The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer

RAY SUAREZ: Good evening. I'm Ray Suarez Jim Lehrer is off tonight. On the NewsHour, the debate over the where, when, and how of campaign debates; a report from Lee Hochberg on a controversy over publicizing who gets to carry concealed guns; Terence Smith with a Labor Day report on violence in the American workplace; an encore Elizabeth Farnsworth profile of jazz star Joshua Redman; and a Roger Rosenblatt essay on Labor Day. It all follows our summary of the news this Monday.

NEWS SUMMARY

RAY SUAREZ: This Labor Day marked the traditional beginning of the homestretch in the race for the White House. Republicans George W. Bush and Dick Cheney took part in a rally and parade in Naperville, Illinois. Governor Bush challenged Vice President Gore to informal televised debates, and also touted his tax cut plan. He told the crowd he's the candidate who'll put money back in their pockets.

GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH: I want $1 trillion, roughly one quarter of the surplus to, go back to the people who pay the bills. I want the working families, the working families to have that money. I want the working families to put that money in your pocket. There's a big difference... there's a big difference. My opponent talks about targeted tax cuts for the middle class. That should tell you two things: One, he believes Washington ought to be picking and choosing. But the other thing that I find interesting is that there's still talking about targeted tax cuts for the middle class. If you remember in 1992, they said, "give us a chance. We will have targeted tax cuts for the middle class." And now they have to say it again. You know why? They've had their chance. They have not led, and we will.

RAY SUAREZ: On the Democratic side, Vice President Gore and Senator Joe Lieberman were in the midst of non-stop campaigning today in honor of the holiday. At a stop in Pittsburgh, Gore was joined by labor leaders. He repeated his pledge to fight for working families, and promised again to veto any big tax cut not aimed at them. He said times were good but could be better.

VICE PRESIDENT GORE: Here we have the highest levels of personal wealth, especially at the top, that America's ever seen. And yet so many people have been left behind, it is no time to bring up the latter. Now is the time to ensure that our prosperity enriches not just a few, but all our families. Now is the time to keep balancing the budget, to keep interest rates low, and keep our economy strong, and then pay down the debt so our children don't have to carry that burden -- keep the interest rates low. And then it's time to give a middle class tax cut to the families have that have the hardest time paying tacks to you.

RAY SUAREZ: Earlier today, Gore largely rejected Bush's debate plan. He said in an ABC interview he'd agree to it only if the contests were in addition to the three more conventional face-offs already outlined by the bipartisan commission on presidential debates. We'll have more on the debates right after this News Summary. Bridgestone/Firestone tire officials reached a tentative agreement with union negotiators early today. The deal averted a strike that would have involved more than 8,000 workers at nine U.S. plants, and must be ratified by union members. Last month, Bridgestone/Firestone recalled 6.5 million defective tires suspected in as many as 88 traffic deaths. Congressional hearings on the topic begin this week. In France today, investigators said a Continental Airlines jet apparently left behind the piece of metal linked to July's Concorde crash. They said the 16-inch strip was identical to one missing from a continental DC-10 that took off minutes before the Concorde and used the same runway. They've blamed the metal strip for gashing a tire on the Concorde, which caused the plane to catch fire and crash after takeoff. That's it for the News Summary tonight. Now it's on to the where, when, and how of presidential campaign debates; concealing guns; a new report on violence in the workplace; jazz star Joshua Redman; and a Labor Day essay.

FOCUS - WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

RAY SUAREZ: Now on this Labor Day, a study on violence in the work workplace. Terence Smith has that.

TERENCE SMITH: In the last decade, the incidence of high-profile shootings involving postal workers has made the term "going postal" synonymous with workplace violence. Fact, in 1995 the American Dialect Society, which analyzes changes in the English language, defined the slang "postal" as to act irrationally, often violently, from stress at work. it also chose the term as the most original word of the year. The most deadly postal worker incident in the past two decades was in 1986 at a post office in Edmond, Oklahoma. Pat Sherrill, a letter carrier, opened fire, killing 14 -

SPOKESMAN: From what we knew, it was still disciplinary problems at work, fear of him losing his job. That's the only motive we've been able to determine.

TERENCE SMITH: In all, postal worker violence has taken 47 lives in the last 14 years.

SPOKESMAN: Four people are dead. Three others are critically wounded.

TERENCE SMITH: Violence in other places of work has received nightly news attention.

SPOKESPERSON: We got an emergency.

TERENCE SMITH: Last year in Atlanta, for example, a frustrated day trader shot and killed nine. In Honolulu, a Xerox repairman killed seven coworkers. And in Newington, Connecticut, a disgruntled lottery employee killed four colleagues before turning the gun on himself. According to the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, nearly 1,000 workers are murdered every year on the job. In addition, 1.5 million are assaulted at work. Last week, a new study found that the rate of violence in the workplace is "disturbing." A group commissioned by the U.S. Postal Service found that in the American workforce in the last year, one in 20 employees was physically assaulted, one in six was sexually harassed, and one in three was verbally abused. But as for the notion of "going postal," the commission said there's no evidence that working for the post office is more dangerous than anywhere else.

TERENCE SMITH: Joining me now for a discussion of workplace violence is Joseph Califano, who chairs the Commission on a Safe and Secure Workplace that came out with the new report. He's also president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University and former Health Education & Welfare Secretary to President Jimmy Carter; and with Michael Losey, president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, which represents human resource executives worldwide; and to Kate Bronfenbrenner, director of Labor Education & Research at Cornell University. Welcome to all three of you.

Joseph Califano, let me begin with you and ask you in this report you concluded that that phrase that joined the lexicon, that notion of "going postal" as in going ballistic was a bum rap, is that right?

JOSEPH CALIFANO: Going postal was a bum rap and a myth and nonsense really. We found that postal workers were no more likely than workers in the national work force to physically assault, sexually harass, or verbally abuse their coworkers. We also found, indeed, that postal workers were only one third as likely as those in the national work force to be victims of homicide at work and, indeed, that postal workers, when you look at homicides by occupations, working in the Postal Service is about as safe as it gets. It's almost as safe as being in the professions. The only industries safer are construction and manufacturing.

TERENCE SMITH: Michael Losey, does that square with what you know in the industry and as a sort of subsidiary question, is there, in fact, more violence in the work place now, or is it perhaps just reported more?

MICHAEL LOSEY: It justifies a lot of attention. I agree with the study that just came out. We've known it; we've studied this for years for the Postal Service. We know that's a much better place to work than what most people think.

TERENCE SMITH: Than the headlines would have suggested -

MICHAEL LOSEY: Absolutely. And second of all, we surveyed early, like 1993, and found that our HR directors in the workplace were able to report 48 percent of the time that they have witnessed at their job sites in the prior three years. We surveyed again in 1999; it had gone up to 57 percent. So it has increased, or at least the acknowledgement of it.

TERENCE SMITH: Well, that's my question.

MICHAEL LOSEY: Yes, sir. There's great sensitivity. There is really no place for workplace violence. People should not go to work to worry about being into a hostile environment. The number one requirement for an employer is to provide a safe workplace, number one.

TERENCE SMITH: Kate Bronfenbrenner, if there is, in fact, more violence and more is being reported, any idea why?

KATE BRONFENBRENNER: Well, I think we've reached a time in the American workplace where workers feel like they're being pushed harder and harder to work longer and faster, and they feel like they're getting less of a share of the economic boom than their managers. And we saw this in the study that Joseph Califano and others did, because it showed that although postal workers are not at any greater risk for workplace violence than other workers, they're very unhappy with their work. They do believe that postal management doesn't care about them; they don't trust them; and they are not happy in their job. I think what we find is American workers are being pushed to the limits; they're being pushed to work more overtime; they're being pushed to produce more; and American employers have to take responsibility for pushing their workers over the edge; and that workplace violence is a fundamental human rights issue no different than other fundamental self-help and safety issues.

TERENCE SMITH: Joe Califano, when you conducted this survey, did you, in fact, find that tension or greater demands in the workplace are a contributing factor?

JOSEPH CALIFANO: We did. Let me just - I think that's a factor, but I would note with respect to postal workers we did find that they stay in their jobs; they're twice as likely to work for the Postal Service for 10 years - the national work force ought to stay - to work for their employer for 10 years. And they're - while, yes, they do have some questions about lack of confidence in some respects in management, they are better able to cope; they are less stressed, and in their job than people in the national work force.

TERENCE SMITH: Right. But your survey went behind -

JOSEPH CALIFANO: Yes. In order to compare the postal work force with the national work force we did an incredibly sophisticated survey of 3000 workers randomly selected in the national work force, and what we found was that one in five workers - or I'm sorry - 5 percent of the workers - one in twenty workers is physically assaulted, was physically assaulted in the last year. And we asked specific questions where you hint that somebody throws something at you - we didn't say were you physically assaulted; secondly, that one in six workers were sexually harassed in the national work force, and, again, we asked specific questions: Did somebody fondle you? Did somebody make sexual advances to you, and what have you? And thirdly, that a third of all workers were verbally abused in the work force. Now, verbal abuse was the hardest standard. We did give examples of threatening and intimidation and what have you. But it is - in fairness - you must remember that what may be a putdown to worker may be a manager's way that he feels he is inspiring that worker to do more. But there's no question the commission found an unacceptable level of violence in the work force. Now, the American workplace is not a cocoon. There's a lot of violence in American society. But I think a lot can be done as both the other panelists here indicated and should be done in order to reduce violence.

TERENCE SMITH: Well, that's a question. Michael Losey, if there is this high level that Joe Califano is talking about, are companies doing what they should be doing to discourage it?

MICHAEL LOSEY: Yes. But we must deal with the facts. In fact, when you look at the nature of the problem, 41 percent is verbal threats - doesn't even involve touching, pushing, shoving, altercations. 19 percent is that. So 60 percent of it - only 2 percent is stabbings, is gun use, that type of violence. And then you look at the reasons when you go back and say how did this happen, 55 percent are personality conflicts - between peers frequently. It's not the supervisors that think I'm going to get that person. In fact, 36 percent were related to family matters, and on frequent occasions workplace violence involves another person outside the workplace, and sometimes a family American matter. Work related stress was only 24 percent of the recorded instances that we saw.

TERENCE SMITH: Kate Bronfenbrenner, is this - to you - a reflection of the often lamented lack of a civil society? I mean, is this part of today's culture?

KATE BRONFENBRENNER: I think it's less a representation of the lack of civil society and the lack of democracy and voice in the workplace. I think where workers feel like they have a voice in a unionized workplace, for example, and the union - management is listening to the union and responding to grievances - then the tensions get resolved or if there is some violence, the worker is able to go to management through the union and get the issue resolved. I think we have - because we have lower union density - because unions haven't been as powerful, we haven't been able to take on an issue like this and resolve it and make clear that we should have zero tolerance of workers going to work to get stabbed or going to work to get spit at or going to work to get verbally harassed.

TERENCE SMITH: Joe Califano, we should mention that while the commission was commissioned by the Postal Service, you found some shortcomings in terms of management's dealings with its employees.

JOSEPH CALIFANO: Well, we did. We found shortcomings both on management's side and on the union's side. I mean, there's no question but that the - and the Postmaster General in reviewing the report and our discussions with him recognizes those shortcomings. For example, there has to be, as Kate just said, there has to be much better communication between management and workers. We urge that the union be involved in the employee assistance program, for example, because there was suspicion that the employee assistance program, which is designed to help workers with substance abuse problems and other problems, could be used as a disciplinary tool among a significant proportion of the workers, so there are things that management can do. We thought that - there's a grievance procedure in the Postal Service that really is abominable. To put it in perspective there were about 126,000 grievances in the Postal Service; there were 6300 that went to arbitration a couple of years ago. In the auto industry, about half the size, over the past year only 11 matters went to arbitration. So there's a lot of tension there. They're also - the pay system is such that managers are rewarded in the Postal Service for their individual performance - bonuses or what have you - routine performance - but union employees are not. Now, that's something the unions have to agree to and the managements have to agree to. There we found something of a difference between the workers themselves and the union leaders. The workers themselves - the union workers - would like to have some rewards on the basis of their individual performance as, for example, the United Auto Workers now has profit sharing just the way the managers do in the auto industry, so there's a lot to be done.

TERENCE SMITH: Michael Losey, is there in evidence, as you sometimes read that technology, computers, tend to isolate workers, does that contribute in any way to tensions in the workplace?

MICHAEL LOSEY: I would not say that that's where we should be targeting our corrective action. The corrective action starts with make sure you know who you're hiring because people like this have usually done things like this before. If you're not reference checking, then the very first thing you've done is wrong. You must know you have that responsibility.

JOSEPH CALIFANO: That is a very important point, Terry, and that's a very important point. We found in the Postal Service that, for example, with respect to several of the homicides, had the Postal Service known about the prior conduct of some of those employees, those employees would not have been hired; they would have been alerted to the danger of violence.

TERENCE SMITH: Right. And I think Michael Losey is saying they should have known. They should have known or employers generally should know.

JOSEPH CALIFANO: They should know. There are serious issues though that I'm sure he'd agree; you run into issues of privacy, getting information about military records and careers, getting information from private employers. There's a great reluctance to give specific information on that because --

MICHAEL LOSEY: There's legislation in many states now providing a safe harbor for a fair and accurate reference where an employer not know - and my position is truth is an absolute defense. That's the way it should be.

TERENCE SMITH: Okay. Kate Bronfenbrenner, a final word from you. When you've listened to all this, do you think it's going in the right direction?

KATE BRONFENBRENNER: Well, I think we need to first accept that workplace violence is rising and we have to do something about it, and we have to make sure that employers are held responsible to make workplaces safe not just from worker to fellow worker but from worker to client so that workers are not ever left alone. For instance, the retail establishments - alone at night - so they're vulnerable or in service occupations - and make sure that the victims aren't blamed and that policies are set and structures are provided so workers feel safe going to their employer and speaking out about the problem in the workplace.

TERENCE SMITH: Okay. I think we have to leave it there. Thank you all three very much.

FOCUS - DEBATING DEBATES

RAY SUAREZ: Now, debating the debates. Governor Bush proposed yesterday that he and Vice President Gore have three prime-time debates: One next week on NBC, one on CNN, and one sponsored by the bipartisan commission that has managed the general election presidential debates since 1988. The commission earlier this year had proposed three presidential debates in October to be broadcast on all the major networks and over cable news outlets. The Vice President rejected the Bush alternative debate plan. He spoke this morning on ABC.

VICE PRESIDENT GORE: At least since 1988, this bipartisan commission with Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan as the honorary co-chairs have put forward a bipartisan formula for three 90-minute debates, not just on one network, but universally broadcast, on all of the outlets. So that 100 million or more see them and the American people have the best chance to make a judgment about the future course of our democracy. I'm happy to accept all the other debate offers if and when the commission debates are accepted. That's the prerequisite, because that's what's best for the American people.

RAY SUAREZ: Governor Bush reacted to the Vice President's rebuff at a Labor Day rally in Naperville, Illinois.

GOV. GEORGE W. BUSH: My opponent said he would debate me any place -- any time -- anywhere. I said, "fine. Why don't we just show up at NBC with Mr. Russert as a moderator. Or why don't we just show up at Larry King and discuss our differences? Why don't we stand up and show the clear difference of opinion?". But no, all of a sudden the words about any time, anywhere, don't mean anything. It's time to get some plain-spoken folks in Washington, DC.

RAY SUAREZ: Now, more from the two campaigns on the debates. Mindy Tucker is Governor Bush's press secretary, and Doug Hattaway is Vice President Gore's national spokesman. Doug Hattaway, let me start with you. You yew just heard the governor laying it out. The Vice President had signaled his willingness to debate. The governor proposed three debates. The Vice President said, "well, maybe not." What's going on?

DOUG HATTAWAY: I think the problem with Governor Bush's proposal is that its design, despite what he said about wanting to have more people watch these debates than have watched debates in the past, he's put out a proposal that would leave out tens of millions of people. The Larry King debate, for example, which Al Gore would be happy to do in addition to the presidential commission debates, 32 some million families in this country don't get cable TV. I wonder how many of those families don't have prescription drug coverage or don't have health insurance for their families. These are very important issues to those people. They deserve to be able to hear the presidential debates. They would not be able to under George Bush's plan. We think that the commission proposal, which would guarantee coverage by all the networks, plus the cable networks, would provide the maximum number of people, the opportunity to see the debates. And that's what it's all about. It's not about George Bush and Al Gore and playing gotcha. It's about providing an opportunity for the most people to hear what the two candidates have to say about the issues that affect their lives. So we're happy to do the other debates in addition to the commissioned debates. That's the bottom line.

RAY SUAREZ: Mindy Tucker, just a moment ago you heard Vice President Gore talking about the near universal availability of the big broadcast networks and how the commission has worked with them over the years to make sure it's piped across all the networks. Why this counterproposal? What's involved in it?

MINDY TUCKER: What Al Gore fails to mention is that all three of the debates that Governor Bush accepted would be available to all the broadcast networks. And what Doug Hattaway fails to mention... He focused on cable, the first debate would be on NBC next Tuesday night. So anybody that has television could watch it. What I think we're seeing here is Al Gore backing away from a position that was very politically expedient for him earlier in the campaign and now may not be so. I don't understand why he's not friendly toward these debate formats, such as Tim Russert and a tough question and answer session or a discussion format like Larry King would offer. He wants the very structured, formal debate setting that the presidential debate commission offers; it's a sound bite debate, which is great for Al Gore, because he's a very formatted debater. He's got his 30 and 60-second answers where he talk about how he cares about prescription drugs and wants to pass them. What we won't get the opportunity to do in that debate is for Governor Bush to follow up to say, great that you say that now, but why has it taken you seven years to pass anything? You haven't done anything in this administration. This administration has failed on a number of issues. And that's what we'd like to get to in the heart of the debates. I'm not sure the presidential debate commission format offers that. We did accept one of the presidential debate commission debates in St. Louis; it would be the third debate. But the other two are definitely great formats for the American people to watch, not only watch but see on the Internet, hear on the radio. They are made available on a number of outlets, not just the television. I think it's really telling that Al Gore at one point said, "I accept, I accept," to Larry King. He taunted Governor Bush on "Meet the Press" and said, you have to get Governor Bush to accept this debate. I have, is he scared? Now we're seeing him back away from the very debates that he made a spectacle of on national television. I think it says a lot about his credibility.

RAY SUAREZ: Well, you talk about how the formatted debates play to Al Gore's strengths.

MINDY TUCKER: I didn't say they played to his strengths. They lend themselves to a sound bite debate. I'm not sure that's good for the American people. We're talking about the needs of the American people.

RAY SUAREZ: But there's also been a lot written and a lot talked about in the year since the campaigns began in earnest about how George W. Bush has problems with debates and has avoided them with his primary campaigns until...

MINDY TUCKER: Actually, we did eight or nine debates in the primary. I don't think that was avoiding them at all.

RAY SUAREZ: There were a great many he chose not to attend.

MINDY TUCKER: There were maybe one or two that were early in the year. One night he chose to be with his wife. I think that's kind of a ridiculous statement after we ended up doing eight or nine debates in the primary.

RAY SUAREZ: Doug Hattaway?

DOUG HATTAWAY: I think Governor Bush would do fine in the debates. He performed well against Anne Richards, who is no sloth of a debater. So it's a bit of a mystery why he's backing off of his word where he says he wants more Americans to see these debates than have in the past and he gives us a proposal that would exclude tens of millions of people, virtually guarantee that fewer people would see this. If their message is credibility, they have to do better than that. What we think is important here is the central question of this campaign, it is how are we going to we use our moment of prosperity now and use it wisely to benefit everybody and not just the few? George Bush is putting forward a massive tax cut proposal that would benefit the wealthiest the most. He doesn't want people to understand the details of that and the implications it has, because it's going to keep us from making smart investments like paying down the national debt and eliminating it by the year 2012, as Al Gore is proposing. That has an impact on middle class families. It has an impact on those tens of millions of people that would not watch the debates. I think Mindy left out the fact that Al Gore will do these other programs. We want to do them in addition to the commissioned debates. That's the bottom line. And The fact is Al Gore proposed months ago we drop all the TV advertising and hold regular debates. He ducked that for months. Now at the 11th hour when he's behind he decides he wants to debate and thinks he's going to dictate the terms. That's not right.

RAY SUAREZ: Let me pick up on Mindy Tucker's point. You've come back several times to the lack of universal access to these programs. With this first proposed debate coming quite on soon on NBC, do you think any American interested in watching the program wouldn't be able to see it?

DOUG HATTAWAY: Well, I don't think the other networks are seriously going to give a competing network an hour of time during their primetime programming. It's just not realistic. I think Governor Bush knows that very well. So once again he's talking out of both sides of his mouth. He says he wants a bigger audience and he's doing things to limit the audience. If you really want everybody to tune in, if you really want everybody to hear a real discussion of the issues, the formats are debatable. We'rehappy to use a variety of formats. But let's have the commissioned debates, which guarantee that access to everyone, including people who don't have cable television in their homes, and have a real debate about that, get beyond the debate. The presidential commission has offered today to have both sides come together and discuss it. We have accepted do that and hope Governor Bush will, as well.

RAY SUAREZ: Mindy Tucker, is there in the acceptance of just one of the three proposed debates by the commission, is there an implied criticism of the commission? This is a system that's been under way for about 20 years. The commission was put together in a bipartisan way to be sort of straight down the middle. Does the Bush campaign have a problem with the presidential debates commission?

MINDY TUCKER: Well, I have to point out first that Clinton/Gore may have a problem with the debate commission because in 1996, they refused to participate in the third debate offered by the commission. So I really have a problem listening to their criticism today. It seems as if it's designed for political expediency. They hate to be in agreement on us with an issue. They hate for us to finally accept something that they've offered because they can't fight about it anymore. It's their obsession in this campaign. They are continually having to launch grenades and fight with this campaign. They launched ten negative ads. They talk about taking ads off the air. The DNC, itself, has launched ten negative ads against Governor Bush and spent millions of dollars misrepresenting his record here in the state of Texas. There are so many things I could talk about that he's brought up that are inaccurate or distorted. But getting back to your point, I think what we wanted to do was think outside the box. Let's offer a variety of formats. In the past we've seen -especially in 1996 -- that these debate audiences have been dropping, between 1992 and 1996 they dropped. What we wanted to do was offer a variety for people so they could choose from a variety of different formats, see the candidates not in a formal structured debate setting, but also in a free-flow conversation and in a tough question and answer session with a moderator. I think we've offered them three very different formats on three different venues. And I don't see why anybody would want to turn down watching any of them. They've been made available for anybody to see or hear or see broadcast over the Internet. I think there's definitely an availability out there for anybody that wants to see these debates to see them. The idea that we've somehow hid them from the American public is ridiculous. And I think anybody watching is just astounded at what the Gore campaign is saying, because to say we've tried to hide ourselves by offering a debate on major network or major cable network is just ridiculous.

DOUG HATTAWAY: That won't be available to tens of millions of families. That's the fact.

MINDY TUCKER: Because they don't get network television? Because they can't hear it on the radio? I'm not understanding where they're not going to find it.

RAY SUAREZ: Doug Hattaway, this will have to be worked out fairly quickly, I'm guessing, right - very briefly, please.

DOUG HATTAWAY: Again, the commission has proposed we have meetings. The Governor says out of one side of his mouth he wants to be bipartisan about things. He ought to accept this invitation and come together in a bipartisan approach and try to negotiate this. I think the main... the best thing would be to do the commissioned debates and the other debates. That's the best approach. That will guarantee that most people to get to hear it.

MINDY TUCKER: It's funny you didn't feel that way July and March when you accepted these debates. It's really ironic.

RAY SUAREZ: Mindy Tucker, Doug Hattaway, thank you both.

FOCUS - GUN PRIVACY

RAY SUAREZ: Next, putting the spotlight on people carrying concealed guns. Lee Hochberg of Oregon Public Television reports.

LEE HOCHBERG: Walking the streets of an American city like Fort Collins, Colorado, it's hard to know who's carrying a gun.

DENNIS POLLOCK, Street Vendor: It is kind of scary to think that anybody could be walking up and have a concealed weapon, and run into a situation, they pull out a gun, and you didn't even know they had it.

LEE HOCHBERG: Do you carry a gun?

ROD ROCKEFELLER, Gun Owner: I have, yes.

LEE HOCHBERG: A concealed weapon?

ROD ROCKEFELLER: Yes. I've got a permit.

LEE HOCHBERG: Do you carry it out on the street here?

ROD ROCKEFELLER: I have, yeah. There's a concern of mine for myself and for my family.

LEE HOCHBERG: Three million Americans carry concealed weapons. Ten years ago, it was allowed only in a few states, but now 31 states permit gun owners to carry a hidden firearm if they have no felony record. In 12 other states, like Colorado, there's no state right to carry, but local law enforcement officials can extend the privilege. With more guns than ever on the street, some say the public should be told who's carrying one.

SPOKESMAN: Yeah, guns are a big deal here, so there are a lot of people that have a lot to do with guns.

LEE HOCHBERG: The editor of the "Fort Collins Coloradoan" recently published the names of more than 600 Larimer County residents who have concealed weapons permits. Dave Greiling says he printed the list because in this middle class college town north of Denver, it's a public safety issue.

DAVE GREILING: There is concern among some members of the community as to, does my next-door-neighbor have a concealed weapon; does the person that I had a rift or an argument with at work, does he or she have the right to carry a concealed weapon?

LEE HOCHBERG: The newspaper fueled a debate between those, who agree concealed weapons are a safety issue, and some gun owners, who say the fact that they carry a hidden gun should be private.

SPOKESMAN: This gun I have carried in my back pocket for, I'd say, literally thousands of hours. You're walking through a back alley at night, you're familiar with the machine, and you learn to shoot fast, learn to shoot good. (Gunshots firing)

LEE HOCHBERG: John Swets was angry when his name appeared in the newspaper. Swets regularly practices marksmanship with his Smith and Wesson kit gun, firing from his backyard deck across the Cache La Poudre River.

JOHN SWETS: See, I'm hitting right at the end of that stick right there in the sand bank?

LEE HOCHBERG: He says he needs to carry his gun on the streets of Fort Collins.

JOHN SWETS: There are times when the wife and I are dressed up for a social event or something like that, and she has some rather valuable jewelry with her. And as the insurance company says, we're a target. Just the mere presence of a weapon will eliminate the "problem" oftentimes.

LEE HOCHBERG: But Swets says his weapon is hardly concealed anymore, since the newspaper showed the community he may be carrying it.

JOHN SWETS: These people have a responsibility, yes, to the people who read the newspapers. They also have a responsibility to those of us who wish to keep a low profile. You're asking for privacy when you can get a concealed weapons permit, and this privacy is being violated when you have your name printed in the paper.

LEE HOCHBERG: Editor Greiling says his readers are unsympathetic to that case.

DAVE GREILING: For every call that we've gotten from people saying, well, my name's on the list, and you've invaded my privacy, we've had counterbalancing calls from people saying, I didn't know that so and so had the right to do this, I'm glad I did. It's going to affect the way I interact with that individual.

LEE HOCHBERG: What separates people like Swets from those who favor publication is the fervent belief that concealed weapons make life safer. Gun carriers cite a University of Chicago study that found from 1977 to '92 in states allowing concealed handguns, murders fell by 8%. Critics say the study was flawed; that crime declined for other reasons. But it convinced Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden.

JIM ALDERDEN: There is no public safety endangerment by issuing concealed weapons permits. My gut feeling was that this was irresponsible, and that it was driven by a motivation to make some headlines.

LEE HOCHBERG: As if in the Old West, Alderden rode into the sheriff's office on horseback a year ago January. He'd been elected after a campaign, partially funded by the NRA, that promised easier access to concealed weapons permits. Once in office, flanked by cardboard cutouts of John Wayne, he approved more than 600 permits in his first year-- 15 times the number his predecessor issued in eight years.

JIM ALDERDEN: People who apply for concealed weapons permits are law-abiding, honest citizens, and they're willing to take the risk to help their neighbor, should that become necessary. So in that aspect, I think our community is safer.

SPOKESMAN: I understand what the guy is saying, but I think it's baloney.

LEE HOCHBERG: The man Alderden defeated says the new permits don't make Fort Collins safer, and permit holders' names should be published. Richard Shockley issued only 40 permits in eight years, demanding applicants show compelling need to carry a hidden weapon.

RICHARD SHOCKLEY: Everybody in the world doesn't need to have one. If some outsider is threatening you or a member of your family with some type of physical violence, that's a compelling need. But just because you tell me, "I'm afraid"... Well, what are you afraid of? "Well, I'm afraid of life." That wasn't sufficient enough for me to give you a concealed weapons permit.

LEE HOCHBERG: When Shockley was sheriff, a Denver TV station asked him for the names of those who he'd given permits. He refused, citing their unique need for privacy. A court forced him to release the names of those the judge felt had no such need. Shockley says since the new sheriff isn't considering need before issuing permits, the media ought to examine who's getting them. After Florida legalized concealed weapons, a St. Petersburg newspaper found 94 new permit holders had arrest records. The "Coloradoan" found no such irregularities among Colorado's new permit holders.

KEN CHLOUBER: Newspapers, what are you doing this for? What are you getting out of publishing somebody's name that's obeyed the law?

LEE HOCHBERG: Conservative lawmakers like Ken Chlouber say the media wants to trample gun rights in a rural state where having guns has never been a big deal.

KEN CHLOUBER: It just says, well, you know, Joe here, he's got a permit to carry a concealed weapon, so you better watch out for him. Well, that's just foolish. That just cornbread country nonsense. Come on.

LEE HOCHBERG: Chlouber raises burros in the Rocky Mountain mining town of Leadville, 150 miles and an era removed from Fort Collins. He spearheaded a bill to ban Colorado newspapers from publishing weapon holders' names.

LEE HOCHBERG: You did sponsor a bill that would infringe on the First Amendment.

KEN CHLOUBER: Yeah. They're infringing on my Second Amendment. I think that's fair.

LEE HOCHBERG: Chlouber says despite gun violence and gun fears in larger cities, Americans must protect their privacy rights.

KEN CHLOUBER: I do think perhaps if you're living in town, maybe you get that sort of a whiny, wet-diaper attitude that somebody ought to take care of you all the time. We live different out here. Somebody comes in my house, to my family, I've got to be able-- or my wife-- somebody's got to be able to defend themselves.

LEE HOCHBERG: Chlouber's bill passed the Colorado legislature, but Republican Governor Bill Owens vetoed it. He argued: "Disclosure of permit information might be warranted. This bill violates the spirit of an open and accountable government." But Colorado lawmakers are set to retry the legislation next year. Editor Greiling promises to keep publishing names, responded to what he says is an overriding public safety need in his community.

ENCORE - THE ART OF JAZZ

RAY SUAREZ: Next, a NewsHour encore, the profile of a young jazz musician presented earlier this year by Elizabeth Farnsworth. (Playing saxophone)

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Saxophonist Joshua Redman and his band smoked at the Virgin Megastore in San Francisco as they played music from their new album, "Beyond." (Playing saxophone) Redman is one of the shining stars in the jazz firmament now. His discs routinely sell in numbers more common to rock than jazz. The "New York Times" last year called him one of the rare musicians who have both critical acclaim and cross-over appeal. And the Associated Press has named him the crown prince of the tenor saxophone. (Playing saxophone) He almost stole the show in Robert Altman's 1996 film "Kansas City," playing jazz great Lester Young. (Playing saxophone) This year Redman is spending a lot of time in San Francisco as artistic director of the spring season of San Francisco Jazz, a nonprofit group that produces and promotes jazz in the bay area.

JOSHUA REDMAN: Come on, right there. What's your name?

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: He grew up in Berkeley, where he played in the Berkeley high jazz band, graduated from Harvard summa cum laude, and was accepted into Yale Law School; but he became a professional musician instead. We spoke to him on the stage of the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco.

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: You told "Downbeat" Magazine, "jazz is a calling. It isn't a rational decision, but something that is spiritual and emotional." When did you know it had called you?

JOSHUA REDMAN: I realized it had called me when I sat down to inform Yale Law School of my decision whether to attend or not to attend. And at that time, at the time that I thought it was... It was supposed to be a decision, I realized I couldn't do anything else. I was having the opportunity to play with some of the greatest jazz musicians on the planet, both young and old. And the way the music inspired me, the feeling I got from playing the music, I felt like I had to do it.

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: How'd you learn?

JOSHUA REDMAN: I learned by listening and by doing. I'm not... I'm not really a trained musician. I'm not an academically trained musician. I think that there's a great place for academic training in music, but ultimately the real lessonsyou learn are through the sounds that you hear and the way you interpret those sounds.

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: So Berkeley High, for example, where you were in a jazz band that won... Constantly would win the first prize in jazz band competitions, was it important? Was it an important part of it all?

JOSHUA REDMAN: What the Berkeley High jazz band taught me was the fun that you can have playing music, and the importance of strong social bonds and camaraderie and community with music. I mean, music isn't just the notes that you play. Music is a set of relationships. You know, music is personality. Music is communication. And what Berkeley High taught me is that you have to have that kind of rapport with your fellow musicians, off the bandstand as well as on.

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Redman's mother raised her son alone in a one-bedroom apartment in Berkeley. His father is Dewey Redman, also a highly acclaimed jazz saxophonist. Occasionally, he and his son perform together. (Playing saxophone) (cheers)

JOSHUA REDMAN: I did not grow up with my father. And so I grew up listening to his music and loving his music, but I also grew up listening to the music of John Coltrain and Sonny Rollins and Stevie Wonder and the Beatles and Aretha Franklin, whom I never met. My mother exposed me to music. She exposed me to the entire spectrum of the creative arts, and she exposed me to life and gave me kind of a creative instinct and passion for life.

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Redman has been composing and performing almost nonstop since winning a major New York Jazz competition in 1991. Here he is last year with his band-- Aaron Goldberg on piano, Reuben Rogers on bass, and Gregory Hutchinson on drums playing Redman's 1993 composition "Alone in the Morning." (Playing "Alone in the Morning")

JOSHUA REDMAN: There're some compositions that I wrote a long time ago that I would never think about playing now, and there are some that still have stood the test of time for me. And it's a very, very simple melody and actually, you know, a simple set of harmony. You know, it's a simple tune, but there's something about the feeling of it that still feels relevant to me and to the band. And it allows us to communicate a certain type of peace and lyricism and even romanticism, but at the same time, we can be adventurous within that and searching within that.

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: You've said that there's almost telepathic communication between you and the other musicians when it's working.

JOSHUA REDMAN: Mm-hmm.

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: What do you mean by that?

JOSHUA REDMAN: What I mean by that is that anything can happen at any moment. That's the ideal in jazz is to express the moment spontaneously, to capture that moment and to express it and to express it in terms of the group. You know? I mean, there is structure and form to jazz, and there's a vocabulary to jazz, and all those things are very, very important. But ultimately what we're trying to do, I think, is to transcend all those things. You know? So no matter where we are in the form or the structure of the music, there needs to be a feeling that all of us together are creating something which transcends that form and which is based in the feeling of the moment. (Music playing)

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: You've said about jazz that it's high art, that it's America's classical music. What do you mean by that?

JOSHUA REDMAN: Well, I've said that it's high art, but that we shouldn't see it only as high art. I mean, it's high art in the sense that it's one of the most advanced, sophisticated, demanding musics out there. And I think it's worthy...

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Let me just interrupt, what do you mean, "advanced, sophisticated, demanding"?

JOSHUA REDMAN: It's really, really hard to play.

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Really hard?

JOSHUA REDMAN: It's really... It's really hard to play. And on a certain level, it can be hard to appreciate. I mean, the harmonic and rhythmic language of jazz is very, very complex, you know -- more complex than maybe any other form of western music except for classical, European classical music. So I think we need to respect jazz and appreciate it as a high art, but also understand that it's... that it's music of the heart-- not just the art, but the heart and the soul. (Music playing)

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: You're very inclusive in the kinds of music that you would consider jazz, or that you yourself use. You used a Bob Dylan song in one of your CD's, for example.

JOSHUA REDMAN: Mm-hmm. I want my music, as a jazz musician, to be expressive of all my experiences and all my influences. So I felt that, you know, if there's a Bob Dylan or a Joni Mitchell or a Stevie Wonder song that I love and that I can... that I feel I can interpret honestly and creatively as a jazz musician, why not try it?

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: The SF Jazz evening concerts programmed by Redman this spring, like this one featuring guitarist Jim Hall, have sold out. Redman says he feels a strong sense of commitment to this new role.

JOSHUA REDMAN: I feel a responsibility to do the best I can, you know, and to present the best music that I can present. And that's the same responsibility that I feel with all areas of my life. You know, just do the best job I can. I feel like I'm... I feel like an army commercial, you know, "be all you can be." (Laughter) but you know, really that's all I would ask of anyone, and that's all I ask of myself. But that's a whole lot. (Music playing)

ELIZABETH FARNSWORTH: Joshua Redman and his band are touring the U.S. and Europe this spring.

JOSHUA REDMAN: Aaron Goldberg at the piano. (Applause)

ESSAY

RAY SUAREZ: Finally tonight, Roger Rosenblatt, thinking about a Labor Day essay.

ROGER ROSENBLATT: I was about to write this essay. But then I thought of all the subjects that had already been covered, like the importance of education, and what to do with the surplus, and racial harmony, and protecting the environment, and the beauty of baseball, and what ever happened to the 60's and what America needs now, and I backed off. It's hard to write essays in an atmosphere where everyone's an essayist, and all the subjects have been cycled and recycled, like the holidays-- July 4th, Christmas, Halloween, Martin Luther King Day, George Washington's birthday, Arbor Day, Doris Day, Labor Day, today. I was about to write this essay about Labor Day, but I didn't. I was on the verge of writing this essay, but then I worried that critics would find fault with it. "That's all wrong" and "where do you get off?" Writing is hard enough as it is without the critics in the trees. George Bernard Shaw said, "I love critics. I love every bone in their heads." William Faulkner sent the manuscript of "Absalom, Absolam" to his editor. But his editor was away, so an associate editor read the novel and replied to Faulkner that his sentences were too long, and his syntax was out of whack, and he'd better start the novel over again. Faulkner fired back a five-word telegram: "Who the hell are you?" And there was the woman who wrote to an author, "I have prayed for the death of two other writers, and have been successful twice." I came this close to writing this essay. But then I thought of all the truly important things that were going on in the world that cannot be helped by essays, such as Africa's famines, and Chechnya's war, and China's tight rope act, and the Middle East, and Alzheimer's, and the poor and down-and-out. That Russian sub in the Barents Sea and the terrible burial of its crew. In such a self-celebrating inventive time, you'd think that someone would have come up with a way to rescue those guys. I almost wrote this essay about that. Another second or two, and I'd have written this essay. But then I realized that I didn't have an idea in my head-- not that that's stopped me before. Of course, there's always the election. I could have pretended that this is Sunday, and I'm a guest on "Meet the Cokie," and I could have expounded on who is flipping and who is flopping; and why the polls, while crucial, do not mean a thing; and how Bush needed to do what he did in his acceptance speech at the convention, and yet Gore also did what he needed to do at his convention; and that the election is not only a horse race but a toss-up and a too close to call, as well as a dead heat. At least we now have a clear sense of where the candidates stand. I could have written this essay about that. I was about to write this essay. But then I looked outside and saw the shadows' fingers drum on the grass, and the sun glint off the pom-pom trees before it settled like a spilled egg over the Atlantic. I was about to write this essay. But then there were the whoops of the kids having their last fling before the first day of school, and the sky hardening its blue as if to indicate that the serious season was upon us again and it was time to wear long pants, look grown-up, smile that aggressive can-do smile -- and the kicked-up wind, and the ducks in check-marked formation, and all that one has to be grateful for that cannot be accounted for in essays. I was about to write this essay. But this is Labor Day, after all. Nobody works on Labor Day. I'm Roger Rosenblatt.

RECAP

RAY SUAREZ: Again, the major stories of this Labor Day: George W. Bush challenged Vice President Gore to informal televised debates. Gore said he'd agree to that only if the contests were in addition to three more proposed by the debate commission. And Bridgestone/Firestone and union negotiators reached a tentative labor agreement, averting a strike. We'll see you online, and again here tomorrow evening. I'm Ray Suarez. Thanks and good night.