WGBH Radio; The Emily Rooney Show

From WGBH in Boston this is Emily being in show. It's Friday November 4th 2011. I'm Karen Miller in for Emily Rooney on Today show we round up this week's top news headlines. The sexual harassment of woman and yes I was falsely accused while I was at the National Restaurant Association Herman Cain on the defensive as allegations of sexual harassment and his denials of them evolved by the day. Meantime President Obama says today's dip in the unemployment rate is positive but the economic growth is still way too slow and basic utilities in the hot seat as thousands of their customers remain in the cold. Then thumbs up thumbs down on Kim Kardashian's marriage experiment Hardtalk the musical and more. It's all coming up this hour on the Emily Rooney show. But first the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm Lakshmi saying President Obama is

vowing to stand behind Europe as it tries to stem its biggest debt challenges. They're going to have a strong partner in us but European leaders understand that ultimately what the markets are looking for is a strong signal from Europe that they're standing behind the euro. The president speaking at the conclusion of the Group of 20 summit in Cannes France. U.S. stocks are falling with investors worried about the latest developments in the European debt crisis at the center of it. Greece. That country's embattled prime minister is the subject of a confidence vote schedule today. George boppin the EO came under fire earlier this week for announcing a national referendum on the Eurozone bailout plan reached last week a plan that he later dropped. Persistent worries over a European debt are certainly overshadowing the latest upbeat report on employment in the U.S. employment rose less than expected though in October. The government says employers created some 80000 jobs and the unemployment rate remains high at 9 percent.

But as NPR's Joel Snyder reports there are bright spots pointing to a strengthening labor market. The monthly jobs report from the Labor Department missed economists expectations but the figures for August and September combined were revised to show a one hundred two thousand more jobs than previously reported. Stuart Hoffman is the chief economist at PNC Financial in Pittsburgh. It makes you think that maybe there's 80000 from October will get revised up. There are other signs of a pickup in the job market even though hiring in the closely watched construction sector fell. The report shows hiring was broad last month and the ranks of the long term unemployed people out of a job for at least six months fell sharply. Still with the unemployment rate now gauged at 9 percent Hoffman says progress is slow. Joel Snyder NPR News Washington. A wildcat strike has caused massive delays in Detroit's bus system. From member station WABE Quinn Klinefelter reports drivers were refusing to work because of fears for their safety. In recent weeks Detroiters have had to wait long hours for a bus caught in a battle between the city

and unionized mechanics over pay issues. But today almost no Detroit city buses on the street. City spokesperson Steve stark a man says the work action comes after a bus driver was assaulted this week. The safety of a bus drivers or passengers alike. It's a top priority. Working very hard this morning to resolve the matter. The head of the union representing Detroit bus drivers says his members are scared after a driver was beaten by teenagers this week in downtown Detroit and he claims it took police half hour to respond to the incident. For NPR News I'm Quinn Klinefelter in Detroit. Former New Jersey Governor Jon Corazon has stepped down as head of the securities firm MF Global days after the company filed for bankruptcy and came under federal investigation. This is NPR News. Six men have just emerged from a fake space ship in Russia after spending five hundred twenty days pretending to be on a mission to Mars.

NPR's Nell Greenfieldboyce reports that the simulation explore the psychological challenges of long duration space missions. The fake crew included two men from Europe one from China and three from Russia. In June of last year they were sealed inside windowless isolation chambers at a research facility in Moscow. Today the hatch was opened and they walked out of it first. In between doing experiments and pretending to land on Mars the crew battled boredom. They played Guitar Hero and watched old movies like 2001 A Space Odyssey. One crew member reported having a new appreciation for that film's depiction of loneliness and monotony. Now Greenfieldboyce NPR News. A West Virginia post office had to be evacuated this morning and 15 workers quarantined after a package exploded. Firefighters in Ranson told the Hagerstown Harrell mail that white powder had escaped.

It is uncertain if the unidentified substance posed a threat to anyone in the branch. The organization that oversees the international ban on chemical weapons says it plans to work with Libya's interim leadership to track down any banned arsenals that may have been hidden by dictator Moammar Gadhafi before he was deposed in 2004. Libya declared it had sulfur mustard and other substances used to make chemical weapons. On Wall Street the Dow is down 144 points more than 1 percent at eleven thousand nine hundred. This is NPR News. Support for NPR comes from Cabot creamery cooperative five generations of New England and New York farm families working together to produce naturally aged traditional Vermont cheddar cheese. It's live and it's local. Coming up next two hours of local talk the Emily Rooney show and the Kelly Crossley Show only on WGBH. Good afternoon you're listening to the Emily Rooney show. I'm Carol Miller in for

Emily Rooney. This was a week when the ground shifted Herman Cain found himself on the defensive as allegations of sexual harassment and his denials of them evolved by the day. The Greek prime minister decided to put the brakes on a debt agreement which made the markets jittery and put his future in peril. Here at home though the financial news was somewhat if not decidedly upbeat as the economy added jobs and the unemployment rate edged down just a little bit today. Meanwhile failed investment firm MF Global's former head John Corazon said no thanks to his 12 million dollar severance package and Governor Deval Patrick said no way to a three hundred sixty thousand dollar pay package for Chelsea housing authorities Michael McGuffin Plus as always our panel offers their thumbs up thumbs down on this week's news including Kim Kardashian's divorce Car Talk the musical and soon your wedding photographer. After you get divorced. Joining us are Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe. Jarrett Barrios former Massachusetts

state senator and Dave Wedge from The Boston Herald. Thanks to all of you for being here. Will it be paid I spear. If so I want to start with Gotta start with Herman Cain. New poll out from ABC Washington Post that shows that Cain is still holding his own he's at 23 percent in the poll that asked Republicans who is their choice for the nomination. Mitt Romney is at 24 percent. Rick Perry is in third at 13 percent and Newt Gingrich actually hanging in there at 12 percent. Let me start with one of the many denials from Herman Cain this week. He was talking to FOX News on Monday and here's what he had to say about sexual harassment in the 1900s. I've never sexually harassed anyone. And yes I was falsely accused while I was at the National Restaurant Association. And I say falsely because it turned out after the investigation to be baseless. Kevin Cullen How has Herman Cain handled these allegations this week.

Well I mean every day seems a little different which I'm frankly not surprised that the poll has showed that he hasn't slipped because the Republican base that he's appealing to doesn't believe anything they see in the mainstream media anyway. Now Fox has been covering it but I've watched the Fox coverage of it and it's been I think pretty deferential to him so. But every day there's a different now we're up to three. I haven't looked lately is it up to four yet. But I mean that they're OK every day it's just there's a different number every day there's a different recollection of what happened and it did. So I mean it's going to spill out it's going to continue to dog him. But if it doesn't hurt him in the polls you know this is we're also we're spinning our wheels. I'm waiting for the love child to surface. I think it's it's pretty inevitable you know he clearly he's he's under attack by some faction of the Democratic Party of the Republican Party this stuff coming from somewhere. It's coordinated it appears to me but what I'm really trying to understand. The appeal of Herman Cain I don't

really understand who he appeals to I mean he seems to appeal to you know the anti incumbent Republicans that are out there but he doesn't really appeal to the far right and he doesn't really truly appeal to the to the middle class Republican so I don't really know one of the bases. So his his base is everybody else his base he's not appealing to the Wall Street crowd. He's not appearing probably not it doesn't seem to be appealing to the you know suburban moms who are swing voters are you very very much very much people who identify strongly with the Tea Party the Tea Party is his base which is very interesting given the racial dynamics of the Tea Party is evidence nationally and here in Massachusetts. He hasn't given up. This isn't it. People care people they're the TPM ppl yesterday had him holding on. And interestingly the same poll asked whether people believed in the charges and Republican primary voters likely Republican primary voters by and large didn't believe.

And that's sort of the disaffection with mainstream media here but what Dave brought up I think it's interesting because initially you heard people suggesting oh this is the Democrats playing dirty tricks which I didn't believe at all because if I if I'm President Obama Bamma I want to run against her but again I absolutely want to run against Herman Cain. But it's much more likely I think just from you know the usual suspects it seems to me this would either come from the Romney campaign or the pair or likely in Cain himself believes it came from the Perry campaign. But if in fact it did come out that this was sort of the Democrats had a hand in this that this is I could see Cain's vote going up. OK actually just a matter you know I mean when you say angry times from a campaign do you mean that they fabricated the allegations or just they made the allegation in the loft above like OK so but does it ultimately matter when it gets down to what the basis of the allegations are saying that Karen I want to just jump in here because I'm the one non journalist on the panel. I think that the media obsesses because this is sort of the chess game or the politics of it.

OK so the next phase of this story is going to be who dimed him out. It doesn't matter. The fact of the matter is the guy's been charged with sexual harassment. If that's the case that's at least for me that's a serious issue I want to understand if he made these women uncomfortable at work so uncomfortable they feel that could work for him. That's a legitimate issue. Whether it was Perry whether it was Romney. I want to know the story. Now unfortunately from my perspective Republican primary voters don't seem to care about that and they don't seem to care whether it's Perry or Romney. They seemed in many ways this is solidifying it would seem solidifying Cain's support which was soft in many quarters until this happened. But it's sort of like because he's being picked on by the people we don't like. We're going to like him more now. Is what's what's happening now days away from the bus. I agree with what Kevin said he Herman Cain if he's smart can turn this into a rallying cry you know he's already mentioned a high tech lynching and that sort of stuff and really could become

a rallying point for his campaign especially if the allegations are not true then he can you know he can play the mainstream liberal media you know political is out to get me. And that's where the story originated that's why it does matter is because it originated with political or not you know The Washington Post or even then you'd probably have an argument the liberal media is out to get him up. Basically that's why it matters where the story originated because. Herman Cain strategically can play it in his favor and say Oh political is the left wing they're out to get me there I mean there are two things that and I agree everything you said Gerrit and I actually the last couple of days I've thought about the women at the center of this and how terrified they must be. I think one of them told you I don't want to be the next Anita Hill. I don't want my life defined by this I don't want to be hounded by this. So whether we're really going to get the truth or at least be able to judge the truth by hearing it from first hand from the I don't know but there are two things going on here there's the real world and sort of the the moral equation here. And then the political one. But basically it's much more defined by the political one because this guy is you

know reading the polls in the primary right now. So I think it really is a put the the one thing that stunned me about that of all these facts is that Herman Cain had five days to prepare a response to political before this broke and was absolutely caught flat footed on it which begs questions about if this guy can't handle this what's he going to do with the Iranians. Yeah. Jarrett Barrios I want to come to you with a legal question. We're going to play a cut of Joel Bennett lawyer for one of Herman Cain's accusers saying that since Cain is talking about this his client should be able to you also. I think the National Restaurant Association ought to waive the confidentiality and non-disparagement positions and let the two women if they choose to do so come forward and tell their stories so that it can get a complete public airing should they be able to come forward various and tell their story. I think if the women signed a document and took a severance of you know

whatever it was a year's salary and if their lawyers didn't negotiate mutual mutuality of non-disparagement which they seemingly didn't. In that document because there are McCain and others are certainly seem to feel free to say things then there. I mean it's a legal document what I think doesn't really matter what you think doesn't really matter if she signed a document she took the money. Now should the know but. The real question is should the National Restaurant Association waive that and allow them to speak it. I believe this is risen to a level of their effects their brand as well as Herman Cain's campaign that they should. And America should be able to hear and do they want this is the other thing that they really does that they really want to go after these women if they do break it I mean about two years ago I interviewed a woman out in western Massachusetts and it was about how she had been abused by a priest when she was like 15 years old and she finally want to talk about it and then in the end she said you know by the way I signed a confidentiality agreement here. So you know she got like $40000 she goes I'll lose that money if I go well do what I can't do it anonymously she goes well the hell

let them come after me. So we wrote the story the guy got removed from a youth ministry where he was working even though he left the priesthood. And they didn't dare go after her. The archdiocese. I mean the Diocese of Springfield was not going to go after this woman because the resulting publicity would have been worse. So they have their way that too I mean the idea if it if the dare them to go after. I think the National Restaurant Association would look like fools if they were after these I think at the end of the day really what this is done is elevated Herman Cain as a candidate really bizarrely enough. He's now the focus of this entire race debate. I think also it's all anyone's talking about he's risen in the polls. He's now become He's all in a way this scandal has almost legitimized him as a campaign and like we said before some of the Republican base is rallying around him. We have seen we've seen a newly released ad from the super PAC 9 9 9 fund which supports Herman Cain's candidacy. It is a

fascinating ad it's a little bit of a long clip but we're going to play it for you and let me just set the scene here. What they essentially do is indict them. The what they call sort of the liberal mainstream media for going after Cain. They show defenders of him on Fox and Fox Business News. And they do this equating of the Cain of The Cain situation to Clarence Thomas in the early 1990s as we sort of all remember testifying that when Anita Hill said was was incorrect and that he was subject to a high tech lynching so you will hear some of Clarence Thomas speaking in this ad from Herman Cain's the super PAC that supports Herman Cain. Let's listen to it and they can't argue with Herman Cain on the merits. They can't argue with Herman Cain on policy. So what do they do if they do. We're hearing it's beautiful Me and her going up please the only thing is the mainstream media goes for the

ugliest stereotypes they can do attacks at white conservatives. They put them down. And that's what liberals do. I mean. They can't talk about the issues. So these people are. Not I think you need to get off the symbolic crack pipe. So I want owners also think he's evil saucily. The right. Oh boy you're going to get it it's very hard to comment on somebody who is. So denied intelligence. This is a circus. It's a national disgrace. It is a high tech lynching. For uppity blacks. Who in any way deign to think for themselves and it is a message. That unless you kowtow to an old order you'll be lynched. Destroyed caricature. Rather than hung from a tree. Jarrett Barrios. You know what do you think of that ad and we also saw today that Herman Cain sat down with Virginia Thomas the wife of

Clarence Thomas for an interview about the issues. What do you make of that. That equivalency I think it's I think it is. It's a gamble but I think it is a calculated risk on their part to do exactly. To do well what they where they're at right now which is to say they're in a Republican primary. This would not be something I would counsel that campaign to do in a general election. I think I would counsel to do this. But but for what they are doing is playing to a base there and they're pulling out very interesting archetypes and Clarence Thomas as the conservative African-American male archetype fed by some of the other comments you didn't include in Coulter's remarks earlier but Ann Coulter's remark around are blacks versus their blacks. It's a very interesting way of playing on kind of latent racial guilt among conservatives right stuff that kind of

came out a little bit the Obama campaign in the reverse here. People feel very strongly about vindicating Herman Cain in the context of this. You know they don't know very many that we don't know any of the facts in this. We haven't heard from the women yet. And yet people are characterizing this as a high tech lynching. You know here's Clarence Thomas there talking about liberal blacks versus liberals and their role their race issues. So I think it's it's all not by accident. It's about winning primary votes. And I think. It's too soon to say yet whether it's going to work. Yes David he's held his own polls. His polls haven't actually grown he was at that percentage a week ago where he's at. A week from now we'll know whether the strategy is working. Dave Wedge from Boston how could this work. This this analogy to the Clarence Thomas hearings in the early 1990s I think it's a logical analogy to make but it's I agree with Jarrett it's a risk it's a gamble. And I think time will tell whether or not it pays off

but it I mean I'm stressed out after hearing nothing like that's anxious stuff you know it's a very powerful political theater that they're playing. And you know Herman Cains I guess you know as he maintains his place in the polls the bandwagon is filling up with these borderline Republicans you know extremists that don't they haven't gone down with Romney yet they haven't. You know Rick Perry God knows what's happened in his campaign. But these. Republicans want with any of the other candidates are jumping on this now because now their candidate is under attack. The GOP candidates are under attack. So that's why you're here and you know these ads which are really that's pretty extreme. Well and it also has these little clips. Like I said people on Fox News supporting him but then people like Cornell West saying he has to get off the symbolic crack pipe so you know within that racial he's been aligned with Clarence Thomas but there are also people who are being arrayed against him. You know you know you've got Rush Limbaugh and then you've got Imus and they're absolute you know doesn't get any more extreme.

I notice they didn't slip any of the Willie Horton ads in there to me that struck me as remarkable the 23 years after the Republicans really used Willie Horton as the bogeyman to go after Mike Dukakis here where they are now trying to play it the other way. I mean I think it's ingenious because of course it's risky but I mean I think most people earlier in this week said said this guy's done. This guy's absolutely done he's not going to survive this. The other thing that's getting lost in this that I haven't seen anybody talk about the polling part of that. It's pretty amazing that the two front runners for the Republican primary now are guys that really are running as politicians per se as businessmen we are successful business men is this attitude that the country the economy is so screwed up. We don't need politicians to fix it. We need guys that was successful in business and Cain in Romney pushing that more than anything in their resume. And let's not forget people love an underdog. And that's what Herman Cain is right I was an underdog he's a black Republican who is now being accused of sexual harassment. People like an underdog especially in an election.

I just want to add one last thing which is looking forward looking forward post-primary if this were to prove successful for Herman Cain what does that mean for the dynamic in the general election. I gotta think that there are you know the well-heeled Republican who raised millions of dollars for super PACs. Who are some who are still quite nervous about this. They're nervous about Cain anyway. But in terms of how this plays. Because right now we're talking about how this plays a Republican base and what Fox thinks and what Rush Limbaugh thinks and what Clarence Thomas thinks matters but it matters far less when we're talking about swing voters those suburban moms for whom this is you know sexual harassment against a woman is actually something that's going to resonate more than it is with those those bases or so. This is wild card and it's this is really making people nervous in the Republican This has to be Mitt Romney's worst nightmare that that a black Republican who was at the bottom of the polls now has a sexual harassment scandal and he may actually. Gain momentum with that. I mean I can't

imagine something worse for Romney right now. I think one of the questions for Mitt Romney is is he going to be the last man standing. We're talking to Kevin Cullen from the Boston Globe Jarrett Barrios former Massachusetts state senator and Dave Wedge from The Boston Herald. I want to quickly play a clip of Rick Perry to switch to another candidate last on the race. Yes he is he's gotten 13 percent which isn't so bad that rumor I mean Cain was that not that long ago he was in New Hampshire last Friday and this speech that he gave has been getting a tremendous amount of attention you can't get I think the full impact on radio but but we picked up a little bit of it where you can see that he is he's really trying to loosen up here the question is did he get a little too loose. Let's listen to it. This is such a cool state. I mean come on live free or die. I mean. You know listen you got a low there right. Thank you. I come from a state you know where they had this little

place called the Alamo and they declared victory or death you know work out into those slogans man it's like live free or die. I think you're dead. Right. Kevin Cole and you know there's still a lot of people holding out for Rick Perry who are not completely who have concerns about Herman Cain but are not in the Mitt Romney camp. Do you see Rick Perry as a potential viable alternative in the Republican field right. Oh I really I mean I think it's a win win. When you start to sink it's very hard to get back up and I think to me that's sort of like from Fast Times at Ridgemont High. He was asked he was asked Were you under the influence of alcohol you know on CNN John King asked him and he said no I wasn't. I mean he was very loose but if he left the hall and went and got a bag of Doritos I think we'd have a little more circumstantial evidence but it was wacky but I mean you know it's just that after what are you talking about now is this what it. But it's I don't see Perry coming back. I'd be surprised me if he held on longer the back. Bachmann did but

Bachmann had a very similar rise and a quick descent. My sense is that's where he's going I will say though David he's sitting on 15 million dollars and that separates him from some of the other candidates. I was going to say not fast I mean he sounded to me they're like Bill Clinton you know maybe after he inhaled. But you know I didn't inhale after he didn't inhale. Well I think you know OK you know I agree with Kevin I think I think Rick Perry's goose is pretty much cooked and as much as Herman Cain might be getting a surge right now I've said all along and I still believe that that it's all Romney. You know it's Romney. The only thing that's going to derail Romney from being the nominee is if there's a massive bomb out there and I there's not I mean the globe the Herald we've looked for 10 years you know The Washington Post the last time 2008 he was vetted over and over and over the worst thing anyone found was he strapped his dog to the roof. You know so there just isn't anything out there he may be too good to be true as far as a morality goes but I'm telling you that you know there's just no big smoking gun out there with Romney and I think that's the only thing that could tell him

I'm going to be the skunk at the guy. Party here because I actually don't think that it's a fait accompli. I think that if it were Romney would have already locked this up and if Romney loses I don't I don't think he's going to get the nomination. If he loses is his own fault. He should be benefiting in the polls right now for McCain. He's not he's it's not going to use and I think says something sitting back watching he's saving his money to his wife. Romney or Perry. Both of them. They're both know it's my my my point is Cain's alleged implosion should be benefiting Romney right now as they are the two perceived front runners. But people are going to his camp. There is something about him that he hasn't been able to or he's done something and I think it's flip flopping. I think that there's at bottom part of it with core Christian Republican voters is kind of an innate distrust of Mormonism so right we've seen that play itself out. But Romney's aggravated that by being the kind of quintessential Republican not Republican quintessential politician flip flopper. So there's a double trust issue that evangelicals might go around if he's the

candidate but I don't think they're going to come so in the process and that's why when the release of Perry want to go from I actually think that despite my joke earlier I actually think that Perry with his money as the real third altered unless again I just don't see Gingrich coming back I think that it's a three person race and I think Perry is I think he's the dark horse. I mean I agree that he's a dark horse but I think at the end of the day I don't think either Cain or Perry will have enough momentum or operation more importantly to to beat Romney I just think Romney's kind he's been doing this now run for president for almost a year so it is interesting though because there is that wing of the Tea Party people on the far right we've seen Richard Viguerie who has been you know sort of holding the conservative line ever since Barry Goldwater saying recently I'm sorry but Mitt Romney is not a conservative and I cannot support him and he has said you know you cannot flip flop you can flip flop occasionally but not on the issues that to him are sort of the

fundamental core issue. That's right. Abortion. You know feeling OK about gay marriage or about gay civil unions and also issues of awful also issues of finance you know that he that he the promise he ran in Massachusetts I mean I think that's going to be his problem is that you can dredge up those old Ted Kennedy debates when he was moving to the left. Kevin gone is that going to be. Boy I'll have some room and I think you know the singular achievement here he can't even he has to run away from health care and that I think that I think the Republican base is looking at that is just another thing that wait a minute he says he's against Obamacare now but he sure wasn't against it when he was the mass governor Massachusetts I think is a huge problem on that so you know you see it's kind of splitting hairs there though he's pointed he's focusing on the differences between say between the universal in Massachusetts on the ObamaCare and there are pretty distinct differences so I don't know a lot of Republicans. I don't know I don't think they are I think the Quaid is one of the sailor you know it's been it's been portrayed out there that Massachusetts's plan is the blueprint for Obamacare. Hard for Romney to

dispute that but he's trying. There's a I think it's a really interesting contrast between this Republican primary and the Democratic primary four years ago. If you'll recall very contested primary. And yet out of that you know you had the sort of primarily eventually became a Hillary Clinton versus Barack Obama. But out of that there was tremendous. And people said at the beginning these guys are going to kill each other. It can be a battle to the death it's the worst thing for the Democrats that these two are hanging in it. And yet at the end it was tremendously sort of energizing for the Democratic base. I think not yet but I think within a few weeks perhaps by New Hampshire time in a couple of months you're going to start hearing Republicans saying we need to pick a winner. I don't think they're going to have a candidate by New Hampshire I don't think there's going to be a single candidate going in. And I'd actually don't think it's going to be an energizing conversation as it really does seem the roots what we're seeing now this finger pointing or on the negative campaigns I think is actually not going to help them unify

once it's time for them to unify at the end of the day. And that's that's a very important difference. Jarrett Barrios Dave Wedge Kevin Cullen. We're going to take a short break. You can e-mail us at Emily Rooney show at WGBH dot org and let us know what you think. Our visit us on the web at WGBH dot org slash Emily Rooney or you can link to our Facebook and Twitter pages when we continue we'll respond to some of your emails tweets and Facebook messages as we do every Friday and we'll continue our roundup of this week's top news headlines. I'm Karen Miller and you're listening to the Emily Rooney show. Stay with us. This program is made possible thanks to you and Boston Private Bank and Trust Company Boston private bank provides private and commercial banking and investment management and trust services to individuals and businesses. You can learn more by visiting Boston private bank dot com. And the Concord museum celebrating one hundred twenty five

years with crowdsourcing a collection a special exhibition featuring 40 guest curators and 40 new perspectives and historic Concord Mass Concord museum dot org. And the PBS arts fall festival exploring the roots of American music including jazz folk bluegrass and country. Steve Martin narrates and Rosanne Cash hosts give me the banjo tonight at 9:00 on WGBH too. On the next FRESH AIR. Physicist Brian Greene explains why some astro physicists think we live in a multitude of parallel universes. One possibility is it's like a cosmic bubble bath of universes. Our universe is one bubble in this big cosmic bubble bath. Greene's book The Hidden Reality is out in paperback and he's hosting a new PBS NOVA series. Join us this afternoon at two on eighty nine point seven WGBH. It is about innovation. Welcome to innovation hub. Each week on the show we'll hear from the most inventive creative minds around WGBH is about culture. Poehler

recently joined us. So you want your own show every week. Any actor or actress tells you to watch their stuff is lying. I'm sorry that maybe you can edit WGBH is about you. Be the power behind Boston Public Radio online at WGBH dot org. The informal friendliness of Celtic music. Join me Brian O'Donovan. Every Saturday a three for a Celtic sojourn here on eighty nine point seven w h. Welcome back you're listening to the Emily Rooney show in our roundup of this week's News I'm Karen Miller. It's now time to reach into our e-mail bag as we do every Friday at this time. We received several comments about our discussion yesterday about how utility companies like and star have responded to the power outages caused by the Halloween North nor'easter. Listener John Billings had this to say. It's

good to hear that the reporting about Star's CEO salary. It's become apparent to me that n Starr and others have not upgraded their communications technology to keep customers inform of when their power will be restored. I guess they feel the money is better spent making the CEO rich. During that same discussion Representative Dan Winslow partly blamed the widespread outages on the utility company's failure to maintain trees around the power lines. Lee on Cape Cod agreed writing. I had an incident a month ago that a prime tree was so close to the primary wires that it caught on fire and Starr showed up last week to look at it that will burn itself out was the answer I got. Well what's your answer or maybe you've got a question. Either way keep those emails tweets and posts flowing. Our e-mail address is Emily Rooney show at WGBH dot org. Maybe your comment will be among those we will read next Friday. We're back. Talking about the week's headlines with Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe Gerry Barrios former Massachusetts state senator and Dave Wedge of the Boston Herald. And

let's just go right to that question of the job that utilities have been doing. They have taken a tremendously long time in some cases to get the lights back on. Martha Coakley is looking into it. Dave Wedge what's going on here with the utility. Oh I don't you know I live in Boston and we knock on wood we haven't lost power in any of these storms I never was underground on the ground but you know I did see today there was a horizon truck in my neighborhood cutting down branches you know near the wires and I just think you know I think it's partly because everything's underground but I think also that the utility companies do a better job in the cities than they do in the rural parts of the state if you look at who's doesn't have power. It's extreme rural areas mostly you know Foxboro big huge towns with a lot of trees a model and I think it's infrastructure I think utility companies have to get out there and they have to do that after the trees well cared for had a place in Boston today. And our wires are underground. Come to Zamora street in Jamaica joiners power.

No no my point is it will not maintenance I don't lose power. But in terms of the maintenance issue have you ever seen those telephone poles where they have the other telephone pole attached to it because where they should be replacing it but they're too cheap to do it. Well. When I first moved into that place three years ago it was six inches from the driveway. I called four times to get them to relocate it to a safe place. They told me it was not safe. And then you know what they said to me. The person on the phone to answer. Call the mayor's office and have them contact us. So I'm supposed to call the mayor to do your job. Why can't just any citizen can call in force do my part and then you do your part I know that this is not just a rural issue did you call the mayor No I didn't call the mayor's office I'm told that but I bet if you did I bet it would have been done but that's not done as one thing. Mayor Menino isn't as good as his constituents or not but this isn't about the mayor. This isn't this is about and start doing its job and it's not just a rural issue. They should be able to be they should be as responsive to anybody city or country whatever.

But these power outages is a rural issue. It absolutely is an economy that's an issue too few power companies having too much. I try to think it is and I have personal experience in this I live in Hingham and we have a municipal company very small and I would tell you the head of it makes considerably less than Tom made had a bent star. And what we're finding it's almost counterintuitive the idea that the economies of scale would actually work and the globe actually did a story last year about this or after all the storms these so-called 50 year storms which now are happening every six months or every year the smaller municipal electric companies were doing much better in terms of responding and the other thing I noticed just in my town they are constantly out the 12 months a year cutting branches down before they become a problem. And so the End star and when you see it I buy image of when something is you often down the Cape when stuff goes crazy. You just see lines and lines of trucks driving down there. And then when they're done they're going to drive to Tennessee. And it's just the

economies of scale don't work with these regionalized storms. They just can't get a drive down Route 140 in that area Wrentham Foxboro drive down Route 18 in East Bridgewater in those towns. There's trees hanging over the highway. I mean I remember during Hurricane Irene driving around and I was terrified because it looks like there's a roof over all the roads and that's the problem. You know these trees are getting bigger you got a condom and it is it's a real issue and you're right. I worked in Taunton for several years even municipal lighting plant. They're poly right now you know same thing. And we've seen a lot of frustration I mean Springfield mayor Dominic Sarno you know asked Martha Coakley to investigate and and basically said Springfield which was really hard hit has been just ignored too much in the aftermath of the storm I mean even last night there were I think close to one hundred ten thousand people still without power days after the storm was over. But this was a snowstorm you know that's that's not you know 50 year storm it was a snowstorm right. Not even a huge snowstorm it was a decent sized snowstorm.

Let's turn to another issue here the issue of Chelsea Chelsea housing housing authority. And you know we've got a three hundred and sixty thousand dollar pay package for the chief Michael McLaughlin. I know you've thought about this. Kevin Cullen tell me what what's going on here that somebody who's working to essentially help poor people is making this kind of money. I was stunned by it but David I would talk about for the show that every time we think in Massachusetts something like this want to happen again there's one there. The Herald had a story a couple of weeks ago I think a week ago about the mayor of Weymouth putting and bumping up his pension. It just if it can be exploited somebody will find a way now I know Mike McCaul offline and. The word if I ever had to describe Mike with one word it would be shameless I knew him when he was alone with us and you know he did do a good job but when you saw him try to justify the salary I think more telling is weird. Where was the control within the city itself. Chelsea is not the

basket case people think it is it's really come a long way and the Boys and Girls Club the Jordan Boys and Girls Club is one of the best I've ever been and it's just remarkable what they do over there. They brought things back but how was this allowed to happen and why didn't somebody you know. It's funny because I the other thing I think of the old Chelsea would be Jim Mitchell used to call me with all these crazy that people would drop a dime in Chelsea quicker than anywhere else around here and I'm just it's amazing to me that nobody done this guy out a long time before so let's so let's maybe this is a time for like housing authority one a one little legal lesson in how our government works. Housing Authorities are not the city at least in a place like Chelsea. The housing authorities an independent authority Chelsea does not have a mayor. They have an elected city council but they have a city manager and City Manager does not hire and fire. So this is I think one of the dangers in reporting on this issue. Is talking about the chosing housing authority as somehow endemic of something larger in Chelsea. I was a

state senator for Chelsea. I know the folks in Chelsea. That city is run a heck of a lot better today. You know under Jay Asher before him Guy Sandgate than it was when they had their first solo and this is a completely different animal. It is a state animal as it was acquired by state agency as as most housing authorities are and has a governor Deval Patrick's response been appropriate here. I mean governor the governor's response was as the head of government. This is a big seller. Yeah right. But it's what's not fair is to say J Ashe or Chelsea City Council why didn't you know what was going on here. Because they actually don't they don't control that. Well this is government being asleep at the switch I think and I think you know the governor's statement spoke volumes where he said I had no idea about it well it's your administration you should have an idea about it and someone didn't do their job if they didn't know about it I mean. But housing authorities are notoriously corrupt I mean one of the biggest scandals ever was the assets out in Springfield. That was all housing stuff was graft it was it was huge salaries. And I think you know the problem with housing authorities is they serve

cities. They have some state oversight and they're funded with federal money. So you've got that nexus of three different levels of government that no one's really overseeing it so maybe the governor needs to think creatively about how to get some oversight over these type of agencies across jurisdictional lines. One of the amazing things to me here is when you look in to these articles and you look at what his golf and pension would be there are two potential options one is on the higher end two hundred seventy nine thousand dollars a year. And on the quote unquote lower end one hundred twenty seven thousand dollars a year. That's just an amazing at this time of cutbacks or almost nobody gets pensions anymore. It's amazing to think that somebody who's not working anymore would be getting even on the low end. One hundred and twenty seven thousand dollars a year I think only Bulger was appalled that he thought he had the gold standard here but Mike makes him look like a piker. I think that that's the part I was going to say there. I did not say that you know that the standard was set with Billy Bulger when he won that court case

where you know he put in for his housing allowance and his vehicle rights and all the stuff in the ad that was punch and now the guy gets a two hundred plus one of the 220 hasn't this week more reprint parentally just lost her as she was trying to put her in her parking space per diem Hill to write her DM's as part of her pension package and luckily she lost. So but that I think you know the standard was set in that Billy Bulger case and like Kevin said if there's a loophole that somehow they'll find find it. One other local story that I want to squeeze in before we have to take a break. The pilot which is the Boston Archdiocese newspaper had to post an apology this week because they had a column saying that same sex attraction may be the work of the devil. The comments by Daniel Avila and he's the associate director for policy and research for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops it was published on October 28. Dave Wedge let me go to you first on this. What do you make of this kind of article appearing in a Catholic newspaper.

Well it's outrageous but more more to the point I mean I was raised Catholic and I've drifted away from the church as I've gotten older. Precisely because of that sort of talk I mean you know to tell me the devil made people choose their lifestyle I mean it's it's crazy talk frankly it's fiction it's insane and they should have they should have apologized for it and it's hate speech. You have various you know I my views are probably pretty well known on this sort of thing I you know pretty during the marriage discussions in the pilot. You know I had a lot of invective of this sort. And one of things that became apparent is that nobody reads the pilot anymore. So one of the things you sort of if a tree falls in the forest is anybody here not other then the people who spoke out once this went viral in the blogosphere. Right there was a very. Because. Because it's kind of a relic of a past age. Just as the attitude in it is a relic of a

past age. Not surprising. The archdiocese sort of recanted but let's be clear it wasn't it wasn't an apology at least from my perspective it was a statement by Avi that the views his views did not reflect the views of the archdiocese. That's different than the archdiocese dystonia. So there just really isn't saying much there sort of just making him fall on his sword. You'd like to think although I'm not surprised that was their response you'd like to think they would sort of be moral about it being a you know sort of a religious faith. And I am not a lapsed Catholic I'm a church going Catholic when I say this. I'd like my church to be a little bit better in kind of disowning the kind of values Laden talk that disowns people that separates people from the parish. And I will say this particular story has gone national The Post has picked it up you know this is an the other thing I was going to say this is not an aberration per se because done a

couple of columns about outrageous stuff that has appeared in the. Pilot I'm not saying it's outrageous by my view even the archdiocese acknowledges that it's wrong to do it. It begs the question whether I mean the cardinal Cardinal O'Malley is typically the publisher of the pilot and it really begs the question of whether anybody representing the Cardinals interest reads the pilot before it's actually published because I would think that somebody you know in Braintree if they had read. I mean they're in the same building the pilot's in the same building at the Chancery it's there. So I would think somebody would have read that. Whew. What's the double talk. I mean it was it was just talk about a red flag no pun intended. I it's amazing to me that nobody who's should be looking out for the cardinal is reading this stuff prior to publication. It's too bad too because you know this comes at a time when the church is struggling you know they're closing churches are closing schools are closing parishes and they're trying to bring people back. And this is

just like Jarrett said it's a throwback to the bad old days of the church when they ruled by fear and they try to beat fear into people. And that's not what the church should be about anymore and it's not what it is. It's not almost Catholic churches are about and it's not what most Catholics are about and I think we've evolved. You know we're not THAT TALK OF THE DEVIL. Right. I mean surveys to scale you have to know exactly whether you believe in the devil right. Three percent of Catholics believe little. So why does the newspaper of the archdiocese saying it's the work of the devil. It's completely out of step with what Catholics are. It's out of touch and it's it's out of bounds I think. Dave Wedge. Jarrett Barrios and Kevin Cullen. We're going to take a short break and when we continue. Thumbs up thumbs down on the car talk the musical and a lot more in the news. I'm Karen Miller and you're listening to the Emily Rooney show. And stay with us. And. WGBH programs exist because of you and Harvard Extension School for

personal enrichment or professional development courses from accounting to Shakespeare. January session and spring term Registration begins December 5th extension dot Harvard dot edu. And Ellis insurance. As listeners ourselves and as business owners we wanted to find the right vehicle for our message. Dan Frankel principal when we align ourselves with a top tier provider of high quality content like the BGH we're supporting something that we believe in and when our clients come back to us and thank us for supporting something that they believe in. We know we've got to. Fight for life. To learn more about sponsorship call 6 1 7. Three hundred and fifty five hundred. Next time around the world more protests against Egypt's military rulers. Activists say the Egyptian army is silencing its critics. The local media is being held hostage. They're not allowed to criticize the army they're not allowed to speak of any truths that are happening on the ground. They say it's no better than the Mubarak regime. Human rights concerns in Egypt next time around the world. Coming up at 3 o'clock here at eighty nine point seven

WGBH. This week on This American Life. Just to show the guy that he could do whatever he wanted to do. While I was in the when I was in the restroom he slid newspapers on fire underneath the door. The story of tyranny writ small how one man grabbed power and came to be untouchable terrorizing people. Running the custodial and maintenance department of a small school district. That's this week. Tomorrow at noon here on eighty nine point seven insights ideas and opinions about the mood here in Boston. Our students rank first in the nation the student achievement where I think third. In the world now in science and then hopefully she will talk. Boston Public Radio. Welcome back you're listening to the Emily Rooney show. I'm Karen Miller in for Emily Rooney. We're back with our ever popular always popular thumbs up thumbs down segment

and I'm joined by Kevin Cullen from the Boston Globe. Jarrett Barrios former Massachusetts state senator and Dave Wedge from The Boston Herald. And I'm going to start here with the popular NPR show Car Talk which has now inspired a musical that Suffolk University is going to be putting on them is up thumbs down on the Car Talk musical Dave which promote the brand. Kevin Cullen thumbs up. I love them. They're you. Yeah I love those guys. They're awesome. Just long as they don't sing themselves Magli as these are the great guys but my God. Now that I think is I OK. Yes yes yes. I don't know teardowns up enough we have a little bit of a romantic theme here you'll see how it develops. A man who married in 2003 is suing his photographer because the photographer missed a bunch of things like the last dance in the throwing of the bouquet. So not only does he want the photographer to pay the forty one hundred

dollars that this that the photographer charged but he wants to pay him an additional forty eight thousand dollars to recreate the wedding. This may be a problem though because his wife and he are now divorced and she's back living in Latvia. Though most of them is now and I'm getting that photographer to recreate the wedding day was a thumbs down. It's money money grab by this guy I think it's insane. Oh thumbs up I mean obviously this is what I marry this is why the marriage dream backfired badly. Oh my God. Dumbs up for chutzpah. I can't I don't know how that somebody could be that you go to court with that oh we're going to lawyer would represent this guy. I think this guy's going to live life for the housing job and Chelsea comes up on lawsuit creativity. OK thumbs up then. Down on dating sites now like OK Cupid E-Harmony make it possible to arrange a date with a stranger by using your location technology on your cell phone so you can sort of go in to be like I'm at this

bar. Anybody here looking for a date and you can check it out and and then they can actually always just go in and order a beer and say hey do you come here often comes down it's an extra layer of technology that I think is necessary a group of them we have the coming Cohen patented strategy for us. OK what do you think Jerry Berrios Well this is your time now there's been actually great committee there's been one of these things for a while and it said you said oh you're going to go. Not interested no thank you. I'm with Kevin on the old way Kevin what are you doing afterwards by the way but also like Hogan's right is right down the street looking for work. Well if you're starting early but that's OK I'm in no position to judge. OK. Movember we're talking about this during the break and our producer Edgar ho it is a big fan he is he is on the Movember campaign you can see him there with his his mustache. Tell us what Movember is first of all Dave Wedge.

Oh dear imperious is going to tell you I know it's you know it's actually relatively new to Boston big in New York you know a lot other cities. Guys grow mustaches over the months of November and it's really about highlighting Men's Health prostate health in particular but generally men's health the idea of getting early screenings for prostate cancer is the most preventable way you know of sort of of dealing with it of controlling it of saving lives. And so it's a kind of a fun way to do that because people ask you why are you growing a mustache and you say for myself. And you sort of talk about the importance of that. So is that a thumbs up. I mean it's a total thumbs up. But I'm not going I'm I want to say what are some of the stats. OK I'll start solidarity with everybody. I'm actually growing my prostate. Show solidarity with Matt and David Webb sums up the mess down on Movember. Thumbs up on the theory but thumbs down a moustache. Sorry I turned to Freddy Mercury for you there alone big fan comes out for me for movember the website is great.

It says that the people who do it are mo bros and the people who support them the women who support them are most just see I mean you just you can't not support that. Another thumbs up thumbs down here. Apparently CBS does not have to pay five hundred fifty thousand dollars to the FCC for their Super Bowl wardrobe malfunction you all remember it with Janet Jackson and years ago wasn't it. Yes is it the thumbs up thumbs down on CBS not having to pay sums up on them not having to pay sums down that it took so long. OK thumbs up but I'd rather them sue people who put violence on television and stuff like that. Thumbs down. It's down I think that CBS. I thought it was a shameless ploy and I don't think it's in violation of the rules and there should have been it should have been appealed it. There's brush on TV all the time in Europe is there any problems over there. So you're telling me you like France. That's interesting I guess I just feel that here is what a deal is I mean I mean children breastfeed in this country it's going to be OK OK OK OK number that that's an

editorial comment. Moving on to our our last names up thumbs down of the week and haven't gone ask for this specifically Kim Kardashian Yemen calling. I'm so upset about this. Can't even speak I mean I'm shocked you know. I want my gift back to the top. What did you give them. I gave them a framed portrait of myself actually. It's so it's so generous Like I said I do want to say something about can 22nd one second we're going to hear from Kim Kardashian's mom on The Today Show talking about whether Kim Kardashian profited from her 72 day wedding. Let's listen. They made some money for the pictures that were sold and things like that. But at the end of the day that money went towards the wedding and Kim had to pay a great deal of money. You know at the balance that was owed for the wedding which she was delighted to do because that was her fairytale wedding so are you saying that she actually owed money for the wedding she did not make anyway. In other words the net was that she actually paid for the wedding. Absolutely. Yes.

We've just got a few seconds Dario's take it away. So you have politicians around the country saying that to people who happen to be of the same gender and who spent 50 years of their life together can't get married. Right. Because that offends the institution of marriage. And you have not only that it was only 72 days but she did profit 70 it was given 17 million dollars for the exclusive to cover this. And then all the the brands that she pushed from her engagement ring on down this this woman this couple made a mockery of the institution and you know what I say to her. More power to you. But don't then come back and say how sacred the institution is and not let other people what I think the devil made them do it. Kevin Cullen from the Boston Globe Jarrett Barrios form of Massachusetts state senator and Dave Wedge from The Boston Herald thank you so much for a great conversation. That's going to do it for us this afternoon. Thank you so much to my guests will be back Monday at noon and tune in tomorrow at 7:00 a.m. for my new show innovation hub this week creating urban spaces. We bring scholars activists

and designers together to ask how do you re-imagine the 21st century innovation hub Saturday mornings at 7:00 and Sunday nights at 10:00 on the web at WGBH dot org slash innovation. In the meantime stay with us for the callee Crossley Show coming up next the Emily Rooney show is a production of WGBH radio on the web at WGBH dot org. Boston Public Radio I'm Karen Miller. Have a great afternoon. This program is made possible thanks to you and celebrity series of Boston presenting an afternoon with Garrison Keillor radio host of A Prairie Home Companion and one of the great storytellers of our time. Sunday November 13th at 3 at Symphony Hall Celebrity Series dot org. And Skinner auctioneers and appraisers with auctions of fine musical instruments on November 6th.

Fine wines on November 8th and fine books and manuscripts on November 13th at Skinner's Boston gallery 63 Park Plaza. In science ideas and opinions about the issues rooted here in Boston. Kendall Square is the densest hub of innovation and entrepreneurial investment in the country. Local issues local talk Boston Public Radio. Public radio from Boston for New England. I'm Jordan Weinstein. I'm Cali Crossley and this is eighty nine point seven WGBH Boston. Online at WGBH dot org. Boston Public Radio.