A few months back, CBS Sunday Morning, one of my favorite shows on TV ran a great profile on Ken Feinberg, the man who has been tapped to administer the $20 billion BP compensation fund. He’s a very interesting guy who has really carved out a cool niche for himself in various national tragedies – from 9/11 to the Virginia Tech massacre to the BP oil spill. Check out the video below.
CBS News’ Richard Schlesinger speaks with U.S. attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who serves as the Special Master for Executive Compensation, commonly referred to as the “pay czar.”
Child prodigy Adora Svitak says the world needs “childish” thinking: bold ideas, wild creativity and especially optimism. Kids’ big dreams deserve high expectations, she says, starting with grownups’ willingness to learn from children as much as to teach.
About Adora Svitak
A prolific short story writer and blogger since age seven, Adora Svitak (now 12) speaks around the United States to adults and children as an advocate for literacy.
Our nation’s capital–the swampland, the village, the District, DC–became the sixth place in the nation to recognize the importance of marriage equality as same-sex marriage became legal. Congratulations to the new couples in DC who have chosen to make their love official.
It was cold and drizzling outside the City Courthouse just after 6 a.m. on Wednesday, but no one seemed to mind among the same-sex couples waiting excitedly for the chance to apply for a marriage license.
“This is a dream come true,” said Sinjoyla Townsend, 41, as she smiled ear to ear and held up her ticket indicating she was first in line with her partner of 12 years, Angelisa Young, 47. “We wanted it so bad.”
Gay-rights advocates hailed the day as a milestone for equal rights and a symbolic victory as same-sex marriage became legal in the nation’s capital.
And shockingly, good for Chief Justice Roberts and his decision to reject a request from opponents of marriage equality to put the new law on hold. John Roberts sure is fabulous.
This past week, the White House celebrated Black History Month with a star-studded concert, featuring some amazing civil rights-era singers, as well as some contemporary artists singing tunes from the past. The full show is now airing on PBS stations throughout the country. The series is called “In Performance at the White House: A Celebration of Music From the Civil Rights Movement.” Don’t have time to watch TV…here are some highlights from the show.
When I first saw a live taping of “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me,” two things surprised me. One was that Carl Kasell was actually present in the flesh. Somehow I had assumed that the guy was beamed in somehow. Or that they’d roll out an old-timey radio on a cart and his voice would simply amble out. The second surprise was how spry Carl is. As his name was announced, he loped athletically onstage, a tall and wiry septuagenarian.
But when Carl sat down in our studio with me to reflect on his long career, I’m pleased to say I was not surprised. He was exactly as genteel, warm and good-natured as you’d expect him to be. To mark the day of his final Morning Edition newscast, we present this special extended version of that interview.
Guest contributor Carolyn Slutsky (sister of Matthew and Peter) is a writer in New York City, whose work has been seen in The New York Times, The Jewish Week, and other publications.
When I was a kid, we had a book about the travels and travails of the Stupid family. “The Stupids Step Out,” showed the family having “a fun-filled day doing ridiculous things,” one of which was more stupid than the next.
I haven’t thought about the book in 20 years or so, except for my mother’s occasional references to feeling like the family when we’ve all gone en mass to Target or somewhere else, well, stupid.
But last night I was reminded of this gang when I saw the premiere of TLC’s “One Big Happy Family,” a new show about two morbidly obese parents and their morbidly obese teenage children. In episode one they’re shown sitting down in and breaking dining room chairs, licking their lips over enough fried chicken to feed a Brownie troop (mmm, brownies…) and, most embarrassingly, going to a water park, where they find they are too fat to go on at least one of the rides.
Unlike many portrayals of obese people that focus on their quest to lose weight (Bob and Jillian from the Biggest Loser are surely rolling their eyes at this one), the Bigs (their name is apparently Cole, but really, who cares?) are Big and Proud. Mother Tameka, who works two jobs, claims, as she walks around the water park in a bathing suit that shows her Double MM cleavage, that people can stare all they want. Dad Norris, who doesn’t work, sort of flops along after his wife as if her were her third child. And the teens, Shayne and Amber, seem mostly content to walk around weighing more than 300 pounds.
On the surface, the family has a supreme amount of self-confidence. And they have a weekly “truth night” where they can confess all the stupid things they’ve done recently, with no consequences (Norris confesses that he added chicken flavor to Tameka’s lasagna, and she goes ballistic, though they kids like it). There’s a lot of love in these people, that’s clear. But what’s unclear is what TLC is doing by featuring this very big family. They seem just one more in a line of “different” families TLC exploits, putting them on parade for us to gawk at. Little People and Octofamilies are one thing, but really, with 33% of Americans obese now, is this family all that different? They’re like your heavy next door neighbors, and seem to be on TV only for us to laugh at, though really, is it even funny? The show weakly points to the benefits of weight loss, but is obviously mostly just a mockery.
My one hope is that the Coles are laughing all the way to the bank. With a stop along the way at KFC for a variety bucket.
Anyone watch the show “Intervention” on A&E? It’s my second favorite show, after Hoarders.
I think Sen. Reid needs to have the same conversation with Sen. Joe Lieberman that Jeff VanVonderen has with junkies each week as they enter the room, surprised to see their family and friends gathered for an intervention. To help him along, here are some thoughts on how this should go down:
“Hey Joe…don’t run out. There are a lot of people here in this room who love you a lot and who want to fight to get you back. All we’re asking is that you join the fight. We do need you to know that if you continue on this path towards destruction, we aren’t going to be able to support you anymore and your life will change in the following ways:
1. You will be stripped of your seniority in the United States Senate;
2. You will no longer be the Chairman of anything including your Condo Board Association;
3. Your office will be moved to the basement/smallest office available (I’m not kidding);
4. You will no longer be allowed to take part in any caucus meetings with Democrats and you will only hear about our initiatives via Politico.com.;
5. You will have zero support from any of the party infrastructure in any future election in which you run. None. Zero. Not a dollar. Not an email. Nothing.;
6. I will personally add false information to your Wikipedia page suggesting that you were involved in an orgy with Tiger Woods.
