The Callie Crossley Show

I'm Calen Crossley and this is the Cali Crossley Show. Today we're hitting the rewind button on this week's news from the great lady's front pages to the stories on the small screen and the reporting that never reached our radar. We're going to look at the news that was and wasn't. We'll be dropping in on community and alternative presses for a look at the big stories from the small papers where today's neighborhood news becomes tomorrow's mainstream headlines. We'll top off the hour venturing from the serious to the sublimely ridiculous with ragtime and. A tour of the tabloids and a round up of this week's pop culture. Up next on the Kelly Crossley Show from gumshoe reporting to gossip rags. First the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying President Obama is visiting the center of the country's auto industry stumping for congressional Democrats

facing a tough election year. At a Detroit plant today the president defended his administration's controversial auto industry bailout as a boon to the economy. Our economy is growing again instead of frankly. That's a welcome sign compared to where we were. But we've got to keep on increasing that. Rate of growth. And keep adding jobs so we can get moving forward. The president reacting to a government report out today that the gross domestic product rose 2.4 percent from April to June but analysts say that's a far slower pace than what the country saw in the first months of the year a sign that economic growth is slowing as Danielle Karson reports. Analysts say there was encouraging news in the report. Business investment shot up 17 percent. The best showing in four years. But consumers spent less in the second quarter and imports spiked 28 percent. Joseph Daniel a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics says that lopped off more than 2 percentage points from the GDP.

We basically are heading back toward a big trade deficit which is holding us back. It shaved off a lot off of GDP. If exports had been unchanged it would have double digit. You know we could have had almost 5 percent growth. That's an enormous difference. Economists say a two and a half percent growth rate is too slow to drive down unemployment. Growth needs to cruise around 4 percent for at least a year to lower the jobless rate. For NPR News I'm Danielle Karson. Investigators are at the scene of a natural gas explosion in Los Angeles It damaged a large commercial building and hurled people into the street. So is it a press reports at least one person died. Eric Scott spokesman for the city's fire department describes just how major The explosion was. There are some welding perhaps taking place inside we had heard so they'll use oxygen and other sorts of natural gas and possibly settling which may have all contributed to this devastating explosion. Crews are still searching the collapsed building. French President Nicolas Sarkozy says foreigners who commit violent crimes may lose their citizenship. More from Anita Elash.

The faces record low approval ratings and this week he has been stressing security his signature issue according to polls the French public thinks the country is getting more dangerous even though police figures show there has been no overall increase in crime. Sarkozy made today's announcement in Grenoble. There were riots there two weeks ago after police killed a man of North African origin accused of robbing a casino. He said he wants to see a general crackdown on violent crime including stiffer penalties for first time offenders. He said anyone of foreign origin who tries to kill a police officer or other figure of public authority should lose their citizenship. That's Anita Elash reporting. This is NPR News. The first doses of vaccine for the coming flu season are on their way to doctors hospitals and other vaccination sites. NPR's Richard Knox reports there should be more seasonal flu vaccine this year than ever.

Normally flu vaccine starts going out in August so this year shipments are a little early. Officials urge medical providers to start notifying people as soon as possible to come in for their shots or nasal spritzes depending on which vaccine they get. Federal authorities recommend flu vaccine for everyone over six months old. Last year the largest supplier of flu vaccine for the U.S. market sent of the pastor shipped fifty two million doses of seasonal flu vaccine. This week the company started shipping the first of 70 million doses of seasonal vaccine which contains the pandemic strain that emerged last spring. GlaxoSmithKline has started to ship the first of 30 million doses. Three other companies are licensed to provide flu vaccine to the U.S. market. Richard Knox NPR News. The Commerce Department apparently has a clear snapshot of the recession saying it was worse than the country thought in revisions are issued today the government believes the economy shrank 2.6 percent in 2009 not two point four percent as previously thought. The new estimate makes the decline the

worst since 1946. The Army private charged with leaking military secrets to Wiki leaks has been moved from Kuwait to Virginia. But the Pentagon is not saying if it believes Bradley Manning was behind leaking Afghanistan war documents to the whistle blowing website. More than 90000 logs were posted online drawing fire from the governments of Pakistan Britain the U.S. and Afghanistan. This is NPR News. Support for NPR comes from the George Gunn Foundation working to advance Cleveland and northeast Ohio at Gund foundation dot org. Good afternoon I'm Calen Crossley and this is the Kelly Crossley Show. Today we're hitting the rewind button on the week's news with a look at the stories that barely reached our radar. Joining us to talk through some of the local stories that might have escaped our attention are Sue

O'Connell Peter Katz and Arnie Arneson. Sue O'Connell is the co-publisher of bay windows and the South End news. Peter Katz is the executive editor of The Boston Phoenix. And Arnie Arnesen is a radio and TV commentator and a former New Hampshire state legislator. So O'Connell Peter Katz is Arnie Arnesen. Welcome back everybody thank you. Greetings to you. OK let's kick it right off with you Sue. We're in the election season so I was interested in your piece with looking at the Democratic candidates for Congress. Mack Douglas Andro who is opposing Stephen Lynch. And you talk to them in great detail about LGBT issues. Yeah I mean it's quite a race for those who from our community standpoint at least for those who don't follow things as closely as as we're supposed to and do. They might on the face of it think that Lynch representative Lynch due to his background it is his heritage and where he is from and his history

might not be a supporter of LGBT rights but he is what we like to call a success story where he started out a sort of medium not anti gay place but certainly not supportive and over the years of service has really turned into. I wouldn't go as far to say a gay rights hero but certainly someone who has been supportive of our civil rights and has worked to to make it a reality and he has a contender and a contender also has a large number of folks in the deal BT community supporting him and working forward for him. You know and also Lynch has the support of the Human Rights Campaign which is the nation's largest lobbyist group for gays and lesbians So it's really become a bit of a battle in the gay community which is great for us in the newspaper world where you've got folks really working hard for delicious Andro but also people reminding voters that that Lynch is a success story like I said he's come a long way. Peter as you know Stephen Lynch has been under fire from a lot of people so is this Could this

be a wedge issue that pushes him over to victory. I think it's important I mean the nature of this race is very very interesting. I mean Della Sandro wouldn't be in the race if Lynch had voted for health care. This is sort of a you know this is a battle you know between Lynch who's a who's a say who's a centrist who tilts left and Della Sandro who I think is more of a leftist who tilts to the center. I think the fact that Lynch has such a solid record on LGBT issues is is a one of many small pluses a much bigger plus. We saw earlier this week when Bill Clinton came to support him. Now you have a why was Bill Clinton supporting him. People should remember that Lynch supported Hillary Clinton and Bill will support

anyone who wore that Hillary. Families matter. Well family yeah. They're still up at the ironworkers Yeah. Lynch himself as a former iron worker so although organized labor is generally opposed to Lynch because of his health care vote in favor of Della Sandro the fact that Lynch himself was you know a former union member and a Hillary supporter you know has to be added into the mix. Everything matters but it's the beauty of how complicated life is here in Massachusetts. Arnie I'm just struck with the fact that you know there couldn't have been a day even maybe 10 years ago where people would be fighting I mean they are trying to get this constituency. This is not it's a win win it's a win win you can't go wrong on these issues. If you look at either Lynch or Dulles and Joe but I think the other thing that's important is if you're talking about families and that's really what's important whether it's a heterosexual family or a homosexual family then the health care vote becomes pivotal for the gay community

because it is about their families too. And for whatever reason Lynch voted against it he did vote against it and that was problematic for people who really care about access to health care. And then you have to look at some of the other issues because I think the center is more liberal than Lynch because he brings up the Iraq war. He brings no doubt Patriot Act. You know all those things and then when you start looking at all those things and recognizing how liberal the district is and how liberal the voters are in that primary. All of a sudden Lynch has to scramble because while he may have incumbency on his side he doesn't have a lot of other issues that motivated Democratic voters in primaries to care about. His fear is who shows up for the primary and that he has here is not the general it is who shows up in the primary and that good as a newspaper could see with our constituency being GOP T and R and this this wealth of riches that we have now that we have to Judge Lynch and Elizondo through the very narrow prism of the g l be t issue.

And you know when we get to the endorsement process the health care issue is going to be one of those swing issues where do we view it as an LGBT issue or do we just view it as the issue outside of our domain if you will so that's a that's what they call in the corporate world a high quality problem. Yeah I mean from the point of view of my newspaper of Phoenix they both have very solid records on gay rights but where we would where we would differ on what we would be looking for is the war in Iraq Amazon. We have we've been consistently critical of Congressman Lynch's position. All right well Peter since you're talking about the war in Afghanistan let's let's go to you and talk about a long piece that you did with Andrew bass of it you really in essence describing in great detail his opposition to the war and what that means as he sees it. Well base of it is a really interesting cat. I mean he's a pretty conservative guy I mean talk you know he's a mixture. Yet by

any measure he's an extremely nice guy. First I say who he is oh I'm sorry. Yeah yeah yeah he is a professor of history and international relations at Boston University. And importantly for the purposes of this discussion a former Army colonel who saw service both in Vietnam and in the first Iraq war. So he's not your god variety peacenik and who lost his son in the Iraq War too that is very very important because people need to know that. Base of ich emerged right from the start of the war as one of the most intelligent insensitive critics of both the Iraq adventure and and now the lingering in neverending war in Afghanistan. And there's just you know it's sort of boggles the mind when you find out he's a former Army colonel and by the way he was opposed to these was before before

the death of his son something that he for perfectly understandable reasons. He really declines to discuss it personally but he basically has a very old fashioned conservative which says that look America should mind America's own business and not try the run the rest of the world for other people in other cultures who we don't do a very good job of understanding. What I found interesting in my very long discussion with him was that when I pressed him a little bit on issues where I've never seen his opinions and I said well don't you think we have a commitment to say the people of Detroit and he said definitely you know. You know he his position as a foreign policy expert essentially is this that the problems we're facing in the United States are so great so overwhelming at the moment that we should be concentrating on our own backyard and not trying to run the world.

You know this is fascinating to me in the idea that it's the history of what America has done and Peter you correct me if I have the right president but Woodrow Wilson and his incursion into South America and sort of the small little wars that that that didn't get on anyone's radar really back then and we certainly don't talk about it now but which set up these messes later Afghanistan obviously. You know I feel as many do we had a good reason to be there but then got distracted in this idea that Americans are just going to go in and fix things and then step out when if you look at the history of of what our incursions have done. Many times it's just make things worse. Later on though I got go ahead and you know hear the first two things. It was a fabulous Q&A. Thank you so much. You know it was fabulous. But let me tell you why I cry as I was reading it because I was reading it right after I had read the New York Times today. And here is the headline in midterm elections Afghan war barely surfaces. So here is this fabulous piece and I want to read out loud to

everyone I'm recommending to your audience that everybody reading this whole Thank you get knowing that it doesn't even you know get on the radar is what is so depressing about it. But the other thing is is that my takeaway from your interview with him is that what I realized is war is not fungible. Now we know how money is fungible you know money here money there. But what he's trying to say is and he was discussed discussing Petraeus Patris his success story in Iraq. Does not necessarily mean that he's going to have the same strategy and be successful in Afghanistan. And his point that Afghanistan is so damn different. Yeah and yet our problem is because of the generally you know ignorance of the population frankly even the ignorance of Congress. We somehow sort of put all these Islamic countries into the same hat and assume that they'll behave the same way and Afghanistan is is you know tribal warlords It is not educated it is incredibly rural. Iraq was very educated I mean women are educated. I mean when you just look at the basic cultural differences there are enormous. Let

alone how our response needs to be. But that story about the midterm elections is what makes me so unhappy because once again we're sort of sacrificing our soldiers because we're not engaged with why they're there. Well look at to to just veer a little bit. It was about 36 hours after the Wiki leak the weekly leaks revelations the secret documents about the mess Afghanistan is that Congress. Voted you know to give 50 Aude billion more dollars to the war. You know I think part of this is because I mean I'm glad especially since I have a son who's approaching draft age. I'm glad we have an all volunteer army. But it an all volunteer army does have its downside in that you know. The way the war is over there rights not over here. I mean my word we don't even have to pay for it. These two have laws. The first was in American history that

have never been paid for with a tax increase. I mean we're borrowing the money from China to fight the war. It's mind boggling. There's a article today by Nicholas Kristoff just a quick point and he was to saying that they've they assessed how much the American Revolution would cost in today's dollars two point four billion. We spent 2.4 billion in Afghanistan every nine days and every night wow. And that's where we'll leave it until we come back after the break. I'm Kelly Crossley we're looking at local news with Sue O'Connell Peter Katz isn't Arnie Arneson. We'll be back after this break stay with us. The. Support for WGBH comes from you and from Suffolk University

located in the heart of Boston with strong ties to the city's business legal and educational communities. Suffolk University. Dedicated to excellence in teaching scholarship and service. Suffolk dot edu. And from Tanglewood. July 30 First the B S O performs music of barrack Strauss and Mahler. Sunday August 1st. Program features music of Sibelius Mussorgsky and Yo-Yo Ma. Tanglewood. Work. And from Children's Hospital Boston. One of three hospitals featured on Boston med this summer on ABC. For more information and details. You can visit Children's Hospital online at Discover children's dot org. Public radio means listener supported radio. Public radio means that we can bring you in-depth reporting local and international news and unique programs. I'm Marco Werman this is the World Cup or duck. One of the BBC World Service public radio means that we can focus on the needs of our listeners and our community. If you have questions about Governor Patrick's re-election campaign and where he stands on the

economy help keep the tradition alive. Visit us at WGBH dot org to learn how. On the next FRESH AIR we add one more tribute to Daniel Schorr who continued to be an NPR news analyst until a few weeks before his death last week. We'll listen back to the interview we recorded in 1994 on the 20th anniversary of Nixon's resignation. We talked about sure CBS coverage of border gate and his run ins with CBS and the Nixon administration. Join us for the next FRESH AIR. Get to the WGBH antiques and collectibles auction bid now for some great deals including 952 and GTA roadster. Special thanks to the European watch company and customers to Asian specialties. It's all happening now until August 3rd an auction to be GBH dot org. I'm Cally Crossley and this is the Calla Crossley Show. If you're just tuning in we're hitting the

rewind button and looking at the news that went under the radar this week. We're talking between the headlines with Sue O'Connell Peter catus and Arnie Arneson Sue O'Connell is with bay windows in the south in news. Peter Katz is with The Boston Phoenix. And Arnie Arnesen is a radio and TV commentator in New Hampshire and Arnie I have to turn to you for interpretation of New Hampshire. I'm OK. I got my region short outlets. Do I regret this piece in The God of the Concord Monitor about the pale m endorsement of the former state attorney general and it's very confusing and please explain why you're so funny I'm sitting here in NH PR studios New Hampshire Public Radio and I said to Josh Rogers. So explain to me was like Pailin good for Ayotte they're bad for a I thought I want to know. Kelly Ayotte is the former attorney general and she's running in a actually there's seven people running I believe in the field for the U.S. Senate race to replace Judd Gregg So she is one of the Republican candidates. And Sarah Palin has plucked her out of the seven and decided to endorse her. And then the question

is Is this a good thing or a bad thing. And you know right now she's doing really well in the Republican primary so maybe Palin isn't bad in the Republican primary. The question though is well Palin's endorsement be a good thing in the general election where New Hampshire kind of looks at Sarah Palin and scratches their head and goes I'm not so sure we like that mama grizzly. So it's and so there's a there's a lot of confusion here. You know people are saying that it won't matter because we want people to not weigh in on our choice for the U.S. Senate. But at the same time Sarah Palin is incredibly clever because half the time you know that Palin is endorsed you only after you've read her blog. You're going to ask for it. Asked Terry Branstad who's the candidate for governor in Iowa. He found out by cuz someone called them up and said Did you know you were just endorsed by Pailin. He said Did we ask. So that is that's why this is so interesting. I will tell you that in New Hampshire Business Review just came out today. Brad Cook is a moderate Republican and he did say that the endorsement by Sarah Palin makes him

think twice about Kelly. So there are going to be a lot of moderates and independents who are going to look at this and say I'm not sure that that's the stamp of approval that would be a good thing going into this U.S. Senate race and it was either an ad war going forever for other people like Nikki Haley sailed to victory. Yeah you know. Most places have a strong opinion. I think New Hampshire's politics a very quirky. Now part of my my take on this is sort of ground level My wife grew up in Cork and we Hampshire and you know she has family there and we have friends and I mean my word if you're at a cookout the people I know from New Hampshire they won't even tell you who they voted you know what I mean and I said I like that. I mean this is again maybe the people I know a very old fashioned but they seem pretty normal to me and it's just typically wonderfully New England. The whole idea of the outsider coming in and not wanting the outsider and you know I love

Vermont the outsiders can be the folks from Massachusetts sometimes in New Hampshire it's at least you get a little bit further but you know it and evokes from Burlington Exactly. At any given moment they can just say you know she can the candidate can just say I didn't ask for it I didn't want to I'm all set with it and that sends the right message as well so I don't know that it's really a lot for her to me just play something else to remember this is presidential politics primary New Hampshire and every ego bigger than a house that imagines it's going to run for president is going to want to touch a candidate who's running for the Senate and then claim that they produce victory and Sarah Palin has been toying with the idea of being the presidential nominee in 2012. And this is a way for her to you know continue those credentials. And if Kelly looks like she's winning which she is. If Kelly is a girl to which she is and if Kelly is worried because nobody really knows where she sits on the political spectrum because I don't think she knows either. Then Sarah so it sort of helps prop up those conservative credentials because definitely Sarah is conservative.

They go well while you're talking Arnie Let me switch to a piece that was actually in the globe so not so much under the radar but it had to do with Kelly Iowa and this crazy kind of poll that was being conducted by one of her opponents which the Globe article suggests was aimed at spreading negative information about her. Can you weigh in OH MY GOD A push poll although I have never heard of. Such a thing you know you don't say oh no. Well for those of you don't know what a push poll is a push poll is a poll where they sort of say all these sort of nasty stuff about you which is probably true but they combine it all together and then they say if you knew all this would you support this candidate about the time you get done with the sentence you want to take a shower. You know you go oh no. And the problem in Hampshire is push polls. They don't like them. But if you do a push poll you must identify that you have paid for it that this is your poll and you are responsible for sort of owning this. So people then can sort of you know reject the poll because they know who's behind it. Well the problem is this poll came out and it's sort of feels a little bit like a push poll I'd say it's a push poll and it turns out

that probably Paul Hodes who's the Democrat running for the U.S. Senate seat paid for it he probably did it. And so what's happening is is that he has been a bad guy because he didn't disclose that he did this poll. But I just want to remind you and Peter and so you can weigh in on this worth of Republicans just in the U.S. Senate a couple days ago that they voted down or prevented the Disclose Act from coming out because they don't like transparency either. So I'm just. A little confused. They want transparency when it comes to this push poll when it comes to having corporations tell you that they're spending you know thousands of dollars on campaigns now we don't need to know what not to miss with you Well you know I just thought you know it is the oh on on the issues of electoral ethics and transparency. It is I think impossible for a thinking human being to have any sympathy with the Republican Party because there is no issue with the desire they have it both ways is more clear than that on that

particular issue. I mean Sue's favorite political figure Scott Brown you know voted against this sort of transparency. Personally I think push polls are a really I mean if it weren't for a free speech issue which is the grounds of which I'd support them. I wish we could find a way the wild lot of them because they're really nasty in the various things. But on the other hand you know well you poor Republican So you're being you know you're being stabbed with the sword that you would and that you sharpened you know exactly Well think about you know what a push poll is Fox News. That's a constant push pull and then I have these e-mails too aren't you. I'm. Not usually that thank you thank you. Yeah exactly. Peter when I was reading this I'm going Well I sound like a Fox News commentator to me. All right well we're going to switch to Sue's favorite guest mission Scott Brown.

So he is not responding oh well I'm not asking him no apparently. It's been a hundred sixty eight days since we've initially asked Senator Scott Brown to either send us a guest opinion or sit down for an interview we've called his office. I can't even tell you how many times we've sent e-mails to his his his his controllers and we have encouraged our readers via a front page banner that's been running for 168 days or so and a number of editorials and we had a reader a bay windows reader call us and say you know I called his office here in Massachusetts. They sent me down to the Washington office I spoke to a nice young man who told me that no one from bay windows has ever contacted Senator Brown for an interview and he couldn't believe that Senator Brown's office wouldn't respond so what we decided to do is that when we send the e-mails and make the calls we're just going to put them in the paper so this week. Hannah clay Wareham R. sociate editor sent an email down to the two contacts that we have made a call and we've printed it just to let Senator Brown know that we are indeed looking to chat with him. I'm about to you know really up the ante and get the video camera

and just hang out it is an office here in Massachusetts once I get proper summer babysitting covered so maybe I won't maybe I'll just take Ruby along with me and will will make a Michael Moore movie but it's just I know he started calling the senator has started calling other news operations that he had been avoiding if you will so I'm just I'm just hoping hoping and praying. Well I'm going to be very disappointed when he does call. I don't know what are we going to talk about I don't know if I don't know. But Peter here's what I was thinking I think you should buy a billboard. And I. You should put it on and one of those a moving billboard making a semi-truck and by the side of it you know and then you can park it anywhere he'd go and just leave it right in front of his office when he makes a public event and the billboard says the same thing. We're asking where are you going to be like oh you'll be like stalking him it'll be one that's what I suggested. Senator Kerry you all are turning into Michael Moore is telling you that if you don't let me on the Isabella and I'm going to.

Get you know that that your oh my gosh all right well let's talk about some serious stuff with Scott Brown that's very serious but this is also in your paper David Bernstein Peter wrote a piece about Scott Brown in the climate change bill and sort of the his going back and forth trying to decide what he was going to do and inevitably stuck with his campaign promise which was not to support the capping of carbon emissions. Good thing for him. Politically I would say it is a good thing for him politically. I don't think it's a good thing for Massachusetts economically and for once I'm not being a wise guy and saying that I mean what's very interesting is that as a state legislator law Scott Brown supported many economic incentives that helped build up the so-called clean energy industry in Massachusetts. I don't think a lot of people in Massachusetts realize that if climate control legislation were proved it would actually be a boon to Massachusetts because there are

so many businesses here already in the in that business or who are poised to. So on the one hand as a state legislator Scott Brown voted to help nurture these in this these industries but now is a United States senator and to be fair. I mean because he is consistent on this as a candidate for the Senate he is he's towing the National Republican Party line to vote against it. So it's a very interesting contradiction. The reason I said I think it's good for him ultimately is there is some question among the the real you can get your e-mails read the right wing wackos about is Scott Brown you know soft on communism. So this helps him shore up his base. I'd really like to know though what he truly believes. Yeah he's definitely in a place I think in a number of issues where he he has to solidify who he is and what he what he thinks and what he's really going to be. And is this do

that. I don't know I mean I don't know this. Look at his history was he was supportive of this right now he got a political hack at the national level and now he's not supported right. Boy if that's about nobody trust him now. Right if I were the right I say see look at him. He's a flim flam man. And if I was a left I say see he's a flim flam man. So what does he get for it. Inconsistency that's about it. Well he's he seems to be doing better than Romney does on flip flops. I mean I have to say as a as a judge of political hawse flash Scott Brown has earned my admiration I mean he's he's a sleek beast I mean he knows how to run the race so far anyway. And maybe what I was thinking to myself though Arnie let me ask this question because I was thinking that being inconsistent in it is maybe a plus for him because nobody knows which way is going to go so he doesn't feel like he has to be you know it's a matter it's a big Yeah yeah it's only be in anybody's pocket if you will which you know there's a point there there's some virtue to that there's no question about it.

But the other thing that I thought was interesting in the article was their fact that the you know the progressive liberals were not really supportive of this you know climate change bill anyway and they were moaning and groaning that it didn't have teeth and it could've died. And what I want to remind everyone was that no is an organizing principle. And yes it is not. So when you say no to something it's very easy everyone can get on board because they know what NO means and as soon as you say you want something that every little group. Not enough I want more this give me some more I don't listen so they can organize. Yes which is part of the problem with climate change. Well it'll be very interesting what these you know more hardcore progressive climate change advocates will think if we have a Republican Congress in it. Your point is very well taken. But I'm still old fashioned enough to believe that something is better than not right. OK well let's close out with something that I thought was just a great story in the south and news. Yeah the growing for Haiti. Yeah it's great this keeps Haiti also in people's

minds as well. Well what I loved about it and it's one of those very embarrassingly obvious stories that you don't think about that the garden the public gardeners in the great garden community in the south and which is renowned are growing foods and you would think the last thing that people in Haiti need are perishable food from a garden and that's absolutely true but the Haitian community in the south and obviously in Boston is so huge. And you know and we know that they are busy supporting their families and relatives and friends in Haiti to the best that they can they always have. So what we've been able to do the gardeners have been able to do is support the local Haitians by giving them food and raising money for them so that they therefore can be in better standing so that they can help those back in Haiti. And it's such an old fashioned barn raising sort of idea that it's just stunning to me that it's not done more often in this way support your neighbors who are supporting their families and by extension you're helping folks right on the ground in Haiti and it's been just

a great. I mean the garden community I think we touched on a little bit in the south that is often thought of just the flowers and the beautiful window boxes but there's a great community garden community as well which is really really pardon the pun dug into to find a creative way to help everybody. So I don't even mean it it just came out. But it's really a story and it does keep Haiti you know Haiti has not has not changed I've got I've got friends on the ground in Haiti as well and you know it's just one bad news story after another but you know we need to we need to keep in mind that Haiti still needs help. I like the fact that they've set up their own distribution system to pick up this produce right and ask everybody to plant a row for Haiti right. And they're asking people if they want to have extra supplies they want to offer like coolers or whatever so they can transport it. I mean this is really wonderful. Yeah I mean it's just just the idea that it just you know helping helping those who are here is helping those who are far and it just really makes the world a much smaller place suddenly.

Yeah. Even so Michel when I was reading the story it made me feel good. Yeah. And think about Peter how many people are sacrificing how many Haitian families are sacrificing for their families back in Haiti and now at least you're making the more whole because you're making sure that at least they have food on the table so they're not compromising what they're feeding their families in order to make sure that they're being fed in Haiti. I mean it's just it made me cry you know it's showing up with a casserole. I mean I mean exactly because showing up at someone's door with something the family can eat while the family is in crisis and it's just a great simple message that I think and we really need to keep in mind. And I was trying to find the name of the Boston natural areas networks is sponsoring this for people who might want to be in touch with them and maybe you know work with this group to either distribute or to offer some supplies they may need in the help of distributing some of this produce but I think this is

an interesting one and I think you know is there any potential for this growing. I mean you know for example I go the famous mob knowing them. YEAH I KNOW OH MY GOD I KNOW I KNOW I JUST KNOW I called Joe I know but it seems like a portable idea. Yeah I think that there's they've actually expanded a bit into the the back pay as well like this is not just a south and central issue but I'm sure that people should do it. You know I love that under the radar stories and a great one to end with this week. We've been talking news with Sue O'Connell co-publisher of bay windows and South End news. Peter Katz is executive editor of The Boston Phoenix and radio and TV commentator Arnie Arnesen. Thank you all for joining us. Thank you. Break my body. Coming up we're taking a turn from the serious to the sublimely ridiculous with a tour of this week's tabloids. We'll be back after this break. Straight to eighty nine point seven. Support for WGBH comes from you. And from the Office of Cultural Affairs

and special events. Local area restaurants opened their doors for Restaurant Week. August 1st through the 15th Lowell a city of world culture. More info at culture is cool work. And from Russell's garden center presenting the Wayland summer farmers market open every Wednesday noon to 5 p.m. at Russells in Wayland over 20 local vendors featuring fresh fruits veggies and more. Russell's garden center dot com. And from Somerset Chrysler Jeep Dodge featuring the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. You were invited to stop in for a test drive at Somerset auto Route 195 in Somerset Massachusetts. You can learn more at Somerset auto group dot com Monday morning. What are you going to remember from your weekend. Turns out that only amps and humans have full scale impersonal warfare where masses of individuals go after each other. And that's because ants and human have larger societies than anything else up to millions of individuals. Stories are not going to forget coming up this weekend on the new eighty nine point

seven. WGBH radio. Program. Can you measure Tuesday. The afternoon I'm Kelly Crossley Emily Rooney show the programmes are entertaining to me Mike and I'm Marco Werman this is the world This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News good morning welcome once again to a Celtic so your. Listener supported since 1951 with your. Radio. Eighty nine point seven. FM. Wired 9.7 because the way some Kenyans run barefoot may be better for their bodies than running in shoes because you'll only hear Marco Werman and the world on the new eighty nine point seven. WGBH radio. It's Gragg time a view of the week's coverage in tabloids.

It's a low brow examination of the salacious to the ridiculous and everything in between. But this being public radio we'll conduct our review with the help of some highbrow analysts our pointy head of pop culture Thomas Connelly a professor in the Department of English at Suffolk University and Rachel Reuben the chair of the department of American studies at UMass Boston. Welcome you two. Hello again my county Well we have a full plate and actually breaking news and Poppy get out of it. Let's jump right in LNG shipped to Dia de generous if I can say it says no more American Idol she can't take being critical. Of all the folks in the room where is J Lo is going to take her place what do you think. Well I think it's Ellen generous being Ellen at her best. She's encouraging she's nurturing she's funny and friendly and she really never fit in with the whole concept of the judging aspect of American Idol I'm

very interested though in the arc of Jennifer Lopez's career and what brings her to the brink of deciding to enter weekly television and she started out that way. But I wonder if she has the confidence in her fanbase to exercise the kind of judge mental tone and sharpness that the show seems to be desperate for since Simon Cowell's departure. And I don't suggest judged last year. Rachel do you think she can get tougher. Tom doesn't think so. Well you know I'm a I'm a I'm a little more cynical in Tom I guess in this one instance I think she get tougher if they tell her they want her to get tougher. You know just like I'm really I'm sort of wondering whether somebody said to Ellen you know it's time for you to go. The show is you know having some kind of identity crisis. You know it's been a while and you know Simon has departed so you know it's got think it's just going to be messy for a while and then it's going to be done.

OK all right well here we are to more important news and that would be about Lindsay Lo Han. Listen. Free Lindsay Lohan rally took place in New York's Times Square this week over her 90 day sentencing. Here's some of the protesters on why they're fighting the good fight. When you're sitting in jail you know and you're sitting there for too long for something that wasn't as bad that you're in there for. It's nice now that you've got people who are caring who care about you and who care about you know your well-being and we just want you to come home. I've been in touch with the lone hand family as far as even last night. And you know to harras it's been for any mother. I mean speaking to Dina last night for any mother to have a child in jail it's the most direct horrific feeling that a human being could have to go through. OK before you weigh in Tom let me just say this after the clip in the background I just want you to know the clip that you just heard listeners the protesters were chanting free Lindsay and hell no let Lindsay go. Why don't they have the full flavor of the protests. Well yes I believe it.

No not since Dorothy Parker marched to protest the imprisonment of soco invents that he has there been such testing of American jurisprudence. What's interesting to me is that I think it's called beach bum tanning salons has commercially sponsored this protest as part of their marketing campaign to well link continue to keep the lone hand family name in the news and thus their product in the news. Later we'll be talking about Snooki but this is a two hitter for tanning salons. I don't know. All right Rachel what do you think. Absolutely right you know it's it's not a demonstration it's a sort of it's a demonstration themed advertisement. And you know looking at the photographs of it and you know make make that really really clear with the sort of strategic placement in the front of young women with you know extremely orange young women with you know a lot of skin showing I mean it really is a demonstration advertisement it's it's

kind of like clever for that. And you're right when I think of doing it that way and I think Lindsay's tattoo parlor missed the boat by not cashing in on this too and sponsoring another protest although supposedly there were there was a quote unquote legitimate one outside of the prison. But I'm suspicious of that too. Well speaking of cashing in let's talk Snooki and Jersey Shore cast people I have never seen such publicity for this. The new season of Jersey Shore for those who don't know kicked off last Thursday. And ever since then these people have been everywhere. First the group was ringing the bell down on Wall Street. Snooki did the actual ringing. Then there was a huge piece in The New York Times called Snooki it's time. And then of course we have our own president speaking about her soul before we speak about it. Here's a sample of President Obama on the daytime TV gab fest the view clearly blowing his pop culture credentials.

Should Snooki run as mayor of watts Ala. I. I'm. Out of it I don't know it's working. OK. Well somebody did do a little research and found out that he actually mentioned Snooki by name at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner that we're going to suggest that maybe his young speech writer just put it in what he said at that time was the following individuals shall be excluded from the indoor taxing tanning tax within the bill Snooki. JAY Well the situation and House Minority Leader John Boehner. But more to the point for you too. Let's start with you Rachel. What is this belt for goodness sake. Well you know it's it's on the one hand I was sort of baffled by that myself because I was thinking you know sort of promoting you know sort of getting a laugh at over New Jersey Italian-Americans is not a new thing. So why is this you know becoming so prominent. And then you just mentioned the profile of Snooki in the New York Times which is

so so like a condescending doesn't even cover it it's really cruel it spends a great deal of time talking about for example the body type you know and it spends a refers to her as you know a selfish child in a turn up and you know in all sorts of like remarkable things to see in print. And it really made me clear it made it clear to me that what this is about is it's a really good it seems like a really good opportunity for some people like this Times writer to have somebody they can look down on and that that might be what it's for. And I want to just remind listeners that Snooki. That's her nickname is Nicole polish. She's 4 foot 9 she's the star of The Jersey Shore reality show which features also and a guy called Mike The Situation. Here's a quote from that New York Times piece that Rachel you just referred to and it's a quote from her father. He says it's hard for me to see what it is that draws people to the daughter she don't sing she don't dance. I don't want to say she don't have talent. Then he shrugged everybody basically

says they can relate to her. I think Nichols just a likable person. So. I think I have to go with you on this Rachel I think there is. More than a little bit of condescension in that piece what do you think. Well I can't help but think where is this coming from this fascination with someone who is absolutely not fascinating. And I think back to the debutantes of the 1930s the likes of Brenda Frazier and could being a right junior who said almost exactly the same thing that's Nicky's father said. Why do people care about us we don't do anything interesting except go out to parties and raise money for charity and oftentimes it ends up that we don't really raise any money for charity after the expenses are deducted for the for these big balls. These were women who were caught in the glare of celebrity in the 1930s. But to their lives ended up shattered by alcoholism and Orexia in both cases. I don't know what Snooki is headed for but she's making 10 times more than the Real Housewives of New Jersey. To think of another group of women from New Jersey who are in the public spotlight but. Snooki did better ring the bell

on Wall Street than she does at answering the phone. If you remember that duck phone from the first season. Yes it's condescending but I don't think she gets it I would be shocked to find out if she were offended because she seems to be existing in her own ether and I don't think anything could could could penetrate her consciousness other than I mean she doesn't even know how much money she has. Unless this is an act but I don't think so. Well it doesn't. It's not about her consciousness though. I mean it's like just by creating that kind of discourse you know the worst sort of a leader is a man sort of cultural like snobbery and narrowness that I think that's bad for everybody. Well and there's a lot of it on reality TV these days I have to say. I'm going to switch topics hard here and go to a brouhaha with Essence magazine which some may know is a magazine focused on African-American women. It's a beauty magazine fashion magazine and they're in the middle of a lot of controversy because the executive editor Angela Burt-Murray hired a white fashion

director and it's started all kinds of conversation in the blogosphere Rachel. You want to weigh in. Yeah it's very interesting I just want to say that you know one thing that I think has caused so much response. I. Even some other position at the magazine wouldn't maybe have gotten so much pushback. But fashion is important because you know traditionally fashion has been a way for a way for women particularly but not only to express what it means to them to be black in a public way that's not biological. And so that to sort of put that woman in there has made people sort of worry about Will essence star and will essence be able to continue to to play that role you know for those people who still read essence the fashion industry is so white it's so much more segregated than you know almost anything you can think of you know except for the United States Congress maybe. And and so is magazine publishing which is of course is what led to the forming of essence in the first place. So here

is this magazine that was sort of historically created in response to a historical you know inequality. And then here is this you know aspect of expressive culture the fashion and so you put that together. It's a lot to swallow. Well I just I find this whole discussion of the fashion magazine industry as having any relationship to real people's lives. It's fascinating and daunting at the same time essence and these other magazines cosmopolitan any of these high end magazines glamour they're so artificial it's Bell Jar journalism and I can't help but think this was done to get people talking about Essence or or this woman's alleged credentials and it's all so rankly commercial that I'm offended for the readers who got help and think that this Essence magazine or glamour or any of the Teen People have anything to do with their putative

readership. It's disturbing and revolting. Yeah I think this conversational be going on for a while. Angela Burt-Murray said she hired it because she had worked there as freelance for six months and she got to see her work and thought it was good. In the words of one other African-American writer I feel like a girlfriend has died. Really. So it goes to a place of some black women feel it's attacking their sense of beauty and whatever so it will be an ongoing discussion. Now speaking of what we think about beauty and what society thinks about beauty Ru Paul it's a great drag queen has a reality show. And first let's listen to the trailer for the new TV series which is hosted by drag queens. Ripoll. This week. Follows drag you. Our fabulous drag queen professors chose the single ladies. When was the last time you had sex. Over 20 years ago. How do you use what they've got. Flip the head. To get their sexy back. I mean this is changing

people's One night class is in session. OK Rachel I don't know how I feel about that I mean right now it's pretty fantastic but yes yes you know who Paul is fantastic and I'm some I'm actually quite delighted with. I was delighted with it when the first episode went because you know I I just really like the way drag focuses our attention back on the art officiality of gender. I mean I mean like the artifice of it you know they're constructing it they're all talking about how it's constructed it becomes a little bit comes a little bit detached from the physical body. So I was pretty happy with that to begin with besides that some of the names are hilarious like say the lean Dijon is my personal favorite. And then I found out in the way that the episode worked as if you know it took the three you know regular women and drag queens gave them lessons on how to dress and what not. And then I found out that one of those three women is a blogger on feminists for choice who spells the word women with a y bless her heart

and. And she herself talked about why she wanted to be on the show and do the show was you she said something like You know it's just all about blurring those gender boundaries. And so I think that you know it's yeah you know it's over the top it's trashy it's not going to be unproblematic but that anything that does that kind of blurring on television seems to me it's like us as a service public. Rice rag. This is the most overrated form of subversion in all popular entertainment this is a rehash of Queen for a day and Rachel if you thought the New York Times article was condescending What about the comments made to these women who are contestants Ripoll is funny he's cute he's got a lot of feathers but drag is the ultimate safe place from which to critique conventional bushwah modes of display. It's absolutely safe. It's like it's a Vegas approach to life and that's fine in Las Vegas but in terms of really relating to what do you think legitimate a politically challenging its

lip sinking. It's the difference between lip sinking and really making a public address and you know I hope people laugh at this but that's all of that is it's a joke. All right I want to joke all of Jodi's if you want but important history of drag in you know gay cultural life is a joke. If you've seen one drag show you've seen them all and maybe have you seen One Direction. Yes I most certainly have and I mean I've seen a drag show. When did you know that it's him. I mean it's a fine form of entertainment but it's so be spangled. I mean I look at like how you fall I mean it's just it is gay culture brought into you know crabgrass free lawns I mean that's what it amounts to. I think it's going to be interesting to see what happens fast response. Steve Carell is leaving the office. What do you guys think going to the show is Dinner for Schmucks is what he has to look forward to I think is going to regret leaving it.

Well yeah but I think. Yeah who knows I mean it could very well be over it's been on a very long time for a sitcom. The thing I will say that's been enjoyable about the announcement of his leaving you know people are talking about who would be good to replace him. And it's occurred to me that it's much more fun to think of like who would be the most inappropriate place to replace him. So so far in my head you know Iggy Pop is running now. You know neck to neck with Danny Trejo. That's what I'd like to see. Oh that's pretty interesting for people who don't know Steve Carell plays the bumbling office manager of a paper supply company Dunder Mifflin and I have to say I am not a fan of the show because it mirrors reality to me a little too much right. It's very I cannot watch it it's very upsetting I find my heart beating faster and going to people in place by Little Wayne. That's another no. No because it's the same scenario it's horrible people in the office and I'm thinking I live that well you know. I'm not talking about my producers or my staff. But I buy you say and you know it's like that.

Yes yes I have. Thanks for another great edition of ragtime. Well we had to go out and we're popping the champagne because we didn't get really down in the dirt this week this week as we might have had We're going out on a song called Da May which is by Jenny from the block for those of you not in the know that Jennifer Lopez who may in fact be on I don't next season will find out. Professor Rachel Lubin and Professor Thomas Connelly thank you so much. Today's program was engineered by Antonio and now by James picks and produced by Tennessee murders and a white knuckle B and an ER Ruzicka are in turn is like Christian Lander This is the Kelly Crossley Show for a production of WGBH radio.