F R O M T H E PA G E S O F
Monday, November 9, 2009
YEARS OF ANGER
THAT EXPLODED
into a rampage
KILLEEN, Tex. — It was still dark
on Thursday when Maj. Nidal Malik
Hasan left his apartment complex to
attend 6 a.m. prayers at his mosque
near Fort Hood. Afterward, he said
goodbye to friends and asked for-
giveness from one man for any past
offenses. “I’m going traveling,” he
told a fellow worshiper, giving him a
hug. “I won’t be here tomorrow.”
Six hours later, Hasan walked
into a processing center at Fort
Hood where soldiers get medical at-
tention before being sent overseas.
Witnesses say he bowed his head for
several seconds, as if praying, stood
up and drew a high-powered pistol.
“Allahu akbar,” he said — “God is
great.” And he opened fire. Within
minutes he had killed 13 people.
But acquaintances say Hasan’s
rage had been building for a long
time. In recent years he had grown
more vocal about his opposition to
the war and tortured over his role as
a Muslim. At times he complained of
harassment, once describing how
someone had put a diaper in his car,
saying, “That’s your headdress.”
Hasan was born in Arlington, Va.,
the son of Palestinian immigrants.
When he was an adolescent, his par-
ents moved the family to Roanoke.
He graduated with honors from Vir-
ginia Tech in biochemistry in 1995.
Against his parents’ wishes, rela-
tives said, he enlisted in the Army.
He went to medical school at the
Uniformed Services University of
Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md.
After graduating in 2003, he did his
internship and residency at Walter
Reed Army Medical Center.
Relatives and classmates said he
turned increasingly toward Islam.
in part seeking solace for the deaths
of his parents, in 1998 and 2001.
A former classmate said Hasan
gave a presentation about a year ago
in a health seminar, titled, “Why the
War on Terror Is a War on Islam.”
The classmate said that some stu-
dents had complained about Hasan,
but that no action had been taken.
“It didn’t cross my mind that he was
dangerous,” the classmate said. “He
wasn’t threatening.” (NYT)
from the pages of
Obama Presses Senate on Health Care
WASHINGTON — The White
House, growing concerned that
the Congressional timetable for
passing a health care overhaul
could slip into next year, is step-
ping up pressure on the Senate
for quick action, with President
Obama appearing Sunday in the
Rose Garden to call on senators
to “take up the baton and bring
this effort to the finish line.”
Obama’s remarks came just 14
hours after the House narrowly
approved a landmark plan that
would cost $1.1 trillion over 10
years and extend insurance to 36
million uninsured Americans — a
step the president called “a cou-
rageous vote.” But the votes had
barely been counted when the
White House began turning its at-
tention to an even bigger hurdle:
getting a bill passed in the Senate.
In the Senate, where propos-
als differ substantially from the
House measure, the bill is await-
ing analysis by the nonpartisan
Congressional Budget Office. The
slim margin in the House — the
bill passed with just two votes to
spare — suggests even greater
challenges in the Senate, where
the majority leader, Harry Reid
of Nevada, is struggling to hold
on to all 58 Democrats and two
independents in his caucus.
Obama has staked his domestic
Complications Grow for Muslims in Military
Abdi Akgun joined the Marines
in 2000, eager to serve his coun-
try. As a Muslim, he found his re-
solve to fight terrorism steeled by
the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
But two years later, when he
was deployed to Iraq, the thought
of confronting Muslims in battle
gave him pause. He was haunted
by the possibility that he might
end up killing innocent civilians.
“It’s kind of like the Civil War,
where brothers fought each oth-
er across the Mason-Dixon line,”
said Akgun, 28, of Lindenhurst,
N.Y., who returned from Iraq
without ever having pulled the
trigger. “I don’t want to stain my
faith, I don’t want to stain my fel-
low Muslims and I also don’t want
to stain my country’s flag.”
Thousands of Muslims have
Midnight in New York © 2009 The New York Times
agenda on passing comprehen-
sive health legislation — a goal
that has eluded presidents for
decades. While Democrats were
forced to make major conces-
sions on insurance coverage for
abortions to win House passage
of the bill, they were nonetheless
ebullient on Sunday.
“For years we’ve been told that
this couldn’t be done,” Obama
said. Of the American people, he
said, “Moments like this are why
they sent us here.”
But there was a sense inside
the White House and on Capitol
Hill that the hardest work is yet
to come. The House debate high-
lighted the pressures that will
come to bear on senators as they
weigh contentious issues like fed-
eral financing for abortion, cover-
age for illegal immigrants and the
“public option,” a government-
backed insurance plan to com-
pete with the private sector.
Unlike the House bill, which
pays to extend coverage by taxing
individuals who earn more than
$500,000 a year and couples who
earn more than $1 million a year,
the Senate bill imposes a 40 per-
cent excise tax on so-called Cadil-
lac plans costing more than $8,000
a year or $21,000 for a family.
And unlike the House bill,
which includes a national public
served in the U.S. military. But
since Sept. 11, as the United States
has become mired in two wars
on Muslim lands, the service of
Muslim-Americans has become
more necessary and more com-
plicated. In the aftermath of the
shootings at Fort Hood by Army
Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, who is
Muslim, many Muslim soldiers
and their commanders say they
fear the relationship between the
military and its Muslim members
will only grow more difficult.
Muslim leaders and service
members have taken pains to de-
nounce the shooting and distance
themselves from Hasan. “I don’t
understand why the Muslim
American community has to take
responsibility for him,” said In-
grid Mattson, president of the Is-
plan, the Senate measure would
allow states to opt out. But even
that is too much government in-
volvement for moderates like
Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Con-
necticut, a Democrat-turned-in-
dependent who pledged Sunday
to wage a filibuster to block any
plan with a public option in it.
“If the public option plan is in
there, as a matter of conscience,
I will not allow this bill to come to
a final vote,” Lieberman said on
“Fox News Sunday.”
The Senate bill also faces pro-
cedural hurdles; Reid cannot
bring it to the floor until he gets
the C.B.O. analysis, expected this
week. The delay could push Sen-
ate consideration of the bill until
after Thanksgiving, which could
make it very difficult to meet
Obama’s goal of signing a health
bill by the end of this year.
The timing is crucial. Adminis-
tration officials say Obama wants
to wrap up work on health care so
he can turn his attention to other
legislative priorities, including
passing an energy bill and finan-
cial regulatory reform. But White
House officials also know that the
closer the final vote comes to the
November 2010 midterm Con-
gressional elections, the more dif-
ficult it will be to pass legislation.
 SHERYL GAY STOLBERG
lamic Society of North America.
For Muslim soldiers, distanc-
ing themselves from those they
fight has often proved difficult.
Amjad Khan, who served in the
Army in Iraq, said he had tried
to get used to the epithets other
soldiers used when speaking of
Iraqis. “It gets to you sometimes,”
said Khan, 32, who is of Pakistani
descent and from Queens. “But
the more personally you take
things, the more you’re going to
have a hard time surviving.”
For Khan, the most difficult
part of his service came before he
was deployed, when a senior of-
ficer found his Islamic faith cause
for suspicion. “He said, ‘I have
to watch my back because you
might go nuts,’ ” Khan recalled.
 ANDREA ELLIOTT
International Monday, November 9, 2009 2

The Legacy of 1989 Remains Open to Debate Iraq Approves

PARIS — The historical legacy
of 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell
and the cold war thawed, is as
political as the upheavals of that
decisive year.
The events of 1989 spurred a
striking transformation of Europe,
which is now whole and free, and
a reunified Germany, milestones
that are being observed with cele-
brations all over the continent, in-
cluding a French-German extrav-
aganza here on Monday night.
But 1989 also created new divi-
sions and fierce nationalisms that
hobble the European Union today,
between East and West, France
and Germany, Europe and Rus-
sia. Some of the intensity of those
divisions is evident in the tug of
war over the achievements of
1989 — whether they owe more to
the resolute anti-Communism of
Ronald Reagan or its inverse, the
white-glove embrace of the East
by many in Western Europe.
And while many in the West saw
the wheel of history turning inevi-
tably, promoting democracy and
banishing serious rivals to U.S.
power, China forestalled its own
revolution in 1989 and catapulted
itself to prominence through an
authoritarian capitalism that Rus-
sia’s leaders are now studying.
It is a tribute to 1989, not un-
like the French Revolution 200
years before it, that its meaning
is hotly contested. In general, said
James M. Goldgeier, a historian at
George Washington University,
“the big question out there for 20
years is who gets the credit.”
For many in America, he said,
most of the credit goes to Reagan’s
aggressive military spending and
antagonism toward Communism.
A row of domino-like slabs was prepared for toppling in Berlin
on Monday to mark the fall of the Berlin Wall 20 years ago.
That view has largely eclipsed an-
other American perspective: that
globalization and democratization
were so powerful that a Mikhail
Gorbachev was inevitable. “I think
over time most Americans, if they
think back at all, say it was Reagan
who said, ‘Tear down this wall,’ and
down it came,” Goldgeier said.
Robert Kagan, a historian with
the Carnegie Endowment in Wash-
ington, noted that this was not the
case in Europe. “If 90 percent of
Americans say it was the U.S. be-
ing firm, 99 percent of Europeans
think it was they being soft, that
the wall fell through Ostpolitik and
West German TV,” he said.
For many Americans of both po-
litical parties, 1989 seemed a won-
derful example of the embrace of
universal values that happened
to be theirs. Democrats argue
ANTHONY SUAU/The New York Times
that President George W. Bush
learned the wrong lesson from
1989, about the utility of force, and
Republicans argue that President
Bill Clinton and President Obama
learned the wrong lesson — that
“engagement” with totalitarian
power will weaken or destroy it.
For all the disagreement, said
Ronald D. Asmus, a deputy assis-
tant secretary of state in the Clin-
ton administration, what happened
was simply amazing. “If someone
asked me in ’89 if we would have
all these countries in NATO and
the European Union, I would have
been incredulous. We’ve lost sight
of an incredible historical achieve-
ment: the heart of Central and
Eastern Europe is at peace. All
problems are not fully solved, but
they are tempered, controlled and
contained.”STEVEN ERLANGER
Key Election Law
BAGHDAD — After weeks of
stalemate, the Iraqi Parliament
approved a law on Sunday to ad-
minister a critical national elec-
tion in January, a significant mile-
stone for its fragile democracy
and a step that will allow the rapid
withdrawal of American combat
forces early next year.
The United States has said a
delay of the election could set
back the scheduled withdrawal of
American combat troops. Presi-
dent Obama hailed the vote on
Sunday as “a significant break-
through” that would ease fears
about an American withdrawal.
The major sticking point had
been how to handle voting in
Kirkuk, which is rich in oil and
is claimed by Kurds, Arabs and
Turkmens. Thousands of Kurds
had been forced out of Kirkuk by
Saddam Hussein, who replaced
them with Arabs to tighten his grip
on the oil. Since the U.S.-led inva-
sion that ousted Hussein in 2003,
many Kurds have moved back. Ar-
abs and Turkmens favored using
voter lists from 2004 or 2005; Kurds
wanted to use lists from 2009 that
reflected their higher numbers.
The agreement reached Sun-
day will use lists from 2009, but if
lawmakers find the number of eli-
gible voters in a particular area to
be suspiciously high, a U.N.-over-
seen committee will determine
whether fraud has occurred.
The election had been sched-
uled for Jan. 16, but it appeared
Sunday that it would be delayed
by a few days to give officials time
to print ballots and to make other
preparations. (NYT)

Anti-Taliban Mayor Is Killed
A Pakistani mayor who publicly opposed
the Taliban was killed Sunday in a suicide
bombing in a cattle market near Peshawar,
officials said. A Taliban spokesman said by
telephone that the group claimed responsi-
bility for the attack, which took place in the
village of Mattani and killed 12 people, in-
cluding the mayor, Abdul Malik, the Pesha-
war police said. (NYT)
Saudis Claim Gains in Fighting
Saudi Arabia said over the weekend that
it had regained control of a border area
seized by Yemeni rebels last week, and that
In Brief
it had halted its military campaign there.
But the rebels dismissed the Saudi claims
on Sunday, saying Saudi troops had retreat-
ed. The rebels’ statement came with a vid-
eo of what was said to be fleeing Saudi sol-
diers. The fighting began Tuesday. (NYT)
Iran Nuclear Counterproposal
The Obama administration, trying to sal-
vage a faltering nuclear deal with Iran,
has told Iran’s leaders that it would let the
country send its stockpile of enriched urani-
um to any of several nations, including Tur-
key, for temporary safekeeping, according
to officials involved in the exchanges. But
Iran has all but ignored the overtures, they
said, instead reviving an old counterpro-
posal: that arms inspectors take custody of
much of the fuel but keep it on Kish, a Per-
sian Gulf island that is part of Iran. A senior
U.S. official said that proposal was rejected
because leaving the fuel on Iranian territo-
ry would allow for the possibility that Iran
could evict the inspectors. (NYT)
Storm Kills 91 in El Salvador
CANCÚN, Mexico — Hurricane Ida
roared toward the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday
after killing 91 people and leaving at least
60 missing in El Salvador. The storm swept
past Cancún, doing little damage, and is ex-
pected to weaken on Monday. (Reuters)
national
In House Bill, Victory for Abortion Opponents
WASHINGTON — The anti-
abortion provision in the health
care bill passed by the House late
Saturday was the biggest victory
for abortion opponents in years
and has emboldened them head-
ing into what is sure to be a pitched
battle in the Senate.
The provision would block the
use of federal subsidies for insur-
ance that covers elective abor-
tions.
The provision, inserted in the
bill Saturday as an amendment
under pressure from conserva-
tive Democrats, was the result in
part of forceful lobbying by the
U.S. Catholic Bishops. The health
legislation is now moving to the
Senate, which will have to decide
whether to include any abortion
restrictions in its version. Presi-
dent Obama has so far remained
silent on the issue, but as the de-
bate continues he could be forced
to take sides.
It would apply only to insurance
policies purchased with the feder-
al subsidies that the health legisla-
One Republican Breaks Ranks in Health Vote
WASHINGTON — House Dem-
ocrats were thrilled by the passage
of their major health care legisla-
tion on Saturday, but were particu-
larly tickled by denying Republi-
cans a solid wall of opposition with
the solitary vote of Rep. Anh Cao of
Louisiana.
Cao, a freshman Republican
from New Orleans and a Vietnam-
ese-American representing a pre-
dominantly black, heavily Demo-
cratic district, was elected last
year in an upset victory over Rep.
William J. Jefferson, a Democrat
who was under indictment at the
time and has since been convicted
of federal corruption charges.
“I have a constitutional duty
Bill to Help Needle Exchanges Would Hurt Most of Them
BANGOR, Me. — For years,
the location of this city’s needle
exchange program, in a strip mall
close to highways and bus lines,
was seen as a major asset.
But now, AIDS activists say, that
location could undermine what
happens inside.
A bill working in Congress would
lift a ban of more than 20 years on
using federal money for needle
exchange programs. But the bill
would also ban federally financed
tion would create to help low and
middle-income people buy health
coverage, and to policies sold by a
government-run insurance plan.
Abortion-rights advocates
charged Sunday that the provision
threatened to deprive women of
abortion coverage because insur-
ers would drop the procedure from
their plans in order to sell them in
the new market of people receiv-
ing subsidies. The subsidized mar-
ket would be large because anyone
earning less than $88,000 for a fam-
ily of four — four times the poverty
level — would be eligible for a sub-
sidy under the House bill.
Women who received subsidies
or public insurance could still pay
out of pocket for the procedure. Or
they could buy separate insurance
“riders” to cover abortion, though
some evidence suggests few
would, in part because few plan for
unintended pregnancies.
Not many women who undergo
abortions file private insurance
claims in any case. A 2003 study
by the Alan Guttmacher Institute
to make the right decision for my
district whether or not the decision
was popular,” Cao said in an inter-
view Sunday on CNN. “A lot of my
constituents are uninsured, a lot of
them are poor.”
In a statement posted on his Web
site shortly after the vote on Satur-
day, he said he had secured a per-
sonal commitment from President
Obama on health issues important
to Louisiana, including disparities
in federal reimbursement rates for
Medicare.
While many Democrats com-
plained that tighter restrictions on
insurance coverage for abortions
had threatened their support for
the bill, Cao, a onetime Jesuit semi-
exchanges from being within 1,000
feet of a school, park, library, col-
lege, video arcade or any place
children might gather — a provi-
sion affecting most of the country’s
approximately 200 exchanges.
“This 1,000-foot rule is simply
instituting the ban in a different
form,” said Rebecca Haag, execu-
tive director of the AIDS Action
Council, an advocacy group.
Under a separate bill, all ex-
changes in Washington within
Monday, November 9, 2009
found that 13 percent of abortions
were billed directly to an insur-
ance company. Only about half of
those who receive insurance cov-
erage from their employers have
coverage of abortion in any event,
according to a study by the Kaiser
Family Foundation.
But the abortion battle has been
playing out over incremental
changes in the courts and in leg-
islation, most of which in recent
years have gone against advo-
cates of abortion rights.
“This is going to make it that
much more challenging on the
Senate side,” said Nancy Keenan,
president of NARAL Pro-Choice
America.
 DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
 and ROBERT PEAR
Prescriptions
Follow the progress, and the
debate, on the health bill.
nytimes.com/prescriptions
narian, said those tougher restric-
tions were essential for his vote.
This was not the first time Cao
has broken with his party. He was
one of 29 Republicans to join Dem-
ocrats this year in voting to reau-
thorize the Children’s Health In-
surance Program, which typically
covers children whose families do
not qualify for Medicaid.
Democrats, teasingly, claimed a
mantle of bipartisanship for their
health care legislation.
“This was, as you observed, a
bipartisan vote,” the House major-
ity leader, Steny H. Hoyer of Mary-
land, said at a news conference to
celebrate the passage of the bill.
 DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
the 1,000-foot perimeter would be
barred from receiving city money
as well as federal money.
“Let’s protect these kids,” said
Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., who
introduced the Washington bill.
“They don’t need to be playing
kickball in the playground and
seeing people lined up for needle
exchange.”
Both bills have passed the House
and await Senate action.
 KATIE ZEZIMA
3
In Brief
Shooting in Colorado
A 63-year-old man suspected
of fatally shooting one person
and wounding three others in a
Vail, Colo., bar has been arrest-
ed in what authorities say was
an apparently random shooting.
Richard Moreau of Vail is ac-
cused of firing shots outside and
in the Sandbar Sports Grill. Po-
lice say he was arrested Satur-
day at the scene on suspicion of
first-degree homicide.  (AP)
Transit Strike
Commuters in Philadelphia
have been told to gear up for
a second week of finding other
ways to work after the collapse
of a proposed deal to end a six-
day-old strike by about 5,000 bus
drivers, subway and trolley con-
ductors and mechanics.
The largest union represent-
ing workers of the Southeastern
Pennsylvania Transportation
Authority wants an indepen-
dent audit of pension funds. The
union is also rejecting language
that could reopen the contract
if SEPTA’s costs increase due
to national health care reform.
 (AP)
Army Chief of Staff
Wants More Troops
Gen. George Casey, the Army
chief of staff, on Sunday be-
came the latest U.S. military of-
ficial to advocate sending more
troops to Afghanistan as Presi-
dent Obama nears a decision on
a new strategy.
 (Reuters)
Prosecutors Seek
Students’ Grades
A Northwestern University
professor and journalism stu-
dents who spent three years in-
vestigating the case of a man
convicted in the 1978 killing of
a security guard believe they
have evidence that shows pros-
ecutors put the wrong man be-
hind bars. But Cook County
prosecutors issued subpoenas
to David Protess, the professor,
seeking his students’ grades,
his syllabus and their private
e-mails. Prosecutors claim the
students may have been under
pressure to prove the case to
get a good grade.  (AP)
business 
Medical Industry Grumbles but Stands to Gain
For any industry, there has to
be at least some good news any
time Congress votes to expand the
market by tens of millions of cus-
tomers.
But the business world found
plenty to complain about Sunday,
as it assessed the House bill that
would make sweeping changes in
the health care system and extend
insurance coverage to millions
more Americans.
Insurers do not like the provi-
sion to create a new government-
run insurance program. Drug
makers oppose the billions of dol-
lars in rebates they would have to
give to government and Medicare
recipients over 10 years. Makers
of medical devices are not particu-
larly happy about the proposed 2.5
percent tax on their products.
That is why, as attention now
shifts to the Senate, where Demo-
Haute Couture, Available Through the Netflix Model
For many women, a $1,000 dress
is something they admire in the
pages of a magazine — not an item
hanging in their closet.
But a nascent Web site called
Rent the Runway is hoping to
make high-end fashion almost as
easy as renting a movie from Net-
flix.
The mail-order service, which
finishes the testing phase on Mon-
day, allows women to rent dresses
from notable designers like Diane
Von Furstenberg, Hervé Léger
and Proenza Schouler for roughly
one-tenth of what they would cost
to buy in a retail store.
The rentals run $50 to $200 for
a four-night loan and are shipped
directly to the customer’s door-
step. After wearing the dress, she
puts it into a prepaid envelope and
Concerns at The New York Post as Circulation Falls
More than any major American
newspaper, Rupert Murdoch’s
New York Post has staked its name
and future on selling more copies,
cutting the price in 2000 from 50
cents to 25 and in 2001 bringing in
as editor Col Allan, who punched
up the tabloid’s irreverence, hard
edge and love of gossip. Circulation
— which for the Post overwhelm-
ingly means street sales — climbed
to 700,000 from about 440,000 in six
years, overtaking The Post’s rival,
The Daily News, in the process.
Then it shifted hard the other way.
cratic leaders are trying to merge
two bills into one, virtually every
business group with a stake in the
outcome will be hoping to strike
at least a slightly better deal than
they in the House version.
And yet, many analysts said
on Sunday that even the House
bill was not as bad for business as
many in the health care industry
might have feared.
While insurers were worried
that the government plan in the bill
would be able to piggyback off the
Medicare program in being able
to demand lower prices than the
private insurers get from doctors
and hospitals, the House legisla-
tion does not give the government
plan the same bargaining power
as Medicare.
Doctors were left holding a
mixed bag. The American Medical
Association supported the House
drops it in the mail. Dry cleaning
is included in the price, but dam-
age insurance costs $5, and in the
case of outright destruction of the
dress, the renter is responsible for
the full retail price.
Julia Harris, a 27-year-old grad-
uate student living in New York,
turned to Rent the Runway when
she needed something chic for a
wedding. For $50, she got a fuch-
sia Catherine Malandrino number
that would have cost $495 to buy.
“It was so easy. You just wear
it and drop it back in the mail to
them,” Harris said. “I don’t spend
$2,000 on a dress regularly, so it’s
nice to be able to wear some of the
more expensive brands I wouldn’t
be able to buy otherwise.”
The founders, Jennifer Hyman
and Jennifer Carter Fleiss, say
Nearly every paper in America
has lost circulation, but The Post
more than most — down almost
30 percent in 2.5 years, to 508,000
in the most recent reporting pe-
riod, against 544,000 for The Daily
News. Allan, who called it “a joyous
occasion” when The Post took the
lead, now takes a more subdued
view of the competition, saying in
an e-mail exchange that “whether
we are a little in front or a little be-
hind has no impact on our forward
business plan.”
The Post has not turned a profit
Monday, November 9, 2009
legislation. But the doctors’ group
did not get its quid pro quo — the
restoration of $210 billion in cuts to
physicians’ Medicare fees over the
next 10 years, which were already
scheduled before the current ef-
fort.
The drug industry got harsh
treatment from the House. The
bill would require drug makers to
pay more in rebates and discounts
than in the $80 billion deal that the
industry struck in June with the
White House and the chairman of
the Senate Finance Committee,
Max Baucus of Montana.
But the White House and Bau-
cus have said they will stay with
their deal. It remains to be seen
whether it survives the melding of
Senate bills being directed by the
majority leader, Harry Reid of Ne-
vada.  DUFF WILSON
 and REED ABELSON
that more than 20,000 women have
already signed up for the service.
Bain Capital Ventures provided
seed financing, which the com-
pany used to build its inventory of
160 styles.
The company faces several
risks. There is no guarantee that
the company will be able to rent
each dress enough times to cover
its costs. In addition, stores in ma-
jor cities have offered dresses for
rent for years.
The real test of the service will
be the quality of its collection,
said Samantha Durbin, editor of
FabSugar.com, a fashion blog.
“The key is to have really great
products that are on trend,” she
said. “No one wants to rent last
season’s dress.”
 JENNA WORTHAM
in decades under the News Corp.
The paper and its editor answer to
a constituency of one — Murdoch.
Still, Allan voiced contempt for
the industry’s conventional wis-
dom that as advertising tumbles,
some sales no longer make busi-
ness sense, and circulation should
be allowed to fall.
“Publishers who believe main-
taining circulation is impossible
and financially undesirable should
not be publishers,” he said. “They
are defeatists.”
 RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
4
In Brief
Northrop Grumman
Sells Consulting Unit
Northrop Grumman agreed
on Sunday to sell its TASC gov-
ernment consulting unit to the
private equity firms Kohlberg
Kravis Roberts and General At-
lantic for $1.65 billion in cash.
The sale follows last year’s
deal by the Carlyle Group for
Booz Allen Hamilton’s govern-
ment consulting business.
Northrop said that the sale of
TASC, which provides technolo-
gy consulting services, will help
it meet stricter requirements
on the conflicts of interest fac-
ing military contractors. These
companies now cannot provide
consulting services to the gov-
ernment while also trying to sell
it products.  (NYT)
Madoff Prosecutor
Joins Cleary Gottlieb
Lev L. Dassin, a former fed-
eral prosecutor in Manhattan
whose office won the convic-
tion of Bernard L. Madoff for
his Ponzi scheme, is joining the
international law firm Cleary
Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton.
Dassin, 44, was the acting U.S.
attorney for the Southern Dis-
trict of New York from Decem-
ber until August, when Preet
Bharara, President Obama’s
nominee for the post, was con-
firmed by the Senate.
At Cleary Gottlieb’s New
York office, Dassin will be a
partner, handling white-collar
and enforcement cases, and
commercial civil suits, the firm
said. He will have no involve-
ment in cases that he super-
vised as a prosecutor.  (NYT)
Texting Is Up 80%
The number of text messages
transmitted in the United States
grew by more than 80 percent
over the 12 months ended in
June, according to a report just
released by CTIA, a communi-
cations industry group.
No single factor explains the
steep growth in texting. The
number of phones capable of
texting grew only 7.3 percent.
But “bucket plans,” whose users
buy a cheap “bucket” of mes-
sages rather than paying a per-
message fee, have certainly en-
couraged texting.  (NYT)
business Monday, November 9, 2009 5

News Erupts, and So Does a Web Debut Gaps in Data

On Thursday afternoon, when joined the Web site from The ment is health care, education, On Nation’s Vigor
word came about the shootings Houston Chronicle. immigration, the most important
that left 13 people dead at Fort Led by Evan Smith, the former issues around, and there are plen- WASHINGTON — A widening
Hood, just up the road from Aus- editor of the highly respected ty of people who have a stake,” gap between data and reality is
tin, it seemed like a made-to-or- Texas Monthly, The Tribune is a said Smith, sitting in his office in distorting the government’s pic-
der test for The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit attempt to use a mix of Austin. “The reaction from the ture of the country’s economic
brand new 12-person Web-based donations, sponsorships and rev- people at the statehouse about health, overstating growth and
newsroom. enue from conferences to come our launch has been gratitude and productivity.
They scrambled the jets, made up with a sustainable model for fear. They’ll say, ‘I’m so glad that The shortcomings of the data-
plans, and then — stayed put. journalism that neither depends you are doing this, and I hope you gathering system came through
The big coverage on the on nor requires a print do a great job of covering every- loud and clear here Friday and
site, TexasTribune.org, on The Media product. one but me.’ ” Saturday at a gathering of econo-
Friday was not about the Equation At this point, The Tri- The theory is that a group of mists from academia and gov-
aftermath of the shootings, David bune has raised $3.7 mil- well-compensated editors and ernment determined to come up
but the 50 highest paid Carr lion, including $1 million writers (including Smith, who with a more accurate statistical
state employees and an from John Thornton, an makes $315,000, with 15 percent picture.
exclusive about a state represen- Austin venture capitalist, $1.6 of it deferred for two years) will The fundamental shortcoming is
tative who had switched parties. million from other individuals, create valuable reporting shared in the way imports are accounted
The Texas Tribune was devised $500,000 from the Houston En- by citizens and other news media for. A carburetor bought for $50 in
to cover the state government. dowment and $250,000 from the outlets, a kind of digital version of China as a component of an Amer-
During lunch on Friday, seven John S. and James L. Knight Foun- public radio. ican-made car, for example, more
staff members recalled the pre- dation. What really sets the Tribune often than not shows up in the
vious day, when the siren of a big All of it is arrayed over the good- apart is an effort to build a work- statistics as if it were the Ameri-
story blew. for-you, brussels sprouts journal- able model for journalism, which can-made version valued at, say,
“We were all sitting around talk- ism. And as a niche site with a was hatched by Thornton, a ven- $100. The failure to distinguish ad-
ing excitedly about what we were very narrow focus, it can’t afford ture capitalist who became inter- equately between what is made in
going to do with it,” said Elise Hu, to change its spots just because a ested in newspapers while shop- America and what is made abroad
who came to The Tribune from national event erupts maybe 90 ping for distressed assets. falsely inflates the gross domestic
KVUE-TV. “And then you could minutes up the road. “People have suggested that product, which sums up all value
see Matt,” she said, indicating her Various Web sites have carved journalism is too important to be added within the country.
colleague Matt Stiles next to her out a business, or at least an audi- left to nonprofits, but I think it is American workers lose their
at lunch, “was about to blow his ence, by shaving off some aspect too important to be left to market jobs when carburetors they once
stack.” of news, including crime, gossip forces,” he said. “Everybody likes made are imported instead. The
“It wasn’t our story. Should we or entertainment, but state gov- to beat up on the newspaper guys, federal data notices the decline in
have just been one more news or- ernment would not seem to be the which is easy to do from the side- employment but fails to revalue
ganization rushing to Fort Hood? sexiest corner of the realm. lines, but they have been facing a the carburetors. Because it seems
I don’t think so,” said Stiles, who “The business of state govern- tsunami.” as if $100 carburetors are being
produced but fewer workers are

Fox Is Optimistic About Its $500 Million 3-D Film

LOS ANGELES — Can a studio
make money on a film based on an
original and unfamiliar story, with
no Hollywood superstars, a van-
ishing DVD market and a price tag
approaching $500 million?
That question looms large for
20th Century Fox and its 3-D sci-
ence-fiction film “Avatar,” among
the most expensive movies ever.
Despite many skeptics, the studio
thinks it can turn a profit, in part
because the film’s creator, James
Cameron, was the driving force
behind the studio’s immense hit
“Titanic.”
But just in case box-office re-
ceipts for “Avatar” fall short, Fox
has worked hard to hedge its large
bet on the movie.
“Avatar” may carry surpris-
ingly little financial risk for Fox’s
parent company, the News Corp.
That is because of shifting indus-
try economics, reliance on outside
investors and help from a network
of allied companies and in-house
business units.
weta/20th century fox
Sam Worthington and Zoe
Saldana in “Avatar.”
The final cost of the film has not
been tallied, as Cameron, who has
worked on the film for 15 years,
and his collaborators, as far-flung
as Weta Digital in New Zealand,
continue to complete their work.
Published reports have put the
production budget at more than
$230 million.
The price tag would be higher if
the financial contribution of Cam-
eron and others were included.
When global marketing expenses
are added, “Avatar” may cost its
backers $500 million.
“Avatar” got a mention in a
Wednesday conference call during
which Rupert Murdoch, the News
Corp.’s chairman, discussed a sur-
prise 11 percent earnings spike in
the company’s fiscal first quarter,
which ended Sept. 30. “I’m confi-
dent we will lead the Christmas
season,” Murdoch said.
At what point the partners in
“Avatar” would see profit depends
on what share of revenue each re-
ceives as the movie reaches the-
aters, then DVD and other media
around the world. If domestic
ticket sales reach $250 million — a
level broken in the last year by five
films, including “Star Trek” and
“The Hangover” — Fox and its
allies would appear to be headed
into the black.
 MICHAEL CIEPLY
needed to do so, productivity false-
ly rises in the statistics.
“We don’t have the data collec-
tion structure to capture what is
happening in a real time way, or
what is being traded and how it
is affecting workers,” said Susan
Houseman, a senior economist at
the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Em-
ployment Research in Kalamazoo,
Mich.
At worst, the gross domestic
product would have risen at only a
3.3 percent annual rate in the third
quarter instead of the 3.5 percent
reported, according to some ex-
perts at the conference. The same
gap applies to productivity.
That may help to explain why
the recovery from the 2001 reces-
sion was a jobless one for many
months and why the recovery
from this recession is likely to gen-
erate few jobs for many months.
In addition, more detailed im-
port data would help to explain
wage inequality, by linking some
low wages more accurately to
particular industries exposed to
import competition.
 LOUIS UCHITELLE
arts
An Ethical Question: The Status of a Nazi
For decades the German phi-
losopher Martin Heidegger has
been the subject of passionate
debate. His critique of Western
thought and technology has pen-
etrated deeply into architecture,
psychology and literary theory
and inspired some of the most in-
fluential intellectual movements
of the 20th century. Yet he was
also a fervent Nazi.
Now a soon-to-be published
book in English has revived the
debate about whether the man
can be separated from his philos-
ophy. Drawing on new evidence,
the author, Emmanuel Faye,
argues fascist and racist ideas
are so woven into the fabric of
Heidegger’s theories that they no
longer deserve to be called philos-
ophy. As a result, Faye declares,
Heidegger’s works and the many
fields built on them need to be re-
examined lest they spread sinis-
ter ideas as dangerous to modern
thought as “the Nazi movement
was to the physical existence of
the exterminated peoples.”
First published in France in
2005, the book, “Heidegger: The
Introduction of Nazism Into
Philosophy,” calls on philosophy
professors to treat Heidegger’s
writings like hate speech. Librar-
ies, too, should stop classifying
Heidegger’s collected works as
philosophy and instead include
them under the history of Nazism.
These measures would function
as a warning label to prevent the
careless spread of his most odi-
KenKen
Fill the grid with digits so as not to repeat a digit in any row or column, and so that the digits within each woman in his life. The married
heavily outlined box will produce the target number shown, by using addition, subtraction, multiplication tennis stars, now retired, are
or division, as indicated in the box. A 4x4 grid will use the digits 1-4. A 6x6 grid will use 1-6.
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KenKen is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. Puzzles © 2009 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved.
ous ideas, which Faye lists as the
exaltation of the state over the in-
dividual, the impossibility of mo-
rality, anti-humanism and racial
purity.
The book is the most radical
attack yet on Heidegger (1889-
1976) and would upend the philo-
sophical field’s treatment of his
work in the United States, and
even more so in France, where
Heidegger has frequently been
required reading for an advanced
degree.
Faye, an associate professor at
the University of Paris, Nanterre,
wants to challenge his colleagues
to rethink the purpose of philoso-
phy and its relationship to ethics.
At the same time, scholars in
disciplines as far flung as poetry
and psychoanalysis would be
obliged to reconsider their use
of Heidegger’s ideas. Although
Faye talks about the close con-
nection between Heidegger and
current right-wing extremist pol-
itics, left-wing intellectuals have
more frequently been inspired
by his ideas. Existentialism and
postmodernism as well as at-
tendant attacks on colonialism,
atomic weapons, ecological ruin
and universal notions of morality
are all based on his critique of the
Western cultural tradition and
reason.
Richard Wolin, the author of
several books on Heidegger and
a close reader of the Faye book,
said he is not convinced Heide-
gger’s thought is as thoroughly
Monday, November 9, 2009 6
Agassi Basks
In His Spotlight
Andre Agassi often says in
“Open” that tennis is a lonely
game. But the writing of this au-
tobiography was a team sport. It
was put together by J. R. Moeh-
ringer, who wrote “The Tender
Bar,” a shapely and expert mem-
oir of his own. The same gift of gab
that colored Moehringer’s tales
of being a boy in a barroom now
finds its way onto the tennis court
and into Agassi’s much-analyzed,
follicularly challenged head.
Agassi uses his writing partner
in the same way he uses his ten-
nis support staff: as talented in-
dividuals in a universe where he,
Agassi, is the one and only sun.
The New York Times
(He said that he offered to put
An author says Heidegger’s Moehringer’s name on the book,
views were steeped in Nazism. and that Moehringer declined.)
Welcome to Agassi’s world. As
described in “Open” it is lively but
narrow, since Agassi’s curiosity
tainted by Nazism as Faye ar- does not extend far beyond ten-
gues. Nonetheless he recognizes nis, the misery of tennis, the way
how far Heidegger’s ideas have sportswriters misunderstand
spilled into the larger culture. tennis and the irritating celebrity
“I’m not by any means dismiss- that tennis stardom confers.
ing any of these fields because of The bullet-point highlights of
Heidegger’s influence,” he wrote “Open” have been given the tab-
in an e-mail message referring loid treatment in advance of publi-
to postmodernism’s influence cation. Its biggest headline maker
across the academy. “I’m merely is a brief account of Agassi’s use
saying that we should know more of crystal meth in 1997.
about the ideological residues Given the anticlimactic nature
and connotations of a thinker like of these revelations, what exactly
Heidegger before we accept his keeps “Open” going? Somebody
discourse ready-made or naïve- on the memoir team has great
ly.”  PATRICIA COHEN gifts for heart-tugging drama.
And through some combination
of Agassi’s keen memory and
Moehringer’s narrative skills,
Answers to “Open” is cleverly bookended by
Previous Puzzles two important tennis matches.
It begins with the 2006 U.S. Open,
his last tournament, and a you-are-
there tour of the weary champ’s
psyche. Mid-showdown, his mind
“forcibly spinning” into the past as
if it were a whirling ball, the book
enters flashback mode: “I see
everything with bright, startling
clarity, every setback, victory,
rivalry, tantrum, paycheck, girl-
friend, betrayal, reporter, wife,
child, outfit, fan letter, grudge
match and crying jag.”
The last scene is a love match
between Agassi and Steffi Graf,
who became the most important
playing for fun on a public court.
And “Open” has to end midmatch,
because this game has two win-
ners. JANET MASLIN
journal Monday, November 9, 2009 7

In Twilight at 91, Nelson Mandela Endures as South Africa’s Ideal

JOHANNESBURG — The icon is a very old Mandela has repeatedly announced his glue that binds South Af-
man now. His hair is white, his body frail. Visi- retirement from public life, only to appear at rica together,” said Mondli
tors say Nelson Mandela leans heavily on a a pop concert in his honor or a political rally. Makhanya, editor in chief
cane when he walks into his study. He slips off But recently, as he canceled engagements, of The Sunday Times.
his shoes, lowers himself into a stiff-backed rumors that he was gravely ill swirled so per- The Nelson Mandela
chair and lifts each leg onto a cushioned stool. sistently that his foundation released a state- Foundation agreed last
His wife, Graça, adjusts his feet “so they’re ment saying he was “as well as anyone can month to sell the rights to a
symmetrical, and gives him a peck,” says expect of someone who is 91 years old.” ASSOCIATED PRESS
book, “Conversations With
George Bizos, his old friend and lawyer. Yet even as Mandela fades from view, he re- Myself,” based on material
To his left is a small table piled with newspa- tains a vital place in the public consciousness Nelson from Mandela’s personal
pers in English and Afrikaans, the language of here. To many he is still the ideal of a leader Mandela papers — journals, drafts
the whites who imprisoned him for 27 years. — warm, magnanimous, willing to own up to of intimate letters to rela-
His memory has weakened, but he still loves his failings — against which his successors tives written in prison and
to reminisce, bringing out oft-told stories “like are measured and often found wanting. “It’s documents from his years as South Africa’s
polished stones,” as one visitor put it. the idea of Nelson Mandela that remains the first democratically chosen black president.
There are telling nuggets. In prison, the
authorities gave him a South Africa tourism
crossword Edited By Will Shortz desk calendar each year. He typically recorded
facts in it — his blood pressure, or whom he
PUZZLE BY LYNN LEMPEL
met that day — but occasionally he noted a
ACROSS 42 Lowest-ranking 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
1 Actor’s G.I. dream, like one in which his daughter Zindzi,
representative 43 Paper Mate 14 15 16 whom he was not allowed to see from when
6 Group of actors product she was 3 until she was 15, “asks me to kiss her
10 Eye desirously 44 “Larry King Live” 17 18 19
& remarks that I am not warm enough.”
channel
14 Copy machine
45 Sneaky types
20 21 22 Mandela is looked after by his wife, Graça
powder Machel, 64. “They behave like young lovers,”
15 German king 49 Latino’s Yankee 23 24 25 26 27 28
who became buddy Bizos said. “They hold hands.”
an early Holy 51 Go in without a 29 30 31 32 Like a grown child for whom each goodbye
Roman Emperor suit to an aged parent feels as if it may be the last,
16 Whoppers 53 Rulers until 1917 33 34 35
South Africa seems to be preparing for its
17 Rushed, as a 55 “What’s more …”
decision 36 37 38 final farewell to Mandela. And he seems to
56 All ___ day’s
18 Throat soother work have readied himself. Verne Harris, who has
20 Gin-touting 57 Problem-solving
39 40 41 42
been Mandela’s archivist since 2004 and will
Whitney research institute 43 44 45 46 47 48 help assemble the forthcoming book, recount-
21 I.M. provider 59 Shade of yellow ed a joke he had heard Mandela tell and retell.
22 Slanted 61 Slime 49 50 51 52
“When I die, I’m going to get up to the gates
23 Time just after 62 Boundary
53 54 55 56 of heaven, and they’re going to say to me,
sunset 63 “Winnie-the-
27 Almost any Pooh” writer ‘Who are you?’ ” Mandela says. “And I’ll say,
element whose 64 Cheers for the
57 58 59 60
‘I’m Madiba.’ And they’ll say, ‘But where do
name ends in matador 61 62 63 you come from?’ And I’ll say, ‘South Africa.’
-ium 65 Warty hopper And they’ll say, ‘Oh, that Madiba. You’ve
29 12th graders 66 Newspapers 64 65 66
come to the wrong gates. You see the ones
30 Class for U.S. collectively
citizens-to-be 11/9/09 (No. 1109)
down there that are very warm? That’s where
32 “___ you DOWN you have to go.’ ” CELIA W. DUGGER
7 Ring-shaped 25 Wrongful act 45 Sent an eye
kidding?!” 1 Parthenon’s site island signal
26 Low in fat
33 Three: Prefix 2 Only soccer 8 Disco guy on 28 “Back to the 46 Fit for
34 Letter after sigma player who can “The Simpsons” consumption
Future” actress
35 Alan who directed throw the ball 9 “Animal House” Thompson 47 White sale items
and starred in 3 Junior naval garb 31 Discontinue for 48 Bowling scores
“Betsy’s Wedding” officer now
10 Radio blast from inferior to strikes
36 Where dishes 4 Kind of profit or the past 34 Black or green 50 Places to make
may pile up loss drink
11 Chitchat at a 48-Down 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, NY 10018
39 Give off 5 Take a stab at
sweet sixteen 35 Restless 52 Roo’s mom in •
41 Motorists’ org. 6 Hot winter drinks sleepover “Winnie-the-
36 Really big, as a Tom Brady, Editor
12 Ballerina’s tight- mattress Pooh” e-mail: digesteditor@nytimes.com
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE fitting attire 37 Brinker with 54 “Do not change,” •
13 Meeting of the storied skates to an editor TimesDigest Sales Office
M A A S S P A N G M A L I minds, for short? 38 Nobelist Pavlov 57 Likewise phone: (212) 556-1200
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D I O N A L I C E F A S T 21 From Niger or 40 18-Across 59 Measure of e-mail: timesdigest@nytimes.com
I T S A S T E A L N I N E R Nigeria ingredient electric current •
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OPINION Monday, November 9, 2009 8

ed i tor i als of the t i m e S PAUL KRUGMAN

Imprisoning a Child for Life Paranoia Runs Deep

The United States could be the only nation
in the world where a 13-year-old child can be
sentenced to life in prison without possibility
of parole, even for crimes that do not include
murder. This grim distinction should trouble
Americans deeply, as should all of the barbaric
sentencing policies for children that this coun-
try embraces but that most of the world has
abandoned.
The Supreme Court must keep the interna-
tional standard in mind when it hears argu-
ments on Monday in Graham v. Florida and
Sullivan v. Florida. The petitioners in both ar-
gue that sentencing children to life without the
possibility of parole for a nonhomicide violates
the Eighth Amendment prohibition against
cruel and unusual punishment.
The court came down on the right side of this
issue in 2005, when it ruled that children who
commit crimes before the age of 18 should not
be subject to the death penalty. The decision
correctly pointed out that juveniles were less
culpable because they lacked maturity, were
vulnerable to peer pressure and had personali-
ties that were still being formed.
Writing for the majority, Justice Anthony
Kennedy said the practice of executing 16- and
17-year-olds violated the Eighth Amendment,
conflicted with “evolving standards of decen-
cy” and isolated the United States from the
rest of the world.
The decision took scores of juveniles off
death row. It also threw a spotlight onto state
policies under which juveniles were increas-
ingly being tried in adult courts and sentenced
Rody Alvarado’s Odyssey
After 14 years, Rody Alvarado finally has
the full support of the U.S. government in her
struggle to find safe haven here. She fled Gua-
temala in 1995 after enduring years of horrific
beatings and sexual abuse by her husband.
Though the facts of her suffering were not dis-
puted, her case took a tortuous route through
immigration courts, where the question of asy-
lum for battered women has long been mud-
dled by controversy, indecision and inaction.
Alvarado heard every kind of answer to her
plea — no, yes, maybe, we don’t know, we’re
thinking about it. It wasn’t until late October
that the Department of Homeland Security
told a court in San Francisco that it considered
her eligible for asylum, clearing the way for a
judge to grant her, at last, the right to stay.
Alvarado’s long-delayed victory is good
news for her, but it should be much more than
that. It is an opportunity for the government to
finally bring clarity and justice to a neglected
area of asylum law.
The Department of Homeland Security
should follow up its brief in the Alvarado case
by issuing something more lasting and useful:
a firm, clear set of regulations spelling out the
conditions under which battered women could
be granted asylum here. Such regulations
to adult jails, often for nonviolent crimes.
The practice is even more troubling because
it is arbitrary. Children who commit nonviolent
crimes like theft are just as likely to be shipped
off to adult courts as children who commit seri-
ous violent crimes. And the process is racially
freighted, with black and Latino children more
likely to be sent to adult courts than white chil-
dren who commit comparable crimes.
The rush to try more children as adults be-
gan in the 1980s, when the country was gripped
by hysteria about an adolescent crime wave
that never materialized. Joe Sullivan, the peti-
tioner in Sullivan v. Florida, was sentenced to
life without parole in 1989, when he was just 13,
after a questionable sexual battery conviction.
His two older accomplices testified against the
younger, mentally impaired boy. They received
short sentences, one of them as a juvenile.
The case of Terrance Graham has similar
contours. A learning disabled child born to
crack-addicted parents, he was on probation in
connection with a burglary committed when he
was 16 when he participated in a home invasion.
He, too, had older accomplices. He was never
convicted of the actual crime but was given life
without parole for probation violations.
These were two very troubled children in
need of adult supervision and perhaps even
time behind bars. But it is insupportable to
conclude, as the courts did, that children who
committed crimes when they were so young
were beyond rehabilitation. The laws under
which they were convicted violate current hu-
man rights standards and the Constitution.
would give invaluable guidance to asylum of-
ficials and immigration judges and prevent the
years of delays and uncertainty that so wors-
ened Alvarado’s ordeal.
The regulations need not open the doors to
an unrestricted flood of asylum claims. The law
limits asylum to those who suffer due to their
race, religion, nationality, political opinion or
“membership in a particular social group.”
Women’s advocates have long argued for
a way under which a battered woman could
qualify as a member of a “particular social
group”: by establishing, as Alvarado did, that
domestic violence was widely tolerated by the
government and society in her home country;
that women there were viewed as subordinate
to men; and that she had no place within its
borders to find a safe haven.
Regulations that could have moved the issue
forward were proposed in 2000 but never final-
ized; asylum for battered women was seen as
too controversial. Homeland Security and the
Justice Department are said to be working on
such regulations. We’re eager to see them.
The Obama administration has shown cour-
age in protecting Alvarado. Now it must ensure
that other deserving women can find justice
and safety as well.
On Thursday there was a rally outside the
U.S. Capitol to protest pending health care
legislation, featuring the kind of thing we’ve
grown accustomed to, including signs showing
piles of bodies at Dachau with the caption “Na-
tional Socialist Healthcare.” It was grotesque
— and it was also ominous. For what we may
be seeing is America being Californiafied.
The key thing to understand about that rally
is that it wasn’t a fringe event. It was sponsored
by the House Republican leadership. Senior
lawmakers were there and apparently had no
problem with the tone of the proceedings.
What this shows is that the G.O.P. has been
taken over by the people it used to exploit. With
the rise of Ronald Reagan, Republicans began
to win elections in part by catering to the pas-
sions of the angry right. Until recently, howev-
er, that catering mostly took the form of empty
symbolism. Once elections were won, the is-
sues that fired up the base took a back seat to
the economic concerns of the elite.
But something snapped last year. Conserva-
tives had long believed history was on their
side, so the G.O.P. establishment could, in ef-
fect, urge hard-right activists to wait a little
longer. After the Democratic sweep, however,
the extremists could no longer be fobbed off
with promises of future glory.
Furthermore, the loss of Congress and the
White House left a power vacuum in the party.
At this point Newt Gingrich is what passes for a
G.O.P. elder statesman. Real power in the party
rests instead with the likes of Rush Limbaugh
and Sarah Palin. Because these people aren’t
interested in actually governing, they feed the
base’s frenzy instead of trying to curb or chan-
nel it. So all the old restraints are gone.
In the short run, this may help Democrats.
But maybe not: elections aren’t necessarily
won by the candidate with the most rational
argument. They’re often determined, instead,
by events and economic conditions.
In fact, the party of Limbaugh and Palin
could well make major gains in the midterm
elections. The Obama administration’s job-
creation efforts have fallen short, so unem-
ployment is likely to stay disastrously high.
The bailout of Wall Street has angered voters,
and might even let Republicans claim the man-
tle of economic populism. Conservatives may
not have better ideas, but voters might support
them out of sheer frustration.
And if Tea Party Republicans do win big next
year, what has happened in California could
happen at the national level. In California, the
G.O.P. has essentially shrunk to a rump party
with no interest in actually governing — but
that rump remains big enough to prevent any-
one else from dealing with the state’s fiscal cri-
sis. If this happens to America as a whole, the
country could become effectively ungovern-
able in the midst of an economic disaster.
The point is that the takeover of the Republi-
can Party by the irrational right is no laughing
matter. Something unprecedented is happen-
ing here — and it’s very bad for America.
sports Monday, November 9, 2009 9

Giants’ Losing Streak Continues, After All In Brief

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. —
In his final moment on the field
Sunday at Giants Stadium, San
Diego quarterback Philip Rivers
fired a dart through the heart of
the Giants’ defense and maybe
their hopes for the season.
It was an 18-yard touchdown
pass to Vincent Jackson that gave
his Chargers a 21-20 victory.
For Giants quarterback Eli Man-
ning — his name entwined with
Rivers’s in N.F.L. history since
their draft day trade in 2004 — his
last moment Sunday was less glo-
rious but just as emphatic.
With one play left to steal a vic-
tory, five seconds remaining on the
clock and the San Diego end zone
71 yards away, Manning dropped
back to pass.
But he was sacked for the fifth
time of the game, this one by
Shawne Merriman, one of several
players obtained by the Chargers
through their trade of Manning for
Rivers.
The result improved San Diego’s
record to 5-3 and dropped the Gi-
ants’ to 5-4 with their fourth con-
secutive defeat. It is one they will
dwell on for two weeks, because
they have a bye next weekend.
But the Giants battled back from
a 7-point deficit and took their first
lead with 8 minutes 58 seconds
left in the game when Manning
connected with Kevin Boss on an
8-yard touchdown for a 17-14 lead.
It was Manning’s second touch-
down pass of the day.
The Giants could have increased
their lead to 10 soon after had they
taken advantage of Terrell Thom-
as’s 33-yard interception return to
the San Diego 4. But after guard
Chris Snee was penalized for hold-
ing, Coach Tom Coughlin called
three cautious plays that set up
the second field goal of the game
by Lawrence Tynes with 2:11 left
to put the Giants ahead by 20-14.
“You can second-guess it all you
want,” Coughlin said.
This gave the Chargers enough
time for an 80-yard touchdown
drive that included six comple-
tions by Rivers, the final when
Jackson got behind cornerback
Corey Webster’s man-to-man
coverage on the right side. It was
Rivers’s third touchdown pass of
the day and second to Jackson.
“We’ll be O.K. in the long run,”
Webster said. “We’ve got to keep
fighting and get the bad taste out
of our mouths.” JOE LAPOINTE
The Fifth Down
Analysis from Joe LaPointe
and William C. Rhoden.
nytimes.com/fifthdown
A Win for Mickelson
Thousands of fans caused a
bottleneck at the entrance to
the HSBC Champions in Shang-
hai, all of them eager to see the
Sunday showdown between Phil
Mickelson and Tiger Woods. But
Woods turned out to be merely a
spectator, too.
Mickelson built a six-shot lead
over Woods on the front nine,
then rallied to beat another fa-
miliar foe, Ernie Els, with two
clutch putts for a one-shot victo-
ry in the final World Golf Cham-
pionship of the year.
Mickelson, who earned $1.2
million, closed with a three-un-
der-par 69 for a 17-under total
of 271 and won for the first time
playing with Woods in the final
group.  (AP)
nfl scores
SUNDAY

Anthony Comes Into His Own, and So Do Nuggets
For much of his first six N.B.A.
seasons, Carmelo Anthony settled
on the wrong side of great. Great
scorer, not a great player. Great
shooter, not a gracious passer.
Great athlete, not a good defend-
er.
The distinctions are important
in the N.B.A. One side nearly al-
ways carries the connotation of
losing, garnering a player name
recognition and little more.
In a coming-of-age transforma-
tion, Anthony is crossing to the
positive side. The Nuggets’ streak
into the Western Conference fi-
nals last season only whetted his
appetite. Denver (5-2) began this
season with five straight wins, its
best start in 24 years. Anthony is
still on a Mile High high, averaging
31.4 points as an all-around player.
“Young guys coming into the
league, they want to score in the
N.B.A. and establish something
early,” said Anthony, 25. “But as
you get older, you become smart-
er.”
Denver developed into a cohe-
sive team last season. Chauncey
Billups’s homecoming was a cata-
lyst and Chris Andersen’s rehabili-
tation journey a main ingredient.
But Anthony’s evolution is largely
the reason behind Denver’s trans-
formation.
Anthony faced a summer with-
out USA Basketball commitments.
He traveled from Spain to Los An-
geles. He also trained, shedding 15
pounds.
“Melo has always been a good
player,” said the trainer Idan
Ravin, who has worked with An-
thony since he entered the N.B.A.
“But all of a sudden because he
won last year, he was a great
player. People draw a distinction
between being a great player and
winning.
“In some ways, it’s the dilemma
of being a great player. People
draw those associations. So until
you win, you’re never going to be
as good as the others, even though
objectively, you are.”
 JONATHAN ABRAMS
Arizona 41, Chicago 21
Atlanta 31, Washington 17
New England 27, Miami 17
Indianapolis 20, Houston 17
Cincinnati 17, Baltimore 7
Tampa Bay 38, Green Bay 28
Jacksonville 24, Kansas City 21
Seattle 32, Detroit 20
New Orleans 30, Carolina 20
San Diego 21, Giants 20
Tennessee 34, San Francisco 27
Dallas 20, Philadelphia 16
NHL scores
SUNDAY
Atlanta 3, St. Louis 2, SO
Edmonton 5, Colorado 3
nBA scores
SUNDAY
Phoenix 102, Washington 90
Detroit 88, Philadelphia 81
Oklahoma City 102, Orlando 74
Sacramento 120, Golden State 107
Portland 116, Minnesota 93

WEATHER
High/low temperatures for the 21 hours ended at 4 p.m.
yesterday, Eastern time, and precipitation (in inches)
for the 18 hours ended at 1 p.m. yesterday. Expected
conditions for today and tomorrow.
Weather conditions: C-clouds, F-fog, H-haze, I-ice, PC-
partly cloudy,R-rain, S-sun, Sh-showers, Sn-snow, SS-
snow showers, T-thunderstorms, Tr-trace, W-windy.
U.S. CITIES
Yesterday Today Tomorrow
Atlanta 73/ 45 0 72/ 52 PC 61/ 57 R
Albuquerque 69/ 43 0 68/ 40 S 67/ 42 S
Boise 54/ 34 0 55/ 32 S 54/ 38 PC
Boston 68/ 46 0 69/ 45 S 65/ 51 PC
Buffalo 68/ 44 0 66/ 52 PC 54/ 45 PC
Charlotte 78/ 39 0 73/ 43 S 66/ 52 Sh
Chicago 70/ 45 0 61/ 54 C 57/ 44 PC
Cleveland 71/ 48 0 72/ 47 PC 55/ 47 C
Dallas-Ft. Worth 74/ 56 0 75/ 57 PC 73/ 54 PC
Denver 57/ 39 0 56/ 33 PC 62/ 26 PC
Detroit 65/ 39 0 67/ 49 PC 54/ 48 Sh
Houston
Kansas City
73/ 61
72/ 55
0
0
74/ 63 C
62/ 56 Sh
79/ 59
60/ 46
PC
PC
Los Angeles 72/ 57 0 75/ 57 PC 77/ 55 PC
Miami 84/ 77 0 85/ 77 PC 86/ 77 C
Mpls.-St. Paul 63/ 42 0 58/ 39 S 58/ 34 S
New York City 69/ 47 0 71/ 52 S 66/ 55 C
Orlando 81/ 66 0 82/ 67 PC 82/ 69 Sh
Philadelphia 70/ 43 0 72/ 48 S 68/ 50 PC
Phoenix 83/ 60 0 86/ 59 S 89/ 60 PC
Salt Lake City 52/ 33 0 56/ 33 S 62/ 35 PC
San Francisco 64/ 48 0 65/ 48 PC 66/ 52 PC
Seattle 50/ 39 0.27 52/ 42 R 51/ 41 Sh
St. Louis 76/ 57 0 71/ 57 C 62/ 51 PC
Washington 74/ 45 0 72/ 50 S 67/ 53 C
FOREIGN CITIES
Yesterday Today Tomorrow
Acapulco 93/ 77 0 86/ 73 S 90/ 77 S
Athens 67/ 61 0.31 73/ 55 PC 73/ 55 PC
Beijing 52/ 43 0 41/ 36 C 30/ 25 Sn
Berlin 43/ 32 Tr 45/ 39 Sh 45/ 39 C
Buenos Aires 75/ 50 0 70/ 46 PC 73/ 43 S
Cairo 90/ 66 0 84/ 66 S 86/ 66 S
Cape Town
Dublin
61/ 57
51/ 39
1.73
0.01
66/ 52 R
52/ 41 Sh
70/ 52 PC
52/ 41 S
Geneva 47/ 32 0.26 41/ 37 Sh 44/ 36 C
Hong Kong 85/ 77 0 82/ 75 T 82/ 75 S
Kingston 91/ 77 0 86/ 77 T 84/ 77 PC
Lima 73/ 64 Tr 73/ 61 C 72/ 61 C
London 50/ 43 0.02 53/ 37 PC 50/ 41 Sh
Madrid 59/ 48 0 58/ 45 PC 61/ 41 PC
Mexico City 71/ 46 0 73/ 48 PC 68/ 48 C
Montreal 58/ 41 0 63/ 36 PC 55/ 37 C
Moscow 41/ 36 0.51 39/ 35 C 38/ 34 Sh
Nassau 81/ 75 0 86/ 75 W 87/ 77 PC
Paris 49/ 39 0.03 50/ 41 C 52/ 41 C
Prague 43/ 34 Tr 47/ 42 Sh 47/ 39 Sh
Rio de Janeiro 96/ 82 0 88/ 73 R 86/ 73 R
Rome 60/ 50 1.22 63/ 52 T 63/ 50 Sh
Santiago 68/ 43 0 73/ 39 C 75/ 43 PC
Stockholm 45/ 41 0 43/ 36 PC 41/ 36 C
Sydney 71/ 64 0.01 79/ 57 S 81/ 55 S
Tokyo 68/ 57 0 70/ 56 PC 71/ 58 PC
Toronto 64/ 41 0 63/ 48 PC 52/ 43 PC
Vancouver 46/ 39 0.43 51/ 43 R 48/ 43 R
Warsaw 44/ 39 0.02 51/ 46 Sh 48/ 43 Sh
sports journal Monday, November 9, 2009 10

College Season Sputters to a Lackluster Finish NFL STANDINGS

AMERICAN CONFERENCE
For years, college football’s Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Has which is Dec. 5, when Florida will East W L T Pct PF PA
commissioners and presidents the highlight of the week in col- play Alabama, a game that should, N. England 6 2 0 .750 225 115
have clung to their standard line lege football come down to Lane yet again, produce this year’s na- Jets 4 4 0 .500 177 134
about why the sport would not in- Kiffin’s latest quip? Or whether tional champion. Miami 3 5 0 .375 193 204
stitute a postseason playoff. Southeastern Conference Com- In the meantime, sit back and Buffalo 3 5 0 .375 123 169
Those who oversee the Bowl missioner Mike Slive will fine enjoy Florida eviscerating Flor- South W L T Pct PF PA
Championship Series are so con- coaches for pointing out obvious ida International, gather around Indianapolis 8 0 0 1.000 217 108
cerned by the thought of a play- missed calls by officials? the television to watch Alabama Houston 5 4 0 .556 215 188
off that at the B.C.S. meetings in If these story lines sound famil- roll past Chattanooga. And when Jacksonville 4 4 0 .500 157 198
Florida two years ago, they voted iar — fines, officiating concerns Texas makes it to the national title Tennessee 2 6 0 .250 148 238
North W L T Pct PF PA
not to even discuss the issue. In- and quotes from unhappy coaches game, savor the chance to see the
Cincinnati 6 2 0 .750 180 135
stead, they have insisted that “ev- — it would be because they are a Longhorns play a fairly matched
Pittsburgh 5 2 0 .714 167 129
ery week is a playoff” and lot of the same issues the opponent. So far, that has not hap- Baltimore 4 4 0 .500 206 154
that college presidents Analysis N.F.L. faces. The biggest pened. Cleveland 1 7 0 .125 78 209
are spooked by the notion Pete difference, however, is That leaves three weeks before West W L T Pct PF PA
of the sport becoming too Thamel that at the end of the N.F.L. a competitive game that has an Denver 6 1 0 .857 140 96
commercial and, gulp, too season, the top teams are effect on the season. So we will San Diego 5 3 0 .625 206 179
professional. usually left to play each other, re- watch to see if Arizona makes Oakland 2 6 0 .250 78 201
But with a pedestrian Heisman turning the focus to the field. its first Rose Bowl, if the Charlie Kansas City 1 7 0 .125 126 205
Trophy field, no elite team that This week, we can talk about Weis era ends in South Bend and if
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
scintillates the masses and virtu- whether Louisiana State defen- Houston’s Case Keenum can keep
ally no chance of a team outside sive back Patrick Peterson need- impersonating Andre Ware. East W L T Pct PF PA
the Big Three crashing the nation- ed to have three feet inbounds, But the race for the national title Phila. 5 2 0 .714 203 133
al title game, this college football instead of the two he appeared game has officially become a bore. Dallas 5 2 0 .714 197 136
season is sputtering to the finish. to have, in order for his intercep- The undefeated non-B.C.S. teams Giants 5 4 0 .556 232 204
As the regular season pushes tion against Alabama to count. Or are irrelevant in the title race be- Washington 2 6 0 .250 113 154
toward its final three weeks, there whether L.S.U. Coach Les Miles cause of the current system, and South W L T Pct PF PA
does not appear to be a single com- will be fined for his comments Cincinnati (9-0 and ranked fifth New Orleans 8 0 0 1.000 303 174
petitive game left on the schedule about the bad call. in the B.C.S. standings) can only Atlanta 5 3 0 .625 202 166
that directly relates to the national Forget the story lines about the twiddle its thumbs and hope for Carolina 3 5 0 .375 148 196
Tampa Bay 1 7 0 .125 134 231
title. It is a three-horse race, with plight of the outsider teams like the teams ahead of it to stumble,
North W L T Pct PF PA
Texas, Florida and Alabama all Texas Christian and Boise State, much the way the top teams did in
Minnesota 7 1 0 .875 244 174
running against claimers. fine squads that are fighting a sys- 2007. Green Bay 4 4 0 .500 215 172
So instead of marquee match- tem that works against them. It is It is too bad that in this great Chicago 4 4 0 .500 180 191
ups, the next three weeks will all just white noise. era of parity, so many teams do Detroit 1 7 0 .125 133 237
be much more like the last two. There is little any public rela- not have the opportunity to prove West W L T Pct PF PA
The biggest stories will be about tions team can do to change Boi- themselves. Instead, the story Arizona 5 3 0 .625 198 164
questionable calls by officials on se’s reality — it will never play for lines will be bad games, the lim- San Fran. 3 5 0 .375 174 174
the field and in the replay booth, the national title under this B.C.S. ited access for non-B.C.S. teams Seattle 3 5 0 .375 167 167
and coaches being slapped on the system. Neither will T.C.U. and how Slive handles future St. Louis 1 7 0 .125 77 221
wrist or fined for voicing their feel- Instead, we are left to focus on coaching-officiating conflicts.
ings about the officiating. the next big date on the schedule, Amateurism at its finest.

Steelers’ Hines Ward Helps Youths on a Journey Toward Acceptance

PITTSBURGH — Steelers re-
ceiver Hines Ward surrounded
himself with old friends at the
dinner table on a recent Saturday
night. The bond was as obvious
as the look on everyone’s faces —
half Korean, half something else.
The shared experience was far
more than skin deep.
There was a boy who had been
bullied into depression and tried
to commit suicide. There was a girl
ordered by a teacher to keep her
hair pulled back tight, to straight-
en the natural curls she inherited
from her black father. There were
college-age girls who broke into
tears when telling their stories of
growing up biracial.
But when they looked around
the table, they saw familiarity.
And a future. “It is so special that
no one is staring at me, and no one
is asking me about my hair,” Lisa
So, 20, said. “It gives me hope.”
The eight visitors, ages 16 to
21, were here from South Korea,
where people of mixed race are
considered everything from a cu-
riosity to an abomination.
“It’s a great culture. I love ev-
erything about it,” said Ward,
who was born in Seoul to a Korean
mother and an African-American
soldier father, and was raised
mainly in Georgia by his mother.
“But there’s a dark side to that cul-
ture. I’m just trying to shed a light
on that dark side and make Korea
a better place than it already is.”
The plight of biracial children
in South Korea was largely ig-
nored until 2006, when Ward was
the most valuable player of Super
Bowl XL. That spring, he and his
mother, Young He Ward, visited
South Korea for the first time
since he was a baby. They were
mobbed by television cameras
and gawking fans. “I got more
love there than I did in the States,”
Ward said.
The visit signaled a slow turn
toward tolerance.
“We’re a closed society, and no
one really talked about it,” said Jin
Roy Ryu, the chairman of a metals
company and of the South Korean
branch of Pennsylvania-based
Pearl S. Buck International, which
provides services to biracial chil-
dren. “But Hines came, and it
brought the issue to the center.”
Ward and Pearl S. Buck Interna-
tional have taken eight Amerasian
children to Pittsburgh during each
of the last four football seasons.
He met this year’s contingent
at the airport. The next day, he
treated them to arcade games,
and Ryu and Ward hosted dinner
at a Korean restaurant.
On Oct. 25, before the Steelers
played the Vikings, the group
stood on the sideline at Heinz Field,
wearing Ward’s No. 86 jersey and
other Steelers gear. Ward came
over for high-fives and hugs.
They cheered the Steelers to
victory, then left Pittsburgh for a
week of sightseeing in Philadel-
phia, Washington and New York.
Then most returned home, carry-
ing a booster shot of confidence.
They are caught between yes-
terday’s racism and tomorrow’s
acceptance. But as they sat around
a dinner table in Pittsburgh, their
vastly different faces did not seem
unusual at all. What they had in
common were their smiles.
 JOHN BRANCH