-brewery relative to sales volume.

Sergeant Carlos Evans, USMC (Cameron, NC)

Wounded Warrior

Sergeant Evans, born in Puerto Rico, was on his fourth overseas deployment when he sustained injuries in Afghanistan that resulted in the loss of both of his legs and his left hand. Recovering at Walter Reed Medical Center, Sergeant Evans met the First Lady and later visited the White House for a Wounded Warrior Tour. At that time, the President signed his prosthetic arm. He credits the support he has received from private organizations to the First Lady and Dr. Biden’s efforts in Joining Forces. In 2012, he received a custom home from Operation Coming Home and now resides in North Carolina with his wife and two young daughters.



Tim Cook (Cupertino, CA)

CEO of Apple
Before being named CEO in August 2011, Tim was Apple's Chief Operating Officer and was responsible for all of the company’s worldwide sales and operations, including end-to-end management of Apple’s supply chain, sales activities, and service and support in all markets and countries. He also headed Apple’s Macintosh division and played a key role in the continued development of strategic reseller and supplier relationships, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace.

Prior to joining Apple, Tim was vice president of Corporate Materials for Compaq and was responsible for procuring and managing all of Compaq’s product inventory. Previous to his work at Compaq, Tim was the chief operating officer of the Reseller Division at Intelligent Electronics. Tim also spent 12 years with IBM, most recently as director of North American Fulfillment where he led manufacturing and distribution functions for IBM’s Personal Computer Company in North and Latin America.

Tim earned an M.B.A. from Duke University, where he was a Fuqua Scholar, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University.



Cleopatra Cowley-Pendleton and Nathaniel A. Pendleton Sr. (Chicago, IL)

Cleopatra and Nathaniel’s daughter Hadiya Pendleton was murdered on January 29, 2013, when she was shot and killed in Harsh Park on Chicago’s South Side. Hadiya had participated in President Obama’s public inaugural celebration on January 21, 2013. She was an honor student and band majorette at King College Prep High School. First Lady Michelle Obama attended Hadiya’s memorial service on Saturday, February 6th.

Menchu de Luna Sanchez (Secaucus, NJ)
Registered Nurse, NYU Langone Medical Center
When Hurricane Sandy cut the power at NYU Langone Medical Center, Menchu Sanchez, a Registered Nurse, devised a plan to transport twenty at-risk infants to intensive care units around the city. She organized the nurses and doctors to carefully carry the babies down eight flights of stairs with only cell phones to light the way. Even as Menchu’s own home was flooding, she thought only of protecting the babies in her care. Menchu was born, raised, and educated in the Philippines and she immigrated to the United States in the 1980s. She has worked as a nurse in New York for more than 25 years, and has been at NYU since 2010. Menchu currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children, both of whom are in college.


Bobak Ferdowsi (Pasadena, CA)

Flight Director, Mars Curiosity Rover

Bobak Ferdowsi, aka NASA’s “Mohawk Guy,” is a member of the Mars Curiosity rover team at NASA and Caltech’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. After the successful landing of the Curiosity rover in August 2012, President Obama called to congratulate the team on their success, and singled out Bobak for his unique haircut that captured the imagination of millions of people around the world. The Curiosity rover is a car-sized robot equipped with a laser, chemistry set, and drill for assessing whether Mars ever had an environment able to support small life forms. Bobak is an Iranian-American and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) professional who, in addition to his inspiring day-to-day work on the Mars Curiosity mission, volunteers as a FIRST robotics mentor to get more boys and girls excited about STEM education.

Bradley Henning (Louisville, KY)

Machinist, Atlas Machine and Supply

Bradley Henning’s high school has one of the best machining programs in Kentucky. He got hooked on machining in his sophomore year, and by the time he graduated, Bradley had taken enough vocational classes to get hired as a full-time apprentice with Atlas Machine and Supply in Louisville, Kentucky. For the past four years, Bradley has worked under a veteran machinist and is taking additional classes to earn his full certification. Today, at 23, he is a card-carrying Journeyman Machinist at Atlas, and responsible for mentoring the next generation of apprentices. Bradley is committed to a career in manufacturing and sees a bright future ahead. “This is going to be my lifelong career,” he said. “I come in every day with a smile on my face. I learn something new every day…I love that.”

Tracey Hepner (Arlington, VA)

Co-Founder, Military Partners and Families Coalition

Tracey is a co-founder of the Military Partners and Families Coalition (MPFC), which provides support, resources, education, and advocacy for LGBT military partners and their families. Outside of her work with MPFC, Tracey works full time for the Department of Homeland Security as a Master Behavior Detection Officer. She is married to the first openly gay or lesbian general officer in the military, Army Brigadier General Tammy Smith.

Peter Hudson (Evergreen, CO)

Co-Founder and CEO, iTriage

Dr. Peter Hudson, the co-founder and CEO of iTriage, is a physician and entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience founding and growing healthcare-related businesses. His focus has been on creating efficiencies within the healthcare delivery system, and empowering healthcare consumers with technology. Using open government data, Dr. Hudson launched iTriage in 2009, a company focused on prompting citizens to actively engage in their own healthcare. Through the app, an example of government inspired innovation, smartphone users can locate nearby providers based on their symptoms, make appointments, store their personal health records, save medication refill reminders, and learn about thousands of medications, diseases and procedures.



Governor John Kitzhaber (D-OR)

Governor John Kitzhaber has built on his experience as a former emergency room doctor to transform health care delivery in Oregon. Now in his third term, Governor Kitzhaber is working with the Obama administration to scale up innovative models that show how government can do more with less. These performance partnerships, which emphasize federal flexibility and local accountability, are key to achieving improved health care outcomes and efficiencies, better results for our students and building the infrastructure we'll need to unleash the 21st century economy.



Mayor Marie Lopez Rogers (Avondale, AZ)

Marie Lopez Rogers served on the Avondale City Council for 14 years before being elected as the city’s first Latina Mayor in 2006. Growing up in migrant farm labor camps and picking cotton alongside her parents in fields where her City Hall now stands, Mayor Rogers never imagined that she would be guiding the transformation of the region. Mayor Rogers currently serves as Chair of the Maricopa Association of Governments. In Dec. 2012, she was named president of the National League of Cities, an organization dedicated to helping city leaders build better communities. She and her husband Ed have been married for 43 years and have three children and six grandchildren.

Amanda E. McMillan (Jackson, MS)

Pay Discrimination Victim

For a number of years Amanda McMillan worked as a secretary for the owner of a Forrest City Grocery Company. She was doing many of the same duties as male salespeople, but at lower pay. Despite repeatedly asking to be officially promoted to the better and higher-paying job in sales, she was told by the company that the job of a salesman was too dangerous for a woman, and that she would not be a good mother if she were on the road meeting customers. With the help of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), she sued the company for sex discrimination. The lawsuit charged that Forrest City Grocery denied sales positions to an employee because she was a woman and paid McMillan less than men doing the same work. When asked why she has pursued the case, McMillan said, “I’m doing this because it was wrong and I could never look my girls in the face and then tell them they live in America and could be anything they wanted to be.”As a result of the suit, Forrest City Grocery agreed to pay $125,000 in monetary damages and agreed to disseminate employment policies to employees and provide ongoing training for management on sex discrimination. Amanda, a mother of three, currently lives in Jackson, MS.

Lee Maxwell (Wilton, IA)

Graduate, Kirkwood Community College Wind Technician Program

In 2012, Lee Maxwell graduated from Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He gained twenty six separate certifications in everything from reading blueprints to driving forklifts. Today, he’s responsible for turning on the power for new wind turbines that are being built all around the country. Kirkwood started its wind technician training program three years ago in partnership with Iowa-based Clipper Windpower, combining an industry-based curriculum and donated equipment to give students the hands-on experience they need to succeed.

Lieutenant Brian Murphy (Oak Creek, WI)

Lieutenant Brian Murphy was the first police officer to arrive at the scene of the tragic Sikh temple shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin last August. Lt. Murphy directly confronted the shooter, and took fifteen bullets to his head, neck, and body before the rest of the police force arrived. When his fellow officers moved to assist him, he waved them off and told them to protect the threatened citizens who remained in the temple. When asked how he was able to respond with such bravery, Lt. Murphy responded, “That’s just the way we’re made.” Today, Lt. Murphy is on medical leave from the force and still recovering from his injuries. Lt. Murphy has served as a police officer for more than twenty years and previously served in the Marine Corps and the United National security force. He lives with his wife and children in Oak Creek, Wisconsin.

Lisa Richards (Arlington, VA)

#My2K Participant

Lisa Richards, a single mom, was one of thousands of Americans who shared stories about what paying $2,200 more in taxes would mean for her family by using #My2K. She wrote, “It's 20 weeks of groceries, two years worth of gasoline, 1/3 of a new roof (which I need), six months of utilities.” With the passage of the middle class tax cuts at the beginning of the year, Lisa and millions of Americans like her did not see did not see an income tax increase. Born in Philadelphia and raised in New York and Dallas, Lisa has called the Washington, DC area home for more than 25 years. She now lives in Arlington, Virginia with her seven-year-old daughter working freelance and contract work for a variety of website clients.



Kaitlin Roig (Greenwich, CT)

1st Grade Teacher, Sandy Hook Elementary School

Kaitlin Roig has taught first grade for six years at Sandy Hook Elementary, and has always had a passion for education and working with children. She attended and received her Master’s degree from the NEAG School of Education at the University of Connecticut, where she was a member of the Order of Omega Honor Society, The Historical Honor Society, and the NEAG honor society. In addition to her teaching, Kaitlin also started a running club called Marathon Mondays for third and fourth grade students at Sandy Hook Elementary. She will be running the New York City Marathon this year.



Abby Schanfield (Minneapolis, MN)

ACA Beneficiary

Prior to the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Abby would have lost coverage upon turning 21 and would not have been able to obtain care due to her several pre-existing conditions. Abby is a member of TakeAction Minnesota’s healthcare team, a grassroots organization that advocates for progressive policies ranging from health care to economic reform. Abby was influenced by her experiences growing up with a chronic illness, and the privileges that come with being insured. A recent graduate of the University of Minnesota, Abby hopes to work in public policy, focusing on women’s and community health.



Haile Thomas (Tucson, AZ)

Let’s Move! Champion

Haile Thomas is a 12 year-old Youth Advisory Board member with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. She is Co-Founder/Director of the HAPPY Organization, an Arizona nonprofit dedicated to improving the health and wellness of youth through education, outreach, and advocacy about proper nutrition and healthy lifestyle choices. Haile hosts an annual H.E.A.L. (healthy eating, active lifestyle) Festival on Global Youth Service Day in Tucson. She created the Healthy Girl Adventures Club to inspire girls to embrace healthy habits, and produces online cooking videos aimed at encouraging kids to get cooking. Haile is also the Youth Spokesperson and Jr. Chef Consultant for Hyatt Hotels.

Desiline Victor (Miami, FL)

Desiline Victor, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Haiti and retired farmworker, is 102 years old. On October 28, the first Sunday of early voting in Florida, Desiline went to vote at her polling place, a local library. When she arrived at 10:00 a.m., wait times were up to six hours. Determined to vote, she stood in line for three hours, until 1:00 p.m. After citizen advocates complained that the elderly woman was struggling on her feet, a poll worker asked Desiline to come back at a later time. On Desiline’s second visit that evening, she was finally able to cast her ballot. When she emerged from the building with her “I Voted” sticker, the crowd of thousands of waiting voters erupted into applause. Several voters remarked that the lines were long, and they needed to get home, but because of Desiline they would continue to stand and wait. Desiline resides in North Miami, where she is lovingly known as “Granny” among the city’s Haitian community. A spirited and independent centenarian, she enjoys attending church services and cooking her own meals.

Forget the planet, Gore entertains world where men are obsolete

Former Vice President Al Gore has written a new book — “The Future.”

Gore reports a number of predictions, such as the possibility of a monoculture in crops leading to world starvation.
But here’s the eye-grabber.

“He mentions the prospect of women being engineered to produce sperm, making men obsolete,” reports the Wall Street Journal in a review of the 558-page book.

How would Marco Rubio fare in Le Mars?

Will Iowa Republicans in 2013 accept from first-term U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida what they wouldn’t from war-hero, political veteran John McCain in 2008?

One could be speaking for the other on immigration, allowing, of course, for five years difference, and taking into account the Republican Party’s suicidal approach to modern demographics.

Rubio, the GOP wunderkind who pulled Gov. Terry Branstad out into the rain for a Mitt Romney campaign event last August (yes, it did rain in August) and helped Branstad celebrate a birthday in person recently, is making statements about immigration reform that helped sink McCain’s White House prospects in Iowa.

I talked to Branstad on the west side of the Statehouse after Rubio’s speech in support of Romney.

Branstad told the Daily Times Herald and other media after the event that Rubio deserved to be on Romney’s vice presidential short list. In fact, it seemed clear to me that Branstad would have preferred to see Rubio topping the ticket. Hence the birthday cake a few months later.

“Marco Rubio, I think, tells it very much like it is,” Branstad said of the senator with Cuban heritage. “He’s somebody that has come up the hard way and has shown great leadership. He’s now one of the bright young senators from the state of Florida, an important and key state so he’s certainly one I’d like to see considered.”\

Branstad added, “It’s the American dream. He’s lived it.”

We’ll see if Republicans in Le Mars feel the same way today.

When asked by The New York Times about the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in the country, Rubio said, “We have to understand these folks are here to stay.” He said most had not committed serious crimes, and called for a path-to-citizenship plan that involves fines and passing English tests, what Congressman Steve King, R-Kiron, and other conservatives have called “amnesty” based on the fact the undocumented residents’ mere presence in the United States violates rule of law and sovereignty.

“Ultimately it’s not good for our country to have people permanently trapped in that status where they can’t become citizens,” Rubio told The Times.

So lets go back to Le Mars in the heat of the 2008 Iowa Republican presidential caucus battle.

McCain stood in the center of about 120 people in that northwest Iowa city early one Saturday and conducted an impromptu debate with audience members who were critical of McCain’s approach. He was like Reggie Miller in New York City. The house stood against McCain. You could feel support evaporate with each syllable. You had to admire his courage, but the episode also was hard to watch. You felt for McCain. He was killing himself politically and had to know it.

McCain said the notion of arresting up to 12 million illegal immigrants and busing them to Central America and Mexico is just not workable. “How would you do it? Why would you do it?” he asked.

“I don’t know how you round up 12 million people,” McCain said.

The senator said accepting the illegal immigration status quo amounts to an endorsement of “amnesty.”

He supported a proposal that would focus more resources on the southern border and allow a long, legal path to citizenship for those illegal immigrants who pay back taxes, accept fines and stay out of trouble with law enforcement. In other words, nearly word for word what Rubio is proposing today with the support of conservative boy wonder Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman and Romney running mate in November.

The reality, McCain suggested in Le Mars, is that the nation’s economy depends on immigrant labor.

“There are some jobs in America that are not being done by Americans, and we know it,” McCain said.

He added, “I promise you, I have thought this thing through for years.”

One member of the audience challenged McCain, suggesting that in France authorities had sought to deport illegals.

McCain said that in France ethnic tensions and immigration issues have exploded into violent confrontations, with multiple car burnings, in areas were immigrants have been segregated.

“I don’t want that to happen in the United States,” McCain said.

He added. “The next time you make your argument I wouldn’t use France.”

We’ll see if Branstad cuts birthday cake with Rubio this year. Or can King, who has made opposition to amnesty for illegal immigrants into something of a national political calling card, even appear in the same room with the Florida senator?

I’d like to see all three of them in Le Mars.

With McCain.

Spacey shows genius in breaking fourth wall

“No one’s a Boy Scout, not even a Boy Scout.”
“I hate children. There, I said it.”
— Francis Underwood in “House of Cards”

The just-released, made-for-Netflix political drama “House of Cards,” 13, 50-minute episodes rolled out in a delicious package, is so damn good it makes you wonder why you spent all that time 10 years ago watching “The West Wing.”

I can’t think of many political dramas to rival the modern American “House of Cards,” based on the popular British show with the same format of 20 years ago.

The “West Wing” brought out the Lone Ranger narrative of American politics, the elevation of the transformational figure battling the system. “West Wing,” with its syrup and uplift, sought to make our chests burst with pride in America, as if we were all bounding down the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with the closing credits.

“House of Cards” goes the other way. It surrenders to the system, showcases the chewers and the chewed in American politics. It is, in a word, fantastic.

The series stars Kevin Spacey as the ruthless U.S. House majority whip from South Carolina. A newly elected president double-crosses Spacey on an expected appointment as secretary of state. So Underwood lays an elaborate plot to take down all associated with the president, to climb even higher in the food chain of Washington, D.C.

Childless and living in a political partnership with a disturbing open marriage, Underwood and wife, Claire, played by Robin Wright, team to destroy reputations, sabotage careers and even pass some education reform along the way — although it’s not really for the kids, because the congressman hates kids.

If you have Netflix, the video streaming service with a handsome catalog of movies and television shows, you likely understand the concept of TV marathoning, being able to watch, say, 40 episodes of “Mad Men” or “Prison Break” or “Sons of Anarchy” on a weekend with no commercial interruption.

“House of Cards” debuted at midnight on Friday, and broke with TV tradition, by presenting all episodes in a juggernaut, the first-of-its kind original programming for Netflix.
“Our goal is to shut down a portion of America for a whole day,” the producer Beau Willimon tells The New York Times. The highly talented director David Fincher (“The Social Network” and “Fight Club”) is involved in the project as well.

Using the same winning technique as the BBC series, Fincher and Willimon’s “House of Cards” has Spacey break the fourth wall — speak directly at times, but sparingly, to the audience (through the imaginary “fourth wall” in front of the stage or TV set). Spacey thrives in these moments, reeling off laugh-out-loud gems about his motivations, intentions, his observations on the other players. At one point, speaking to a church congregation in South Carolina, Spacey cuts to us, and explains how he’s going to use God and the Bible to effect his own ends. He does the same thing before speaking to parents who just lost a child in a car accident. Richard III, meet Kevin’s Spacey’s Frank Underwood. Fair fight.

The producers of “House of Cards” nail the atmospherics of Washington, D.C., showing the side streets and views of the Metro train lines and neighborhood shots, giving it an authentic feel, as if you have been in the rib joint on the wrong side of town, or stopped by a Capitol Hill liquor store. They take you in a world, and Netflix lets you inhabit it for 11 hours in season one.

“House of Cards” gives us a supporting cast few series can rival. Corey Stoll is the alcoholic Philadelphia congressman. Kate Mara is the morally compromised journalist.

Sure, the plots are over the top at times. But like HBO’s “The Wire,” the Netflix drama doesn’t give us clear-cut characters, heroes standing in line here, villains over there.

Fact: Spacey is the star of “House of Cards.” It’s a remarkable performance from this Oscar-caliber actor.

But the city of Washington itself, our system of government, with all its beauty and flaws, are the larger-than-life characters.

There’s no political savior, a la Martin Sheen’s President Jed Bartlet.

The system wins. I suppose you could file that away as depressing.

Or reassuring in this age of celebrity. No one is bigger than America.

Regardless, “House of Cards” is supremely entertaining. Where did my Saturday go? You’ll be asking that, too. Or should.

Provoative column by Brooks today

New York Times columnist David Brooks has a provocative column on elites, their nature today and how elites have evolved in American leadership. This part is sure to attract debate ....

The best of the WASP elites had a stewardship mentality, that they were temporary caretakers of institutions that would span generations. They cruelly ostracized people who did not live up to their codes of gentlemanly conduct and scrupulosity. They were insular and struggled with intimacy, but they did believe in restraint, reticence and service. Today’s elite is more talented and open but lacks a self-conscious leadership code.