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 going to wring from the serious to the sublimely ridiculous with ragtime. A tour of the tabloids and a round up of this week's pop culture. Up next on the Calla Crossley Show from gumshoe reporting to gossip rags. First the news. From NPR News in Washington I'm Pam Colter. The Federal Reserve is planning a

new step to give the economy a jolt buying up treasury bonds. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke he says they're concerned about conditions that are teetering close to d fallacious in light of the recent decline in inflation. The degree of slack in the economy and the relative stability of inflation expectations it is reasonable to forecast that underlying inflation will be less than the mandate consistent inflation rate for some time. Central Bank policymakers are expected to unveil details of the Treasury bond buying program at their early November meeting. Consumer prices rose a mere one tenth of a percent last month. But when you take out volatile food and energy costs Danielle Karson reports core inflation was unchanged. The core CPI has been flat for the past year which has kept inflation at bay but it also raises the risk of tipping the economy towards deflation. A widespread drop in prices of goods and services which can set off a spiral of falling profits. Moody's Analytics economist Aaron Smith suggests one way to keep that from happening.

We need stronger growth and it's going to take some time to mop the slack up in the economy. But in order to do that we need significantly stronger growth than we have right now. Economists expect today's low inflation report and last week's employment numbers which showed job growth barely budging cement the prospect for the Federal Reserve to funnel billions of dollars into the markets to help stoke economic growth. For NPR News I'm Daniel Karson in Washington. General Motors is recalling more than 300000 late model Chevrolet in Palace because of a seat belt problem. Federal safety regulators say they may fail to restrain front seat passengers in a crash. The recall involves the 2009 and 2010 model years on the November ballot California a measure that would legalize marijuana. NPR's Carrie Johnson says it's not going over well at the Justice Department. The attorney general sent a letter this week to nine former chiefs of the Drug Enforcement Administration who had asked him to speak out against the California ballot initiative known

as The regulate control and tax cannabis Act of 2010. Eric Holder says the Justice Department will continue to enforce federal laws against drug traffickers no matter what California voters do in November. He says the federal government must ensure communities are safe from drug violence. Carrie Johnson NPR News Washington. Midterm elections are generally rough for the party in power but President Obama and Vice President Biden are visiting one of the bright spots on the campaign trail this afternoon. Biden's home state of Delaware where Democrat Chris Coons holds a substantial lead over Tea Party Republican Christine O'Donnell in the race for Biden's old Senate seat. Jackie stocks the Dow down 44 NASDAQ up 22 of the S&P up a fraction. This is NPR. Iran is welcoming the resumption of talks on its nuclear program a year after negotiations stalled in the international community imposed tougher sanctions on Tehran. Iran's foreign minister said October or November is a good time to restart the talks with six major

powers the US and European allies suspect Iran civil energy program as a cover to develop nuclear weapons. Israel is moving ahead with plans to expand settlements in Palestinian areas announcing it will build over 200 new homes in East Jerusalem. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports that may further d rail Mideast peace talks. Since a flap over settlements erupted between Israel and the United States last March Israel has observed an unofficial building freeze in East Jerusalem. This announcement first publicized by Israeli media means that an official freeze is effectively over the new plans call for 238 units in the Jewish settlement neighborhoods of peace got said and remote which are over the Green Line in East Jerusalem. Palestinians are in an uproar over the decision. Chief negotiator for the Palestinian side Eric hat says the move proves Israel is not interested in reviving stalled peace talks settlements have emerged as one of the most contentious issues in the negotiations.

Palestinians say that unless Israel freezes all settlement activity they won't resume direct talks. Lourdes Garcia-Navarro NPR News Jerusalem. Bed bugs have been discovered at New York's famed Lincoln Center but the Metropolitan Opera says there's no infestation and affected areas are being treated today. No bugs were detected in public areas. Some were discovered earlier in a dressing room that's home to the New York City Ballet. Pam Colter NPR News Washington. Support for NPR comes from the Kauffman Foundation working to advance innovations in education to expand human welfare. Learn more at Kauffman dot org. Good afternoon I'm Kalee Crossley and this is the Calla 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. I'm joined by Howard Manley the executive editor of the Bay State Banner and Marcella Garcia managing editor of Elle plena. Howard Manley and Marcella Garcia welcome back. Thank you great to be back.

In general I have to say Howard you seem to have all the bad news and Marcel seems to have this. Second it was OK but not so much. So let me start off with Chuck Turner upcoming trial and the fact that he has said that he is going to testify in his own trial. And this by the way is against the advice of his own legal team. Yeah that's a bold and bold move bold and bold city councilor. But God has said that he is innocent and he's willing to clear his name up and I think even despite his own attorney's advice he wants to do that to clear the record up and he is really going to go after which what could be a flimsy case given the testimony of the star witness which is Welborn know what bird for his part is saying that he's not going to testify in a trial that is built around his testimony and his role as the go between between the sting operators and Wilbur trying to

get folks. Passing the law money and all this other stuff so it's a it's a good trial. I think the jury selection is probably wrapping up now and opening statement will be this Monday. So to see how this wraps up will be very very interesting for people who are trying to figure out what the trial is all about. Chuck Turner after Dianne Wilkerson but the two of them have been accused of taking bribes related to a case about getting the license for the gentleman. Did you just mention Mr. Wilbur and was involved in that and with Diane Wilkerson and with Chuck Turner there are some photographs involved. Marcella and I noted that in the Boston Globe piece they were talking about the use of these. And Chuck Turner's case very grainy photographs to show them to potential jurors to say you know what do you think about this and some are thinking that that's biasing the potential jury. So this is a you know

it's a big deal we've got him deciding he's going to testify on his behalf against his legal team and then we have these photos which by all accounts you can see something is happening but you can't see for example whether or not there's a thousand dollars there which is what he's accused of taking and whether or not there's any money at all really it's just yeah it's going to be dramatic. Definitely the trial and and the fact that he's decided to testify like Howard says it just adds to I don't know his commitment to to show that to his face. But of course it's politically motivated and again it's going to be dramatic. I think he's either going to come out looking really good or just is going to go you know. And yeah I know about way. Which is I don't know if he he just bawled like Howard said it's very very risky but it is going to be interesting to see how you know opens up in regards to the jurors. You know it's going to be interesting to see how the race card is going to be played in these in this

case you know. That's always an interesting angle to look at. But but who knows. Well the other thing too is that you know remember that this investigation is into possible corruption at the Boston liquor license board. And no one really knows what goes on in there. So as part of his frustration the star witness Woodburn agreed to sort of be a patsy in this and investigate and he has said that we're talking about the sort of race card is that all the people that actually got indicted and arrested. It was the two black city council and dial works. And so that sort of leaves a big pause and a red flag for how deep was this investigation and how come there haven't been any other arrests or or indictments. And so I think all of this will open up. Allow Chuck Turner to press that point yeah hopefully because then then it's going to focus on them right. It's going to be political but then what happens with the both of them I think. Like you say it's a bunch of you know we don't know what to do exactly and we need to look at that and what's happening and

how this became to happen in the first place. I note that at the time when all of this was happening the Boston Globe did a series of reports demonstrating quite how political it was the liquor licensing board. And I mean I had never heard that it was so powerful before but apparently is quite powerful. It should be noted that Wilbourn never got the liquor license as part of this. And here's his exact quote from your article in the banner Howard. You mean to tell me that the only people investigated in terms of criminal criminal wrongdoing were Dianne and Chuck Turner. There's no way. Right. So right. Yeah yeah. Prosecutors will say hey we may not want to bring this guy out to the paint. Yeah I don't think he wants to go. That'll be it'll be very interesting. So you go yeah ok. Now the next thing that you have going on in the in the banner in the Bay State Banner Howard Manley is this big racial inequality study which was conducted by James Jennings a political science professor at Tufts University and it's a little bit dense but essentially what

he said the take the huge take away points is that. Education doesn't seem to matter that the glitz the gap persists even when all things are equal and when there are higher education degrees in play here's one statistic that kind of stopped me. Nearly half of black children age 17 and under 45 percent live in households that receive food stamps. Of all the racial ethnic groups in the city blacks have the highest unemployment rate an average of 13 percent and the comparable figures were 10 percent for Latinos and 8 percent for Asians and 5 percent for whites. That's quite a huge gap and here we are the wages of black college graduates average 69 percent of the earnings of White graduates. For those with a master's degree the figure is 72 percent. And both gaps amount to about $15000 a year. That's these are pretty devastating statistics.

Now that you mention is bad we knew this is the most gruesome and growing it is the price of all the sort of I mean James Jennings has been around doing this work for decades and I thought that what was surprising a lot of times they factor in that these. Families are headed by single parents but even when you factor that in white to black single parent households there's still this huge income gap. And this gets to the sort of lack of political ability of folks in throughout this city and state to sort of address this issue in a systematic way because here are the numbers. No one is saying it's racism. Let's forget forget about that part of it. Let's just deal with this segment of the population that is just left behind. So yes this is. Those numbers are pretty pretty depressing. And Marcella when I look at it and I think you know people could read this and say oh well this is to be expected if we're talking about as Howard said those left behind. Those are the you know lower

income folks the folks struggling but when you talk about black college graduates and I get out of it. But even that's right exactly. And then don't be a black woman because you know I know. It really goes back to the occasion like Howard says. I really wish that we would move this discussion away from the race aspect of it and just focus on them and not even political just focus on their education and not even what to do with them or give them more help or give them more food stamps or you know let's take care of them no I mean how do we. Like you say systematically get them back on track and give them more access to college for example more access to scholarships so because that's really the root of you know a crime in the city. Poverty obviously So I think we really need to focus on the education aspect of this. There really isn't a magic answer but it doesn't become a part of the gubernatorial campaign because these folks are not considered voters. Yeah. And this issue is not the kind of thing that

gives politicians. Running for statewide office the kind of traction because to help them automatically means more money. Yeah and no one wants to spend more money on folks who may or may not benefit from it so it's just the numbers do not live on this particular case yet it is depressing but we really need to look at them and not forget about them. You're right and it should be noted that he took this information from census data he really went through it very carefully and as you say made certain that he was making all things equal when he was comparing income from you know white single parent headed households and black so that the numbers are as they are. I don't know what you do with this now I know but you might well wonder that yeah you know what it is also that I don't see this anywhere else in the media. Yeah and you need to bring these numbers out in the open to at least have a conversation about it and move it away from the res area or into the real solution area you know what I mean like I don't see this.

Well that's part of the reason that they have the Urban League and the Trotter Institute at UMass Boston and WCP has commissioned this study and they're going to unveil this. Well they did on Tuesday but to start the discussion based on some real numbers and so it's not like an emotional draining argument about this that or the other thing here are the numbers. You can debate the numbers fine but still you've got this problem. And I guarantee the next part will be how many of these folks then end up in prison. And then what happens then we get another story and I go yeah what do you know their income is even less so. It's a problem and it's national right. All right well more so let's go to some one of your good news not just to air this out a little bit. We have a Spanish reporter getting the Daniel Pearl Award Now that was a yeah. So you have the Anti-Defamation League the National Institute of this award. After you know to honor the memory of Daniel Pearl

the Wall Street Journal reporter was kidnapped assassinated. BUT YEAH YEAH THAT WAS SO movie was made about I write about I'm struggling to remember who. Right. Oh no I mean he he really you know a lot of a lot of institutions have taken up his cause rather that they have been doing a lot of work with you know tried to preserve his memory and there's foundations whatever but the ADL instituted this award for journalists with his name and the Spanish reporter or a whole I got it for his work in Spain on behalf of the civil rights and just in general she really is a remarkable woman. And it's interesting. Obviously a lot of people here don't know about her work or what she does but she's one of those I mean I'm glad that she was awarded this the Daniel Pearl work as she now is. You know I had a different level and people can see and know some visibility. Exactly exactly and she really I mean she's traveled to Iran and she's traveled to Afghanistan she's done a lot of work with women domestic violence civil rights

racism anti-Semitism in Spain too. So she's reported all these issues not only in the media but she's also being a voice in government she was a mayor or vice mayor rather and one in her hometown. So she really is a remarkable woman and she was here because the idea was having her there a board meeting National Board meeting in Boston so they gave her their work here. So we reported that and she was very nice very very nice woman. We forget sometimes the dangers that are involved in covering these stories and to be known for covering human rights violations in the Middle East is no small thing. Well that's exactly right and you're way ahead of me because journalism is taking a lot of hits to say you know what the Twitter the YouTube and it's nice to know the folks are still doing the right thing and have publishers that want to print them and and organizations that want to point out the work that they're so that's actually yeah that's a very very good sell for one thing I don't even know there was a Daniel Pearl Award he writes this so that's important to know.

Yeah no you know and you know it's international I mean I can remember there was I think a journalist from The Globe that that woman that I was with and I think I think I may be right. Well they established another award for her right name so anyway this is very hard work. We are going under the radar and looking at stories from both the Bay State Banner and with Howard Manley of the Bay State Banner and Marcella Garcia Elkanah. We'll be back after this break with more. Stay with us. The. Full. Support for WGBH comes from you and from Boston private banking 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 from Audi of Westwood featuring the new Audi 8 as well as a large selection of other new and certified pre-owned Audi models. Route 1 south Westwood online at prime ality dot com. Audi. Truth in engineering. And from outside GC. Providing on demand in-house corporate legal counsel to growing and established companies. You can find more information on the web at w w w dot outside dot com. In the late 60s the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour challenge the censors at CBS and the political establishment. The Smothers Brothers lost their show but later won a battle in court on the next FRESH AIR. A conversation with our TV critic David Bianculli about his Smothers Brothers book Dangerously Funny which just came out in paperback. Join us this afternoon at two on eighty nine point seven. WGBH.

Hi Brian O'Donovan PR from that soldier. And if you explore the roots and branches of Celtic music with me every Saturday then consider starting another tradition by discovering the joy of the presentation of A Christmas Celtic soldier and join the WGBH Celtic club with a gift of one hundred fifty dollars and I'll send you tune complimentary tickets to the show. Details on line at WGBH dot org slash Celtic. We're running out of oxygen. I only have so many people that I can treat the world. I mean it's not an easy decision for anyone to make. Coming up at 3 o'clock on an eighty nine point seven WGBH Boston NPR station for news and culture. I'm Kelly Crossley and this is the Kalak Ross Lee 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. And joining me to talk between the headlines are Howard Manley the executive editor of the Bay State Banner and Marcella Garcia

managing editor of America. So Howard back to you. Because here's a story in the Bay State Bennett that I heard not a peep about it it involves someone very well-known here in Boston Dr. Alvin Poussaint. He was essentially he and his partner at this media center at Boston's Judge Baker Children's Center were they resigned because of it appears corporate interference. Well that's to put it mildly I mean no is a quick background. The campaign for. Commercial Free checking commercial free child I do that the moment there has done outstanding work in trying to get marketing and advertising away from young children. They had a successful campaign to prevent McDonald's and I was shocked by this from putting ads in their report cards. So so that everything was going wrong fine for like the last 10 years and then they went after Disney. Disney had bought this company that had these Baby Einstein videos. I don't remember what they were but apparently they

had dominated the market it was like 200 million bucks. Big time art and of course Baby Einstein people would buy these videos and think that you watch them their kids would become geniuses. Well every known study suggests that no kid under 2 should be watching TV at all. So the campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood. Argued confronted Disney about this and so they went to the FCC and they said look you have to drop the word educational from these Einstein videos. So they did that and then they took it a step further. We want you to give a refund back to the people who have bought these videos. Disney agreed without going to court. But then a funny thing happened. They call the Judge Baker Center and this is a matter record here. And next thing you know the Judge Baker Center kicks out the campaign and the media center and they do it at a time when they were going to give an award to Alvin Poussaint who by the way is one of the more steam side characters on the planet.

I mean he's behind a cosmic show all this. So he's a professor at Harvard University Medical School. And so he ultimately resigns he doesn't accept the award they have to cancel this gala. It's a mess. And the question is if you were a group Judge Baker claims to be in the business of helping emotionally disturbed children and trying to take care of the best interest of children how do you not protect a group that's doing this from one of the most was there in video insidious way of advertising the kids. And so as you know Ricky Ricardo was a boy you all have some splain it to do. Well you know there's several things going on here first of all Dr. Poussaint has been associated with the Judge Baker Center for so long. I mean I I really read. That is the Judge Baker Center and Dr. Alvin Poussaint and the Dutch Baker Center. That's how long I have around him to be this so this is a huge queue for him to have taken his his campaign and moved it and I had heard a peep

about this anywhere else downtown story OK and the Globe did an editorial on it but it was just one of those things that just kind of goes away I don't know where Disney is but I can tell you that Disney has not called the base the banner I'm sorry. Marcella do you want to weigh in on this. Well I mean I'm just interesting in the economic aspect of this story obviously I mean really it's all about money too I was surprised I mean obviously it has brought a lot of money to the dinner table right and you just makes you wonder you know obviously this must bring a lot more money I mean it has to be money. Right right. It's just it's unfortunate it's a public nightmare for them. Oh of course. Well just to follow up on what you said Marcella it's estimated they brought at least a million dollars to build cars just to the cost. Yes just. Because of his relationship with Bill Cosby and the work that he's done with him it should be noted that he started his his professional career in Mississippi during the

civil rights movement going down to treat civil rights workers who were under a great amount of mental stress so mental health from all aspects of it has been his career has been where he's been he's written a profound book on suicide I mean he's across the map. The other thing to say to know that there are a number of experts who believe because the Judge Baker Center in their defense says well we have limited resources and so we're going to be very very careful about how we spend them to address the needs of our of our patients who have some mental health issues mental or emotional problems. But other experts have said if you don't address the media and its impact on that then that's you know. Yeah I mean I think I think the point right is exactly right. But it's important also to know is that the campaign is still operating. They've moved out of the sort of the you know the baker Center's domain and they are still available and still doing yeoman's work to prevent this I mean come on McDonald's and report cards.

Yeah I know. Now we should be outraged. I mean yeah right. It's really it's really upsetting. Staying with children and stories that relate to them. A note to Marse Marcello that I teach for America has appointed a Latino woman as vice president of diversity inclusion. Now why is that important. A That's a big job but at this moment in time it seems there is so much focus on educational reform right and Teach for America has been held up as a model of the way teaching should be done and the way that public schools can benefit so this is a very important. Yeah it is and it is a feel good story too but if you look at it from that point of view let you say it really significant because there's going to be now a Latino voice in this organization that you say has done a lot of work. A lot of you know very very good work in teaching and education so when you look at the statistics and the numbers like we were talking earlier it is striking how many of our Latino kids are left behind to do so. So this is a

good way of highlighting I guess this is you know this move by teach of America but it's just not diversity but you need to have a Latino voice that's going to raise awareness about all these problems and somebody who's going to talk about the need from their own point of view it's very different not you know to lack that voice in an organization any time an institution or a school or the government or an organization decides to bring in our diverse voices you know should be applauded. And I know it really depends on the person. It's not enough to just have a Latino voice. It has to be the right one. But at least it's a move in the right direction. Now a teach of America obviously has been doing a lot of work with Latino teachers and with this move or with this hiring she's going to make sure that there's going to be more Latino teachers in teach of and for America so it is a good news definitely and it should be noted that originally when the organization was started it started by a young white woman who was really barely out of

college yourself and most of the early recruitment dealt with mostly other young white. Postgraduate like yourself. And that's been broaden and expand it so that's why I think that Taylor Lee makes right because they really want to reach out to the Hispanic recent graduates they could do work with them. Exactly. Now I'm really interested in two things in a story that you have going on this is about it's your it's title Who's Afraid of Spanglish. I did not know that there was a collection of Latino Literature and that a big part of it that has been collected in an anthology includes Spanglish which is a very little English and Spanish. It's a very I think because obviously because I speak spanish and i speak english I'm aware of this going on but then when you look at the mainstream or when you go out of that when you look at the big picture you realize that people don't know about this. You learn savants he said. An author a writer a professor he's a lot of things teachers at Amherst College and he's one of our columnists very very good writer. He did a lot of work for

literature but he came out with this and thought logy. Latino Literature which obviously is a seminal work like there has and nobody has ever done anything like this before. And the interesting thing is that there's a lot of Spanglish in it but it's only natural you know because for example you know the Pulitzer Prize winner when you look at his books I mean more than half of them I can't remember the statistic but there's a percentage of what the percentage of it is written Spanglish and this is a book that want to Pulitzer Prize and that not only Latino audiences read about it and raves about it but the mainstream. So it's interesting how we're going to start to. It's going to be interesting to see how we're going to start to look at Spanglish now and he has done. He's been very controversial event even even among Latinos because there are some people that think that we need to preserve Spanish as it is. But he says and this is very interesting that as we assimilate we obviously Murcia language with English and I do it all the time with my friends. Spanglish all the

time. And do you know the s also who grew up here. But of course he was he spoke Spanish. You can see how his work reflects that. So we're not going to see. I hope we can see a lot of this debate played out in a in an interesting way how I get people say oh it's bad that we're not you know conserving Spanish because that you know we should do the same with the nativist you know defend the language the use of English right as opposed to not speaking Spanish. But then again it's just it's a consequence of Latinos being so integrated in this culture now so he's done a lot of work on that in just plain English but. But when you look at Latino Literature it's you cannot you cannot avoid the use of some New Webster's Dictionary Well you know what I was just an hour or so as you know when you get a scholar like you know putting this together and saying that this is you know noting it in this way in a formal way then it gives it a for lack of a better word a respectability I also

love this ability that cannot be ignored so I think this is caution is going onto the front stage. Yeah yeah. I know also this is just in passing that Fox News started a channel. Yeah all Fox News like you know thing you and I love is NEWS NOTES news not a lot is Oh yeah very quietly very quietly. What do you think about it. You know I have to go out of the closet with you. You know honestly I haven't really had the time to check it out but I've been hearing a lot on Twitter a lot of people have been checking it out and it's funny because I saw that story that they did cover this anthology and I thought oh my god they did cover the nice I mean they're not as by it's OK. But any time a news outlet reaches out to Latino community I think it's good. I you know I'm not I'm not going to say anything you haven't seen it but I did know of the plans that they were going to come up with this Web site so we'll see it's going to be interesting well I know Howard this is a channel not a

program so that's how you know you know we're talking lots around their website links to stories things Spanish and in English. So that's interesting you know they are catering to the population out there that only speak Spanish. Example like don't like a lot of websites right. So it's a whole channel so like what about the already existing networks like Telemundo and it's going to be interesting I was going to say out right because they're going to be in direct competition. So we'll see. And I have a lot of discussion with NBC bought up Telemundo saying well you know what you're doing is appropriating the voice and not allowing the voice to call the cultural voice to stand alone so I don't I don't know. Yeah it's a good interview. I've heard a lot into I mean I've seen a lot of Twitter a lot of jokes that you know I'm you know in Spanglish. I know one more thing Gates report I know this is the report the police report about Skip Gates arrest that I think anybody listening

thinks Haven't we had 15. But the real one the one that was supposed to you know be the final finally went before the city council last week and the city councilors were not happy. Right right right. Right I mean it took up a long time to deliver the report there's been this one and there's been one and and at the end of the day no one seems to sort of think well OK you know there's going to be something that really positively comes out of this that Skip Gates wasn't really wrong and Calley wasn't wrong and you just don't know what it all is and what to me it looks like is that government is just very bad at solving problems and it's just one more example of studying something to death. Of course you're going to be disappointed with this thing because well because there's a lot of politics involved. You know let's face it it's not right. Sorry go ahead. Yeah each other so every time politics is involved and I know every you know there's politics in every aspect of life but this is like you

say government. It's hard to say oh man I know they try to do the right thing but you know the person that was the head of the committee left they were hired in January and they left. And before that the position was vacant for a year this is the committee that is set up to address these kinds of concerns not just for this case but it's an issue I mean serious that's moving well. Yeah I think Ken Reeves said it best he says this was a study in denial and inability to discuss race when race was so central to the issue. Now this is a city councilor can read write and get a big stake in this and that he felt personally offended because the report took so long. And how do you deal with the question of race and the Skip Gates. I don't I just don't know how you can take away that as a factor. You just can't. Well just to say that it seems never to die this studying of this particular situation so maybe they'll be yet another. Yeah yeah OK you see how long I'm finally

Marcel let's ensure the good news down today. A new class of Latino hall on the reason ounce this is for yet the base but Latino baseball of last year it was instituted the Latino Baseball Hall of Fame I think it's based out of the Dominican Republic. That place has given us a lot of baseball player. Oh yeah. So it was it was good news. Yeah. Last year of course the the first class was made up all the Latino players that are already in Cooperstown the Hall of Fame. And this second class of course is a local legend Louis stand. And and you know and other players that I didn't even know about so it's interesting when you look at it from that point of view you see all these Latino players that were there before the Alex whether he is a better match. You know so these people yes you know that he was inducted in the first class to the Latino hall and the second class there but there are Boston people just like we can just you know there is a time where I feel up bones.

Who are the Mexican Dodgers player and another Venezuelan player knew nothing about and all these people that play in the you know 40s 30s that it's interesting how they paved the way through. Somebody should probably be writing a book. I note that your Kurlansky wrote a book called the Eastern Stars how baseball changed the Dominican Republic. Oh my God. Of the Latino Hall of Fame but he's talking about now. So given that we now know these names that you know you're just starting to know somebody needs to be writing. Oh yeah history looking back about how they are so lovable I guess. OK. Well yes. Well let the folks know. May I maybe you need to be attending the ceremony to hand out your card. So that you can get to be in. All right well that's a good note. We've been talking with Howard Manley executive editor of the Bay State Banner and Marcella Garcia managing editor of Elle. Thank you both for joining us. Coming up we're taking a turn from the

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More on line at WGBH dot org. Emily Rooney on the Emily Rooney show. We've got a whole bunch of stuff some serious some not so serious weekdays at noon here on eighty nine point seven. WGBH Boston NPR station for news and culture. It's Bragg 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 pointy head of pop culture Thomas Connelly and Rachel Reuben Thomas Connelly is a professor in the Department of English at Suffolk University and Rachel Reuben is the chair of the department of American studies at UMass Boston. Welcome. Hello again I listen on the docket today we have The Simpsons taking on their corporate bosses black history for sale and a celebrity gossip changing his attitude just to name a few of the points that we want to make today. So let's start this way something different

completely different is happening in Springfield USA. Today. Those of you in the know will recognize that the same song from The Simpsons. It's an animated series that airs on Fox. They change the opening sequence Rachel I'm going to allow you to explain why and where before Rachel begins. Please know that you can go to our Facebook page if you want to actually see the visual of it because it's kind of visual. So right is yes OK. The photos of the Simpsons departed from its 20 year history and for the first time the opening sequence was directed by somebody from outside the show and that is the English visionary artist Banksy here who is the subject of the recent documentary Exit Through a gift shop and what he did in this there were some you know just some clever Hanson touches his. His name spray painted on a wall and

whatnot. But what he did was turn the opening sequence into a commentary on Fox's outsourcing of pieces of the animation for the show so that what you end up seeing is our images of children laboring in sweatshop like conditions to make you know Simpson dolls. It was a sad panda who's you know hauling hauling materials around. And the whole thing then sort of pulls out and you get a visual of the Fox broadcasting this logo. So you know it's very interesting that one could I guess say that The Simpsons the show is trying to sort of have its cake and eat it because it includes this critique while continuing with the outsourcing. But but I feel like it's the best thing that has happened in the show since Matt Groening it's a list of original creator left and that we you know have to look for these little cracks these little

cracks where where somebody will tell the truth. It's very harsh. It's all dark Dickensian And there's even a unicorn being worked to death in the sequence. And it really is it's sim Sony and in that it's bitter and biting but it also has this undertone of a real savage satire. On the other hand. RUPERT MURDOCH I'm sure chuckled at it. And you know they've done things like this before I mean they're all often making digs at the Fox Network and Murdoch himself. And it's really frightening as to the real presence of Rupert Murdoch and his News Corporation that they can poke fun at themselves I mean it makes me think of the way you know the Catholic Church encouraged the pope a fool's type of activities where altar boys became the bishops and so forth where you know the church was so powerful then that they could have a sense of humor. Not quite today but really Murdoch. I really got the sense of Murdoch letting them get away with this. That said I'm very glad it's on and I hope

the viewers take it to heart. And it's also the Simpsons still has something to say it still has a punch. I wondered if lots of people looking at the opening sequence got it you know some you know they have a sophisticated audience ASMS Oh but you know of course it was one of those things that got written about which then drew attention to it. So either way people get to it if I'm sure it's starting conversations all over the place. And this is the last we've heard about it. So meanwhile we have. A continuing commentary I guess about who did this country and corporations. New York artist Sally Davis bought a Happy Meal back in April inspired by a story she read about a 12 year old McDonald's burger. She was curious to see if her burger and fries shared a similar lifespan. So she's been taking photos of the meal every day to track its aging process. And here she is on how the meals morphed over the last six months. I went out I bought the burger I brought it home I put it from the bag onto a white china plate which is still on the meat patty shrank a lot as it dried out.

And. That's kind of it. It really hasn't changed by the way the artist is a vegetarian and she does have a weakness for McDonald's fries. I'm. Not sure anymore. Well you know to me I wonder if it would taste any different if Happy Meals just the name alone makes my gorge rise. But I like the explanations that are being offered by McDonald's apologists that well even if you cooked the finest philémon yawn at the same temperature as a McDonald's hamburger you'd see the same lack of decay. But what about the bread. You know there's not a trace of mold on any of this. I know if you buy one of their shakes note that they can't call it a milkshake. You can leave that on the shelf outside and nothing will happen to it it doesn't melt. It's like shaving cream. What are people putting into their bodies and McDonald's of course is outrage and saying you know we have fresh meat. It's just it's a

wonderful use of art it's a brilliant use of art and I'm delighted to say and I hope people will follow it as avidly as they followed the oil spill in the Gulf. You know watching it every day to see if anything happens at the time that you sort of came out it was a hundred and seventy seven or 71 days Rachel of and of and writing and counting. What's interesting also is that the way that this experiment is you know it's part of a national conversation that is really sort of gaining in volume about fast food and about what as Tom said what people are putting in their bodies and about the marketing of fast food to kids there's been a handful of documentaries supersize me right about McDonald's. For instance there have been a number of you know Ike art projects and experiments along the lines of this one. So you know there have been you know banning of trans fats in some places so you know that the conversation is is sort of I think it's growing and will continue to grow.

Well on to our next story which was one that caught my eye Tom because it had so much meaning to me. Black power activist and athlete Tommie Smith decided to put his gold medal that he won in the Olympics up for sale the bid started. Two hundred fifty thousand dollars for people who are trying to figure out who is Tommy Smith. This is the iconic photograph of three black athletes at the Olympics and I'm looking for the year 1968 and they're holding their fists up in a black power salute. And the image was copied over and over again it was on dorm walls everywhere it was sold everywhere. And but he won that year he that's why he was standing on the on the stage and so now he's putting it up. I feel. This is weird this is Black History for sale it's bizarre you know. And his explanation is so articulate and if you go to his website and read his comments this is this is a real American as far as I'm concerned in the best sense of the word. The way that he describes what he did and why he did it and what it meant to him

and his confusion and disturbance over the people who still somehow blame him as though this was unpatriotic and a betrayal of the Olympic and so forth. I mean people may remember the Rybar But if Avery Brundage who was the head of the International Olympics Committee who made noises about trying to take the medals away from these athletes and what could be more disgusting than to prohibit this expression and Tommy Jones explains it so beautifully in in his is up his on his on his website and although it is a little disingenuous that he did say he's doing you know money. For the money Rachel I don't see why it's a little upsetting that he would sell this but on the other hand he wants to put it behind him which he can never do that. Yeah I mean I'm sorry that he needs the money. You know but at the same time I am going to hope I think something really positive could come out of this. And that is that it's it's going to make people talk about it again. It is reminding us that even within

the context of you know nationalism that sometimes other identities need to be expressed or even prioritized for example the the other night last night last night the night before I went to see the wonderful rapper Kanan at the House of Blues whom we've talked about and in his music he was really trying to show how attractive universalism is but that at the same time you need to remind people yes it matters and I'm Somali Yes it matters that I'm Canadian and so on. And so I'm really sorry to see Tommie Smith get blamed for what was this like powerful and very meaningful gesture. And I'm sorry to think of him finding himself in a position where he wants to or needs to sell the medal. But I think that the conversation that is now being renewed could come out of it could really make it worth it all people if they want to know more about him also should read his book he wrote one called Silent Gesture which does some explanation. OK. This is not a story I want to linger on but but here we go. Is

Perrette Hilton discussing his change of heart. You know over the last week you have two weeks I've been doing everything I can to bring awareness to the the issue of the teen suicides and gay bullying and in doing so a lot of people have called me a hypocrite and a bully myself and a big one and. That's not how I want to be perceived and that's not what I want to put out there into the world and it was a big wake up call that so many people saw me that way so you know from now I want to really want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. For those who don't recognize the name PEREIRAS Hilton This is not Paris Hilton is one of the biggest celebrity maybe the biggest celebrity gossip person online. He started it himself he's become a millionaire in doing it but his stock in trade has been nasty and has been outing he's gay himself but have been outing other gay people and. Calling women whores by the way just of names not of the delightful stuff he is doing.

So now he's in the wake of these suicides saying he's changed his tune. RACHEL Yes and he has up you know in the week or so leading up to this. But in posting all of those celebrity videos the better part of Dan Savage's It Gets Better Project aimed at young you know gay teenagers who might be feeling you know distress. So whether or not he will be able to keep his tune changed as it were because he's been doing this for a long time it's his stock in trade. You know that remains to be seen. I do want to say though that what he does is a slightly I don't know more immature seeming to me he uses the. Paint function and you know Microsoft to draw you know cocaine on people's faces and whatnot. But bullying of celebrities is half of the way we talk about them in the other half is elevating them in the bizarre way. So any or all of the tabloids do it anytime they talk about some woman gaining weight or you know Angelina Jolie's child dressing in the way that we shouldn't write that's what we do with houses with our celebrities he's a sort of

vivid example so maybe it will have a broader impact who knows. Quickly Tom what is he without his bullying tone. I read an interesting article in The London Telegraph about this that he will have no career if he does this. And that's what people read him for. And that's how he's made his mark and you can't be a goth You can't be a nice gossip columnist. And the theory is that he's now become a narrative celebrity and wants to pal around with him that's the has really has had an agenda he wants to be invited to the party instead of peeking in through the window and they're sticking his tongue out. Well we'll see B.T. Hip Hop Awards totally in some ways different atmosphere this has been the scene of all kinds of drama in the past but this year for one thing is it. Ask a performer who has created himself really out of an adverse situation and one Datsun was first seen on a newscast after something horrific happened to him his sister was nearly raped and his presence on the newscast was actually mocked across

the Internet and he has taken it back so first let's hear a little bit of Antwon Dotson when he appeared on the newscast that generated so much attention. Well obviously we have a great piece in Lincoln Park. He's claiming your window if you know it you know people are trying to write in so I need to I think kids had to lie and I had to tell it because they rape in a body I hear. OK now here is Antwon Dotson saying in the song that he created based on that news coverage at the BT awards. He's going to do you. Know. That's. The people. Trying to. Get to. You. Right. Right ahead you tack right. We're going to. Go on the record I guarantee you you don't have the code. So this is very interesting because it started off as this guy being mocked and he's turned into you know something positive. If you don't know the song you're thinking why is he singing about this but it really is a moment in time I think for

her to leave it be. But towards Rachel you know it's about isn't it he said he was invited there he thought he'd be presenting an award he didn't know he was going to perform. So you know this combination of being an incredibly good sport but you know just as you said sort of grabbing hold of something that was a narrative that was created to mock him taking charge of it turning it around so that it reflects well on him and so that he was able to actually earn enough money from it to move his family out of the projects where the original event happened. And another thing he said that just makes me love love him is you know they're paying attention to me and at least that they're seeing that yes there are young black gay working class men were out there and so if they're going to look and see me that that's all to the good time to things. He was mocked because they he was perceived to be very if imminent during the original newscast when he was very upset about his sister almost being attacked. The second thing is he's used some of the money from the newfound celebrity and announced at the BT awards there's about

a house and you know how this works for me so I could move them you know what I can what I. Find fascinating about this guy as I don't think he's a performer. Now I'm you know he's not a musician he's not a good singer. This is he's he's real. And the expressions of joy in the audience the war sentiment was just infectious I mean you know this isn't you know this is not my cup of tea this music. But I just admire this guy so much and his story is so heart wrenching and so uplifting. And the fact that he's not performing he's really singing from the heart and using a horrific incident to just be uplifting and it's also interesting the early criticism that he should have been saying this out loud he shouldn't have been broadcasting you know that something bad happened in his community but this is a guy who will be heard and I just I just think it's also an interesting use of YouTube but the way the song has gone viral and there are covers of covers of covers of it. So this is something that I hope will not go away.

I note that on one of the many websites after he did his performance speaking to what you just said Tom about his real miss. This guy says I would hope that we would be supportive of him no matter what he does if he does slogan based T-shirts and kept his own talk show. Even the Bed Intruder Song is the name of the song. The two 2011 remakes. Please don't let the magic keep supporting him which is it's pretty amazing. Yes we know also at the BT awards at Salt n Pepa that iconic rap group got the hip hop award which is a kin to lifetime achievement. Yeah it's fantastic and you know that duo You know it's achieved some of the most recognition you know the most hits and rap that as any other woman any other female act totally you know will sex positive without being exploitive you know African-American pride. I'm thrilled. OK well we're going out on the Salt n Pepa mega-hit Shoop. Tom I don't think you'll mind Professor wrench a little bit. Professor Thomas Conley thank you so much for joining us for another edition of rec

time. You keep on top of the Calla Crossley snow at WGBH dot org slash Kelly Crossley follow us on Twitter. This is the Calla Crossley Show a production of WGBH radio Boston's NPR station for news and culture.