By Jonathan Miller, on Mon Jul 18, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
My column this week for The Huffington Post serves as tribute to a special friend of mine with a famous name and a powerful story. The “other” Diana Ross suffered an unspeakable tragedy, but she’s survived to demonstrate incredible strength and to fight for a critical cause — battling the scourge of domestic violence.
Read the excerpt below:
When my friend Terrell Ross first introduced me to his wife, I struggled to stifle a chuckle.
Diana… Ross? C’mon!
Her famous name seemed even more ironic as I came to know her. Quite in contrast to her brash diva namesake, the “other” Diana Ross was soft-spoken, kind, and demure.
Only more recently did I learn that Diana’s outward modesty belied an extraordinary inner fortitude.
In October 2006, Terrell — her beloved husband of more than three decades — died after a much-too-quick battle with a particularly pernicious and virulent strain of cancer.
And then just three years later, on September 11, 2009, her youngest daughter Amanda, aged 28, was brutally murdered by her ex-fiancé, just a few hundred yards from where Diana was gardening at her home in Lexington, Kentucky.
Because the killer, Steve Nunn, was a well-known politician — a former state legislator and gubernatorial candidate, as well as the son of a former governor — a local media melée erupted. Nunn was quickly apprehended, Amanda was buried among much pomp and circumstance, and politicians raced to introduce legislation to honor her memory.
House Democrats are demoralized by the end game on the debt ceiling, and they have reason to complain that their votes are being taken for granted. But on the substance, their hard line on health benefits is riddled with contradictions: maintaining the status quo on Medicare preserves a benefit/contribution structure that is hardly progressive and that privileges upper income individuals arguably as much as the Bush tax cuts that the same Democrats want to repeal. At the same time, the Democratic Caucus has largely been silent on the expiration of federal Medicaid stimulus spending, and the state downsizing of Medicaid programs, two events that are compromising the availability of health care for low income patients.
Political games aside, means-testing elements of Medicare makes it a fairer, more progressive program. It also does not neutralize the issue for 2012: to the contrary, Democrats can argue that their adjustments to the program are a more responsible approach than the Ryan plan, which hands over Medicare to the private insurance market and risks substantial premium hikes for middle and low income seniors. Finally, controlling Medicare costs frees up resources to shore up Medicaid, which is in dire straits and ought to be a more compelling liberal priority.
By John Johnson, on Fri Jul 15, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
I am not a particularly gifted athlete. Growing up, I was known more as the “smart one” not the “athletic one”. In fact, I have had somewhat checkered athletic experiences. I earned a yellow belt in Judo in 3rd grade, but my martial arts career ended shortly thereafter when a very strong 4th grade girl beat me in one of the Judo competitions. I played Little League as a kid as well, but that ended with a fly ball and an unfortunate fainting spell in left field due to heat exhaustion. I ran cross country in high school but had the distinction of coming in last in a race my freshman year, behind an athlete with a musculoskeletal disease.
My athletic streak continued last year. I had made the decision to start biking on a regular basis. On my first bike ride of the season, 7 miles into a ride on a beautiful spring day, I slipped on an old train track and went down in a big heap. I landed pretty squarely on my left arm.
As I lay on the ground, my business partner Matt and about 8 strangers circled around me. It was reassuring that strangers were quick to lend me a hand. I surely needed it. A quick trip to the ER and I found I had broken my arm. Elbow actually. That led to a summer laid up. No biking, no swimming. No driving for several weeks. I had my arm in a sling. My wife had to help me tie my tie, not to mention other things! John’s athletic curse continued.
Since then, I have rehabbed, started weight training and swimming. I found two great trainers at the gym I joined downtown (shout out to Jibreel and Jessica). I have been pretty religious about working out several mornings a week. But, after a year, I was pretty slow to get back on the bike. Recently though, mildly encouraged (pressured) to participate in an aqua bike event by my best obsessive compulsive tri-athlete friend (and fellow Friend of RP) Steve, it was time to get back on the bike. And so, two weeks ago, it was time for the big race.
Steve and I trekked to Philadelphia. After a long afternoon stuck in traffic, a restless night sleep in a hotel, and a 4:30am wake up due to nerves, it was event day. I tried to ignore Steve’s pre race rituals….four water bottles with different nutritional additives, a cup of black coffee, a banana, nutrition bars, seemingly endless clothing, and enough other gear to outfit a small village. I had a bottle of water, my helmet, and my shoes. While Steve would be doing a triathlon, I would be aqua biking, which meant an 800 yard swim in the Schuylkill river, then a 14 mile bike ride. At least 1000 people went in the triathlon waves first, and I was surprised to find I was one of only 10 in the aqua bike. I also was quick to notice I was approximately 30 years younger than my fellow AQBs.
Read the rest of… John Johnson: A Recovering Biker
By Zack Adams, RP Staff, on Fri Jul 15, 2011 at 10:00 AM ET
Traffic at the Kentucky Speedway
Last week I told you about Kentucky Speedway finally getting to host it’s first Sprint Cup race. Since it was first built 10 years ago, the folks at Kentucky Speedway have been longing for one of the coveted Sprint Cup races to visit their track. The previous owners went as far as suing NASCAR to get a Sprint Cup race (at that time called the Nextel Cup).
So, after 10 long years of waiting, how did the Quaker State 400 turn out?
It definitely wasn’t what you would call smooth. Being located in the small town of Sparta, KY, the highway system was not at all prepared to handle the more than 100,000 fans, racing teams, vendors, etc. that descended. Due to this, these good people waited for hours in traffic and walked for miles to get to the event they payed top dollar to see. In some cases fans had to be turned away entirely! All of the frustration from fans manifested on the Facebook page for Kentucky Speedway. The comment released by Track General Manager Mark Simendinger received over 1,100 comments, most of which were not exactly glowing. The statement from Simendinger only said that he was aware of, “challenges related to traffic” and that they were planning improvements.
The problem with that statement should be fairly obvious. As GM you better realize that NASCAR fans are what drives the sport forward. I believe that NASCAR executives, drivers, teams, and owners realize this, therefore, when something like this angers and frustrates fans as much as it did, it should jump to the top of your priority list. Do not try and sugarcoat it. Thankfully, it seems that they were mostly just slow reacting to the fan and media backlash.
Speedway Motorsports, Inc. (the organization that manages Kentucky Speedway along with several others) has responded by offering fans that missed out on the race a ticket exchange opportunity. Any fan with a Kentucky Speedway ticket will be able to redeem it at any Sprint Cup race at an SMI track for the rest of the year or at the 2012 Kentucky Speedway race. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is also offering a few incentives to the fans that missed out.
This is well and good, however, as the title suggests, the point of all of this is that first impressions are important. I’ll say now that I am a fan of anything I deem to be a positive thing for the state of Kentucky. I believe that having a Sprint Cup race in the state (making it Kentucky’s only professional sporting event) is a huge plus. That is why it is so disappointing that the Quaker State 400 offered such a poor fan experience. Sure, the Sprint Cup will be back in 2012, but what about after that? I can’t imagine NASCAR executives lingering in Kentucky very long if they do not see marked improvements next year.
Kentucky Speedway has begged for 10 years, changed ownership, and made extensive improvements and expansions to the track, all in the hope of having a consistent NASCAR presence in this state that is home to many fans of the sport. Now we are left to hope that it wasn’t all naught.
Oh, by the way, Kyle Busch won the race and took over the points lead. So there’s that.
By David Snyder, on Fri Jul 15, 2011 at 8:30 AM ET
This story begins with a gift to my kids in December 2009: Rock Band – The Beatles.
At the time, my kids were 7 and 9, with very little “music of their own”. Music is different today, with IPods, ITunes and such. Back then, we bought albums and then cassette tapes. Today, you just go online and download. There was a glory, a joy, a feeling from looking at the album cover, from reading the lyrics, from playing the whole side over and over again, from hearing needle as it hit the vinyl.
Now, although my stereo equipment is set up in our house, the kids never use it. They would rather listen on the iPod with headphones, not, in my opinion, the way the music was meant to be heard.
One of my earliest memories is singing “Let It Be” with my Dad and older brother – we recorded it on an old hand held cassette recorder from the early 70’s. And thus my appreciation of The Beatles began. So when we knew we wanted Rock Band, the obvious choice was The Beatles version. With that, a new generation of Beatles lovers was born in our family. The kids had certainly heard some of the songs, but with Rock Band – a new world was opened up to them, to really hear the music of the greatest band ever. Yeah, I know – some will say Rolling Stones, The Who, U2, etc, but there really is no contest.
Just listening to the music that The Beatles recorded over a 10 year period is the transition from 50’s and 60’s rock and roll to modern rock. It is hard to believe the same band recorded “Love Me Do” and then later on, “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road” (or anything else from the “White Album” for that matter). To think that one band went through that much transition in such a short period of time is nothing short of incredible. And not just the music, but the recording of the music. Remember, Sgt. Pepper’s was recorded on a 4 track machine, and yet the way The Beatles layered music, and used the stereo settings, was truly groundbreaking and awesome. And to think that their music has endured for more than 40 years tells the real story. And I believe it is our job as music lovers to pass along our love for such great music. And this is what gets me back to my story.
Read the rest of… David Snyder: The Beatles & The Power of Music
We pause our regular programming for this public service announcement:
Last night on The Daily Show, John Stewart was having difficulty repressing himself from telling jokes about Marcus Bachmann, the husband of presidential candidade Michele, who runs a controversial gay repression therapy clinic.
No Labels is a new grassroots movement of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who are united in the belief that we do not have to give up our labels, merely put them aside to do what’s best for America. No Labels Radio will offer a weekly dose of news and interviews with the policymakers who are working to find bipartisan answers to the otherwise intractable problems our country faces.
No Labels is a new grassroots movement of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who are united in the belief that we do not have to give up our labels, merely put them aside to do what’s best for America. No Labels Radio will offer a weekly dose of news and interviews with the policymakers who are working to find bipartisan answers to the otherwise intractable problems our country faces.
By Steven Schulman, on Thu Jul 14, 2011 at 12:00 PM ET
One of the best aspects of my wonderful job is that I get to touch so many different areas. In the morning I am a human rights lawyer, advising refugees; by mid-day I am a civil rights litigator; in the early afternoon, I discuss micro-finance with my transactional partners; later I go to Capitol Hill to lobby for improving our immigration courts; and in the evening – at least on this evening – I work on education reform.
I had the pleasure tonight to host a panel of educators prior to a screening of the documentary “Waiting for Superman,” which addresses the failings of the U.S. public education system. In Akin Gump’s New York office we had Richard Barth, CEO of KIPP; Jason Levy, Principal of NY CIS 339 in the Bronx; and Rafiq Kalam Id-Din III, a former law firm associate and the founder of Teaching Firms of America-Professional Preparatory Charter School in Brooklyn. Our panelists were open and honest, and led a spirited debate about the film, the state of the public school system, and the opportunities to fix it. I won’t repeat what was said, in part because I didn’t ask the panelists for permission to quote them on the record, and in part because there is already plenty written that summarizes the debate well (including here, here, and here), but mostly because seeing this film made me think about our country more broadly.
Read the rest of… Steven Schulman: Waiting on Super Action
