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Ben Bradlee in 1974: A Combination of Finishing School and the Street
Ben Bradlee died today in Washington, D.C. at the age of 93. This post was first published on October 11.
By Norman Sherman
When I look at this 1974 picture of Ben Bradlee, here's what I remember about him: He never looked or acted like the WASP he was—there was nothing reserved about his style or appearance. Some who worked for him disliked him, others loved his passion for high-impact journalism. He was not quite an enigma; he was a combination of finishing school and the street.
Forty years ago, I interviewed Bradlee for a Washingtonian profile—Woodward and Bernstein were national heroes and they were that mostly because Bradlee pushed them, scared them, inspired them, and printed them.
I did not know Bradlee all that well when I interviewed him. We hadn't talked for several years and I hadn't asked my first question when he said, "Look, pal, I know what you'll write. People say I'm cruel. I'm not."
Some people did say that. He was tough. He could snarl and be disdainful. He was not an easy boss, but he usually was an encouraging one, and sometimes an inspiring one.
That he was in a newsroom seemed a bit unlikely. His roots were old Boston. The Bradlees and Crowninshields (his middle name) came to America in the 1700s and became well-to-do. They had been high and rich society for most of the years after. Young Ben went to St. Mark's, a school just outside of Boston for children of the elite.
While at St. Mark's, he spent four months in bed with polio. A classmate died, but Bradlee recovered and went on to Harvard and then into the Navy during World War II where he earned nine battle stars in the Pacific.
When he got out of the Navy, he looked for work but said he found himself handicapped by his "superwasp education . . . I didn't know anything useful." He took a class in fiction writing with James T. Farrell, the author of Studs Lonigan, which taught him that he would never be a novelist.
He decided to look for work as a journalist. After a bit he became Washington bureau chief for Newsweek and then to moved to the Post. His rise there was quick but controversial—to become the top editor he seemed to stomp on a friend.
However he got there, he was good at it. He once told a White House staff aide that he was "picking fly shit from the pepper with boxing gloves." The aide was a young Pat Moynihan, who later became a senator from New York.
He had a common touch with friends in high and not-so-high places. He was a friend of a Georgetown pharmacist, Doc Dalinsky, and spoke at Doc's wife's funeral. He also had spent a lot of time with Jack Kennedy at the White House. His friends included giants of politics, law, and journalism and interns in the news room.
His style showed his background but it also could be bizarre. One noon, a K Street lawyer, a polished friend of President Kennedy, was on his way to lunch with a couple of clients. He spotted Bradlee. dressed in a loud glen plaid suit, and they stopped to talk.
When the lawyer rejoined his companions, one asked, "Who was that?" The answer was, "He's the editor of the Post." The response: "Jesus, I thought he was your bookie."
Excerpts from the 1974 Washingtonian profile of Ben Bradlee:
He's at home, in his term, "prowling" through the busy city room of the Post….Or at a Redskins game where his friend Joe Califano describes him as a "profanely enthusiastic fan on his feet with an instant analysis of every play. He's a Monday morning quarterback who won't wait until Monday morning."
Several years ago he walked into the annual meeting of the American Society of Newspaper Editors with Eugene Patterson, then the managing editor of the Washington Post. Bradlee stopped, surveyed the crowd, and in his raspy voice said, "There isn't one goddamn editor here I'd hire." Patterson replied, "That's okay, Ben, there isn't one editor here who would hire you."
A Harvard classmate says, "Bradlee went into the Navy pretty much a rich kid without direction. He found himself in that destroyer and came out a totally different man. He was bred to be a snob, he has had nothing of the snob in him since the war."
When Bradlee heard of a new paper starting in Manchester, New Hampshire, he raised $10,000 for a ten-percent interest in it. A third of the money came from his own savings, the other two-thirds from his mother and an uncle. It was Bradlee's first serious newspaper experience and it gave him a taste of successful investigative reporting under the tutelage of Ralph Blagden, an experienced editor from St. Louis.
Blagden, who thought putting out a paper should be fun, found the young Bradlee "a never-ending source of joy. Ben wasn't afraid of anything. He learned fast and I could send him in where experienced reporters would find the job difficult. He could deal with violently angry men who hated our paper and still get the facts."
The Post during the late 1940s, according to Ben Gilbert, "liked a good trial story and was crusading on law enforcement in the city." Bradlee, assigned to the courthouse, says, "I had the gangbuster beat—cops and gambling." Bradlee liked the courthouse characters and atmosphere and befriended a number of criminal lawyers, among them Edward Bennett Williams, who remains one of his closest friends.
There were day-to-day lessons for a relatively inexperienced Bradlee to learn, and he did. One stands out particularly in his memory. In 1950 he covered a racial confrontation in DC's Anacostia area where the Progressive party was leading an attempt to integrate the swimming pools. Bradlee watched as several hundred blacks fought with several hundred whites. When the ugliness subsided, Bradlee returned to the Post to write his story, which he considered important.
He discovered that the riot he saw was to be called an incident and buried on an inside page. As he argued with the editor about its treatment and placement, Philip Graham, dressed in a dinner jacket and just arrived from a dinner party, tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Come upstairs." There in Graham's office were Julius "Cap" Krug, the Secretary of the Interior, and Oscar Chapman, the Undersecretary. After Bradlee described the scene as he had seen it, Graham turned to his visitors and said in effect, "We won't run the article tough and prominent if you will agree to open those pools next year for everyone."
The upstairs scene offended Bradlee's concept of journalism, but was in keeping with Graham's idea and compulsion to use the paper—and his power—as a vehicle not just for reporting but for changing public policy by direct involvement. Bradlee did not think then nor does he now believe that was the proper role for the newspaper.
Defenders of Bradlee insist that his toughness is a necessary part of running a first-rate newsroom. In a profession where mobility can be reasonably high and dissatisfaction almost inherent in in the daily pressures, one man's toughness is another's cruelty. The editor of another major daily says, "You have to crowd people to get the best out of them." A former Post reporter points out, "The [Washington] Daily News used to be the happiest shop in town. It even died happy."
The complaints from some of those who have left, as well as from some wounded birds who remain in the nest, have, however, a too-frequent common theme to be ignored. You cannot believe Bradlee. His promises when he looks back always have a qualifying out. He's a con man who believes himself no matter how he contradicts what he previously told you. He creates tension beyond what is necessary.
Katharine Graham, disagreeing with some of the charges, says, "Ben's great virtue may also be his weakness. He moves fast, sometimes too fast, makes quick decisions, and most of the time he is right. But when he is wrong, he does, indeed, rectify the error and does not live with it."
If his arrest in Paris ended his apprenticeship, the Pentagon Papers established beyond doubt his own sense of role in American life and journalism. Bradlee is a journalist first and a human being, cruel or compassionate, second. It is a priority he may deny and which others may find unreal, but it alone explains his behavior.
Thus a story heard or overheard at a dinner party, on a tennis court, or over a drink with friends, from the President of the United States on down, is fair journalistic game for Bradlee.
Bob Woodward recently told the Women's National Democratic Club, "The Post is not interested in what you did yesterday or what you reported today. They are interested in what you'll have tomorrow."
But Bradlee's own life—and he works incredibly hard—has been as much the victim of his drive, goals, and ambition as those around him. He lives today in a Watergate apartment, separated from his second wife, contemplating his future with undiminished vigor, both professionally and personally. At 53, he looks forward to doing what he has been doing for another half-dozen years at least, as he talks seriously of a third marriage, this time to a Quinn of Maryland.
He generally lunches in the area of the Post, sometimes with his colleagues, but in no fixed pattern, and more often with his friends from outside. He limits his lunch drinking to one Dubonnet on the rocks with a twist.
His evenings are now more relaxed than they have been for years. He spends more time watching television ("Kojak" is a current favorite), reading, or having dinner with special friends: Art Buchwald and Edward Bennett Williams, with whom he also watches every home Redskin game, Phil Geyelin, Meg Greenfield, Joe Califano, Doc Dalinsky, and Howard Simons.
And finally, of course, there is simply the measure of what he has done at the Post. While the Watergate stories are by no means his glory and responsibility alone, they undoubtedly would not have been written without him. In more general terms, he has made the Post, in Ben Bagdikian's description, "a first-rate paper worthy of national respect."
Or as Katharine Graham puts it, "He is an extremely good editor and maybe a great one."
Tim Hays says
Great profile of BCB at his prime. Even better, it appears from reading your 1974 feature that Halberstam found your writing good enough to use as source material for Bradlee background in "The Powers That Be" (1979). That is quite flattering!
Ron Cohen says
My favorite encounter with Ben Bradlee:
When the news broke in November 1986 that I had been fired after 25 years with UPI, Bradlee called me that afternoon. "Breakfast Monday at 8:30 at the Jefferson. We'll talk about you coming to the Post." Flattered he even knew who I was, let alone be interested in hiring me, I arrived 15 minutes early. The appointed hour came and went. Twenty minutes late. Thirty-five minutes late.
At 9:15 Bradlee finally rushed into the Jefferson's restaurant like a hurricane, shouting and swearing like a stevedore, oblivious to the startled patrons. "I've been at the #@-ing Madison for an hour, you %$# !!" I looked him in the eye and said, "Jefferson, Madison … seen one president, you've seen them all." That stopped him — but he quickly broke into a hearty laugh. "You sonova$%# …"
During a nice breakfast, he kind of offered me a job evaluating the Post's potential hires. I told him I wasn't ready for journalism's pasture. That was the last time we spoke.
JRL says
There's an excellent piece by former Post
TV critic Tom Shales remembering Ben Bradlee in the Daily Beast — the link to it follows: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/10/22/ben-bradlee-was-the-last-of-the-newspaper-giants.html
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Between the Bookends: 6 Books We Read in June 2017
Between the Bookends Books Featured GeekMom
July 15, 2017 December 16, 2017 Sophie Brown
Between the Bookends Header (c) Sophie Brown
In this month's Between the Bookends, Corrina takes a trip across America in search of frozen dairy goodness before staying cool with a book all about the unfortunate habit of fridging female characters. Mel visits Les Cirque des Rêves, while Sophie catches up with an old skeletal friend before stepping into a selection of tales based around her beloved Haunted Mansion.
We hope you find something to enjoy reading over the summer months and invite you to share your reading choices with us in our new GeekMom Talk Facebook group.
Sweet Spot: An Ice Cream Binge Across America – Amy Ettinger
Sweet Spot, Image: Dutton
Corrina started Sweet Spot: An Ice Cream Binge Across America by Amy Ettinger with high hopes. After all, summer plus ice cream plus education about the history of the frozen treat plus a look into some terrific ice cream stores.
And the book did deliver on much of that, from a look into an artisanal ice cream shop in California to the frozen custard shops in Wisconsin to what's one of the last Good Humor trucks in Brooklyn and then to a buffalo dairy farm. It also had side trips into the world of frozen yogurt and information about a course in ice cream making given at Penn State.
All of this was fascinating. The problem for Corrina was her tour guide. While Ettinger's research and fact-finding are terrific, her narration could be grating. Ice cream is fun, right, but she takes it very, very seriously. Not seriously in that she eats a ton or that she makes her own on a regular basis or even that she wrote about it.
No, seriously in that she expresses annoyance when finding out what's behind the curtain. In Buffy-speak, she can get judgy about the makers of ice cream. Omigod, they use a mix created by a dairy farm because there are regulations about pasteurization designed to prevent people from getting sick from ice cream. She's taken aback and becomes unhappy at this as if she's been literally betrayed by the knowledge, even though she points out that when ice cream was unregulated, it made people sick on a regular basis.
For instance: "Bags! Tubs, I hated to hear such things. The more I delve into the secrets of ice cream making, the more it makes me wonder what else the food industry is hiding from me. It feels like a fake world." This is a rant after finding out that, yes, ice cream and gelato makers almost always use pre-mix bases from which to add their own spin. Where did she think the ingredients were coming from, especially with no dairy barns nearby? She also seemed to be Shocked!!! when she realized that a regular cup of FroYo yogurt with mix-ins is not good for you and might well be over 500 calories. Ya think?
It's basically a hipster, "I want real organic all the time" guide to ice cream, albeit one full of interesting facts and trips. Still, it did make Corrina want to head to Milwaukee for that frozen custard and to head out to the Whole Foods near her to see if they have Coolhaus ice cream sandwiches, and that cannot be a bad thing!
The Refrigerator Monologues – Catherynne M. Valente
The Refridgerator Monologues, Image: Simon & Schuster
The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne M. Valente is a slim little volume that takes on the practice of fridging female characters to cause angst for their male loved ones. The term "fridging" comes from the comic where Green Lantern's girlfriend was murdered and literally stuffed in the refrigerator by the villain. But the book takes on the idea in an unusual way, creating counterparts to the most famous women fridged in comic books. This is their story, their time to shine. Corrina recognized analogs of Gwen Stacy, Jean Grey, Harley Quinn, Mera, and, of course, Alex from Green Lantern. They're interesting tales, all leading to the death of the women telling the tale as they sit around the table in their version of Hell.
Corrina appreciates the creativity and imagination in the book but found that her extensive knowledge of comics was actually a hindrance to enjoying this book, as she spent time matching up Valente's characters to their counterpoints. Plus, the book is written to make a point, so it's a series of vignettes without an ending where any of them gain justice. That, Corrina knows, is the point: the book is to spotlight the practice. But she thinks it would be fun to take these characters and create a sequel where they return from Hell, take their vengeance, and gain the agency they never had before.
The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern
The Night Circus, Image: Anchor
The Night Circus is Erin Morgenstern's debut novel about a magical circus that appears without warning, opens at nightfall, and closes at dawn. Welcome to Le Cirque des Rêves.
Unbeknownst to the patrons, the circus is secretly the stage for a competition between two dueling magicians: Celia and Marco. These two magicians are pushed into the competition by their mentors. Each mentor trains a young magician from a tender age and prepares them for the duel of a lifetime.
However, Celia and Marco quickly see through their mentors' plan to use them as tools in a century old grudge, and the two young magicians quickly realize that the competition sparks more of a love than hate relationship. This magical love story takes place in the late 1800s through early 1900s. As someone who enjoys historical fiction, fantasy, and romance, Melissa was mesmerized with Morgenstern's writing style.
This was one of Mel's summer reads for her lazy days by the pool. However, this story is so compelling that she couldn't wait to get poolside to continue reading, and Mel quickly consumed The Night Circus in a couple of days. Not only is the format of the novel unlike anything Mel has read before, but the writing style of Morgenstern is so lyrical and vivid with imagery that anyone could get sucked into this story and easily lose track of time.
Mel did check out some reviews on Goodreads before starting The Night Circus and noticed several readers stating that the story never went anywhere. However, this novel is character driven rather than plot driven, which might be one of the main reasons for certain comments. If you are a fan of historical fiction and enjoy a more literary fiction style that has a character driven storyline, then The Night Circus might be your next summer read.
Skullduggery Pleasant: Resurrection – Derek Landy
Skulduggery Pleasant: Resurrection, Image: HarperCollins
It is not always a good idea for an author to revisit a book series that had previously been successfully and satisfactorily finished, so Sophie was interested to see the result of Derek Landy revisiting his Skullduggery Pleasant universe.
Resurrection is set five years after the end of the original nine book series and sees Valkyrie Cane returning to Ireland and the now rebuilt and burgeoning sorcerer city of Roarhaven. The deeply emotionally scarred Cane, against her better judgment, is persuaded by her former partner, Skullduggery Pleasant–a wise-cracking skeleton detective–to help out with one more investigation. This leads to the discovery of the Anti-Sanctuary who are trying to set in motion plans to start a war between the non-magical mortals and sorcerers.
The wit and humor that the previous Skullduggery Pleasant books are loved and well known for are all still in evidence. While Valkyrie and Skullduggery are back, they are not entirely the same as we previously knew them; Valkyrie, in particular, is effectively suffering from PTSD and no longer the confident almost arrogant person of the first nine books.
Resurrection moves along at a fair pace, and while the plot is not the best that Landy has written to date, it sets up characters and events nicely for a new series. Landy avoids shoehorning in too many contrived cameos for popular characters from the previous series (well, the few that survived) and most of the new characters are interesting and intriguing, with one a trans-person (with a magical spin) and another in a gay marriage. In the universe of the book these are treated as matter-of-fact; no uncomfortable character reactions or anything derogatory or special are made of these, it is just accepted as normal. Landy handles this well and it's good to see in popular Young Adult book series. There is even a satirical swipe at President Trump–a thread that will no doubt have huge consequences as the story arc develops.
Long time Skullduggery Pleasant fans will be delighted with Resurrection, and anyone coming to Skullduggery's world for the first time will find much to enjoy. No prior knowledge of the previous nine books is required, and any necessary information and exposition are neatly woven into the story and dialogue. Sophie feels that Derek Landy has successfully relaunched his beloved skeleton detective and is looking forward to where this new story arc goes in the future.
Tales from The Haunted Mansion, Volumes One & Two – As Told by Mansion Librarian Amicus Arcane
Tales From The Haunted Mansion, Image: Disney Press
Sophie also made her way through volumes one and two of Tales From The Haunted Mansion. These books are tie-ins to the Disneyland attraction and both contain four short stories linked together by scenes within the Haunted Mansion itself. The stories are along the lines of Goosebumps tales, spooky but aimed at younger readers–still, if you have young ones prone to nightmares, they may be best avoided because the spooks here are a little more intense than those found on the ride.
In volume one, The Fearsome Foursome, the book features one tale for each of a group of four middle schoolers who find invitations inviting them to visit the mansion the night their clubhouse is blown down by a freak storm. At the Mansion, Willa, Tim, Noah, and Steve meet librarian Amicus Arcane who insists upon reading them each a story from his extensive collection. The stories feature the kind of spooks found in a Simpsons Treehouse of Terror episode–a cursed baseball glove, a zombie hamster, and a purchase from the back page of an old comic that goes somewhat awry–but it's not until the end that you understand what is really going on. It's a twist Sophie saw coming, as would many mature readers, but played well enough that it will certainly shock the readers this book is aimed at.
Sophie found that she much preferred volume two, Midnight at Madame Leota's, which follows a similar pattern in terms of how the book progresses. In this volume, we are introduced to William, a young man whose sister died when they were children and who has spent the intervening years visiting every medium, tarot reader, and voodoo practitioner he can find all over the world, hoping to find the one who isn't a fraud. After one more failed attempt, William finds himself at his sister's grave where he meets Amicus Arcane and finds himself visiting the Haunted Mansion in hopes of meeting the world renowned (and now, otherworldly) Madame Leota. Before he will introduce them, Amicus insists on reading William a selection of his tales. They feature a haunted traveling show, a bloodthirsty family legend, and the suggestion that the magic of cinema might be more magical than you ever realized. These stories felt less like silly Treehouse of Horror tales and more genuinely and uniquely spooky. Sophie also enjoyed the subtle references to other Disney attractions and park legends that were hidden for die hard fans to spot.
There is some minor continuation from volume one to volume two, so Sophie recommends reading these books in order. Considering they are aimed at younger readers, there was nothing especially out of this world for Sophie in terms of storytelling, yet she enjoyed them both and hopes to one day read them aloud to her son (though not for many years given his recent reactions to some far less scary books). The stories also feature frequent asides from Amicus in a different font as he makes sarcastic and foreboding commentary about what the characters in the book are up to. This takes a bit of getting used to at first, as it can disrupt the flow of the story, but Sophie found she soon got used to it.
One final thing Sophie particularly loved about the books is their design. Both have been designed to look like they belong on the shelves of the mansion itself, not only with beautiful covers but with pages filled with old-fashioned etching style illustrations, faux-stained pages, and chapters broken up by pages featuring the classic Haunted Mansion wallpaper pattern.
GeekMom received some of these titles for review purposes.
Tagged fantasynon-fictionYA
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Ambassador Katherine Tai and Secretary Tom Vilsack Announce New India Agreement to Allow U.S. Pork and Products Into India
WASHINGTON – Deputy United States Trade Representative Jayme White today held a virtual meeting with Canada's Deputy Minister of International Trade, David Morrison, ahead of the first United States – Mexico – Canada Agreement (USMCA) Deputies Meeting.
Ambassador White and Deputy Minister Morrison began by emphasizing the close relationship between the United States and Canada. They expressed their commitment to fully implementing the USMCA and ensuring that trade advances equity and opportunity in North America. Ambassador White and Deputy Minister Morrison committed to work together to address their shared goals of addressing the climate crisis, combatting forced labor, and countering non-market practices.
Ambassador White stressed the importance of Canada fully meeting its USMCA commitments, including its allocation of dairy tariff-rate quotas and home-shopping. Additionally, Ambassador White expressed concern about Canada's proposed digital service tax. They also discussed bilateral steel trade. The two agreed to continue to collaborate on addressing these and other issues, and to maintain an open line of communication.


The Blue and Gold end of season ball has been locked in for Saturday 18th September. The venue is the North Sydney Harbourview Hotel. We have a fantastic night of eating, drinking and dancing lined up and it should be an even bigger and better night than last year.
Tickets are $110 each, but for that you are getting the once in a lifetime opportunity to hear Scotty give a speech. Also included but less of a crowd puller is free drinks, an awesome three course meal and dancing until late. Just think what you would get normally on a Saturday night for $110 dollars.
As usual dress is formal. Guys, this means a suit…. turquoise tuxedos preferred obviously. Ladies, I think you probably don't need any fashion tips.
Pay for your tickets on the social membership page.
Or talk to Matt McIntyre, Scott James or Tori Gompertz or any of your friendly committee members sand they can take cash off you.
*Money back guarantee does not include complaints about not winning player of the year, or getting slapped by Keith Kitchen. Neither does it include complaints about Scotty's speech. In fact the money back guarantee pretty much means that you can complain all you like but you're just not getting your money back. Always read the fine print.


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PETANGE, ESCH, LUXEMBOURG, January 25, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Just in time for Valentine's Day, Blummenatelier Ilona Sarl, a renowned flower shop in Petange, Luxembourg, is proud to announce the opening of its new online store, offering the …
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City of Oshawa, located just a short 30-minute drive from Toronto, is a progressive city of 168,000 people and is the economic engine of the eastern Greater Toronto Area. Our strategic pursuit of sustainable growth, excellent community service delivery and co-operative partnerships have enhanced our quality of life advantage, while maintaining a strong commitment to fiscal restraint.
Reporting to the Supervisor, School Crossing Assistance Program, or designate, be responsible, in the absence of the regular Crossing Guard, for directing the crossing of school-age children and pedestrians across a highway at an assigned location/intersection during designated periods. The City of Oshawa strives to provide an environment that cultivates and supports the following core values: Authenticity, Courage, and Trust (ACT).
Duties include directing the movement of children across a highway; maintaining contact with school(s) and reporting student problems; notifying supervisor of unsafe conditions, traffic violations and problems; participating in data collection; assisting in the training of new Crossing Guards or Rover Crossing Guards; distributing materials and equipment to Crossing Guards; and providing back-up relief to the Supervisor.
Good communication skills, both oral and written. Good interpersonal skills. Ability to deal with children, parents and the general public in a courteous and tactful manner. Clean and neat in appearance in order to meet the public.
Suited to work outdoors in all types of weather conditions. Able to work in difficult situations. Must be physically and mentally fit; able to climb, stretch, twist, lift and carry items of up to 1 kg.; stand and walk for periods of up to 1.5 hours; good hearing and visual senses and perception. Circumstantially and temperamentally adjusted to work alone and work split shifts.
A valid, unrestricted Province of Ontario Driver's Licence, minimum Class "G", in good standing. Must have a motor vehicle in good repair available at all times to travel to and from the crossing locations with appropriate insurance coverage that permits vehicle use for work purposes. Must have and maintain a telephone at place of residence. Must be, and remain, a resident of the City of Oshawa.
Knowledge of Traffic Laws. Good administrative and reasoning skills. Maturity and proven leadership skills.
Established PC skills and experience using relevant software applications is considered a definite asset.


AUSTIN — Just a couple of months ago, they were influential Texas lawmakers with the perks and power of elected office.
Now, nearly a dozen former House members who lost their re-election bids or opted not to run again roam the Capitol wielding a different kind of clout — as well-connected lobbyists, often for big-money clients.
The latest crop of legislators-turned-lobbyists, identified and tracked by The Dallas Morning News, collectively earn an estimated $795,000 to $1.7 million this year representing corporations, retired teachers, cities, financial firms, beer and restaurant associations and other entities, state records show.
Two months into the new legislative session, Republicans and Democrats are pushing bills to ban this "revolving door" and prevent lawmakers from lobbying for two or four years after leaving office.
Backers say it's needed because ex-legislators have too much influence as lobbyists and that the lure of that kind of job may affect the way a sitting lawmaker writes legislation.
Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, and Rep. Angie Chen Button, R-Garland, also have proposed revolving door bans.
But those who became lobbyists said they see nothing wrong with the practice and hear no public outcry to outlaw it.
"I don't think it's immoral or should be illegal," said former Rep. Sid Miller, a Republican from Stephenville.
Like Miller, eight other ex-legislators who are lobbyists were lieutenants of Republican Speaker Joe Straus and chairmen of House committees when the Legislature last met in 2011. Their terms of office ended in January.
Some now represent clients with business before those committees.
Andrew Wheat, research director of the watchdog group Texans for Public Justice, said he supports efforts to avoid conflicts between elected officials and lobbying groups.
Texas legislators make $600 per month, or $7,200 per year, plus a per diem of $150 for every day the Legislature is in session.
Some who departed also donated money left in their campaign accounts to other legislative candidates, which wins favor with colleagues, Wheat said.
Thirty-five states make former legislators wait during a cooling off period before lobbying, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In Texas, similar proposals never gathered steam.
Austin's newest lobbyists said they don't see any problems with their switch.
"A client will hire a lobbyist because they want effective representation," said former Rep. Rob Eissler, who was House education committee chairman. After leaving, he began lobbying for the Harris County Department of Education, Pearson Inc. and other educational interests.
Eissler, a Republican from The Woodlands, said as a legislator he frequently talked to lobbyists on both sides of an issue to get different viewpoints.
"They are probably as much a part of the process, and important to the process, because they are conduits of information," he said.
Former Rep. Vicki Truitt of Keller dealt with public retirement systems and payday lending legislation as a House committee chairwoman. Now, she lobbies for clients in those fields including ACE Cash Express and the Texas Retired Teachers Association.
Former Rep. Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton of Lumberton, who headed the committee that oversaw alcohol regulation, represents the Beer Alliance of Texas and the Texas Restaurant Association.
Some of these new lobbyists earn in excess of six figures. Others have smaller contracts.
"I don't get paid much, so I'm pretty low key," said former Rep. Warren Chisum of Pampa, a Republican who served 24 years in the House before losing his race for the Texas Railroad Commission in 2012.
Chisum has five lobby clients on file with Texas Ethics Commission, each paying the lowest range of less than $10,000 each. Some are in the oil and gas business, an industry in which he has holdings. Chisum does free lobby work for several nonprofits.
Even if there were a revolving door law, Chisum said he would come to the Capitol anyway.
Follow Kelley Shannon on Twitter @kelleyshan.
Vicki Truitt, R-Keller, former chairwoman, House Pensions, Investments and Financial Services Committee.
Pay range: $125,000 to $250,000.
Clients: ACE Cash Express, Texas Retired Teachers Association, Texas Council of Community Centers, Texas Hospital Association.
Rob Eissler, R-The Woodlands, former chairman, House Public Education Committee.
Pay range: $200,000 to $410,000.
Clients: Education Resource Group, Pearson Inc., Harris County Department of Education; Barbers Hill Independent School District.
Burt Solomons, R-Carrollton, former chairman, House Redistricting Committee; previously, chairman of House State Affairs Committee in 2009.
Pay range: $150,000 to $335,000.
Clients: City of Fort Worth, Texas Coalition for Affordable Power, Texas Technology Consortium, Texas Association of Community Colleges, Oncor Cities Steering Committee.
Sid Miller, R-Stephenville, former chairman, House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee.
Pay range: $95,000 to $220,000.
Clients: KLD Energy Technologies Inc., Snap Trends Inc., Sun Partners Capitol, Texas Nursery and Landscape Association.
Mike "Tuffy" Hamilton, R-Lumberton; former chairman, House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee.
Pay range: $50,000 to $110,000.
Clients: Texas Restaurant Association, Beer Alliance of Texas.
Jim Jackson, R-Carrollton, former chairman, House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee.
Pay range: $50,000 to $100,000.
Chuck Hopson, R-Jacksonville, former chairman, House General Investigating and Ethics Committee.
Pay range: $75,000 to $150,000.
Clients: Texans for Education Reform, University of Houston Political Action Committee, Texas Pharmacy Business Council.
Rick Hardcastle, R-Vernon, former chairman, House Agriculture and Livestock Committee.
Pay range: $25,000 to $50,000.
Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, served on House Appropriations Committee in 2011; was appropriations chairman in 2007.
Pay range: Up to $50,000.
Clients: Apache Corp., BP, Texas Academy of Family Physicians.
Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, served on House Energy Resources Committee, Agriculture and Livestock Committee in 2011.
Aaron Pena, R-Edinburg, former chairman, House Technology Committee.
Client: No lobby clients registered. Focuses on public relations work but registered as a lobbyist.
SOURCE: Texas Ethics Commission. Lobbyists only have to report their contract payments in ranges to the commission. Totals here are rounded to nearest whole dollar.


text:
Part I: Science Alert, Serious Wonder and Cosmos Up
I should have been a research scientist. I love science. I'm extremely intelligent, determined, creative, and organized. I coulda been a contenda for a Nobel prize. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.
Why am I not a scientist? I had a series of misogynistic (one of my teachers hated the four girls in my advanced science class so much he would pith [paralyze] the frogs by holding them in the air directly in front of one of us so that each frog would urinate on our blouses), anti-Semitic (another one wore his "John Birch Society" pin to school every day, displayed prominently on his lapel; there were three girls in my class and he insulted each of us daily), incompetent (in an lab accident at his "real" job, this poor man had lost most of his sight and drive and spent each class time mostly ignoring all of us) and otherwise horrible science teachers in 8th, 9th, and 10th grades.
With better teachers in those critical years, my life could have turned out very differently. Those terrible teachers turned me so far off science I only took one more "hard" science course (because it was required, in undergraduate college), despite many more years of education, through getting a doctorate.
As an adult, I became enthralled with quantum physics, health/anatomy, nutrition, child development/learning and the multiverse/astrophysics, so I read. A lot. I also watch documentaries. I am not even close to understanding some of the physics stuff, but the rest I got quite adept at utilizing. To "keep up," I subscribe to many science-oriented blogs and curation sites.
My favorites are: Science Alert, Serious Wonder and Cosmos Up. I will excerpt from some of the "best of the best" of what I've recently perused. Part I is all from Science Alert.
I hope you enjoy! Go subscribe!
ScienceAlert.com
Astrophysics and Quantum Physics/Mechanics
19 Jan 2015 http://goo.gl/TRtzJD
"For the first time, scientists in Australia have detected a gigantic burst of radio waves from outside our galaxy in real time. Called blitzars [also known as 'fast radio bursts' (FRB's)], these bursts generate as much energy as the Sun does in a day, but they do it in mere milliseconds….The source of these 'blitzars' has so far remained a mystery….[T]hey've calculated the blitzar to be up to 5.5 billion light-years away from Earth."
22 Jan 2015 http://goo.gl/v6Q8S4
"Researchers have found that have found that quantum mechanics can cause more than two optical systems to become entangled, potentially across large distances….[Q]uantum entanglement states that two particles can be implicitly linked and can seemingly influence each other no matter how far apart they are….[Q]uantum entanglement exists and forms the basis of teleportation and quantum cryptography. [In 2014], researchers from the University of Geneva managed to teleport a photon across a distance 25 kilometres….[This new experiment] provides an important step towards validation of mesoscopic quantum mechanics. Mesoscopic refers to the discipline of physics that deals with matter in between micro and macroscopic."
10 Feb 2015 http://goo.gl/v9nm44
"New model suggests the Big Bang never occurred. Instead, the Universe has simply been going forever….A new quantum equation suggests that the Universe has no beginning or end, and it could also account for dark matter and dark energy."
05 Apr 2015 http://goo.gl/BAKoZa
"The LHC [Large Hadron Collider]…the monstrous underground atom smasher that hurls particles at near light speed, has been restarted….Here's how it could change physics forever! "
"The hunt for dark matter is on."
These new LHC experiments may also resolve as-yet-unanswered questions regarding supersymmetry, antimatter, gravity and dark energy as well!
08 Apr 2015 http://goo.gl/i8yQw4
"NASA's chief scientist predicts we'll find signs of alien life by 2025: 'I think we're going to have strong indications of life beyond Earth within a decade, and I think we're going to have definitive evidence within 20 to 30 years,' NASA chief scientist, Ellen Stofan…
"'It's definitely not an if, it's a when,' said Jeffery Newmark, NASA's interim director of heliophysics….
"'[O]bservations by NASA's Kepler space telescope suggest that nearly every star in the sky hosts planets – and many of these worlds may be habitable,' says Mike Wall at Space.com."
16 Apr 2015 http://goo.gl/jdGFtQ
"Big news: Dark matter may not be as dark as we originally thought. Astronomers have found the first evidence that dark matter interacts with forces other than gravity."
Child Development/Learning
05 Jan 2015 http://goo.gl/5POY6W
"If you want to sure up your child's communication and problem-solving skills, chatting…to your baby about nothing in particular while you're getting ready or doing work around the house…can be even more important than reading to them, new research suggests….[R]eading is great for young kids, but… on its own, it's not enough to shore up their cognitive development."
Anatomy/Biology/Zoology and Gender
09 Jan 2015 http://goo.gl/60Zmfi
"Is it a male, or female? This unusual butterfly, apparently, couldn't decide on its sex, resulting in beautiful and starkly different sets of wings….[I]t was a Common Archduke (Lexias pardalis) butterfly, with a condition known as bilateral gynandromorphy…[which] also been reported in crustaceans, such as lobsters, as well as in birds…."
23 Mar 2015 http://goo.gl/aQyTet
"Scientists have found a drug that makes people more compassionate. It turns out altering people's brain chemistry can stop them from being selfish jerks….The drug, called tolcapone, prolongs the effect of dopamine in the prefrontal cortex of the brain, a region involved in the regulation of complex thought and our emotions. And early tests suggest that it encourages people who take it to be more fair-minded when it comes to money." I posit the biological bases for better or worse humans, particularly regarding behavior and selfishness, in my sci-fi ebooks, The Spanners Series.
09 Apr 2015 http://goo.gl/ED8UKh
"Brain 'gender' is more fluid than originally thought, research reveals….[C]ontinual Dnmt [DNA methyltransferase (Dnmt), an enzyme that usually silences certain genes] exposure is necessary throughout development to ensure that a brain turns female."
"Scientists have managed to neurologically switch newborn rats from female to male….Not only did their behaviour change dramatically, but the rats' brains also structurally transformed."
In the 1990s, I conducted my doctoral research and wrote my dissertation on the mutability of both gender and sexual orientation identities with the factors of interpersonal safety and connection being pivotal in how frequently, fluidly and diversely each individual's identities might fluctuate, inventing a term for this contextualized fluctuation: differential authenticity. http://goo.gl/IOcCWJ
"'"It was thought that once established, sexual differentiation could not be undone,' Nugent told PBS. 'Our work shows that sex differences in brain and behaviour are epigenetically regulated, meaning that sex differences are not hardwired in our DNA but programmed during development.'"
I would add: and identities could change throughout life, regulated by circumstances and experiences.
21 May 2015 http://goo.gl/oSpB7e
"Octopuses are able to 'see' with their skin, new research finds….[T]he same kind of skin perception might be happening in other cephalopods, too. In other words, these creatures can feel changes in light as well as see them."
Cephalopods are featuredin my sci-fi ebooks, The Spanners Series.
05 Feb 2015 http://goo.gl/RFcvRZ and https://goo.gl/2HhO4z [with two videos from ASAP Science]
"Want to know how to decrease your odds of developing a cold by 58.8 percent, and if you do get one, how to shave 1.5 days off the length of it? The latest episode of AsapSCIENCE has got all the – scientifically approved – answers." The two accompanying videos provide tips and advice and then debunk 6 common myths about how to behave/what to do/not do/eat/not eat when getting sick or already sick with a cold.
18 Mar 2015 http://goo.gl/iU4jW4
"The longer you're breastfed, the higher your IQ and adult earnings, study suggests, but not too long, or the benefits become disadvantages….And the difference was pretty huge. If a child had been breastfed for an entire year, they scored on average four more IQ points, had almost another year of formal education, and earned an extra 341 reais a month – which is about about a third more than the average income level in Brazil – than those who had breastfed for less than a month. But beyond 12 months, and the benefits in later life dropped off significantly – in adulthood, these people were on average poorer, and less educated."
08 April 2015 http://goo.gl/1ImN59
"Amazing chart shows the planet's longest-living animals. See how your puny human lifespan compares." Humans don't even make the top 10! The longest-living (an ocean quahog [an edible clam, pronounced in Massachusetts, USA, "co-hog"] exists for over 400 years! Eight of the top 10 longest-lived animals are all sea-dwelling creatures; the other two are land tortoises. I guess living on land shortens our lifespan considerably. Humans should have stayed in the sea.
Look for Part II in late June, focusing on info gathered by Serious Wonder.
SeriousWonder.com
After that, look for Part III in late July, info from Cosmos Up.
CosmosUp.com
This entry was posted in All Volumes, Science, Statistics, The Spanners and tagged astronomy, astrophysics, breastfeeding, cosmology, futuristic tech, gender identity, IQ, physics, quantum physics, science, sexual orientation identity, technology, The Spanners Series. Bookmark the permalink.
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4 thoughts on "Part I: Science Alert, Serious Wonder and Cosmos Up"
Nicholas C. Rossis says:
Thanks for the great links!
Sally Ember, Ed.D. says:
Sure! Did you actually go to any or read the post, though? LOL
I read the post and bookmarked it. I'm supposed to be working at my day job right now 😉
Oh, picky, picky! Thanks, Nicholas. Get back to work!


ISLAMABAD - The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Tuesday approved tax exemptions for two projects under the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC).
The ECC meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, considered and approved the proposal submitted by Ministry of Communications for the grant of exemption from customs duties, levies and other relevant taxes for import of equipment and construction material to contractors for the completion of two early harvest projects of Karakorum Highway (KKH) phase II (Thakot to Havellian section) and Karachi-Lahore Motorway (Sukkar to Multan section) under the CPEC.
Pakistan had already awarded the contracts of these two projects to the Chinese firms. Sources informed that Chinese firms had demanded tax exemptions for the projects under CPEC.
The top economic decisions making body of the country, ECC, also considered the proposal submitted by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research for allowing additional rebate of $30 per ton on the export of surplus wheat/wheat flour (atta) in order to allow the exporters to sell the wheat/flour on competitive rates. ECC earlier granted rebate @ $55 and $45 to the provinces of Punjab and Sindh. Both provincial governments also contributed $35 and $45 per ton respectively as their share in the export rebate. On a fresh proposal submitted for consideration, it was stated that the export be allowed till 30th November 2016 and export process be completed by 31st January 2017. ECC granted approval to the proposal on the condition that the additional rebate @ $30 shall be shared equally by the federal and provincial governments. Wheat export subsidy must be enhanced from the current $100 per ton to $130 per ton.
Sources informed The Nation that federal government has rejected the proposal of the provincial governments that 60% share of the subsidy should be contributed by the federal government and 40% by the provinces. In a summary submitted by the Ministry of National Food Security and Research in April 2016, recommendation was made to allow an additional rebate of $30 per ton on exports. It was proposed that the additional $30 rebate would be shared by both the federal and provincial governments on 50% basis. The proposed quantity allowed to be exported is 600,000 and 300,000 tons for Punjab and Sindh, respectively. The export will be allowed till November 30, 2016.
On a proposal from Finance Division, ECC approved the remittance of AED 100 million, which is equivalent to $27.2 million, on account of planned opening of wholesale Branch of Bank Alfalah Limited in UAE. According to the proposal, this investment will help create employment opportunities for Pakistani nationals in UAE which is also keenly desired by the government of Pakistan.